eFX Inc., which is well known for its high-end replicas, will be launching a new line of limited edition Disney collectibles beginning this September.

First up is a the Heart Box inspired by the wicked Queen from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Each box have its own number and no more than 500 boxes will be distributed worldwide.

Following the Heart Box will be ‘Photo Puppets’ of particular Muppet characters and a four-foot replica of Captain Nemo’s Nautilus from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” eFX will also release replicas and collectibles from “Mary Poppins,” “Peter Pan” and “Pinocchio.”

eFX will preview a number of its pieces at the San Diego Comic-Con in July as well as at the first-ever D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center in September. The Heart Box can be preorder on eFX’s website, www.efxcollectables.com, after Comic-Con. To see the press release, click here.

Did someone not tell Warner Bros. that Twitter is the new Facebook? The studio has announced a partnership connecting the social networking site with the community screening features of BD-Live, which will enable Facebook users to post comments about the film while they watch. This effort will begin with the release of “Watchmen: Director’s Cut” in July.

Perhaps I’m missing something here, but is there a difference between utilizing this new feature and just using your laptop while you watch the movie? Wait, I can answer that – yes there is. You can update your status on Facebook anytime you want and everyone you’re friends with can see it. The only people who can see your comments on the film are those that own the BD too. While Warner Bros’ BD-Live system is an innovative creation, it doesn’t seem very practical. Just think of what it would be like if you were dying to use Black Berry Messenger, but all of your friends had iPhones. Do enough of your friends really use the BD-Live function that the ability to chat while you watch a movie would be utilized? That’s where Facebook comes in. Adding your Facebook friends to your BD-Live buddy list will, no doubt, increase the amount of people you have to chat with, but I still don’t see how this arrangement will benefit anyone except the two companies involved. This seems more like another status tool rather than an innovative movie commenting function.

Regardless, “Watchmen: Directors Cut” is on its way and may hit stores on July 21st or July28th to coincide with the San Diego Comic-Con International. You’ll have the option of getting the film without bonus features on DVD for $28.98, the director’s cut on DVD for $34.99 or on Blu-ray for $35.99. “Watchmen” will also be available on your On Demand service, satellite TV, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles. Come the end of July, will you be watching the Watchmen?

One of this week’s big releases is Disneynature’s “Earth.” It’s no coincidence that Walt Disney Company’s new documentary label decided to release the film on April 22nd; it’s Earth Day! The company will only make films about the natural world, the first of which is “Earth.” In celebration of this milestone, Disneynature has vowed to plant one tree for every ticket sold in the film’s opening week. According to Variety, “Earth” pulled in $4 million on Wednesday making it the documentary with the highest opening-day gross ever.

Disneynature isn’t the only studio looking to improve the Earth’s environment. Universal Pictures, is working hard to spread awareness of the need to have an environmental perspective. Their website, GreenIsUniversal.com, offers a number of resources that’ll help show you what you can do to care for the environment.

Fox has posted a Green Guide that has a list of ‘Best Practices’ so you can keep your production as green as possible. For ‘Film Best Practices’ they list suggestions based on the department you work in. The department list includes production areas like costume & wardrobe, props and visual effects. The site even has a search application enabling you to find vendors in your area that are faithful to keeping their services green.

According to their mission statement, Warner Bros.’ WB Environmental is “committed to entertaining the world while playing a leading role in environmental steward ship.” The site has a list of specific efforts the company makes to improve their environmental performance as well as an eco-tour, which gives you a behind-the-scenes look at Warner Bros.’ effort to keep green.

Minding our environment seems to be the new trend in Hollywood. Not only is this becoming a popular trend amongst our favorite movie studios, but it’s an issue that genuinely deserves our attention. These two factors combine; it’s hard to imagine a future where companies don’t keep the environment’s status in the forefront.

Have you seen any other studios going green? Let us know!

Wannabe web-slingers went to the Knitting Factory in New York City today to audition to be in “Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark.” There were tons of people lined up along Leonard Street to get their chance to sing for Bernie Telsey. Check out the video below to see who dropped by to belt out a tune and what Bernie expects to happen for the show over the next few weeks.

As Yogi said, 'It's déjà vu all over again!'

Don't be alarmed if you've felt like you stepped into a time warp during recent visits to the multiplex. It only feels that way because Hollywood keeps recycling old slasher movies. At the rate these remakes are being churned out, we'll have a new 'Bride of Chucky' in time for the holidays. Check out Alison's feature on the remake craze here.

Fangoria's monster meister Tony Timpone also told us about some other Horror reboots coming our way, including a certain Mr. Krueger. Check it out:

It’s that time of year again; time to honor the best in genre filmmaking. It all began back in 1972 when the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films first gave nods to the industry’s best in genre. Winners are chosen by members of the Academy in three categories: motion picture, television and home video.

This year, it’s no surprise that “The Dark Knight” snagged the most nods with 11 nominations. Close behind is “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” with nine nominations and “Iron Man” with eight. You’ll have to wait till June 25th to see who’ll get to take home the statues, but in the meantime, continue after the jump to see some of the nominees.

For a complete list of nominees, check out the official website of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films by clicking here.

I don't know where this video came from, but I almost fell out of my chair laughing after I watched the clip. Between the cheesy early-80s Saturday morning animation and the wonderfully-dated theme song, not to mention the homages to Scooby-Doo and Jem! of all shows, this is one Watchmen item for the books.

Count me in as a viewer if Cartoon Network greenlights the series.

Woody Allen, perhaps the quintessential New York filmmaker, is coming home. After spending the last four years shooting overseas (most recently in Spain, with "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"), Allen will premiere his most recent effort as the Opening Film of this year's Tribeca Film Festival.

"Whatever Works" stars Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood and Patricia Clarkson. It's the first movie Allen's shot in NYC since 2004, and the filmmaker sounds tickled to unspool it for the hometown crowd.

"A lovely idea of showing my film in a film festival in my own city. It's very exciting,” said Woody Allen.

The World Premiere of "Whatever Works" takes place Wednesday, April 22nd. The entire slate of features for Tribeca 2009 will be announced March 9th. Click here to read more.

Went to see a French film the other day.....part of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. It was called "The Girl from Monaco" (La Fille de Monaco) with the great Fabrice Luchini.

I'm always interested in the subtitles.....whether they are done for an English or an American audience. These were clearly British and I always wonder if that sometimes leads to "huh?"

For instance a football (soccer) score on the telly (TV) was written as "Nil-all". Does that translate to an American? It means "zero-zero" incidentally. Not even sure if that's how you'd say it here!

Also a "plaster" translates to a Band-Aid.

Time to fill you in on the rest of the goodies I stumbled across during my visit to Toy Fair 2009. For those of you experiencing a bit of Oscar fatigue (a common symptom this time of year), this post is guaranteed to be Academy-free. Not an award winner in sight, I swear, outside of the occasional Visual Effects award.

But seriously – or as seriously as any article can be when discussing toys made and marketed to grown men – retro continues to be a major force in the toy biz. Take a look at the titles represented after the jump to see what I mean.

WATCHMEN

Due out March 6th, “Watchmen” may be the most anticipated comic book movie EVER, in part because most fans never believed they would ever see it on a big screen. Now, since the movie is Rated R and the book it adapts is extremely violent and features graphic sex, don’t expect to see a Rorschach Mr. Potato Head. However, DC Direct is trying to capitalize with a string of cool toys for us grownups, like mini-busts, 12 inch tall figures, and replica props such as Rorschach’s mask. Or for that crazy uncle you know with a cabin the Idaho mountains, you can get him the replica of The Comedian’s pistols, given to him by President Nixon. Now that’s a conversation piece!

DC UNIVERSE

DC’s Holy Trinity – Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman – were well represented as usual. I was especially intrigued by the Jack Kirby line of action figures, featuring characters created by the King of Comics. I also liked the super-sized dolls that had Zatanna, Sgt. Rock and Flash. Very nice.

As a big Hal Jordan fan from way back, I’m all for it. We have comics writer Geoff Johns to thank for the current Green Lantern renaissance. If the movie is 1/3 as cool as the current comic is, he’ll be fine.

GHOSTBUSTERS

“Ghostbusters” is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. And now I officially feel OLD. To make myself feel better, I may pick up the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man for the office.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Everything 80s is in vogue in Hollywood thanks to the success of “Transformers.” And while hopefully no one’s thinking of remaking “Back to the Future”, who doesn’t want a DeLorean with time-travel capability? Or at least a scaled down version. Its part of the line of products released to pay tribute to that great American teenager, Marty McFly.

TERMINATOR

I saw more toys related to the Schwarzenegger Terminator films than for the upcoming Christian Bale-starring “Terminator Salvation.” Weird.

The few items I saw related to ‘Salvation’ looked good, mainly the die-cast busts from DC Unlimited, a division of DC Direct that produces products for non-DC Comics properties.

WOLVERINE

Wanna see this summer’s must-have toy? Check out the Wolverine Electronic Claw (SRP: $19.99). Just like the Hulk Hands from 2003, this one has cool sound effects that go off when you make a punching motion, unsheathing the claws.

It’s part of the extensive toy line tied to the movie kicking off the 2009 summer movie season., “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The hyper-detailed line of figures includes Logan’s arch-enemy Sabretooth, and other characters in the X-Universe.

Know what else made an impression? The Mighty Muggs line. These chunky dolls from Japan are a big hit for their unique designs AND affordable pricing. I like the variations on classic Marvel Comics heroes. Check out the Punisher and the Vision!

There were a number of very amusing and heartfelt things said during last night’s Academy Awards ceremony. Here are a few moments to remember:

‘Now listen, I want you to relax tonight. I want you to say whatever is on your mind because you know we have a seven-second delay, but if you win, we switch to a 20-minute delay.'' Hugh Jackman to Mickey Rourke

‘Fifteen career Oscar nominations. That's a record. I hate to say it but when someone puts up numbers like that, it's just hard not to think steroids.’ Hugh Jackman to Meryl Streep

‘This is not going to be 45 seconds, I can say that right now. Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one.’ Penelope Cruz after winning Best Supporting Actress for her peformance in “Vicky Christina Barcelona.”

‘I'd like to thank the Academy for recognizing our son's amazing work. This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to be truly accepted by all you here tonight, his peers within an industry he so loved.’ Kim Ledger, Heath Ledger’s father, accepting his son’s Best Supporting Actor award.

‘There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing. For me, it's the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here.’ Simon Beaufoy after winning Best Adapted Screenplay for “Slumdog Millionaire.”

‘Before coming, I was excited and terrified. The last time I felt like that was during my marriage.’ AR Rahman after winning Best Original Song for “Jai Ho.”

‘My kids are too old to remember this now, but when they were much younger, I swore to them that if this miracle ever happened that I would receive it as the character of Tigger from ‘Winnie-the-Pooh.’’ Danny Boyle after jumping up and down when he won Best Director for “Slumdog Millionaire”

‘I want to acknowledge my fellow nominees, these goddesses. I think we all can't believe we're in a category with Meryl Streep at all. I'm sorry, Meryl, but you have to just suck that up.’ Kate Winslet after winning Best Actress for her performance in “The Reader.”

‘You commie, homo-loving sons of guns. I did not expect this and I want it to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often.’ Sean Penn after winning Best Actor for his performance in “Milk.”

‘When we started out, we had no stars, we had no power or muscle, we didn't have enough money really to do what we wanted to do. But what we had was a script that inspired mad love in everyone who read it. ... Most of all, we had passion and we had belief and our film shows that if you have those two things, truly anything is possible.’ Producer Christian Colson of “Slumdog Millionaire” after the film won Best Picture.

To think “Slumdog Millionaire” was set to go straight to DVD. Out of 10 nominations the film took home 8 statues. The little indie that could began as a $14 million project and went on to earn $160 million worldwide and collect an immense amount of awards topping them all off with Best Picture at the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

It looks like Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson was no match for Harvey Milk. Sean Penn pulled the Oscar rug out from underneath Mickey Rourke and now has another statue to put next to his Best Actor win for 2003’s “Mystic River.” Penn even acknowledged his competitor’s superb work in his acceptance speech. For Kate Winslet, the sixth time’s a charm. Winslet finally took home an Oscar for her performance in Weinstein Co.’s Holocaust drama “The Reader.”

Speaking of firsts; in the supporting categories it was Penelope Cruz for “Vicky Christina Barcelona” and a posthumous win for Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker in “The Dark Knight.” Both expected and deserved wins. On the other hand, Japan’s “Departures” shocked the audience after stealing the Best Foreign Language Oscar from the predicted winner “Waltz With Bashir.”

Poor Paramount and Warner Bros. had to settle with winning for just 3 of their 13 nominations for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” To see all of the winners from last night’s ceremony check out the chart below. Don’t forget to head over to the “Oscar Buzz” section of the message boards and tell us what you thought of the biggest night in Hollywood.

OK.....a little disappointed by the opening musical number by Hugh Jackman. Not funny enough......and just not BIG enough to wow at the Oscars. If you don't have a comedian......then the song and dance better be good....not just average.

5 past winners for best supporting actress? Nice touch....but we're going to be here all night!

Tina Fey and Steve Martin are hilarious. Why aren't they hosting???

Glad "Milk" won screenplay. Good speech by Dustin Lance Black.
Happy for Penelope Cruz even though I didn't pick her. 2 for 2 on screenplays though.

Does Hugh Jackman have strangely long arms?

Ben Stiller continues to kill at every Oscar ceremony he appears in. Give him the hosting job! But bad directing! The camera wasn't on him while the audience was laughing at his wandering around the stage!

Seth Rogen has lost so much weight he's barely recognizable. But I love the "Pineapple Express" sketch.

Why are Jackman and Beyonce singing "Grease"!? It's a good production number......but does it make sense at the Oscars? A salute to the musical ......but it seems like a desperate grab for flashy eye candy. I want more movie clips and montages!

OMG!!! Alan Arkin said Philip Seymour Hoffman's name wrong!!! I'm curled up on the sofa in cringing embarrassment. Nervousness or a senior moment?

Chris Walken wins Best Hair.

Nicely handled Heath moment.

Could Philippe Petit be any more French? So glad the academy recognized this great Documentary.

Still don't understand the difference between Sound editing and Sound Mixing. Someone explained it once and it made sense for about 5 seconds. But now I forget.

Why is Seymour Phillip Hoffman wearing that black knit hat? It looks ridiculous. I'm glad Arkin got his name wrong.

So glad they didn't cut the "In memoriam" segment. Queen Latifah is class. Why was Heath Ledger not in the montage? Did I miss him?

Did the previous Oscar winners write their own tributes to the nominees? Shirley Maclaine's to Anne Hathaway was so genuine and heartfelt. I'm liking this more now. But no movie clips.

DeNiro is very funny. Who decided who spoke to whom?

I could happily see any of the five best actor nominees win.....they were all excellent. But I did pick Sean Penn and he's making a fantastic acceptance speech. I doubt Mickey Rourke could have been so funny, politically relevant and gracious!

Yeah for "Slumdog"!!!!!

Every movie fan knows there are always worthy contenders left sitting at home Oscar night, watching on the tube along with the rest of us.

And while I don't agree with those who think "The Dark Knight" should have been in the Best Picture race or that Clint Eastwood deserved a Best Actor nod for "Gran Torino," there are some deserving performances that I think were unfairly overlooked. They include:

Best Actor - Jeffrey Wright for "Cadillac Records."

Best Actress - Kristin Scott Thomas for "I've Loved You So Long" and Sally Hawkins for "Happy-Go-Lucky"

Best Supporting Actress - Beyonce for "Cadillac Records"

Best Supporting Actor - Eamonn Walker "Cadillac records" again (is it becoming clear this is a movie I feel was not given its due by other critics and audiences?).

Best Foreign Language Film - "Gomorrah," from Italy.

Which movies/actors did you think were overlooked?

I'll state right off the bat that this is not going to be about bashing the Academy for somehow overlooking the best movie song of 2008, "The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen. That's been done, and anyone who has seen that film or saw Mickey Rourke's interview with Jeffrey knows the academy blew it.

No, I'd like to take this moment to thank the Academy for turning what should be a straightforward, non-buzzworthy category into the most talked-about of the prelim awards. There's more drama in Best Original Song than in all the four major acting categories combined.

First, there was the debacle over the snub of The Boss' track. Then, the announcement that, in order to try and get the show to clock in at less than four hours (something I'll believe when I see it), the Academy is now having the three nominated songs performed in one abbreviated medley.

BTW, the nominees are:

"Down to Earth", Music & Lyrics by Peter Gabriel (WALL-E)

"Jai Ho", Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulza (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)

"O Saya", Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)

I don't necessarily have a problem with condensing all three songs into one number, especially this year, when none of the songs seeped into the cultural consciousness. After all, if you want to trim an hour or so off the show's running time, you have to make big cuts.

But Peter Gabriel apparently didn't like the whole medley idea, so he backed out of the show. Good for Peter, for standing up for his principles -- although one could argue that he lost the right to be a rocker with standards after writing a song for Pixar animated film.

The two 'Slumdog' songs are the real head-scratchers here. I loved the film, and so did just about everyone I know. But the next person who tells me that the songs in the movie were amazing will be the first. So how did they get nominated?

That's where the Academy creates their own controversy with their bizarre method for choosing the final 5 (or 4 or 3, depending on the year). In January, the list of eligible songs is brought down to 49. Those songs are then played for voters, along with the film clips they appear in, during an Academy gathering.

Want to know how bizarre the process is? Three songs from Paris Hilton's unwatchable "Repo! The Genetic Opera" were up for awards, along with one song from "The Lodger", a film that was dumped in theaters for a one-week run in January before hitting the dvd market! There were nearly a dozen from "High School Musical 3: Senior Year", but I don't really have a problem with that. Cheesy they may be, but they were integral to the film, and - I'm almost ashamed to admit this - pretty damn catchy.

But nothing from the great indie "Mister Foe?" That soundtrack was laden with great alternative numbers, with "Blue Boy" from Orange Juice being my favorite.

One of the biggest crimes was the inexplicable non-nomination for one of the greatest movie tunes of the past 10 years - "Dracula's Lament" from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." Absolutely genius. What I wouldn't have given to see Jason Segel say 'Die. Die. Die. (pause) I can't.' onstage Sunday night.

What is truly bizarre about the category this year is not that there were THAT MANY worthy candidates to choose from. But there were definitely at least five songs worth nominating, yet only three made the final cut.

And in case you think Brit alt-rock or puppet rock opera tunes aren't Oscar worthy, then how about another Disney cartoon song? "I Thought I Lost You" from "Bolt" was a great little pop ditty that perfectly summed up that film. It also featured a rare vocal from John Travolta, alongside Miley Cyrus. Even if you're one of those people who doesn't appreciate 'Twist of Fate' from the underrated "Two of a Kind", shouldn't Oscar voters be savvy enough to recognize a potentially CLASSIC moment waiting to happen? A duet between the biggest 'Tween star on the planet and a universally-beloved actor?

Which brings me back to Bruce. In a year when the Oscar show producers were looking at anything/everything in order to revive ratings, wouldn't a live performance by Springsteen - I envisioned him doing the song at the piano, with maybe Little Steven accompanying him on the acoustic guitar - have been a slam-dunk promo opportunity? I'm not saying they should have tried to force voters to pick the song, but maybe put in big bold letters on the front of the voting ballot, "PSST. FOLKS. OUR RATINGS HIT AN ALL-TIME LOW LAST YEAR, AND WE DON'T HAVE A 'TITANIC' THIS YEAR TO RIDE. SO ANY LITTLE BIT HELPS. PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE SPRINGSTEEN SONG AND MAYBE ONE OF THOSE ANNOYING HSM 3 NUMBERS."

Instead, we're stuck with Peter Gabriel and two Bollywood numbers. Wait, I forgot that Gabriel dropped out. I wonder if they'll pull Josh Groban in as fill-in. Or perhaps the all-time King of soundtrack songs, Kenny Loggins will be recruited.

Either way, while you did get people talking about the category Oscar voters, you missed a golden opportunity to use it to goose the ratings.

Don't forget to tune in to the Reel Talk Academy Award Special tonight! If you live in New York City flip to channel 4 at 7:00pm to get all of the Oscar information you'll need before the big night. For those of you in San Diego the time will be 5:00pm on channel 39 (KNSD) and in Los Angeles channel 4 (KNBC) at 3:30pm on Sunday. Enjoy the show!

I always look forward to covering the annual Toy Fair confab here in NYC . Part of it is because I have yet to outgrow the thrill of seeing really cool action figures. The other is that the show offers up the first true evidence of what could be the summer’s big crowd-pleasers.

Bad news for parents. There are LOTS of cool toys coming down the pike, ready to lighten your wallet. This year’s edition, which wrapped up this week, seems to point to J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” reboot, the Transformers Sequel and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” as having the most blockbuster potential.

Let’s check out the goods franchise by franchise:

STAR TREK -
My personal favorites were the retro Star Trek line of action figures based on the old 1970s Mego dolls. Not only are Mr. Sulu and Khan available for the first time, the line features the old-school cardboard backing art and the same costumes as the original dolls. There is also an exact (and I mean EXACT. Even the packaging is the same) replica of the original Star Trek Bridge playset sold in the early 70s being released by EmCE Toys. And if I wasn’t worried about getting kicked out of my apartment by my exasperated wife, I’d be lining up to buy this one.

Oh, and for the recession-proof members of our audience, there is the replica of Capt. Kirk’s chair, which retails for $2717.01 and is limited to 1,701 pieces. 1701 is the U.S.S. Enterprise’s registry #, BTW.

STAR WARS –

The property that practically invented merchandising keeps on chugging. The coolest things I saw at TF were the first ¼ scale figures in the history of George Lucas’ cash cow. These monstrous dolls have 23 points of articulation (that’s important for toy collectors, trust me), actual phrases and sound FX from the movies, and removable costumes (draw your own conclusions). Vader and son Luke, Mace Windu, young Obi-Wan are all available. But my favorite: Han Solo in his Ice Planet costume from “The Empire Strikes Back.” CLASSIC.

TRANSFORMERS –

Hasbro offered up a slew of Transformers toys. Everything from the expected line of action figures and playsets to die-cast mini-busts of Optimus Prime. With “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” coming out in the summer, companies are also trying to sell clothes, sneakers, even backpacks. My personal favorite Tformer item was the Bumble Bee Mr. Potato Head, Bumble Spud. The Potato Head style has become a popular toy in recent years, with Star Wars and Indiana Jones versions. This one may be the coolest one yet.

G.I. JOE –

To many 30-somethings, the G.I. Joe toy line of the mid 80s represented the best of the best. The action figures were well-designed, came in cool packaging, and had tons of weapons! The new lineup contains figures based on the likeness of the stars of this summer’s live-action film. Looks like they did a good job with Dennis Quaid (show pic here).

Coolest thing from the JOE line? The massive vehicle that opens up and has numerous compartments and places to stash JOE figures. I could see that as the centerpiece to a ginormous action figure free-for-all in the backyard.

We’ll have more Toy Fair coverage this weekend, including a look at a few other 80s icons making comebacks, and a look at the DC Comics toy line, including all the goodies related to “Watchmen.”

A visitor to Hollywood once put it best about the Oscars: "An Academy Award is a coveted annual prize, whose previous winners nobody seems ever to be able to remember...” Robin Williams, who won his Oscar for "Goodwill Hunting" told me in a WNBC interview in 2002, "For the first few weeks, people congratulate you. Then it's: 'Didn't you win an Oscar?' A little later it becomes 'You won something, didn't you?' Finally, it's back to: Mork!'" Mickey Rourke came to our REEL TALK set the other day for our Academy Award special this weekend and revealed that he spotted Christopher Walken's Oscar (for "The Deer Hunter") in the back of Walken's liquor cabinet.

Frances Marion, the first woman screenwriter to win two Oscars ("The Big House" in 1930 and "The Champ" two years later), used them as signposts. At a dinner party in her home a guest asked where the powder room (as bathrooms were called back then) was. "Down the hall to the first Oscar, turn right and when you get to the second Oscar, turn left."

Celeste Holm, currently the oldest living Oscar winner - she'll turn 92 in April - sensed an Oscar-worthy part when she read the script for "The Snake Pit." But producer Anatole Litvak didn't envision her in the role. After many attempts to land it failed, she found herself stuck in an elevator with Litvak and asked again. "But you'd have to cut your hair off for the role," he said, trying a new tactic. Without hesitation, she agreed. He gave her the part. She won the Oscar; but for "Gentlemen’s Agreement."

Jose Ferrer (whose friends, by the way, would always refer to the great actor as: "Joe's Furrier") won his Oscar for "Cyrano de Bergerac" and wrote down 17 names to thank; his family, the director, the writer, his agent, etc. But he just adlibbed his speech instead. That same year, Gloria Swanson expected to win for 'Sunset Boulevard' and had a street level showroom window picked out on Fifth Avenue to display it. When she didn't win, she put up a sign in the window instead: "Congratulations, Judy Holliday.” She explained the difference between her tempestuous roles and her private life by saying: "If I really lived like that, I'd be dead inside of a year." Yul Brynner won the Oscar for Best Actor, and ten minutes after walking out of the Pantages Theater, noticed a nearby movie marquee which had already posted: "Academy Award for Best Actor Yul Brynner in 'The King and I.'" The other day I ran into my neighbor, Sylvia Miles, and helped her hail a cab. I told the cab driver: "Drive carefully. Your passenger got two Oscar nominations ("Farewell, My Lovely," and "Midnight Cowboy") for seven minutes total screen time." "Seven and a HALF," she replied, proudly. Eva Bartok, the old Hungarian actress was never nominated for an Oscar. One year she turned down an invitation to attend the ceremonies. I'm not a masochist," she explained. "It would be like a hungry child looking through a closed window at a great feast."

When Ingrid Bergman received her Oscar for "Anastasia," and flew home to Paris, the customs officials viewed the gold statue simply as an import and demanded duty. Fox, the studio, refused to pay, claiming it was an award for an artistic achievement. It took 23 weeks of negotiation before the French customs officials relented. The owner of the theater in Paris where she was starring in "Tea and Sympathy" wanted to display the Oscar in the lobby because no one in France had ever seen one. "I decided against it," said the actress. "After all, it has nothing to do with the play." Actually, she was in the tub when her son, who spoke no English, brought the radio beside her after hearing her name mentioned from the ceremonies, broadcast on short wave. She heard Cary Grant accepting the prize, saying: "Ingrid, darling, wherever you are, this is for you!" She shouted back: "I'm in the bathtub! The bathtub, Carey!"

Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, a victim of the Hollywood blacklist in the 50’s, was rumored to have won several Oscars under an assumed name. One year he took out an ad in the movie trade papers reading: "Thank you again." He was nominated for writing "Kitty Foyle" in 1940, but after the infamous House Unamerican Activities committee (whose chairman John Parnell Thomas would himself go to prison for perjury!) blacklisted him, he won again for writing the 1953 movie "Roman Holiday" with Gregory Peck and newcomer Audrey Hepburn. But he was "fronted" by Ian McLellan Hunter, who, with Trumbo's permission, falsely gave his own name as the screenwriter. When he won a third time for "The Brave One," the credits listed "Robert Rich" as the screenwriter. Rich was the nephew of the film's producers. Several other men with that common name falsely claimed to have written the screenplay and tried to collect the Oscar. That's why Trumbo later inserted that now-classic scene in "Spartacus" when ex-slave after ex-slave stands and says: "I am Spartacus." Trumbo finally got his Oscar from producer Walter Mirisch shortly before Trumbo's death in 1976. When asked how many times he really won an Academy Award, Trumbo would only say: "More than once and less than four times, because children have grown up believing that their fathers won Oscars, and I'm not going to ruin that."

Humphrey Bogart won his overdue Oscar for "The African Queen,” and raced up the podium, leaving his overcoat at his seat; it was never seen again. The next morning he said; "Yes, life has changed for me. My phone is now jammed with calls from a lot of big headed people telling me not to become big headed about it."

Shelly Winters was nominated for "A Place in the Sun" but she didn't win. The next day she confessed, "I've proceeded, nevertheless, on the assumption that I've won. The alternative is too awful to contemplate. It went to Vivian Leigh for "A Streetcar Named Desire" that year. She needn't have worried, however, for she'd go on to win two Oscars, for "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "A Patch of Blue." The next year, she was to present the Oscar to the Best Supporting Actor, and told her friend and nominee Peter Ustinov: "If you don't win, then I'll say your name, and swallow the paper on which the winner's name is written. Then no one will ever know. " His name was on the paper, however for "Spartacus."

Lawrence Olivier once confessed that except for "Wuthering Heights" and "Hamlet" for which he won Best Actor, he couldn't recall any of the roles for which he won nominations. In 1943, Max Reinhardt was directing Irwin Shaw's "Sons and Soldiers" on Broadway, and cast a tall, handsome unknown actor for the lead. "He'll soon become a big movie star," he predicted. Shaw agreed but said the actor wasn't right for the role. The play flopped. But twenty years later, he won Best Actor for "To Kill a Mockingbird." His name was Gregory Peck.

Anne Bancroft was christened Anna Marie Italiano, and soon after she won Best Actress for "The Miracle Worker,” she phoned her family back in the Bronx. "They told me they were so proud," she beamed, "they're considering changing their names to 'Bancroft' too."

Shirley Jones was nominated for an Oscar only once and won for Best Supporting Actress for playing a prostitute in "Elmer Gantry." But she'd been promoted by the studio for her sweet, wholesome heroine in musicals like "Carousel," "Oklahoma!" and "The Music Man." "I got my Oscar for playing the Girl Next Door role after all, " she said. "Just in a different sort of neighborhood. " Burt Lancaster, who won his Oscar for the title role in that movie, said of the scantily-clad Jones' work in the film: "Never has anyone won something so big for wearing something so small."

I remember being on the set of "The Agony and the Ecstasy" in Rome and met Leon Shamroy, the great cameraman who won four Academy Awards for cinematography. "I don't need another Oscar," he joked. It'd only mean I'd have to take out expensive 'thank you' ads in the trade papers."

Anthony Quinn was nominated for "Zorba, the Greek" in 1965, and noted that his four competitors for Best Actor were British: Peter Sellers for "Dr. Strangelove," Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole for "Beckett" (which Quinn, ironically, had done on Broadway) and Sir Rex Harrison for "My Fair Lady." "I can win," insisted Quinn, who won two supporting Oscars for "Viva Zapata" and "Lust For Life." "Oh, I can win, because the votes are being cast by the Academy and not by Parliament." He lost that year to Harrison's iconic role.

Just remember that nothing is certain with the Oscars. One year, for example, Burt Bachrach Jr. was nominated for the song "Thoroughly Modern Millie". Sammy Cahn was nominated for the lyrics for "The Look of Love." But the silly song "Talk to the Animals," from the huge flop "Dr. Doolittle" won for Best Song. "That's OK,” said Cahn, "It only hurts for five minutes."

Enjoy the Oscars and I hope you catch our pre-Oscar special this weekend.

In Tuesday’s Mixtape I mentioned a partnership between the South by Southwest Film Conference and IFC films that’ll allow you to watch five films being shown at the festival at home. Well, now it’s official because Reel Talk recently received a press release confirming the partnership. IFC Film and SXSW will bring you “Alexander the Last,” “Zift,” “Three Blind Mice,” “Medicine for Melancholy” and “Paper Covers Rock” through the IFC Festival Direct program. You’ll have access to the films on-demand for 90 days in a special “SXSW” section within most cable company’s on-demand section. Here’s a quick breakdown of when these films will be available. Continue after the jump for a look at the press release.

PRESS RELEASE

Dear Colleague,

We are writing to let you know about an unprecedented new partnership between one of the leading independent film distributors and one of America's most vibrant and exciting film festivals.

This March, IFC Films and Austin's South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival are creating the first-ever nationwide on-demand film festival experience, giving film lovers coast-to-coast the opportunity to experience a major film festival as it happens right from their own living room. As part of this initiative, a select group of five exceptional films screening at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival will simultaneously be available in 30 million homes - and virtually all major U.S. markets - nationwide on-demand through the IFC Festival Direct program. All five directors will be attending the 2009 Festival and will be available for interviews prior to the start or on-the-ground in Austin.

WORLD PREMIERE
On March 14, IFC Films and SXSW will present the festival and on-demand world premiere of ALEXANDER THE LAST from the groundbreaking indie director and SXSW favorite Joe Swanberg. Produced by Swanberg and Academy Award® nominee Noah Baumbach (THE SQUID AND THE WHALE) and Anish Savjani (WENDY AND LUCY), the film stars Jess Wexler (TEETH), Justin Rice (MUTUAL APPRECIATION and from the acclaimed alternative rock group BISHOP ALLEN), Barlow Jacobs, Amy Seimetz, Josh Hamilton and Jane Adams in a sexy ensemble drama about a married actress, her sister and their myriad sexual and creative temptations. This marks the third time IFC Films and Swanberg have partnered together, following the successful releases of NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS and HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS, and the fourth film Swanberg has premiered at SXSW.

SXSW PREMIERES
Additional films in the IFC Films-SXSW partnership include the Javor Gardev's striking neo-noir ZIFT, Bulgaria's official 2009 Oscar entry; and the U.S. Premiere of Matthew Newton's THREE BLIND MICE, a dark comedy about three Australian naval officers who spend a testosterone-packed night on the town before returning to Iraq. ZIFT premiered in 2008 at the Toronto Film Festival where it was hailed by Variety critic Eddie Cockrell as "a genre thrill ride and an instant midnight fest fave." THREE BLIND MICE also premiered at Toronto last year. The film stars Matthew Newton, a household name in Australia, who currently stars in the hit Australian TV crime drama Underbelly. Megan Lehmann from the Hollywood Reporter called THREE BLIND MICE "a smart and sophisticated freewheeling romp with a dark heart."

ENCORE SCREENINGS
Also included as part of the partnership are two celebrated films from the 2008 SXSW Festival which will have encore screenings at this year's festival: Barry Jenkins' Independent Spirit and Gotham award-nominated MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY; and Joe Maggio's poignant drama PAPER COVERS ROCK. MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY, a love story told through two African-American twenty somethings in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco, was recently released theatrically at the IFC Center in New York City to an impressive screen average of more than $14,000. The film stars Wyatt Cenac, a writer and fake news correspondent on The Daily Show. In his New York Times review, A.O Scott called MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY "an exciting debut, and a film that, without exaggeration or false modesty, finds interest and feeling in the world just as it is." PAPER COVERS ROCK, a gripping drama about a troubled young woman struggling to regain custody of her daughter, is acclaimed filmmaker Joe Maggio's follow up to VIRGIL BLISS and MILK AND HONEY. The film was made in 10 days for $7000, and is the first installment of a ten-film series inspired by Krystof Kieszlowski’s DECALOGUE.

All of the films included in the IFC Films-SXSW partnership will be available nationwide on-demand for 90 days on most major cable systems in more than 30 million households. Concurrent with the start of SXSW, these films will be found in a special "SXSW" branded section within most cable company's on-demand platforms. The special "SXSW" branded section will launch on March 11th.

The Oscars are officially just a week away! You’re all probably busy planning your Academy Awards parties, setting up your Oscar pool and perhaps baking Best Actor cookies. Well, every party needs a pre-party. Why not make your Oscar pre-party the Reel Talk Oscar Special? If you live in New York City you can get all of your guests pumped for the big night by tuning into NBC at 7:00pm Saturday the 21st. Check out the times for all other areas below.

Los Angeles: KNBC-TV 4 - Sunday the 22nd, 3:30pm
Philadelphia: WCAU-TV 10 - Saturday the 21st, 1:30pm
San Diego: KNSD 39 - Saturday the 21st, 5:00pm

Check out the new “Oscar Buzz” forum on our message boards. Let everyone know who you’re keeping your fingers crossed for, who you think should have been nominated and wasn’t or anything else Academy Award-related you need to let out. Just click on the “Message Boards” tab and select “Oscar Buzz” at the bottom of the “Movies” section. Don’t forget to register so you can post your comments.

Hah! Bet you expected yet another barely-clever twist on the title to Warner Bros.' romantic comedy "He's Just Not That Into You" to top this article. It seems EVERY single article written about the movie and its subsequent box-office success has done that. We'll spare you the painfully forced quips and just give you the numbers.

'Into You' rang up $27.7 million in ticket sales this past weekend. Considering the movie had mostly negative reviews, it looks like audiences were dying to see a Rom-Com - good or bad. In second place was the surprise action hit "Taken," with $20.5M. The film only lost 18% of its audience from its debut weekend, which indicates tremendously positive word of mouth.

Third place was another surprise performer, the 3-D stop-motion animation tale "Coraline." No doubt helped by the higher-priced tickets at the theaters showing the movie in digital 3D, Henry Selick's take on the Neil Gaiman novel took in a surprisingly robust $16.8M. As a Gaiman fan, I'm personally pleased to see this adventurous interpretation of his story find an audience.

Not even the preening goofball shtick of Steve Martin could lift "The Pink Panther 2" higher than fourth place. The sequel earned $11.5 million.

Fifth place went to the year's first true blockbuster, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." Kevin James is just $2M shy of his first $100 million starring vehicle after another $10.8M haul.

In other box-office news, "Push" debuted to a mediocre $10M. Still it was a good weekend for Dakota Fanning. She's one of the stars here and the lead voice in "Coraline."

Oh, and Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" is now up to $120 million. Who needs another Oscar nomination anyway?

To those who say Hollywood is running low on action heroes who can draw an audience, I think Liam Neeson would like a word with you. His Luc Besson-produced kidnap/vengeance/buttkicking thriller "Taken" scored a big $24.6 million debut, earning the top spot at the weekend box office. Considering he's best known for more serious work such as "Schindler's List" and "Kinsey", Neeson's take as a kind-of cinematic Jack Bauer is rather surprising.

Sure, he's done action work before in "Batman Begins" and in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, but this is his first true 'ACTION MOVIE.' And he delivered the goods. I bet studios start reaching out to his agent with other high-octane scripts. I would also wager Mr. Neeson's asking price has gone up as a result of "Taken's" success.

As for the rest of the Top 5:

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" continues its push toward the $100 million mark with another $14M weekend. It's now at $83.3M and in its third week, actually added 62 screens. Rather unusual for a wide-release comedy already out for three weeks. Kevin James' everyman appeal can't be underestimated. People like this guy, alot. It's why his sitcom "The King of Queens" lasted for 9 years, despite getting mostly ignored by critics.

In third place, the PG-13 horror pic "The Uninvited" with $10.5M. As with most of Hollywood's recent scary movies, this one's based on an Asian movie. I find it hard to believe the studios can't find original horror scripts out there. The diminishing returns for recycled screamfests like this should encourage producers to start uncovering the next Clive Barker.

"Hotel for Dogs" continues to paw its way into audience's hearts. An $8.7M weekend puts its total at $48.2M. The success of this film along with "Marley & Me" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" guarantees at least a half-dozen more films in the near future that load up on cute canines. People love dogs onscreen. No way around it.

Bringing up the rear at No. 5 is the unstoppable Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino." It took in $8.6M and now has earned an astounding $110 million! While much was made of the fact that this may be his last acting role (something he disputed during an interview on Reel Talk), I think the success of "Gran Torino" proves to anyone who actually had doubts that Clint can still deliver the goods, in terms of quality and box-office success.

FYI, the two Oscar frontrunners, "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", continue to add to their impressive totals. The low-budget "Slumdog" now stands at $67 million and "Button" is up to $116 million.

So our nearly week long visit to Park City has wrapped up. Besides seeing a pack of films here, I also had a number of celebrity sightings, which is the most popular spectator sport around here.

We've talked to Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Mike Tyson, Robin Williams, Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan on red carpets. We've also sat down with Gael Garcia Bernal, Brittany Snow, Jason Ritter, Patton Oswalt and Dominic Monaghan. Oh and we had a lovely chat with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, the stars of the festival's breakout hit, "500 Days of Summer."

We've also spotted Ewan McGregor, Demi Moore, Mo'nique, Elizabeth Reaser, Michelle Trachtenberg, Cuba Gooding Jr. (at the local pharmacy)........and my fave.....Jesse the snowboarder from last season's "The Bachelor"!!!!

Kristen Stewart was looking artfully dishevelled at the "Big Fan" party last night along with Bill Hader. Wesley Snipes was dancing like a fool at the "Brooklyn's Finest" afterparty at The Greenhouse, wearing a fanny pack! And Louis Lombardi was sweaty but adorable at the Fred Segal Fun suite.

But my favourite sight was an overweight paparazzo puffing up Main street and eventually giving up on chasing a perky Denise Richards. "The altitude got to me," he wheezed.

This year's Sundance Film Festival is a mixed bag of new and familiar. On the one hand, Park City is as beautiful as ever......even though a lack of snow and balmy temps seems strangely incongruous. And with the inauguration tomorrow, it feels a bit empty of the usual throngs of pedestrians and eco-destroying SUVs. But on the other hand......the typical crowds of filmmakers and film fans are still out in force at the late-night parties along Main Street.

The ubiquitous "film geek" look of unshaven faces topped with thick black nerd-glasses is prevalent to the point of comedy. It's like walking around the set of "Attack of the Indy Film Clones".

As far as the movies go, I've had surprising good luck with the ones I've seen. This year's feel-good breakout comedy is sure to be "500 Days of Summer"........a very fresh and original take on the rom-com genre. Joseph Gordon-Levitt puts himself on the map as a romantic lead. He's totally winning as a young man in love with Zooey Deschanel's commitment-phobic character. Director Marc Webb uses split-screens, a fractured timeline and even a dance number to maximize the humor and wit of the screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber. We'll have much more on this one on REEL TALK.

Another highlight was "When You're Strange," The Tom DiCillo doc about The Doors. Dicillo weaves a voiceover narration with incredible archival footage. I learned some new facts about Jim Morrison and reveled in the killer music. Seeing them perform "Touch Me" on the The Smothers Brothers TV show was incredible. What's more, Mike (our intrepid producer) and I sat just a few seats away from Sting and Trudie Styler, who seemed to be loving it too. Interviewing original Doors drummer John Densmore the next day also left me beaming like a groupie.

Also caught a Paul Giamatti film called "Cold Souls".......which plays like a Charlie Kaufman script with less zaniness. I liked it a lot and we're off to talk to Paul in a few minutes. He plays a version of himself....a tortured NY actor who decides to have his soul extracted in an untested new procedure. We'll be heading back to NYC EARLY Wed. morning. Watch for more recaps of our Park City escapades in the coming days here and on RT.

Well, three of the nationally-televised awards shows are history...The Broadcast Critics' Awards, The People's Choice and the Golden Globes. Three films in particular seem to have fallen through the cracks during awards season: "Valkyrie", "Defiance" and "The Visitor." All deserve higher praise than they have received.

Luckily, "Defiance" is just getting a wide 2009 release. the true story of a trio of Polish Jewish brothers who fled into the woods in Bellarusse in 1941 to escape the invading Germans. It stars Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell, and tells us the fates of these brave brothers and shows that not all the Jews of Europe went to their terrible fates without resistance. Their enemies were the Germans, anti-Semitic Poles who collaborated with the Nazis, and the harsh Polish winter. It's a remarkable story and it's amazing it hasn't been told before.

"Valkyrie" is another WWII-set film but much more heavily promoted, since it stars Tom Cruise as Col. Klaus von Staffenberg. He realized by 1943 that the war was lost, and Hitler needed to be eliminated. It is a superb drama, bringing to a new generation an incident in history unknown by too many today. While it has had a respectable run at the box office, perhaps its chances for awards recognition have been hurt, rather than helped, by Cruise's mega-star status and the negative publicity he's endured the past few years.

"The Visitor," a small indie released last spring, deals with a lonely Yale Professor who comes to his small Manhattan apartment to spend the night before giving a speech, only to find an illegal alien couple settled in there. An unique bond ensues. Richard Jenkins, a career character actor in countless films and tv shows, gives the performance of his life in the lead role. The message of "the Visitor" is that things are seldom what they seem. The film - and Jenkins' work - are not to be missed. Hopefully, he will get recognition from the Academy. Regardless, these superb films which didn't quite make the cut on the awards shows, deserve your attention.

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet your Oscar frontrunner: "Slumdog Millionaire"!

Danny Boyle's exhilarating film, which has become that rare critical and commercial sleeper hit, took home four Globes Sunday night, including Best Motion Picture Drama in an upset win over "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Revolutionary Road." Hit the clip to see the acceptance speech:

Boyle also won Best Director honors. 'Slumdog's' big night seems to place the movie in the driver's seat leading up to next month's Academy Awards. Oscar noms are announced next week, and with the film still doing brisk box-office and picking up award after award, momentum appears to be on its side.

The same could also be said for Kate Winslet. The actress won twice Sunday night, Supporting Actress for "The Reader" (she's really the lead, but a win's a win) and Best Actress in a drama for "Revolutionary Road." Winslet, a multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominee in her career only to come up short each time, seemed genuinely overwhelmed with her dual win. Here's her second acceptance speech, which was one of the more memorable moments of the night:

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet your Oscar frontrunner: "Slumdog Millionaire"!

Danny Boyle's exhilarating film, which has become that rare critical and commercial sleeper hit, took home four Globes Sunday night, including Best Motion Picture Drama in an upset win over "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Revolutionary Road." Hit the clip to see the acceptance speech:

Boyle also won Best Director honors. 'Slumdog's' big night seems to place the movie in the driver's seat leading up to next month's Academy Awards. Oscar noms are announced next week, and with the film still doing brisk box-office and picking up award after award, momentum appears to be on its side.

The same could also be said for Kate Winslet. The actress won twice Sunday night, Supporting Actress for "The Reader" (she's really the lead, but a win's a win) and Best Actress in a drama for "Revolutionary Road." Winslet, a multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominee in her career only to come up short each time, seemed genuinely overwhelmed with her dual win. Here's her second acceptance speech, which was one of the more memorable moments of the night:

I'm hoping the Golden Globe nomination of "The Reader" for Best Motion Picture Drama might give it a boost for a Best Picture Oscar nod. It seems to be a long shot right now but I'm hoping it's not too late. I also can't understand how "Tropic Thunder" was overlooked in the Musical/Comedy slot. Unfortunately the mass market appeal of "Mamma Mia!" might clinch this category. I just got back from England and it seemed everyone had the dvd in their stocking this year. Who says the Brits are high-brow?

Could Brad and Angie be double winners? Everyone knows about the Hollywood Foreign Press's love affair with high profile celebs and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see them win. They were both strong in films that I found to be less than superb. But star wattage counts a lot at the Golden Globes. I'd rather see Anne Hathaway and Frank Langella win.

I'm so happy to see "Happy-go-Lucky" get some love. Mike Leigh is a fantastic director and Sally Hawkins should get her due. But what about Eddie Marsan as her irate driving instructor? More worthy than Ralph Fiennes in "The Duchess", I believe.

Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. are competing against one another and I'd be happy to see either win although I think Heath Ledger will win posthumously. The biggest question is who will accept on his behalf.

Let's also hope Danny Boyle gets recognised for directing "Slumdog Millionaire" and I'd give the Screenplay award to David Hare for "The Reader".

As for the TV categories....I'm hoping "Mad Men" will win in all its nominated categories. And let's give someone else besides Jeremy Piven a look in for Best Supporting Actor in a TV series. After all.....has he really done anything new with that role lately?

In case you hadn't notice, there's an actors' strike in the wind. It isn't imminent, but the threat is there. And since this is the screen actors' guild, nothing's as simple as it appears. The moderate wing of the union doesn't want a strike and wants to replace the negotiating committee, hoping to move the talks with the studio past the current stalemate. Union leaders will hold emergency talks with the national board next week to present a united front before a postponed strike vote is finally called.

You can read the latest statement from SAG here.

The two contesting factions are called Membership First..pro strike vote, apparently...and the other is Unite For Strength, the more moderate wing.

There are 120,000 SAG members, the overwhelming majority of whom aren't rich and famous stars. Most hardly make a living from acting, since you probably can't name what? maybe 500, or a thousand of them. Many of the disputed issues to be resolved include New Media revenue distribution, dvd residuals, relationship with the TV union AFTRA., etc. Of course being actors, maybe they could rehearse a strike vote before calling for one. After last year's damaging walkout by the WGA, the last thing the movie & tv business needs is another work stoppage.

"Marley & Me" is now a bone-afied (sorry, couldn't resist) hit. The Jennifer Aniston/Owen Wilson family film stayed #1 for a second consecutive weekend, earning more than $24 million to run its 2-week total to $106M. Runner-up was Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories." The kid-friendly fantasy earned $20.3M ($85M total).

Hollywood had a solid post-Christmas weekend, with a slew of strong sophomore weekend performers. In fact, not one film in the Top 10 lost more than 37% of its audience, a strong indicator that these movies could be steady earners. As for the rest of the Top Five?

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" took in $18.4M in its second outing. The Brad Pitt film's $79M total so far not only bodes well for its Oscar chances, it also offers further proof that a 167-minute movie can be just as big a hit as a 100-minute kid flick -- as long as it's good.

In fourth place, Tom Cruise's "Valkyrie" with $14M ($60M total). Rounding out the Top Five is Jim Carrey's "Yes Man," which despite tepid reviews is doing sturdy business. Another $13.8M this past weekend puts the movie at $79.4M, meaning Carrey has a good shot at another $100M effort.

A few limited release films are providing stellar returns. Danny Boyle's Oscar-touted "Slumdog Millionaire" actually grew its audience on 2 fewer screens than last weekend (down to 612) to take in $4.7M. Its take stands at $28M, and watch that figure grow as the awards and word-of-mouth on this great pic pile on during the next month or so.

And who says seniors can't be box office superstars? 78-year-old Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" earned $2.8M on just 84 screens for an obscene $33,571 per-screen average. "Gran Torino", shot and edited over a few months last year while Eastwood was in postproduction on "Changeling" is primed to be a breakout hit when it goes into wide release next week. Eastwood's appeal as a leading man shows no signs of weakening, and if he scores an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, this could do "Bucket List" type $$.

Oh, and "Revolutionary Road" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet earned $979,000 on just 38 screens, proving their appeal is also as strong as ever.

A rambunctious lab retriever was Top Dog at the movies this holiday weekend. "Marley & Me" earned $50.7 million over the 5-day Christmas weekend, including a record for a Christmas Day debut, $14.7M.

Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson may have had top billing on the poster, but there's little doubt the cute dog in all the posters and commercials for the movie, were the big draws for audiences. If there's one thing I know, it's that people love dog films. And this one was a winner.

I don't usually call out Alison & Jeffrey for their choices, but as their producer AND the proud parent of two cute dogs, I have to say they were dead wrong in their review of "Marley & Me."

More on that in a bit. First, the rest of the Top 5.

Brad Pitt's Oscar-touted "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"did stellar biz, earning $38.7 million in its first five days. Stellar reviews and presumably, good word-of-mouth, negated the 2 hour, 47 minute length that limited the number of showings per day. It just edged out Adam Sandler's family flick "Bedtime Stories" - at 99 minutes, nearly half the TRT of 'Button' - which landed in third place with $38M.

Fourth place went to Tom Cruise's comeback vehicle "Valkyrie." The WWII 'Kill Hitler' conspiracy by Bryan Singer took in $29.5M. This movie is a perfect example why early buzz about a movie can be so misleading. All the drama surrounding this picture, from delays in shooting to release date changes to Cruise's 'will he or won't he speak German' hoopla, led some to call this a disaster waiting to happen. Don't let that stuff keep you from seeing a razor-sharp thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire two hours.

Jim Carrey's "Yes Man" brought up the rear of the Top 5 with a $16.6M weekend to boost its total to $49M. Not bad, but not the mega-returns we're used to seeing from a Carrey comedy. Could be his shtick is wearing thin with audiences.

Other notable news: "The Spirit" from comic book legend Frank Miller in his solo directing debut, flopped with a mediocre $10.3M debut. It's the second straight comic book adaptation to flop, following "Punisher: War Zone." Both were distributed by Lionsgate, fyi. Fanboys can now point to March for the next comic book movie, "Watchmen" -- as long as Warner Bros. and Fox can work out their legal issues.

Now back to "Marley & Me." I thought it did a wonderful job capturing the unique bond between a guy and his dog. Is the ending a bit too much for young kids? Yes, it is. But it's also crystallizes how important a dog is to a family. If you don't have dogs, then it may be tough for you to understand, but dog people treat their pooches not as pets, but as part of the family. And 'Marley' nailed that. Of course, it helps to have great source material like John Grogan's book. But my point is, 'Marley & Me' isn't just a silly dog film relying on the cuteness of the title pup to entertain. Go see it. Just don't forget the tissues!

Talk about an early Christmas present! Wednesday a federal judge in LA ruled that 20th Century Fox does have a copyright interest in the "Watchmen" movie made by Warner Bros. This sets the stage for either a big-money payout by Warners to settle, or potentially delaying the March 6 release of the much-anticipated film. Read more of the backstory of this case here.

The case stems from the fact that "Watchmen" has a long, complicated history in tinseltown. Adaptations of the classic comic book series have been started and scuttled about a half-dozen times over the past 20 years, with rights to the project exchanging hands numerous times. Considering director Zack Snyder's just about finished editing the film, fanboys will be apoplectic if the movie is delayed due to a legal fight. Meantime, check out the latest trailer of "Watchmen." It may be all we have to watch if this case drags on much longer.

And, check out the entire interview with Kate Beckinsale right here!

Seth Rogen is making a porno, and Kevin Smith is no where to be found? Yes, it looks like that's the case. Showtime has recently given the green light for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg the greenlight, to go ahead and screen write a series about a trio of twenty-somethings learning about love and life while working in a Porno shop.

"Meet the Fockers" one more time! It looks like Ben Stiller and the other Fockers are thinking about a third sequel to their "Meet the Parents" comedy.

"Goonies" star Kerri Green making a comeback in "Complacent."

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has come out with a new trailer! You can check it out here.

Victoria's Secret's fashion show was taped this past weekend! See which celebs decided to make an appearance to the lingerie glamor show.

Speaking of new trailers, check out the NEW trailer for "Watchmen."

From the director of "An Inconvenient Truth" Davis Guggenheim has gotten together with Sony Picture Classics to bring to life, his electric guitar documentary "It Might Get Loud."

The Jim Henson Co. is creating an adaption to the story about the boy whose nose got bigger with every lie he told...Pinocchio! Guillermo Del Toro is on board to executive produce and has plans to turn the Disney adaptation upside down, by adding a grim theme to it.

Will Smith is coming out in the new movie "Seven Pounds" on December 12th, which is about doing good for 7 strangers he encounters. So, him and his co-star Rosario Dawson were in Miami recently to donate 300 turkeys to families for Thanksgiving, in a charity premiere for their new flick.

Is anyone surprised that “Quantum of Solace” was the top earner at the box office? Sure, maybe the whopping $70.4 million debut caught people off guard (it beat the previous best Bond opening, 2006’s “Casino Royale”, by nearly $30 mil) but the 007 franchise has certainly regained the ‘must-see’ status Bond movies held through most of the 70s/early 80s, and regained somewhat during the Pierce Brosnan era. It’s amazing really, when you consider Bond as movie franchise is nearly 50 years old! Everyone seemed to be talking about going to see “Quantum” and it seems like nearly everyone did, ignoring mostly mixed reviews.

“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” earned a sturdy $36M ($118M total), just a 42% decline from its opening weekend, although those figures were inflated by the Veterans Day weekend. In third place is one of the big surpises of the fall, “Role Models.” The Paul Rudd/Seann William Scott R-rated comedy took in $11.7M ($38.1M total), losing only 38% of its debut attendees. Along with the success of Kevin Smith’s recent “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, “Role Models” proves that Judd Apatow doesn’t have the patent on raunchy comedy success.

“High School Musical 3: Senior Year came in fourth and now has earned $84.3M, while Clint Eastwood’s Angelina Jolie showcase “Changeling” earned $4.2M for a $27.6M total. Not bad for a period drama about a depressing subject matter.

**INDIE ALERT**

One of the first true Oscar contenders debuted this past weekend in limited release, and “Slumdog Millionaire” did stellar business. Danny Boyle’s widely acclaimed movie earned $350,000 on just 10 screens, a whopping $35,000 per-screen average. We’re interviewing the two young stars of the film on this week’s episode of RT. You can check out Jeffrey & Alison’s review of “Slumdog” here.

By: Jamie DeLoma, NBCNEWYORK.com News Editor
The spirit of Michael Myers returned to the fictional streets of Haddonfield, Ill. three decades to the day of the infamous babysitter murders that gave birth to the highly successful horror movie franchise, "Halloween." Only this time nearly a thousand people from around the world stalked him.

Actors and crew members from the iconic original slasher flick "Halloween" – and its eight sequels – came together for the Terror Convention over this past Halloween weekend (Friday, October 31st to Sunday, November 2nd.) Each of them shared their reflections of the film's impact on society, cinema and their lives. While also sharing their production memories and answering audience questions in Pasadena, Calif. where many of the movies were filmed.

Danielle Harris, of "Halloween 4," "Halloween 5" and Rob Zombie's "Halloween" remake; and Nancy Loomis and P.J. Soles of John Carpenter's original "Halloween," were among the most popular personalities. However, Jamie Lee Curtis, who played Laurie Strode in the original "Halloween," and directors Carpenter and Zombie were unfortunately not present.

In addition to signing autographs and taking photographs with fans, for $20 per celebrity, the movie stars helped volunteers give six-hour bus tours of many of the buildings used in the movies – including the homes and schools used in the original and remake versions of "Halloween."

After being behind the camera for "Changeling" Clint Eastwood is back in front of it, in his new movie "Gran Torino." Check out the trailer for the new flick Eastwood, directs and stars in.

Moe, Larry, Curly... welcome to the millennium! Looks like Peter and Bobby Farrelly have gotten the okay with MGM to direct 'The Three Stooges.' MGM has already set a release date for November 20, 2009.

Charlize Theron is in talks to star alongside Tom Cruise in "The Tourist."

Get a free copy of "Twlight" song "Bella's Lullaby" from iTunes! Fine out more here!

The pilot for "Manchild" starring Kevin Smith, James Purefoy, John Colbett and Paul Hibb will be airing on Showtime Wednesday at 4:15 AM. The show (which is suppose to be a forty-something male version of 'Sex and the City') was not picked up by any network, so check out the pilot and see why or why not this wasn't brought on air.

Bruce Springsteen wrote a new song for his fellow New Jersey natives. It's called "A Night with the Jersey Devil." Check it out here!

Also, Dustin Hoffman is coming out in a new movie! Check out the trailer for his new movie "Last Chance Harvey" coming to theaters December 26th.

There was a W leading the way at the box office this weekend, only it was Mark Wahlberg who took top honors. "Max Payne" overcame mostly bad reviews (except from Jeffrey & Alison) to score an $18 million debut haul. Second place went to the dogs again, as "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" took in $11.2M ($69M total) and set its sights on a possible $100 million take. Third place went to "The Secret Life of Bees", the ensemble drama starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys. It earned a strong $11M, and had the largest per-screen average in the Top 10 ($6,945).

Oliver Stone's "W." finished in fourth but considering it earned $10.5M and it only cost $25 million to make, studio Lionsgate should be thrilled.

Considering how political films usually do weak business, everyone involved is probably very happy with this debut. I'm wondering if the mixed reviews will hurt any chances for an Oscar push for Josh Brolin. He's received high marks from most critics (including Lyons & Bailes) and helped his cause by hosting the highest-rated SNL in 14 years this past weekend.

Fifth place at the box office went to "Eagle Eye" with $7.3M ($81.3M total). Shia LaBeouf is truly MONEY at the movies.

Another debut, Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened", took in $216,000 on just 36 screens. If you're one of the many fans out there wondering what happened to Robert De Niro's career, go see this movie for proof that while his taste in scripts may not be what it used to be, his acting chops are as sharp as ever. Great industry satire.

Oh, "The Dark Knight" is now up to $990 MILLION in worldwide box office. Truly amazing numbers, but you want a $ figure that will really make your jaw drop?

"Mamma Mia!'s" total earnings now stand at an astounding $520 million!! Considering it only cost $52 million, the musical is turning into one of the most profitable movies in years (the studio behind it is Universal, which like RT, is part of NBC Universal).

Finally, 20th Century Fox had a nice 1-3 punch with 'Max' (a 20th release) and 'Bees' (from sister label Fox Searchlight) after a weak summer for the studio. How well the films hold up in upcoming weeks will be interesting to see. "Max Payne" needs to earn at least $50-$60 million to be quote-unquote a successful film (and I imagine they have thoughts of a sequel if it does well enough).

"Bees" could be a Fall surprise given its decent reviews and a diverse cast with mainstream appeal.

The race for the Academy Awards has a crowded field this year, with roughly two dozen films vying for nominations and maybe, just maybe, a golden dude. But two possible contenders have apparently dropped out before the contest has really begun. Entertainment Weekly editor-at-large (and friend of Reel Talk) Dave Karger reports in his Oscar Watch blog that "The Road" and "The Soloist" have been bumped until 2009.

Reasons for the moves are still unclear, but "The Road", which stars Viggo Mortensen and is based on the Cormac Mcarthy novel, apparently was shifted by The Weinstein Company because Weinstein wants to focus its Oscar campaigning on "The Reader" (a film with behind-the-scenes drama of its own, as producer Scott Rudin reportedly took his name off the film after disagreements with studio chief Harvey Weinstein).

The reasons for moving "The Soloist" may have to do with a simple numbers crunch.

Basically, Paramount Pictures decided it had too many films being released this year and as part of a new company strategy to release just 20 movies per year, chose the Robert Downey Jr./Jamie Foxx drama to be bumped to March of '09.

Studio sources insist the move was strictly about corporate economics, saying a smaller slate of movies will greatly reduce marketing costs, and had nothing to do with the quality of the movie.

Of course, Downey Jr. shouldn't be too bummed. Paramount is apparently readying a big Oscar push for his hilarious supporting turn in "Tropic Thunder."

Can greed still be good in these economically recessive times? Word is Michael Douglas could be ready to reprise his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko in the sequel to 1987's "Wall Street".

Last week we told you that plans for a "Lethal Weapon 5" were on the fast track. Now we're hearing that the film could be shelved for good.

Very exciting news! An 80s Sci-Fi TV classic is getting revamped for the 21st century. Read about it here!

Where or where has Jamie Fox been? Well, we found him! Jamie Foxx has been in the process of finishing up final negotiations to star opposite Gerard Butler in the new flick, "Law Abiding Citizen," a psychological thriller directed by Frank Darabont. A definite gotta-see!

Attention all you Netflix lovers! Starting in November, Netflix will begin charging all members an extra $1 per month to provide unlimited access to Blu-Ray movies. The extra buck a month is due to the increase of Blu-Ray disc prices. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix should be sending all subscribers an e-mail explaining all the details sometime soon so look out for it!

No Country for Jonah Hex? Slashfilm.com is reporting that "No Country For Old Men" star Josh Brolin - about to hit theaters as President George W. Bush in "W." -- is signed up to star in the motion picture adaptation of the DC's 1970s Western comic, Jonah Hex. Check out Jeffrey's interview with Josh here.

Ryan Gosling, the Green Lantern? According to Slashfilm.com, Warner Bros. wants Gosling ("Lars and The Real Girl") as the lead role in the new Green Lantern film. Production could start as soon as spring 2009.

In case you didn't know, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is out on DVD today! Check out the cool retail exclusives sold in Best Buy, Target, K-Mart, Sears and TransWorld stores.

Six Flags attempted to scare us with a "Joker" themed roller coaster and, FAILED! So, now the UK's Thorpe Park is attempting to open up a "Saw" themed roller coaster ride.

Jean-Claude Van Damme is back baby! And, this time he is writing, directing and starring in his new project "Full Love."

Claudia Wavra of Germany and Sri Lankan Suresh Joachim have entered the Guinness World Book of Records after completing 120 hours and 23 minutes of non-stop movie watching!

The competition started on Thursday October 2nd and continued until Tuesday afternoon. Starting with 8 competitors, the group of 8 dwindled down to the final 2. Each of these winners will receive a lifetime membership to Netflix, The Popcorn Trophy Bowl and... $10,000 cash. (After staying up for 5 days straight, there better some money tied into it!) Congratulations to these 2 exhausted lucky winners!

Tyler Perry's incredible rise from homeless playwright to immense fame and fortune is one of the great Hollywood success stories. A true self-made mogul, he financed his first film "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" (with Lionsgate's help) and scored a surprise hit that has since led to his production company, The Tyler Perry Company, becoming one of the biggest independent production companies in the world.

This weekend saw the groundbreaking on the company's new facilities in Atlanta, with stars like Oprah, Mary J. Blige and Will Smith attending the big party. What you may not have seen (since most news outlets didn't cover it) were the protesters picketing outside. It could be the first major blemish on Perry's rapid rise to the top of the industry food chain.

You see, the Writers Guild of America is accusing Perry of firing four writers from his popular cable tv show "House of Payne" because they tried to unionize. The WGA has even filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. You can read more about it here.

If you live in the New York area or are planning a visit in the next few months, do yourself a favor and check out the latest version of "Equus." I saw it Friday night and left the theater convinced that Daniel Radcliffe's career will be just fine post-Harry Potter.

This is not a show for the timid. It's disturbing and unsettling at times, and I'm not even talking about the scene where young Daniel drops trousers onstage. That's tastefully done. But I'm sure many younger Harry Potter fans who attend the show without knowing much about the show will be caught off-guard by a scene where Radcliffe has an orgasmic gallop on horseback.

As the troubled young man Alan, Radcliffe is brimming with anger, rage and sexual confusion. He works very well with Richard Griffiths, who plays the psychiatrist trying to get to the root of Alan's problems.

That they work so well together shouldn't come as a surprise, since the two not only appeared in the London version of the show but also in the Potter movies.

Powerful enough during many scenes to make you squirm in your seat, "Equus" is one of those plays where actors can earn their stripes as 'serious' thespians. Radcliffe's got his now.

I can't wait to see what he does next. After he wraps up the Potter franchise, of course. After all, you have to pay the bills.

Samuel L. Jackson's strategy for box office success is simple: If you appear in a half-dozen movies a year, you're bound to have a few stinkers along with some hits.

His latest, the bad-neighbor thriller "Lakeview Terrace," falls in the latter category. "Terrace" overcame middling reviews to score a solid $15.6 million debut to be Numero Uno at the weekend box office.

Audiences like seeing Jackson playing the bad guy. This movie is his second consecutive #1 opener where Sam is the heavy (he was chasing fellow Jedi Hayden Christensen in February's "Jumper"). And in 2007's surprise hit "1408" he played the creepy hotel manager. Jackson's career box office total - including ALL his roles, big and small - is now well past $3 billion.

As for the rest of the Top Five, "Burn After Reading" had an impressive sophomore weekend with $11.295M ($36.4M total). Clooney + Pitt + Coen Brothers warped comedy = Big Hit.

"My Best Friend's Girl" flopped with an $8.3M debut. That low figure as well as the fact the film wasn't screened for critics make this Kate Hudson's biggest career misfire since "The Four Feathers."

The animated mad-scientist spoof "Igor" surprised with an $8M opening, while the De Niro/Pacino cop teamup "Righteous Kill" did $7.7M in business for fifth place ($28.8M total), just edging out "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys", which earned $7.5M ($28.3M total).

A couple of limited releases had impressive debuts. Ed Harris' Western "Appaloosa" earned $258,000 on just 14 theaters. Look for it to open nationwide in a few weeks, and GO SEE IT. It's an excellent western.

Keira Knightley's Oscar vehicle "The Duchess" did even better. The movie earned $203,000 on just seven screens. There's something about Keira in a period piece that just hooks audiences.

Two final thoughts. "Mamma Mia!" has now earned $141M domestically, and with $449M worldwide, has a strong chance to break the $500 million mark. To me, that's more incredible than the fact that "The Dark Knight", now at $521M in the U.S., is going to reach $1 billion within a few weeks.

Just goes to show. Never underestimate the power of ABBA.

2008 is far from being over, and we have already had SO many BIG stars stop by our studio! In case you missed some of our A-listers, click on each star's picture to watch our interview!

This is just a sampling of the interviews we've done so far. To watch more of our Top Billing interviews, click right here!

Ben Stiller's laugh-out-loud movie industry inside joke "Tropic Thunder" earned its third consecutive box office title with an estimated $11.6 million over the 3-day weekend ($86.6M total). That's a ho-hum total to win the weekend crown, but it is the end of the summer movie season, so it didn't need much to beat out the weak competition the studios dumped in theaters this weekend. "Babylon A.D.", Vin Diesel's sci-fi actioner which wasn't screened for critics, debuted with a tepid $9.5M.

In third place was the blockbuster behemoth "The Dark Knight" with $8.6M. The Bat-sequel is now only the second film to cross the $500 million barrier at the domestic box office. The first movie to do it, "Titanic", appears to be safe from Batman's reach however, when it comes to the all-time B.O. record of $600 million. Looks like 'TDK' will top out around $540-550 mil, which is a staggering figure any way you look at it.

Getting back to the Top 5, fourth place went to the surprisingly sturdy "The House Bunny" with $8.3M ($27M total), a drop of only 42% of its debut weekend audience. Anna Faris' likeability has obviously helped lift this mediocre comedy. Wouldn't it be great to see her in more quality work?

Bringing up the rear in fifth place was Don Cheadle's political thriller "Traitor" with $7.8M ($9.3M total; it opened on Wed.). Strong reviews helped the film pull in the second best per-screen average in the top 10, but with summer vacations wrapping up and school sessions getting underway, I think we've seen the last of the big debut weekends for awhile. At least until the holiday releases start unspooling in November.

Speaking of which, check out the trailers section of our website for trailers to some of those upcoming pictures coming soon to a theater near you.

After a month-long, record-breaking run at the top of the box office, "The Dark Knight" has finally met his match. And in a bit of geeky irony, "Iron Man" had a hand in his defeat.

"Tropic Thunder", the outrageously offensive (not to mention downright hysterical) comedy directed by and starring Ben Stiller and co-starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, earned $26 million in its debut weekend to take the top spot. Its five-day total (it opened on Wed.) stands at $37M, a surprisingly pedestrian number for a mega-hyped comedy that's had overwhelmingly positive reviews. Frankly, I'm shocked 'Tropic' didn't open bigger. Maybe word of mouth will sustain it.

TDK earned $16.8M for a mindblowing $471M total, leapfrogging "Star Wars" to become the second-highest earning film of all time, behind only "Titanic."

Speaking of George Lucas' cosmic cash cow, the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" debuted in third with $15.5M. Fourth place went to Kiefer Sutherland's scary movie "Mirrors" (check out our interview with Kiefer here.)

Bringing up the Top Five rear was "Pineapple Express" with $10M, a 57% drop from its premiere week. Its total now stands at $62.9M.

Meanwhile, Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", buoyed by strong reviews (like ours, which you can see here) and big name actors like Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, earned a robust $3.7M on 692 screens. The $5,361 per-screen average was the 2nd-highest in the Top 10 behind "Tropic Thunder."

That bodes well for Woody to score his first hit since 2005's "Match Point."

Here in New York, The Film Society of Lincoln Center is showing eleven movies starring Charlton Heston, who died earlier this year.

The series begins Aug. 29th, and they show the incredible range of this actor. "Ben Hur" is the most honored film of all time, and he won his Oscar for the title role. But before that, he was in "The Greatest Show on Earth," a circus movie. Also on the bill is "El Cid" and I might see that showing, just to see if it's true that you can spot a stagehand standing in a corner of the set replicating Medieval Seville...

I'm not a big "Planet of the Apes" guy, but my producer sure is, and so are millions of others. Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" kicks it off and you can't do better than that. Heston appears with a thin moustache in that film noir classic co-starring Janet Leigh; hard to believe they're all gone now. "Major Dundee" and "Will Penny", two of his fine Western genre films, are also on the bill, though for some reason they omitted "The Big Country" one of my three favorite Westerns of them all. His connection to the sci fi genre will be represented with "Soylent Green" and "The Omega Man," the latter the forerunner of the Will Smith movie, "I Am Legend."

Heston came out of Northwestern University, as did other actors of his generation. There he studied with the legendary acting coach Alvina Krause, and even in hokey disaster movies, so popular in the 'Seventies, like "Earthquake", he always performed well. I also recommend the 1953 movie "Pony Express", a forgotten Heston Western. If you can't make the series, Netflix is there to fill in the gaps.

I'm sitting bleary-eyed at the San Diego airport waiting for my flight back to NYC. Today's the last day for Comic Con '08, but after 3 days of nonstop panels, presentations, press and parties, it's usually a day for bargain-hunting for geeky goodies on the convention floor. So I wanted to hand out Reel Talk's inaugural Favreau Award, which goes to the film that makes the best impression at the Comic Con.

Some of you may not know this, but before "Iron Man" became a $300 million blockbuster, it was a movie that had a lot of question marks. Not one of Marvel's more mainstream characters, there were worries about the film's commercial potential, and even how Robert Downey Jr. would do in the role. Then director Jon Favreau showed up with what became the defining moment of Comic Con '07 - the first trailer for IM. The fans were blown away and anticipation for the movie jumped to DefCon 5.

That kind of buzz-building moment is why Hollywood worships Comic Con now. So did anyone this year make that kind of impact? Read on after the jump.

Hugh Jackman showed up unannounced to screen footage from next year's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and fans went berserk. The presentation on Day 1 not only answered some questions surrounding the film, it left the legion of X-Men fans salivating as they walked out of Hall H.

The rumored appearance by Christian Bale at Saturday's "Terminator Salvation" panel didn't happen (and with all that's going on with him, that's not very surprising). However, the McG-directed fourth chapter of the venerable franchise also proved reassuring to fans at its panel that the film would be the future-set, man vs. machine battlefield movie Terminator fans have always wanted to see, while honoring the legacy of the two classic James Cameron films (while pretty much ignoring T3).

"The Day The Earth Stood Still", the Keanu Reeves/Jennifer Connolly remake of the 1951 classic, was a pleasant surprise, with its dark tone and some impressive special effects.

"Max Payne" seemed to be a crowd pleaser but no one was talking about it afterward.

"The Spirit" had a strong audience response but talking to people after the panel, there were still many doubts about the quality of Frank Miller's adaptation of Will Eisner's classic strip.

Acvtually, the winner of the first Favreau Award was a no-brainer: "Watchmen," Zack Snyder's eagerly-awaited adaptation of the landmark comic book series, hit it out of the park with its panel. Besides the extended footage shown to the fans, the cast was in high spirits and seemed to be enjoying their moment in the Fanboy spotlight. Warner Bros. also earned bonus points for including "Watchmen" artist Dave Gibbons on the panel.

The Q&A session even provided some useful nuggets of info and insight. Fans walked out of the convention hall feeling like they had just seen a glimpse at something spectacular, which is just how fans felt last year after "Iron Man." (I know. I was there for both)

A day after the panel, it was still a hot topic of conversation in hotel lobbies and bars in downtown San Diego. And if you're surprised that comic book movies are a popular talking point over drinks, well, remember this is Comic Con we're talking about.

Few comic book productions have as complicated a backstory as "Watchmen", and even less carry the expectations this film has. But after Comic Con, the faithful appear to be convinced they're about to see something special. Mr. Snyder, please tell me where to mail you the award.

Honorable mention goes to Disney's "Tron 2." Yes, you read that right, TRON 2!!!! A sequel to the 1982 animated video game masterpiece is not only in the works, THEY SHOWED ACTUAL FOOTAGE!

I would love to be able to tell you what I thought of the clips but because of Comic Con's insanely packed programming schedule, I couldn't attend the Disney panel (had to attend another presentation). But walking through the Convention floor, Tron talk was everywhere.

I'm off to scour the deep, dark corridors of the WWW for the footage so I can see it. If you consider yourself a Tron fan, I expect you to do the same.

Check out the artwork for the advance poster on the just-announced remake of "Red Sonja." That's Rose McGowan in the starring role made (in)famous by Brigitte Nielsen in the historically bad 1985 film, based on the pulp and comic book heroine.
McGowan and producer/fiance Robert Rodriguez were here at Comic Con to discuss the project. Filming hasnt started yet. Movie is due out in 2010. Check out another poster for "Red Sonja" on the jump page.

After the large success of the recent TV series gone cinema, 'Sex and the City' it looks like 'Friends' is on the same track. According to The Daily Mail Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and Joey are coming back to 'be there for you' all over again.

Even though, when Alison asked David Schwimmer in an interview back in March (click here to watch) about returning to his character Ross, he crushed any hopes of a 'friendly reunion' because he felt the ending was too perfect t o mess with.

" I don't know I just don't want to mess with it. It just felt really right , you know the way it ended and the story and I can't think of one good reason to kind of re-open it in a way or re-visit it."

However, It seems that the ladies of New York...Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda proved that a successful TV show can result in an enormously successful movie, and influenced Warner Bros. enough to convince the 6 'Friends' stars to reunite on the silver screen.

The other day my producer, Michael Avila, gave me a John Wayne Beef Jerky (Maybe he was sending me a subtle message.) Anyway, I mailed it to a friend who reverses John Wayne's movies. It reminded me of efforts by the descendants of dead celebrities to try and copyright their images. It's a double-edged sword, as far as I'm concerned.

Current libel/slander law does not include anyone who is dead. In other words, you can say anything you want to about a dead person basically, and get away with it. This is probably to avoid endless lawsuits. I think the same thing ought to apply to the images of dead celebrities. Otherwise, where do you draw the line? Do the descendants of famous authors have the right to get paid by Barnes and Noble, which has a display of images of long-dead authors? Will some relative of, say, Marilyn Monroe suddenly turn up and demand money? And who is to say which actors deserve such protection. All actors? Some? Oscar winners? The courts are crowded enough as is. If you think some of the brick-a-brack with stars' images on them is tacky stuff, just don't buy it. Instead, remember the stars for who they were in their glory days.

This weekend's comedy clash at the cinema was no contest. "Get Smart" easily bested "The Love Guru" with a $39.1 million debut. The Steve Carell-topped revival of the classic sitcom overcame middling reviews to take the pole position.

Mike Myers' return didn't even land in second place.

That went to the smash-hit kids cartoon "Kung Fu Panda," which took in another $21.7M ($155M total). "The Incredible Hulk" smashed his way into third with $21.5M ($96M total), which marks a steeper-than-Marvel Studios-hoped drop of 61% from last week. It should earn more than 2003's "Hulk" did ($122M) but whether it will earn enough to start a franchise is now seriously in doubt.

"The Love Guru" could not overcome the dreadful reviews and took in a disappointing $14M. What, did NO ONE listen to Jeffrey and Alison this weekend?!?

In fifth place, "The Happening" with $10M ($50.2M total), an alarmingly-large 67% week-to-week decline.

A few notable efforts by some indie films: "Mongol" took in $744,000 in just 94 theaters ($7,914 per screen average), and "Brick Lane," our Websclusive this week, earned $50,500 from just 7 screens ($7,214 per screen).

But "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" put those two, and every other film this week, to shame. During a limited engagement of just 5 theaters in NYC, the family film earned a superb $223,000 (over $44K per screen!). That bodes well for its national release Fourth of July weekend.

Next week is June 21st and is the official start date of summer! And, over here at Reel Talk's studio in New York City, last week's heat wave left more of a desire for AC and a DVD player instead of a day at the beach.

So for those days steaming hot summer days when you would rather lay in a dark room in a bed of cold sheets with the AC blasting and a pile of DVD's on your night stand, what would be on your "Summer Movie List?"

My little mix of movies I'd like to watch this summer...
1. The Notebook (girls, I know this one is on your list too!)
2. Dirty Dancing
3. Grease
4.Sandlot
5. Caddyshack
6. Run Fat Boy Run
7. The Devil Wears Prada
8. Definitely, Maybe
9. Wedding Crashers
10.Hitch

Aint It Cool News has some very nice tributes to special effects legend Stan Winston, who passed away Sunday from cancer at the age of 62.

June 30 is fast approaching. Why should you -- or any movie/tv fan -- care? Because that's the day the Screen Actors Guild contract expires. Variety reports that several big-budget sequels due next summer have planned-for hiatuses in their shooting schedule set to coincide with the expiration of SAG's deal, which would minimize the damage if a strike is called in mid-shoot.

Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily reports on the tension between SAG and the other on-camera talent union AFTRA, which has already reached agreement on a new deal.

In case you didn't know already, Dan Brown can forget about ever getting a VIP tour of the Vatican. "The Da Vinci Code" author is the reason why Ron Howard's film version of Brown's sequel (actually a prequel) "Angels & Demons" starring Tom Hanks was refused access to shoot scenes in two Rome churches.

Actual movie news now.

"Spider-Man" franchise director Sam Raimi will produce and direct the movie version of the upcoming novel "The Given Day." It's the next tome from Dennis Lehane, who also wrote the books that two great films were based on, "Mystic River" and "Gone Baby Gone."

After the box office success of "21" Kevin Spacey's going back to indie work. He's going to star as a pot-smoking psychiatrist to the stars in "Shrink." Robin Williams will co-star.

It's being reported that Nicolas Cage, Nathan Lane and Donald Sutherland are among the all-star voices signed up for the feature-film CGI pic "Astro Boy," which is based on Osamu Tezuka's classic manga (it was also an animated series that is credited with introducing Japanese Anime to American viewers back in the 60s). Freddie Highmore from "The Spiderwick Chronicles" will be the lead voice. It's due in 2009.

Who needs Crocodile Dundee? News reports say superstars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman will be used to boost Tourism Down Under. The two are starring in "Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrmann's upcoming epic period piece, titled -- wait for it -- "Australia." The film will be the centerpiece of a new campaign to lure more visitors, and hopefully more dollars.

If you want to get a glimpse of what's coming to movies in the near future, the Licensing International Expo is one big giant Crystal Ball.

The 3-day event, which just wrapped Thursday at the Javits Center in Manhattan, is a showcase for more than 500 exhibitors and the 6,000+ brand names and properties they are pitching. While products aimed at kids are still the focus, a growing number of brands are targeting grownups. Since my job is to oversee a movie show, I focused on the booths linked to films. There were lots to choose from, including Hasbro's display, which had a big G.I. Joe presence.

Fans of the 'Real American Hero' are no doubt aware that a feature film adaptation is in production as you read this (release date: Summer 2009), starring Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Hasbro, which owns the G.I. Joe property (as well as Transformers), made sure everyone who walked through the Javits knew where the company's 2009 priorities were. Images with some of the cast in their costumes surrounded the booth, as did a way cool prop that Joe fans will recognize as the Mole Pod. Seeing this makes me think we can expect a Cobra attack on Joe HQ in the movie.

G.I. Joe wasn't the only familiar franchise I came across. Wandering around the massive event, I noticed the general theme seemed to be nostalgia-driven.

At the Warner Bros. display, I saw the latest Batman and Superman product designs, some modern -- like Batman sneakers -- with some decidedly retro t-shirt designs. Personally, I'm a huge fan of vintage-style tees, and I saw a few that caught my eye.

For movie studios, locking in merchandising partners is often the first step toward developing franchises. Toys and other trinkets are on the assembly line the film's been loaded into the camera. and the Licensing Show often has the first glimpse of a movie not expected in theaters for another year -- or longer.

Nickelodeon and Paramount had director M. Night Shyamalan the first day of the show to preview his next project, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" ...based on the hit animated series. The film's not even due in theaters until July 2nd -- 2010 -- in fact, production hasn't even begun yet!!

Sony Pictures meanwhile, was pushing two very familiar properties -- Ghostbusters and the Smurfs! They had a display of a uniform (Dr. Egon Spengler's uni) worn in the original "Ghostbusters" film along with posters of the famous logo. Hard to believe that franchise will be 25 years old next year. Ugh, I feel old.

I felt abso-smurfy ancient when I realized Peyo's little blue Belgian creations are turning 50 this year. The marketing push for the Smurfs, with a slew of T-shirts, toys and other products, was launched to coincide with this week's announcement of a live action/animated Smurfs movie. Hey, I didn't think "Alvin & the Chipmunks" would work and look how big a hit that was. I'm a sucker for Smurfs so I can't wait for this. On an aside, check out this Entertainment Weekly article about possible voice casting for the movie.

Lucasfilm had a presence at the show. That's not too surprising considering Star Wars is the top movie licensing property ever ($15 billion in retail sales in 31 years). They were busy pushing this summer's "Clone Wars" animated film. It debuts in August and will serve as the theatrical launch for an upcoming TV series on TNT. I was drooling over the life-size Obi Wan statue. That would look great in my office -- right next to the talking Yoda doll I have.

Paramount had big displays for "Tropic Thunder," the action comedy starring Ben Stiller and Robert Downey, Jr. I don't know about this. I'm looking forward to the film but I'm not sure this is the kind of film that will push a lot of merchandise. The 30th anniversary of "Grease" on the other hand, is intriguing. Thanks to endless reruns on cable and the intoxicated appeal of "Summer Nights" at Karaoke bars, just about everyone knows and loves this movie. It's amazing how many great movies are approaching milestone anniversaries like this.

(full disclosure: I saw this as a 7-year-old in the theater about a dozen times, along with about 25 more viewings since then)

As I said earlier, not all the products were aimed at children. A number of companies want to reach out to older generations, the Baby Boomers looking for a piece of their childhood, or to reconnect with their heroes. Elvis Presley's estate was there with another pile of Elvis items.

So was John Wayne Enterprises. Their mission is to protect the iconic American movie star's image and also to arrange for various licensing agreements for a number of various products, from custom belt buckles like The Duke used to wear, to more...questionable items like John Wayne gum, John Wayne mints, and John Wayne beef jerky. (Hey, at least it's organic)

My first reaction to the marketing of an American legend -- a dead American legend -- at first was that it was a shameless money grab. But if there wasn't a Wayne Enterprises, we'd probably see some shady characters slapping Wayne's image on condom packs. At least this way, his image can be safeguarded.

I also remembered a recent conversation I had with Jeffrey about forgotten movie legends. In a day and age when the name Steve McQueen can draw blank stares from most people younger than 30, licensing is one way to make sure the cinematic heroes of yesteryear don't fade away into the dustbins of bargain dvds and late-night cable.

So if it takes beef jerky to keep the memory of John Wayne alive and well ...well, then I'll take two.

After a month of super heroes, special effects action and 'Sex', audiences were obviously ready for a laugh. The kid-friendly "Kung Fu Panda" used its star power and positive reviews to score a rockin' $60 million debut, handily beating Adam Sandler's newest, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan."

Those two films led the way for a huge moviegoing weekend, bringing in 25% more dollars than the same weekend last year. That should be welcome news to nervous studio chiefs concerned that the current economic woes would keep people from splurging on a trip to the multiplex.

"Zohan" came in second with $40M, proving once again there is no more reliable comedy star than Sandler. Factor in the Judd Apatow factor (he co-wrote it) and its apparent that when those guys are attached to a movie - no matter how silly the premise - the audience will follow.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" leapfrogged past last week's No. 1 "Sex and the City" to land in third with $22.8M ($253M total). Harrison Ford's 4th go-round as Dr. Jones is showing legs and could overtake "Iron Man" soon as the summer's top-earning movie.

"Sex" lost 62% of its audience but still picked up $21.3M ($99.2M), while the surprise scary hit "The Strangers" took fifth place with $9.2M ($37.6M total). Star Liv Tyler is looking at two summer hits if "The Incredible Hulk" debuts strongly this Friday.

If you watched RT this past weekend you know we reviewed a few limited releases. One that Jeffrey and Alison both recommended strongly, "Mongol", earned a stellar $133,000 from just five screens.

"When Did You Last See Your Father?" ($41,100 from eight screens) and "The Promotion" ($28,900 from six theaters) also did solid business in select cities.

Hi, this is Alison. I’m the REEL TALK intern. Since our show is based here in NYC, we have access to lots of great movie-related events, including a number of film festivals. Thursday night I attended the opening night for the 2008 Staten Island Film Festival. That’s right, folks. STATEN ISLAND (that fifth NYC borough that no one ever thinks twice about) has its very own film festival! “It’s a wonderful thing for SI, the long forgotten borough, to have an opportunity to expose itself with film and culture,” says festival participant, Grace Guagliardo.

With strong support from producer Jules Nasso as the Honorary Film Industry Chairman, the SINY FF has become Staten Island’s summer jewel. Nasso won the “Best Picture” award from the film festival last year with his independent film entitled, “Poet.” His success did not stop there. He has worked with the likes of Tom Cruise in production and won much attention in the media as well as other awards.

Other names mentioned at the festival included “One Life to Live” actor, David Fumero, who stars alongside Kim Shaw in the festival opener, “Greetings from the Shore.” Producer and writer Gabrielle Berberich says the title comes from a famous postcard reflecting the real Jersey Shore. New Jersey and Staten Island both share a somewhat negative image as dirty, industrious, politically corrupt and mobbed with mobsters. Here's what Greg Chwerchak, the director and producer of "Greetings," had to say about that:

Berberich believes this film will “avenge her postcard Garden State.” I must say, there were some amazingly breathtaking shots of the shore in this film. You would never think it was Jersey! …or the fact that it was produced for only $500,000!

“Greetings from the Shore” is close to the heart for Berberich as it’s somewhat autobiographical. Since the film is a dedication to her late father, thinking of the story as a true event will have you tearing up in your seat while relationships unfold from a world of high-stakes and uncertainty. “Greetings from the Shore” is due to have its official premiere on August 8, 2008 in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Director and producer Chwerchak (seen at right with Berberich and Fumero) has plans to premiere the film in other states, so if you don’t live in the Northeast, patience! You’ll get your chance to see it. With 27 festival awards already under his belt, Chwerchak has high expectations for the film’s success.

Another independent filmmaker at the festival is optimistic. Staten Islander, Alain Alfano, calls himself a “Latin-American hoping to have a chance to tell story through fictional life.” He aims to win “Best Short Romantic Comedy” and “Best Cinematography” at the award ceremony on Sunday for his entry, “Waiting for Her.”

The SINY FF will be held from Thursday, June 5th to Sunday, June 8th. Hope those of you who live in the Tri-state area will get a chance to make it to at least one event. Staten Island is closer than you think! But if you're still reluctant to take that ferry ride, check out the schedule to see when screenings play in Manhattan or Brooklyn… Or perhaps you’re in the party mood,here’s the schedule for you!

The damage reports are still coming in from last weekend's fire on the universal lot. No one was seriously hurt, thank goodness, though several fire fighters were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. The biggest casualty, aside from the "King Kong" exhibit and the movie sets where films like "Dirty Harry", "Spiderman" and "Back to the Future" were filmed, was the studio's massive library of old TV shows. Thousands of episodes of classic shows were stored there. The head of universal studios has said that they will all eventually be replaced, but what struck me is…why weren't they in a fireproof vault to begin with? When there'd been a fire on the lot in 1990, added precautions were installed, and the lot has an on-site firefighting team (although low water pressure may have hampered their efforts.) But still, we're talking about history here. I hope they will now store tapes and film in underground vaults, perhaps...surely fireproof enclosures, no matter what the cost.

So it turns out the fire that torched a huge chunk of Universal Studios' California backlot was accidentally set by studio workers. Fire officials Monday said the workers ignited the blaze while using a blowtorch to heat asphalt shingles on a building.

Despite the massive fire, the studio resumed the backlot tram tour Monday morning. Uni officials vowed to replace and rebuild everything that was destroyed.

Something that may not be rebuilt is the 20-year-old King Kong exhibit. Totally destroyed in the fire, officials expressed doubt they would rebuild the Kong set piece, which means there would be a big chunk of available real estate on the Universal Studios tour, for whatever clever idea park engineers come up with.

I’m extremely lucky, that I get to see most of my films in small screening rooms with just a handful of other critics. You’d think that this would lend itself to ideal viewing conditions… absolute silence, and an absence of phones illuminating throughout.

But no, that's not exactly the case…

When I see a certain critic from a well-respected newspaper I make for the furthest seat away. He’s a chronic, open-mouth, gum chomper and you can hear him masticating four rows down.

Another journalist from a popular weekly entertainment magazine is a problem-sniffer. I have never heard such a consistent, loud snuffling through all the film. During the exciting side-by-side car chase scene in “Indy 4” the guy next to me flipped open his phone and started text messaging. “You have to be kidding??” I said, and he actually looked angry that I dared to speak up.

All of this, of course is nothing compared to the popcorn crunching, nacho-smelling cacophony that accompanies a flick at a regular movie theatre. Not to mention the talking, phones ringing and the tappity tap of text messaging.

It’s just like Sartre said: “Hell, is other people.”

Watching the news reports of the devastating fire that ripped through Universal Studios' California backlot hit me like a kick to the stomach. I'm sure many fans of the cinema feel the same way, watching this chunk of movie history - or at least parts of it - go up in smoke.

First, the damage report actually is more encouraging than what we first heard. Despite initial fears that many negatives and master copies of Universal movies and tv shows were destroyed, Universal Studios President Ron Meyer said Sunday that the video vault were copies were storied suffered the most damage, and that the main vault of movie negatives was not damaged.

But Universal Music was not so fortunate.

The company apparently leases space in the vault at the studio lot. We're hearing that thousands of master recordings of Decca and MCA songs were destroyed. These were the masters to songs by such legends as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, the Andrew Sisters and The Carpenters. Irreplaceable. That's a tremendous loss of pop culture.

**UPDATE**
At first it was believed the famous courthouse square set where "Back to the Future" was shot (remember the clock tower?) burned down, as did the King Kong exhibit. But it was reported late Sunday night that while it was damaged, the square was actually saved. Just about all the NYC street sets were also torched, though. News reports indicates Uni employees (REEL TALK is part of the NBC Universal family as well) were running in and out, grabbing things out of the area where the fire was burning to save them. None of the 30 soundstages on the lot were damaged, either.

When I first heard, I remembered my first (and only) visit to the famed Universal Studios tour. Before Universal Studios Orlando opened, the SoCal park was the only place you can go and relive certain parts of film history. Somewhere in my mom's old scrapbooks, there are Polaroids of my family in the Jaws ride, with the mechanical shark coming out of the water at our boat. I remember when the tram took us to the lake where we saw how the did the 'parting of the Red Sea' scene in "The Ten Commandments" and being wowed by the ingenuity of it (Sure, it looks painfully fake now but back in 1982, to my 11 year-old eyes, it looked cool).

I remember how spooky the "Psycho" house looked and how geeked out I became when I saw a few Cylons from the original "Battlestar Galactica" inside one of the buildings. Nice to know they still found use for cool props like that, even though the show had been off the air for several years by then. That tour was a watershed moment for me, turning me from a kid who liked movies into a kid who lived for the movies. That peek behind the curtain changed my life in many ways, and it remains one of my most cherished memories from childhood.

Thankfully, and most importantly, there were no serious injuries (several firefighters suffered minor injuries fighting the flames). Fire crews were able to contain the flames from spreading and causing more damage.

**UPDATE**

NBC Universal reports the theme park and the adjacent CityWalk complex will open for business Monday morning.

Let's hope no further damage happens to a landmark piece of Hollywood.

The "Sex and the City" movie bumped "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" from the box office top spot, earning a robust $55 million its debut weekend. But, and this probably concerns studio New Line a bit, the film ran out of steam after a scorching $26.9M first day Friday. It earned $17.7M Saturday and $11.1M Sunday, which indicates that the film may have reached the bulk of its audience this weekend. Not too surprising considering that even in its HBO heyday it averaged maybe 6-7 million viewers per show.

However, word-of-mouth has been strong (I saw it with my wife and enjoyed it alot) so there's a chance this could hold on awhile. "Sex" set the mark for best all-time debut by a film with a female lead and just missed the record for best opening by a live-action TV adaptation ("Mission: Impossible II" earned $57M in 2000).

Second place went to "Indy 4" with $46M ($216M total) showing people still love Harrison Ford in his greatest role. Third place -- and this was a true surprise to most everyone -- landed "The Strangers." The low-budget frightfest starring Liv Tyler earned $20.7M for a stellar debut. Who said people are tired of scary movies?

In fourth place, the year's biggest hit so far, "Iron Man" with another $14M ($276M total) and fifth went to "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" with $13M ($115M total).

Next week brings two very different comedies: The kiddie-targeting "Kung Fu Panda" and Adam Sandler's latest goof-off "You Don't Mess with the Zohan." Should be interesting to see if the kids or the frat boys determine next week's box office champ.

The Friday night box office #'s are in and the wall-to-wall publicity push for "Sex and the City" appears to have paid off BIG TIME. The year's first event picture aimed at women sold $26.9 million worth of tickets Friday, putting it on pace for Mr. Big-sized $75 million debut weekend and knocking 'Indy 4' from the top spot. That's close to double the most optimistic forecast for the film. We'll update the full weekend B.O. figures tomorrow.

In case your Memorial Day BBQ's don't get started until Sunday and you're looking for something to do till then... well then check out the trailers for the movies coming out this weekend and see what appeals to you most!

The Cannes Film Festival is underway…and I’m not there. This is a double-edged sword as I could hardly stand to be away from my two young children for the requisite 10-day trip. But I do miss being on the Cote d’azur at this glorious time of year.
So it’s with some pleasure when I read that it has been damp and dreary for the last few days. Ha!
As I read about all the great films playing there…knowing that I won’t ever get to see them all…I think about Cannes past.

I’ve been there three times now…but strangely, the films are not foremost in my memory. Mostly, I remember the amazing food, the smell of France, the sea air, and the constant hubbub on the Croisette. There is a covered market situated behind the sea-front cafes and overpriced shops. Other tourists didn’t seem to know about it, as itrequired leaving the comfort of the main drag. I would go there and buy the freshest strawberries I’ve ever tasted, feeling like I was seeing the real France. Off the beaten track also, was an unassuming restaurant called “Le Festival Des Moules”…where one could eat mussels in various sauces…most involving wine, cream and garlic. I was in heaven. One day after the film festival, the main ‘place’ was filled with a flea market where I found hard-backed French language editions of “Les Aventures de Tin Tin”. I bought as many as I thought my suitcase could handle.
But as for the films…I stood along with the rest of the Palais for the standing ovation for “Fahrenheit 911.” I suffered through “Matrix Reloaded.” I laughed through “The Brown Bunny.” I stepped on Roger Ebert’s toe as I inelegantly tried to squeeze past him to gain my seat at “The Usual Suspects”. I dragged myself bleary-eyed to an 8am screening of “The Assassination of Richard Nixon” only because we had been granted an exclusive TV interview with Sean Penn the next day. I squeezed into the last seat…where it took me way too long to realize that I was actually re-watching “Fahrenheit 911.” Panicked, I exited and found the right screening room. Cannes is confusing, overwhelming and daunting. It’s also tiring. As a journalist, you cover miles of ground walking from one screening to the next…from your hotel to the press conferences, or to the swishy hotels where the celebs are deigning to talk to you. You stand in line for hours on a jetty, waiting to ask Angelina Jolie one question about being the voice of a fish in “Shark Tale”. And boy is she tiny.
But then…moments of utter joy as you climb the Palais steps…photographers snapping crazily…even if you are a no one, and the huge screen of the Palais, and the cast entering behind you as you watch on the big screen. And then the darkness…
We, the press, love to complain when we’re at film festivals. But really, what could possibly be unpleasant about spending hours in the dark, just knowing that the Riviera, and the leopard ladies are just outside. Cannes…c’est le pied!!

It's an indicator of how much money summer tentpoles cost nowadays and the expectations studios place in these films that "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" can earn $56.6 million in its debut weekend, and be considered a mild disappointment.

The Narnia sequel earned $9M less than "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" did in its debut in 2005. Guess the darker, more battle-oriented nature of this chapter did hurt it at the box office, despite mostly positive reviews.

Let's see how well 'Caspian' holds on to its audience next week, when "Indy 4" hits. Read the rest of the Top 5 box office after the jump.

It was still good enough to knock off the two-time defending champ "Iron Man," which nevertheless still earned $31M for a $220M total after just 3 weeks.

In third place was "What Happens in Vegas" with a strong $13.8M sophomore weekend ($40M total). The Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz comedy lost only 31% of its audience which indicates word-of-mouth is strong (and it is pretty entertaining).

On the flipside, "Speed Racer" continues to spin off the track, earning just $7.6M its second weekend. Warner Bros.' $180 million spectacle has now earned a depressing $29.8M -- ouch.

In fifth place is the sturdy "Baby Mama" with $4.5M ($47M so far), showing female lead comedies can make money if a) you've got funny women like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in the cast; and b) you find the right release date.

Or at least he will in an upcoming role.

Variety reports the Oscar winner has signed to star in "The Men Who Stare At Goats," based on Jon Ronson's bestseller. The book is about the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that was formed in 1979 to train soldiers in the use of paranormal powers.

And yes, it's based on real events. The title, in case you're wondering, refers to the notion that you can kill a goat by staring at it.

Clooney would star, and his producing/writing partner Grant Heslov (they co-wrote "Good Night and Good Luck")is set to direct. No start date for production is set yet, because financing still has to come together. For anyone but Clooney, I would say it would be a real challenge to get this project off the ground. But this sounds like the kind of movie he likes to make -- daring and off the wall.

BTW, you can Click here to check out Jeffrey's interview with Senor Clooney when he was here recently promoting "Leatherheads."

Get ready because Fraggle Rock will no longer be just an outdated, eighties, childrens sitcom!

It turns out the Weinstein Co. has just joined forces with Jim Henson productions and plans to turn Henson's puppet series, that ran from 1983 to 1987, into a musical on-screen production.

The series originally ran there first 3 seasons on HBO, and recently released those episodes onto DVD, resulting in successful sales numbers

Cory Edwards ("Hoodwinked!") will write and direct the screenplay. And it just wouldn't be "Fraggle Rock" without the main characters Gogo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red, who will be embarking outside of their comfy cave to interact with humans, whom they think are aliens. Check out clips from their second season below!

Not too long ago Jason Segel stopped in with Judd Apatow and told "Reel Talk" about writing the new "Muppet Movie." Now, we are hearing about a new "Fraggle Rock" movie. It seems these puppeteers are not ready to surrender to the success of Pixar films, when it comes to kid-friendly films.

You can watch that entire interview by clicking right here!

To no one's surprise, "Speed Racer" has turned into the summer's first flop. In its opening week it raked in only $20.2 million , playing in 3,606 theaters. That’s a much lower than expected figure and nowhere near the $50.5 that "Iron Man" earned in its second week. Since the Wachowski Brothers spent a reported $180 million on the film, it's going down as a big disappointment.

I think one of the biggest problems it had is that while the PG-rated movie was obviously aimed at a young audience, the audience that grew up watching the 1960s Japanese cartoon is actually much older. Young kids had no connection to the source material. Parents taking kids of this generation probably went just to see
something, rather than in response to any request from their children.
And Emile Hirsch's superb breakout performance came in "Into the Wild," which wasn't in a family film, so kids aren't familiar with his work yet. That and the fact that the film was too long, had a flimsy story and relied too much of special effects.

Oddly, Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, who played the mother of the title
character, is competing with her longtime significant other, Tim Robbins's movie "Noise," an intriguing and funny black comedy, which also opened this
past week(albeit in limited release).

It'll be interesting to see how the new "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" does in attracting families this coming weekend. The first film did nearly $1 billion worldwide and it has a new lead actor, Ben Barnes, who will be our guest on REEL TALK this weekend.

This week I saw the revival of the comedy "Boeing Boeing" on Broadway. I had seen it in London in the ‘sixties’ on stage in the west end and the movie version starring Tony Curtis. He played an American Bachelor living in Paris and "engaged" to three flight attendants. One from Lufthansa, another from TWA, and the third from Alitalia. He had a worldwide airline schedule and was able to juggle their stays in his apartment so none was the wiser. Jerry Lewis played Curtis' American friend who comes for a visit and who somehow has one of the flight attendants fall for him.

Someone named Mark Rylance has that role here and is clumsy and unappealing as is this dated, now-chauvinistic and often silly play."Christine Baranski plays his helpful maid in this onstage production, and The West Wing" alumnus Bradley Whitford has the old Curtis role. Gina Gershon does an Italian accent that sounds something like a female Bella Lugosi, and another "West Wing" alumna, Mary McCormack, gives a standard German accent. It worked on screen because back in the 'sixties,’ such humor was still in vogue. Now on stage it's shrill and unappealing. Rent the film instead.

Maybe Tina Fey should just stick to movies. The former 'SNL' castmember and current star/creator of the critically-acclaimed yet ratings-challenged NBC show "30 Rock" has another #1 movie with "Baby Mama" ("Mean Girls" was her first). The comedy, which paired her with 'SNL' partner Amy Poehler earned an impressive $18.3 million to become the first comedy with 2 female leads to open in first place since...er, since...well, I honestly can't remember. It led a strong comedy charge at the box office as audiences went for laughs this weekend.

"Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" pulled in $14.5M in its debut, which should give the folks at the Studio Formerly Known As New Line a chance to finally be happy about something. The stoner comedy, budgeted at just $12M, earned about as much as the original did in its initial theatrical run.

"The Forbidden Kingdom" fell from 1st to 3rd with $11.3M in its sophomore weekend, losing a little less than half its audience, which isn't bad. Its total is now at $38.2M.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is showing even more staying power, finishing 4th with $11M (a drop of 37%) for a $35M total. It will be interesting if "FSM" and "H&K2" are able to pull extended runs in theaters, with the summer season about to begin. Both are prime examples of how cheap but well-made, well-targeted R-rated comedies can be cash cows for studios.

"Nim's Island" was 5th with $4.5M ($38M total).

"Deception," the Hugh Jackman/Ewan McGregor thriller that was skewered by critics -- including Jeffrey & Alison -- bombed with a $2.2M debut. This one seems like a favor the studio (Fox) did for Jackman, who also produced the film and is practically a contract player for Fox, with "Australia" and the "Wolverine" X-Men spinoff film coming for the studio.

As far as limited releases, Helen Hunt's "Then She Found Me" opened with an impressive $74,400 take from 9 theaters ($8,266 per screen). "Roman de Gare" did even better, earning $25,500 in just 2 theaters. We'll be reviewing this one on RT soon, once it expands into more theaters.

One hundred and twenty-two films over 12 days -- The Tribeca Film Festival certainly offers a lot of choices for movie fans. If documentaries are your thing, then check out Alison Bailes' review of "Man on Wire":

Does anyone else find it alarming that the Tribeca Film Festival is kicking off with “Baby Mama?” To me, it seems that the whole point of a film festival is to introduce new filmmakers and product to audiences.

“Baby Mama,” distributed by Universal Pictures (which is part of the NBC Universal family like REEL TALK) is opening today on more than 2,500 screens. It hardly seems that it needs the added exposure of kicking off Tribeca.

I know that Tribeca was started in response to the attacks of 9/11. And I know it was founded in order to bring culture and commerce back to lower Manhattan. So how does a premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater fit in with that mandate? I guess I’m being too literal minded. But I do feel that film festivals in general are losing sight of their original purpose.

Sundance has now become a zoo of celebrity-watching and swag-hauling. As much as Robert Redford insists that it is still all about the films -- who can even keep track of the new talent emerging, when most of the press eagerly focuses on “U2:3D” and what Paris Hilton is wearing?

I’m sure that the sponsors of Tribeca want to be assured of big name celebrities showing up at events, and that’s why the organizers pepper the 10 days with studio films. Warner Brothers’ “Speed Racer” will close this year’s festival. If the bold-faced names raise awareness of a festival that is still struggling to find an identity, then so be it. But I hope audiences are just as excited to discover work by first time writers and directors.

Check out the review and red carpet footage of "Baby Mama" below.

Received a big box today that says 'Property of Dr. Jones' and inside was a bunch of merchandise tied in to the upcoming "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

The Sound FX Whip looked cool, as did The Lost Temple of Akator Playset (where was that when I was a kid?) but as of right now, the leader for coolest toy of the summer is Mr. Potato Head: Taters of the Lost Ark.

From the name to the fedora, the spud's the man! I imagine the TOTLA will end up on many a grown-up geek's desk once "Indy 4" opens.

The "Iron Man" stuff, including the Mask and Repulsor Gauntlet set, looks cool too. I still have trouble believing Robert Downey Jr. has an action figure.

Nearly every big summer release has some kind of product tie-in. Which one will make you revisit your inner child and hit the toy store? Let us know!

Jackie Chan and Jet Li's historic, first-ever onscreen teamup paid off with a $20.9 million haul. Looks like audiences were looking for a little action excitement at the movies this weekend, which explains why the Chan/Li duo beat out Judd Apatow's comedy gang vacation "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" for the top spot.

At first glance, you would think Apatow's recent slump continues, but "FSM" did a solid $17.3M, and its per-screen average of $6,200 was second only to "Kingdom's" $6,623 return. Considering none of the leads are stars, I imagine Universal Pictures (who like REEL TALK, are part of NBC Universal) is thrilled with this debut. If it's like other well-reviewed Apatow comedies, it'll stick around awhile.

The rest of the Top Five finds holdover "Prom Night" in third with $9.1M ($32M total), Al Pacino's horribly-reviewed "88 Minutes" in fourth with a paltry $6.8M, and "Nim's Island" with a sturdy $5.6M ($32.8M total).

'Tweener superstar Miley Cyrus continues unabated on her way to world domination. She's just been announced as the voice of Penny in Disney's upcoming animated movie "Bolt," co-starring John Travolta. Her 3-D concert film earned huge money earlier in the year. The Cyrus casting, along with the fact that the movie has a clever premise -- a dog who thinks he's a super-powered mutt but doesn't realize he's just the star of a TV show -- immediately lifts "Bolt" to front-runner status for end-of-the-year box office favories.

"Bolt" arrives in theaters on November 26th.

To the surprise of almost no one, "Prom Night" was the weekend winner with $22.7 million. It's the latest proof that, with torture porn having run its course with audiences, studios have found a new formula for box-office success.

They're toning down the blood and violence to earn a PG-13 rating. Combine that with a short running time ("Prom Night" is just 88 minutes long) and an attractive cast of nobodies, and it's almost guaranteed to lure big crowds of teenagers to the multiplex on opening weekend. "Shutter" recently scored decent money the same way. The unfortunate part of the equation is that these films are NEVER screened for critics, which is why you're only seeing the trailer for "Prom Night" instead of Jeffrey & Alison's review here.

Get the rest of the box office results after the jump.

In second place was the crime drama "Street Kings" with $12M. Despite a stellar cast with Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker and Hugh Laurie, it looks like movie fans are finally tired of the 'dirty cop' genre. Maybe it's time someone made a movie about a cool cop who's not corrupt??

The sturdy "21" banked another $11M for third place, and appears heading for an $80-90M total. Good for Jim Sturgess, one of Hollywood's future superstars IMHO.

"Nim's Island" was fourth with $9M in its sophomore weekend while George Clooney's gridiron comedy "Leatherheads" finished fifth with a lackluster $6.2M.

Meanwhile, two films that Jeffrey & Alison raved about did gangbuster numbers in limited release. "The Visitor" earned a superb $22,000 in each of its four screens, while "Young @ Heart" took in $13,075 in its four theaters. Let's see how they do when they expand nationally in the next few weeks.

Being the new production assistant on the show has some incredible perks, such as meeting the celebrities who visit our show. But, what's even more exciting than having the chance to meet and speak with stars such as Michael Douglas, George Clooney, Vince Vaughn, Matthew McConaughey, Hayden Christensen (in the pic to the left) and Charlize Theron, is getting a glimpse of the incredible smarts and ambition these individuals possess. A characteristic tabloids almost always tend to overlook.

Sure, the big houses, the money, the fame and the parties -- not to mention the attractive dating scene that surrounds Hollywood -- is always going to be an eye-catcher, but after speaking with these individuals one on one behind the scenes, I've learned that there really is so much more than meets the eye.

If only tabloids could focus on the way these people achieved their fame and write articles about the way these celebrities work and do everything to teach themselves about every aspect in an industry that they love. For example, we had David Schwimmer on not too long ago and after spending a decade as an actor on a hugely popular sitcom, he's now teaching himself and enjoying the craft of directing. Or, what about Charlize Theron, who is not only a gorgeous, Oscar-winning actress, but also a marvelous movie producer.

I have been working on this show now for almost three months and I am in awe, not with the glamour these stars possess but with the intelligence, ambition and confidence they have. It gives me inspiration to go for what I want to do and maybe if tabloids focused more on what made these people "movie stars" more people would become inspired also.

And check me out on the red carpet with "Juno" star Ellen Page. This job just gets better and better!

The Vegas drama "21" was an easy winner at the box office this weekend, earning a surprising $23.7 million. Looks like all the publicity the cast did (including star Jim Sturgess' appearance on this weekend's RT) and the escapist-fantasy appeal of 'beating the house' was a sure bet. Here's Jeffrey & Alison's review of "21." The rest of the box-office recap comes after the jump.

In second place was "Horton Hears A Who!" with $17.6M. The G-rated animated tale is now the first big hit of 2008 with more than $117M. Third place went to "The Superhero Movie," which debuted with a disappointing $9.5M total. Hopefully that low figure will force Hollywood to put a moratorium on the 'Spoof' genre. When the parody is lamer than the subject matter they're spoofing, shouldn't that tell the studios something's wrong?

Coming in fourth was "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns" with $7.9M, showing Mr. Perry is as reliable as it gets in the movie biz when it comes to delivering audiences. Fifth place is almost too close to call, with "Drillbit Taylor" and "Shutter" -- two holdovers from last week -- duking it out.

The other new films this weekend flopped. "Stop-Loss" couldn't turn positive reviews into profit as it made only $4.5M on less than 1,500 screens to barely crack the Top 10. So not even a young, attractive and talented cast in a good movie can lure audiences to see an Iraq War film. That likely means Hollywood is done greenlighting projects that have anything to do with the war.

"Run Fatboy Run" from debuting director David Schwimmer didn't do well either. It earned only $2.3M on less than 1,200 screens

Next week should be interesting, with George Clooney starring and directing in the 1920's football comedy "Leatherheads" and Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin starring in "Nims Island."

We’re all about location here at REEL TALK. From the lush Rocky Mountains to the beautiful (and classy) San Diego – this week’s edition of Mixtape is ‘on location’ everywhere.

- So, were the creators of the recently launched Hulu from Hawaii? Where ever they’re from, we love the way they ‘move’ in and out fresh TV and movie titles to our desktops for free! [hulu]

- The hills are alive with some guy and an Sharpie. Check out our pic of the week! [gigglesugar]

- Off to the tropical lands of Vietnam for Ben Stiller’s upcoming comedy "Tropic Thunder.” Tell us what you think about the blackface.

- In the classy town of San Diego, rumor has it that Judd Apatow might bless us with a sequel of “Anchorman.” [MTV]

- Sleepy Hollow, NY; New Orleans, LA; Amityville, NY; any city in Texas – these are just a few areas where some great horror and thriller movies have taken place. Perhaps Sam Raimi will set his new eight-episode summer reality show in one of these towns. [buzzsugar]

- Opening this week:

Hey all you power bloggers, entertainment fiends and movie hounds! If you have a voice that needs to be heard, or you just want a way to get your writing out, we’ve got just the contest for you!

Introducing the REEL TALK Top Poster contest! This is our new weekly contest to welcome in our new message boards. Entering is easy, here’s how:

1. Join the REEL TALK forums. Go to http://forums.reeltalktv.com/ and sign up.

2. Once validated,start posting and responding to any topics on the forums. The more you post topics, reply, give honest and insightful comments, the greater your chance to win!

4. Winners will be chosen weekly. ( Read the rules section.)

5. Each winner will be offered a guest slot on our blog section to submit their own content on the REELTALKtv.com site! Weekly winners receive a DVD prize pack to inspire their creative flow.

This contest ends May 9th, so the join the REEL TALK forums ASAP!

Good luck!

**SPOILER ALERT!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "I AM LEGEND" YOU MAY WANT TO STOP READING NOW**

The big selling point for Warner Bros.' DVD release of "I Am Legend" (in stores today) is that the 2-disc special edition comes with the theatrical release that just about everyone saw...as well as alternate version of the movie.

Now, I'm one of those guys who loves the extras on a DVD. I may not get around to watching them all in this lifetime, but I like knowing there are 18 hours of deleted scenes, commentaries & making-of stuff on my DVDs.

And there is no extra I love more than an alternate ending. Along with deleted scenes, it gives you a sense of how the director assembled the film in the editing room.

When I saw "I Am Legend" for the first time in December, I remember that after I got over my shock at how good Will Smith was, I thought that his incredible performance actually masked some of the movie's flaws.

Rarely do I say this, but that was a movie that cried for a longer running time (it was only 100 minutes). I wanted to see more of the panic during the evacuation we see in brief flashbacks. I wanted to see more of the early days when Smith's character Robert Neville was still adjusting to being The Last Man on Earth with Sam, his faithful German Shepherd.

I also thought the ending of the film was a bit ...slapped on. Like a last-minute rewrite or something.

**SPOILER ALERT**

I didn't necessarily think Smith's character had to die to make the movie. Was it shocking that he did? Of course. It's always a shock when a Hollywood A-lister dies in a blockbuster. But it felt like it was an ending just to shock people. I thought he could have survived and the story would still have worked.

Well, turns out they did shoot an alternate ending, and yes, Smith does live in this version. But you know what? I was wrong. The movie works better the original way. Robert Neville makes a greater impact as a martyr than as a survivor.

The alt. version shows the Dark Seekers (those are the kill-by-night vampires) still have some tiny bit of humanity left in them. Neville basically appeals to that tiny part of their soul not completely corrupted when they chase him down to his lab, and strikes up a tentative truce when he shows them he may have a cure for the virus.

Then he drives off, presumably to a happier time for humanity. Eh.

Just didn't do it for me. The film lost a lot of its impact with the different ending. The filmmakers did the right thing going with the other ending, IMHO. But you be the judge. Get the DVD and decide for yourself.

[Photos: Warner Bros.]

For only the third time in their careers (and first time since 1995's "Heat"), Al Pacino and Robert Deniro co-star in THE crime drama "Righteous Kill." It's about two veteran cops trying to hunt down a murderer. Check out the trailer with Deniro and Pacino and co-star 50 Cent (!). "Righteous Kill" is due out September 12.

Check out Brooklyn native Jamal Woolard in the first production shot of him from "NOTORIOUS" as Christopher Wallace, AKA slain hip-hop icon Notorious B.I.G.

Filming on the biopic is just getting underway in and around NYC. Fox Searchlight is behind the project. You can read more about the film on producer Wayne Barrow's blog.

For those wondering why "Batman Begins" isn't already out on Blu-ray, Warner Bros. was obviously waiting to ride the hype about the sequel 'The Dark Knight.' The studio's home entertainment arm announced today that the franchise reboot will make its Blu-ray debut July 8. Ten days before the sequel debuts.

It will be available in a special limited edition set that includes the movie of course, as well as the the first six minutes of the sequel, a special comic book adaptation of that sequence, postcards, script pages and storyboards. If you just want the movie in hi-def without all the geeky extras, it will be available in a single-disc Blu-ray edition too.

Read the full press release here and check out the trailer for "The Dark Knight" which opens in theaters July 18 after the jump.

A cute elephant knocked the Woolly Mammoths from the top perch at the weekend box office and showed once again that a good family film is close to a sure thing at the movies. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who!" earned Fox about $45 million for an easy win. Check it out Alison & Jeffrey's review of the G-rated animated movie from this week's show.

As for the rest of the Top 5, "10,000 B.C." lost more than 50% of its audience (not surprising considering the terrible reviews) but still finished in second place with $16.4M.

It no doubt helped that outside of "Horton" and the not-screened-for-critics "Doomsday", the only other wide release debut was the teen fight drama "Never Back Down," which finished third with a not-so-bad total of $8.6M. "College Road Trip" -- another G-rated family film - took in $7.8M in its second weekend to finish fourth, and "Vantage Point" continues its solid run by earning $5.4M to land in fifth place.

Next week looks like a guaranteed repeat win for "Horton" as the only big releases are Owen Wilson's comedy "Drillbit Taylor" and Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns." Neither is aimed at the kiddie crowd that may drag their parents back to the theaters to see "Horton" again.

Warner Bros. announced today that the adaptation of J.K. Rowling's final Potter book, "Harry Potter and The Deathly Gallows" will be released as two films. Part I will hit theaters during the 2010 holiday season, with Part II following in Summer 2011.

Read the full press release here.

This is a genius business move by Warner Bros. Considering the first five Potter pictures have each grossed at least $795 million (!!) worldwide, the studio must be understandably worried about the imminent end of its mammoth cash cow.

There are only two more of Rowling's books left to adapt (the 6th, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" comes out in November). Considering how much control Rowling has maintained over her beloved literary creation, I can't imagine the author approving more Potter movies that are based on stories SHE DIDN'T WRITE.

So by splitting the final film into two parts, Warner Bros. has basically given themselves an 8th installment of one of the most profitable franchises in movie history. One that will get a nice boost of (free) publicity from the 'To Be Continued...' nature of the project.

Of course, there is the potential downside. Director David Yates, who did 'Order of the Phoenix' and is helming the final two Potter movies, should talk to the Wachowski Brothers about their experience with the final 2 'Matrix' films in 2003. "The Matrix Reloaded" was so such a letdown for critics AND fans that by the time "The Matrix Revolutions" came out a few months later, no one cared. That third film was the least successful of 'The Matrix' trilogy.

Of course, the built-in audience for the Harry Potter movies is much larger, so chances of a severe drop-off are slim. But still, Mr. Yates probably will feel just a little bit of pressure wrapping up the Boy Wizard's story.

Check out the latest from Warner Bros. on Alma and why she puts the fear in everyone. Read the press release after the jump.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is pleased to announce the launch of the official Project Origin community website. Developer Monolith Productions’ sequel to the critically-acclaimed supernatural first-person shooter F.E.A.R., Project Origin rips players from their seats and throws them back into the tension as they combat enemy forces and the supernatural in a struggle to find a way to stop Alma, a girl with immense power and a thirst for revenge, and uncover the mysterious forces arrayed against them before it’s too late.

At 6:00pm PST, point your crosshairs over the following link to immerse yourself in the world of Project Origin – including all-new assets!

Visit www.projectorigingame.com for more information.

Next month begins the latest installment of the Tribeca Film Festival. I was one of many observers last year who noted that the festival had too many movies in too many venues away from lower Manhattan which, after the Sept. 11th attacks, was the reason for the festival's creation by Robert De Niro and others; to get people back to that area. We were seeing movies screened all over town.

Now it's been announced that the seventh festival has trimmed its content, the 122 entries being 37 fewer than last year's glut of movies. They will be screened at fewer venues as well. As for the films themselves, the full slate has just been announced. Among the ones I'm looking forward to seeing:

Films with Frank Langella, Sissy Spacek and William H. Macy, directorial efforts by Mario Van Peebles and the gifted artist Bill Pympton, and documentaries on John F. Kennedy and the Dalai Lama. The festival runs April 23rd through May 4th. We'll be covering some of the key films in an upcoming edition of REEL TALK. In the meantime, you can read up on all the Tribeca movies here.

(NOTE: NBC Universal, REEL TALK's parent company, is a sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival)

By Guest Blogger: Macktrek (If you want to be next week's guest blogger join our contest!)
As we approach the summer blockbuster time of the year, more trailers are being released. The whole point of the trailer is to catch the audience’s attention and to make them want to see the movie.

Unfortunately, movie trailers have become movie spoilers. These trailers are showing key plot developments or twists, which take away from the movie.

Take Vantage Point for example (if you have not seen the trailer or movie, read no further). I had not see the trailer before seeing the movie, but my wife had. I enjoyed the movie more than she did, and I was not sure why.

The reason was that in the trailer, you see that the President is not shot, his double is. I had not seen the trailer, so I was surprised when I learned this in the movie.

We all enjoy watching movies, and not knowing what is going to happen next. So why do the trailers show, at times, the best part of the movie? I would like to see a return to true movie trailers instead of the movie spoilers that are now playing.

As I’m faced with another documentary about Iraq -- this one focusing on the wounded soldiers and civilians affected by the ‘war’ -- I was wondering to myself “what is one’s responsibility as a filmgoer to watch these films?”

Obviously, for me, it’s my job. So I will watch “Fighting For Life,” even though I know it contains images of soldiers and children with their limbs blown off. I wish I could bury my head in the sand and ignore this film. But then I’d be in trouble with the show’s producer, Mike Avila. And surely, to avoid seeing the film is to avoid thinking about the war? That’s tantamount to hoping it all goes away if we don’t dwell on it too much. And that’s just morally irresponsible.

a href="http://www.fightingforlifethemovie.com/">So I’m trying to realize that to watch this film is my duty as someone who cares. Believe me, I know it’s not always the cinematic experience we want, but I’m trying to regard it as a privilege, rather than a chore.

- And now the world is safe. Check out pics of 'Wawtchmen' heroes in their costumes. [UGO]

- Ledger's Film is still a go! [Premiere Daily]

- Who says being a metalhead is a bad thing? Check out the new "Iron Man" poster.

- On a budget, here's a scoop for cheap rentals. Read how to find 99 cent movie rentals on iTunes. [unpluggd]

- Opening this week:

And sometimes being a hero is tough.

It's weekends like this that make you wonder how many people pay attention to what the critics say.

Despite some of the worst reviews for a big-budget film in recent memory, "10,000 B.C." took top honors at the weekend box office with more than $35 million. Just about everyone's giving the credit for the solid-but-not-spectacular debut to Warner Bros.' marketing team for the way they pitched the film as a prehistoric epic -- not the unintentionally funny fiasco it really is.

Read about the rest of the Weekend Top 5 after the jump.

Equally awful reviews didn't keep "College Road Trip" from earning $14M. I guess Disney was smart to make sure the Martin Lawrence film had a G rating to ensure Raven Symone's fans from her Disney Channel show would come out this weekend.

In third place was "Vantage Point," which despite terrible (I''m running out of adjectives) reviews keeps earning respectable cash (another $7.5M this weekend) and in fourth, Will Ferrell's disappointing "Semi-Pro" with $5.9M.

Bringing up the rear is "The Bank Job," with a decent $5.7M. Jason Statham's most seriously dramatic work was the only film in the Top 5 with positive write-ups.

Jeffrey and I differ quite markedly in our approach to viewing movies. He claims that he wants to know nothing about a film before he sees it. So he avoids print articles or internet chat about an upcoming movie.

I, on the other hand, like to know what I’m in for. I read the synopses in magazines and even check out opinion pieces online. For me knowing the premise of a film doesn’t spoil the enjoyment. After all, it’s impossible to avoid previews these days…and they usually give everything away anyway!

But, when it comes to films with animals or small children, I like to know exactly what is going to happen. I know this probably does a disservice to the filmmaker, but I like to be prepared, and if it’s a heart breaker, I need to steel myself.

So for all of you out there who are like me, here are a couple of spoilers. Some films with themes I found upsetting, which I might have avoided had it not been my job. (Don’t read on if you like to be kept in the dark about a film.)

“Snow Angels”
Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell play the separated parents of a four-year-old girl. He’s a hopeless ne’er-do-well, and she’s overwhelmed so we know right from the start that something bad is going to happen. And it does, to the little girl. Then it gets worse. Be prepared.

“Gone Baby Gone”
A four-year-old girl is abducted and presumed dead. Another young boy is found dead in the den of a pedophile. A gritty reality pervades this film, which makes it impossible to dismiss as “just a film.”

“I Am Legend”
Will smith’s trusty, loyal dog defends him and gets bitten by rabid, infected dogs. His death scene is one of the most upsetting scenes I’ve seen in a long time.

“Under The Same Moon”
After his grandmother dies, a nine year old boy embarks on a journey across the Mexican border to find his mother who is working in LA illegally. Luckily this one ends well.

"The Year My Parents Went On Vacation"
An 11-year-old boy is left in the care of his grandfather while his parents hide out from the repressive regime of 1970’s Brazil. His grandfather dies and he is adopted by the Jewish community. This has a pseudo-happy ending.

On the other hand, my job allows me to see some beautiful films that bring tears of joy instead of sorrow. “Blindsight” is such a film. It’s about six blind young Tibetans who take on mountaineering as a way to build spirit and confidence. This one will make even the most hard-hearted among you weep with joy!

Nic Cage isn't letting the fiasco that was "Next" scare him away from science fiction movies. He's on board to do Summit Entertainment's "Knowing."

Rose Byrne is also reportedly signed to co-star as the daughter of a woman who buried a 1962 time capsule that contains key info like the dates of the assassinations of historical figures, the hotel fire death of the wife of Cage's character, and an impending world collapse.

Alex Proyas, who directed "I, Robot," will sit in the big chair for this one. Production is due to begin March 25 in Australia.

Cage also is lending his voice to the live action-CGI hybrid adaptation of the classic Japanime series "G-Force" from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, due out in 2009. Anyone else wanna bet a "Ghost Rider" sequel isn't too far off?

Universal Pictures (which, like REEL TALK, is part of the NBC Universal family) is offering up free tickets to an advance screening of George Clooney's upcoming comedy "Leatherheads." Set in the world of 1920's pro football, Clooney directs and stars alongside Renee Zellweger. It opens April 4.

Get details and check out the trailer after the jump.

And here's the link to sign up to try and score free tickets.

www.leatherheadsmovie.com

Among the slew of new DVDs released this week is the 50th anniversary edition of "12 Angry Men," one of the greatest trial movies ever made.

It's the only movie set entirely inside a jury room, with jurors deliberating what appears at first to be an open-and-shut case of a Latino boy's murder of his father with a knife.

Check out scenes from and read more about the 50th anniversary DVD re-release of Sidney Lumet's classic, "12 Angry Men" after the jump.

Not so fast, initially the lone holdout for acquittal, played by Henry Fonda, fends off attacks from the others, but one by one, through Reginald Rose's logically-structured script, they cave in and see what really happened. It was the debut behind the lenses for Sidney Lumet, a child actor turned TV director, en route to a magnificent directorial career that continues to the present day [check out our review of his great thriller last year, "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead"].

And what a cast: Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, e.g. Marshall, and great character actors Jack Warden, Joe Sweeney, George Voskoveck, Martin Balsam, Ed Binns, Robert Webber, John Fiedler, and Ed Begley and the only one still among us, Jack Klugman. What a masterpiece!

The commemorative DVD includes two all-new featurettes; "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt: The Making of 12 Angry Men" and "Inside the Jury Room."

"12 Angry Men" is as relevant today as it was during its theatrical debut, five decades ago.

I don't know what it is about these Pixar films that I can't get enough of. And I know I am not the only sailor in this boat when I say this either, especially with the recent Oscar win of Ratatouille this past weekend.

I'm not sure if it's the 3-D animation that makes the animated films of today so much more appealing than the cartoons I used to watch as a kid, or if it's the adult humor/innuendo that's often found in a lot of these films (i.e."Shark Tale").

But now from the same masterminds of "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Monster's Inc." and "Finding Nemo" comes one of my most anticipated fun-films this summer "WALL-E."

If you couldn't get enough of Boo's adorability in Monster's Inc., just wait until you see WALL-E. Too cute! Disney/Pixar already anticipates everyone to fall for him. A few weeks ago the animation company unleashed a line of Wall-E toys. Do a simple Google search and you'll see. Perhaps we shouldn't call this a 'toy' but rather a 'Robot Action Figure'?

Seems like comic to film adaptations are the theme-du-jour in Tinseltown. And that’s a good thing.

We’re not talking about Archie's Gang type comics. It’s serious, independent and at times deep, graphic novel to film adaptations we will soon see on the big screen.

Slated for release in the next two years:

Warner Bros will produce, along with Leonardo DiCaprio, the live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomos’s six-volume graphic novel “Akira.” The movie studio has also recently mentioned plans to role out the “Justice League of America” film by early 2009.

The graphic novel “Black Hole,” based on Charles Burns’ visionary masterpiece is now being crafted into a feature length film by Paramount. David Fincher (“Panic Room,” “Zodiac”) is set to direct.

Columbia Pictures and producer Neal H. Moritz (“I Am Legend”) have recently acquired the rights to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s flawed superhero comic, “The Boys.”

These adaptations are well worth the trip to the cinema when they premiere. I only hope this is not just a fad, but a set trend we'll see more of in the distant future. There are just too many awesome, one-of-a-kind GNs out there that need to be thwarted to a larger audience!

Producing a movie show isn't all fun and games, but, it's a good gig, I won't lie. Some days are better than others.

I went over yesterday morning to the TODAY SHOW studios across the street to escort this week's Top Billing guest Will Ferrell over to our place.

For those of you who don't know, REEL TALK's home base is 30 Rock in Midtown Manhattan. Most people are familiar with Rockefeller Center because of the Christmas Tree lighting, also SNL tapes here as does NBC Nightly News and the hilarious "30 Rock" is obviously based here (but not shot here).

We're also across the street from THE TODAY SHOW studio and plaza, where there's always a big crowd of people who get up at an ungodly hour to hold up signs behind the talent and say 'Hi Mom!'

Anyway, inside their downstairs green room, I greeted New Line publicist Nicole Kalish and Will's personal publicist Matt Labov, who's the Grand Poobah of publicity for Hollywood's comedy stars.

Then I stopped and surveyed the scene.

"Semi-Pro" co-star Woody Harrelson was walking around barefoot in a Flint Tropics warm-up suit, getting ready for a 2-on-2 pickup game on the plaza against Meredith Vieira and Knicks guard Nate Richardson.
Two feet away, Gary Coleman (yes, THAT Gary Coleman) was putting shmear on a bagel and talking with Pat Harrington ('Schneider' from the old sitcom "One Day At A Time"). Check out a segment from the pickup game.

Bonnie Franklin, the star of 'One Day', was putting her coat on to leave since their TV reunion segment was over. Meanwhile Valerie Bertinelli was rushing back to the studio to talk about her new book (she looks GREAT after the weight loss, BTW). Oh, and Mackenzie Phillips was chowing down on a donut, a bagel and what looked like a turkey wrap. There were also a couple of gorgeous twin girls who were doing something on the show, and legendary sportscaster Bob Costas. I felt like I was stuck in a Nick at Nite fantasy sequence!

Like I said, some days are better than others here at RT. Yesterday was one of the better ones.

We just told you about a movie opening May 22, 2009. Now there's news that the big movie opening May 22nd of this year may actually debut in France.

Word is "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" may have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

This makes perfect sense, if you think about it, for both sides. Even though I think "Indy 4" is a sure-fire smash, after a 19-year hiatus I'm sure senors Lucas & Spielberg want to take no chances and intend to pull every promotional maneuver they can to ensure their beloved franchise blows up (in a good way).

Cannes, meanwhile, gets a film premiere GUARANTEED to earn them maximum exposure in industry and mainstream press. Can you imagine on how many media outlets will use the pictures and video of Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on the red carpet?

Now if we can only get another trailer ...

- In case you missed it, or were too bored to sit through the entire telecast; here's a list of all the Oscar winners.

- Oscar winner Diablo Cody sleeps with her award.

- Wanna win free DVDs and a spot on our site as a guest writer? Enter our contest.

- The WWE has signed a deal with Fox to generate a feature and few straight-to-DVD flicks. This time, focusing on a soft PG-13 rating rather than their usual hard R. Had no idea WWE's films were a hard R. Aren't most of their viewers under 13? Shouldn't they have thought about this when they first started making films?

- Opening this week:
"Semi-Pro" (We just interviewed Will -- interview will be up ASAP) | "The Other Boleyn Girl" | "Chicago 10" | "Penelope" | "Bonneville"

- New on DVD:
"The Darjeeling Limited" | "30 Days of Night" | "Goya's Ghosts" | "Death at a Funeral"

- FOUND: Here's a little something, something for all you Star Wars Fans. Probably the cutest film critic yet!

- Kudos for North Korea. The country has shown a gaining interest in Western arts. Reuters reports they have recently invited Eric Clapton to rock the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

- Everyone should get a Chumby. What is it? According to the company's press release, Chumby is " hassle-free way to enjoy [the] most out of the Internet at a glance and wake up to thousands of different streaming Internet radio stations, custom “alarm tones,” videos and more."

Sign me up, I'm sold.

I know, we're A bit late with our weekend box office tally. Blame the Oscars. You see the exact numbers on the right side of this page. "Vantage Point" overcame an annoying plot device and pretty bad reviews to debut with a strong $22.9M. That was about it for the week's new movies, as Jack Black's "Be Kind Rewind" and "Charlie Bartlett" both flopped badly.

But a couple films showed decent staying power in their sophomore weekends.

"Jumper" dropped just over half its audience -- not bad for an action pic opening wide -- and looks on pace to earn close to its $85M budget back. "Step Up 2 The Streets" and "The Spiderwick Chronicles" did even better at holding on to their audiences, both losing less than half their opening weekend crowds. With a pretty weak slate of movies on the immediate horizon, both stand to do respectable business.

And just when you thought romantic comedies were dead in the water, "Fool's Gold" proves good chemistry sometimes matters more than good material. It's at $52M after 3 weeks. "27 Dresses" meanwhile, is probably going to make Katherine Heigl alot of money on her next picture. That one's inching close to $75M ... nice profit considering it only cost $27M to make. Looks like Hollywood's found its latest successor to Julia Roberts as America's Sweetheart (except on "Grey's Anatomy," where Izzy really annoys me).

I suspect "Juno" will start to fade since it failed to win Best Picture or Best Actress for Ellen Page. Of all the nominated movies, "No Country for Old Men" seems the obvious choice to benefit from its four Oscar wins. How much of an Oscar boost it gets remains to be seen, since its been around theaters for awhile now.

We talked with movie poster artist extraordinaire Drew Struzan the other day about his collaborative effort with his son Christian on this year's official Oscar poster.

Drew took off from his busy schedule wrapping up his work on the final poster for this May's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" to talk with us. He's also working on the poster for Guillermo Del Toro's "Hellboy 2."

Listen as Drew talks about his long relationship with George Lucas & Steven Spielberg and about returning to the Indy franchise.

Some of these Oscar pre-shows are a bit more entertaining than the actual award show. Think about it. You get short, succinct interviews with most of the nominees, a comical host, and various clips from the awarded movies. It's a win-for-all for those of us with short attention spans.

But I have to say, out of all the celebrities from the red carpet, Helen Mirren is one of the best dressed celebrities by far.

Check back for our footage from the Oscars' red carpet.

Fans and collectors of movie posters know Drew Struzan. He's like the Da Vinci of one-sheets. Even if you don't know his name, you know his work. The classic movie poster images he's created include the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter series, Back To The Future, The Muppet Movie, First Blood, The Goonies, the list goes on and on.

Hear a snippet of the interview after the jump.

Struzan designed this year's official poster for the 80th Annual Academy Awards along with his son Christian, an accomplished artist himself. REEL TALK producer Michael Avila talked with him while he works on his latest project (a little film called "Indiana Jones 4" or something) about how he split the work with his son .. and how he came up with the look for the poster.

I was disappointed above all that "The Kite Runner" got short shrift, either in the Best Foreign Language Film or even Best Picture category. It got some obscure nomination in the Best Score category, which is short shrift for one of the most amazing films of recent years.

Ben Affleck, for directing and kid brother Casey, for Leading Actor in "Gone, Baby Gone" was overlooked. It opened in Boston and nationwide the week the Red Sox were playing in the World Series. It's no wonder it tanked at the box office.

How could the Academy overlook Josh Brolin for "No Country for Old Men?" That is the most egregious omission. I told his wife, Diane Lane, he got "hosed," in the vernacular. Of course you can't nominate everyone. But still, superb work is superb work.

In the Best Documentary category, two films from my Best of 2007 list but were overlooked; "I Will Never Forget You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Weisenthal." It's about the Nazi hunter who single-handedly brought 1,400 Nazi war criminals to justice. Also, "Nanking," which depicted the ravaging of the ancient capital of China by invading Japanese hordes in 1937 in one of the most savage series of events in modern recorded history. It was helped by table readings by some well known actors; Woody Harrelson, Mariel Hemingway and Jurgen Prochnow, best known, ironically, for portraying the B-boat commander in "Das Boot," perhaps the finest submarine movie of them all.

So to those actors and others whose fine work was overlooked, soldier on, and good luck in coming years, sooner or later, you'll get your due.

Everyone is moaning about Sean Penn’s absence from the Oscar ballot as well as “Into The Wild” being omitted as best picture. But I think there are other, more egregious oversights.

Namely, Nicole Kidman for “Margot at the Wedding.” In a business that is constantly lamenting the lack of good female roles, here was one that was screaming for Oscar recognition.

Margot is a resentful, passive-aggressive manipulator in great pain who can also make the audience laugh with her insensitivity and gamesmanship. I loved the film, written and directed by Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”). "Margot" is an ode to French films of the seventies by such directors as Eric Rohmer -- the master of the moral tale. Just look at Margot’s '70s style hat and neckerchief.

Also, as I’ve said before on the show “3:10 to Yuma” deserved more than a couple of tech. nominations. And what does Christian Bale have to do to get noticed? He’s one of the best actors working today. The producers of “Rescue Dawn” barely had the money to promote the film, which is why no one saw it! They certainly didn’t have the money to launch a publicity campaign for Bale. A shame, as his performance was as riveting as could be.

The film, “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” also deserved some Academy love, a fine family thriller from veteran Sidney Lumet. And what about “Waitress?” That should have been up for best original screenplay at least! Also, someone please give Kevin bacon a prize. He’s always good even if the film isn’t (“Death Sentence”) and has been overlooked now for “Mystic River”, “The Woodsman” and “Rails and Ties.”

Thankfully, the Independent Spirit awards exist to recognize a lot of these oversights. Check out < a href=" http://www.filmindependent.org/spiritawards/ ">their celebration for the best in indie film on February 23rd.

Some of the best toys I saw at Toy Fair were at the Mattel showroom. The “Dark Knight” was especially inspiring. The 3 3/4 action figures look great, as you can see in some of our pictures.

Check out the new Batmobile – cool, huh?

Of course, one of the biggest reveals at TF ’08 was the Joker action figures, based on the likeness of the late Heath Ledger. And it did look very much like him.

It was a bit …unsettling, I guess, to see the figure on the shelf. Sadness too, because it reminded me of how great a loss Ledger’s early death was. Also because this should have been a great time for Ledger.

I’ve written before how “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan mentioned to me how excited he was about Heath’s performance as the Joker awhile back. He should have been here at Toy Fair, doing mega press opps with photogs tripping over themselves seeing him standing next to the action figures of his demented character. I have to imagine that even for the most dedicated and serious of actors, getting cast in a role as iconic, as pop culturally relevant as the Joker, must be a blast.

It’s a terrible shame Heath Ledger will never get to enjoy that.

So it's all over the trades today that Leonardo DiCaprio's production company has teamed up with Warner Bros. to produce two live-action films based on Katsuhiro Otomo's iconic graphic novel "Akira" and Aint It Cool News reports Leo's going to star as Kaneda. Joseph Gordon Levitt, who through fine work in films like "Brick" and "The Lookout" has made nearly everyone forget his launch to fame on the sitcom "Third Rock From The Sun," is apparently onboard as Tetsuo.

Genius casting! DiCaprio simply doesn't pick bad projects. The guy's got the Midas touch, so if he's involved as producer AND star, then I'm very confident the adaptation of one of the greatest graphic novels & Anime pictures EVER is in good hands. And Gordon Levitt is a fantastic actor who's well on his way to fanboy Demi-Godness if this and G.I. Joe hit big.

No word yet on when "Akira" could hit theaters -- but do yourself a favor and check out Otomo's six-volume Graphic Novel collection. It's an absolute masterpiece, as is the anime movie adaptation that is as mesmerizing today as it was two decades ago.

Tonight, REEL TALK covered the premiere of the new thriller “Vantage Point,” which opens this week.

Catch a glimpse of the "Vantage Point" red carpet after the jump.

From “Lost” and “Speed Racer,” Michael Fox stopped by to chat with us on his role in the action flick. He was pretty tight-lipped on the details and his role in “Vantage Point,” as was the remainder of the cast.

High-energy director Peter Travis straightened out a few pieces of the puzzle for us, but it was the cautious demeanor of Edgar Ramirez, who portrays a secret role in the film, that really made us question how detailed a puzzle “Vantage Point” really is.

We also uncovered a 2nd-degree-of-separation on tonight’s red carpet with two of the female leads. Sigourney Weaver plays Rex Brooks, a news producer to Zoe Saldana’s anchor character. The pair can also be seen this winter in the sci-fi action pic, “Avatar.”

And we’ve saved the best (according to last year’s Academy Awards) for last. Forest Whitaker opened up to us on the new path his career has taken since his 2007 Oscar win. Check it out and let us know what you think!

The cast for next summer’s big-budget “G.I. Joe” movie is expanding faster than the waistline of a contestant on “The Biggest Loser” while on vacation from the campus. Now Dennis Quaid is onboard as General Hawk.

Chris Eccleston from “Heroes” and “28 Days Later” is inked to play Destro (one of my personal faves from the “Joe” canon).

Having just seen (and been greatly impressed by) Quaid in “Vantage Point” I’m now getting very excited about this film. Sienna Miller as the Baronness is genius casting and as long as they succeed like “Transformers” did in balancing action and affection for the source material – minus the tongue-in-cheek – this should turn out well. Not even Marlon Wayans being cast as Ripcord can dim my enthusiasm any more!

BTW, Hasbro’s releasing special anniversary editions of the classic G.I. Joe action figures from the early 1980s. Those were only some of the best toys EVER!

Take a look at some of the pictures. The figures are as detailed as you would expect modern action figures to be, but what I thought was a nice tough was keeping the original blister pack art & design. Very retro stylish. These are nice treats to whet our appetites for next year. Expect an absolute bonanza of G.I. Joe stuff by Summer of ’09, when the film hits theaters.

George Lucas is the Godfather of Toy Licensing and he’s not disappointing with his line of toys related to his upcoming “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series. The action figures and playsets were typically great -- especially the Clone Transport, which holds up to 24 clone troopers.

That’s what you expect when the name Star Wars is on the blister pack. You know what really caught my attention? The Mighty Muggs Stars Wars vinyl figurines.

Mighty Muggs are the new ‘hot’ toy property, an urban vinyl doll. Most of the big movie toy lines will have their characters on Mighty Muggs – the Indy 4 Muggs looked especially interesting, but nothing topped the Darth Vader and Boba Fett Muggs. I want ‘em now!

Check out our slideshow below for more Toy Fair '08 Pictures. Let us know what you think of these toys and which ones caught your eye!

While just about everyone’s pantin’ with anticipation for Indy 4, gauging the demand for the related toy line is a bit harder. Despite the popularity of the first three Indiana Jones movies, the toys were never big sellers back in the '80s. But Lucasfilm and Hasbro are going all out with some cool toys this summer.

The 3 3/4 action figures, small and tall, are greatly detailed and articulate. An added bonus is that some classic characters from the earlier films are also being made into figures. The Lost Temple of Akator playset made me wish I was 8 years old again – kids today have no idea how lucky they are to have these great toys to play with!

And check out the pix of the 12-inch dolls: Not only do they look A LOT like Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf, but if you buy a certain number of the 12-inchers (4 I think) you can send away for the exclusive Ark of the Covenant (the small one, not the monster one on display).

My favorite Indy Toy? The Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head: Taters of the Lost Ark!

This summer’s loaded with potential blockbusters, the kind that not only sell lots of movie tickets but also tons of toys. Toy Fair 2008 gave us our first look at the toys related to some of this year’s most-anticipated movies from Hasbro, including Iron Man.

Check out the line of goodies tied in to Jon Favreau’s adaptation of one of Marvel’s most complex characters. The Iron Man Helmet looks sweet, the action figures have insane detail. But what really grabbed my attention was the 12-inch Iron Man with the removable helmet. Check out the Robert Downey Jr. likeness – nice!

What something really different? Try the Hokey Pokey Hulk – yep, that’s right. A Hulk doll that does the Hokey Pokey. Or how about the Hulk Operation board game? Every time you make a bad move, Hulk get very angry!!

Stay with REELTALKtv.com for more toy fair finds and goodies!

According to Variety, three new faces will join Hugh Jackman on the set of next year's highly anticipated film, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

Hip Hop artist and Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am; "Friday Night Lights” costar Taylor Kitsch, and Ryan Reynolds are listed to star in the comic book adaptation.

Really, Ryan Reynolds? I know he pumped up for the third "Blade" movie, but this casting just doesn't feel right. Just like the casting from the "Justice League" movie didn't feel right. And that movie was recently put 'on hold.'

The Toy Fair 2008 unwrapped last weekend. And if you were too unfortunate to attend, we’ve wrapped up all you need to know in this week’s REEL TALK Mix Tape.

- Apparently this is what the Cloverfield monster looks like? This is a little odd, considering that the monster we saw in the film was dark gray and much more muscular. Perhaps, and I'm just throwing it out there, this is its twin brother. Another monster we're to see in the sequel...dunh, dunh, dunh!

- The NY Post unveils Mattel's Ledger-Inspired Joker doll

- Check out our slideshow below for more Toy Fair Photos.

- Next weeks Oscar presenters and performers now announced. Amy Adams, Kristen Chenoweth and Marlon Saunders will perform music from “Enchanted.” As well as the cast from “Once,” and “August Rush.”

- Is anyone still watching "Survivor?"

- Hard-core drugs make it into the tube.

- "Quarterlife" to premiere on NBC this week.

- Look everybody! It’s Martin Short!

- Out this week:

- New On DVD Today:

Those anguished cries of "noooooo!!!" you may have heard from the cubicle or office across the hall this morning most likely came from someone with an HD-DVD player. Today, Toshiba announced it was quitting the DVD format war. Toshiba's tap-out means Blu-ray will be the DVD technology of the future.

THAT STINKS!!

Want to know why? Because I own an HD-DVD player, along with a bunch of HD-DVDs of some of my favorite films, including "Blade Runner." Which basically in a few years will be the equivalent of still owning first edition Betamax releases of "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" from two decades ago.

Every expert commenting on Blu-ray's win over HD-DVD cites last month's decision by Warner Bros., the studio with the largest home video catalog, to go exclusively with Blu-ray as the turning point in the technology fight. But they're wrong.

Once the porn industry threw in with Blu-ray, that stuck a fork in HD-DVD. When companies like Digital Underground and Vivid, two major distributors of home video porn (hey, I do my research), decided to go Blu-ray it was only a matter of when, not if, HD-DVD would surrender. Like it or not, porn has pull.

By March, HD-DVD shipments will cease to retailers. I'm still not sure if I'm going to drop cash on a (much) more expensive Blu-ray player. I could go totally anti-establishment and stick with HD. I could load up on enough HD-DVD releases in the next few weeks to keep me busy for a couple years. And I'm sure HD-DVD players will be priced to sell soon so I could stockpile a few players that I could just swap out every couple years as they break down. If all goes well, I can hold out 'til the next dvd format change -- around 2020. The extra bonus is that by then, HD-DVDs could be highly sought-after collectibles like some laserdiscs are today.

Take that, Blu-ray suits.

(But if anyone hears of a good sale on a Blu-ray player, email me)

First it was Untraceable that got me thinking, now George Romero's Diary of the Dead is trying to portray a similar underlying message in his film about zombies, which was released last weekend.

The message is that our modern day society seems to be dangerously trading human compassion and a desire for knowledge, in exchange for non-stop entertainment.

For example, I recently saw the film "Untraceable" starring Diane Lane. If you haven't seen it I suggest you prepare yourself for some cringing torture scenes. However, underneath the gory and nerve-wrecking segments of the film is an underlying message as to what kind of society we have become -- a group of unsatiated entertainment feigns.

Of course the movie is fiction, but if it weren't, this is definitely something I could see happening in real-life. It may seem ironic that a form of entertainment is eliciting a message that is in some ways against its own purpose, but whatever happened to compassion?

This may be a message that more and more filmmakers are trying to portray. How many of us remember the phrase "putting yourself in the other person's shoes?" So then, why is it becoming such an addiction to get the "latest Britney update" or watch over and over again drunken videos of people like David Hasselhoff?

Since when did a desire for knowledge, current events and human compassion become such unappealing characteristics? Perhaps “Untraceable” is trying to use their way of "entertaining" to bring us out of the dark about ourselves. What do you think?

DVR and TiVo have certainly changed the way we watch TV, but has it changed the way we view films?

It’s causing me a problem -- every time I miss a line of dialogue in a film my right hand twitches and reaches for that rewind button. Am I the only one? Maybe I shouldn’t watch TV with the remote in hand.

And how long before that technology exists for the ability to watch a film on the big screen with rewind/pause capability? What do you think?

The mind boggles.

Time to get back to work!

Tuesday, the 10,500 members of the Writers Guild of America voted to end their industry crippling, 100 day strike. 3,492 voted yes to ending the strike, 283 voted against it.

.

It's important to note that the vote to ratify the actual contract won't be completed until Feb. 25, but given the lopsided vote totals to end the strike and the fact that the union's board of directors have signed off on it, approval is considered a formality.

So what did the WGA get? The agreement gives writers a maximum flat fee of $1,200 for programs streamed online during the deal's first two years, along with 2 percent of a distributor's gross in the third year (that was a crucial part of the union's negotiating stance).

The tentative deal also includes provisions for increased residual payments for movies and TV programs downloaded from the Internet.

Writers on many of the shows shut down by the strike were expected to report to work TODAY, trying to salvage at least part of the interrupted television season. Since scripts need to be written and rewritten, it could actually take several weeks before actual production resumes on some shows. Half-hour sitcoms will have an easier time getting up to speed than 60 min. dramas.

One TV event that will go on as scheduled is the Academy Awards. The Guild's approval of the new deal ends the threat of a boycott that would have probably kept most celebrities from attending the Oscars, which take place Sunday, Feb. 24. Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which puts on the Oscar telecast, was understandably relieved the strike had ended.

"I am ecstatic that the 80th Academy Awards presentation can now proceed full steam ahead," he said.

At Monday night's premiere of the movie "Jumper," the film's screenwriter and WGA member Simon Kinberg described his future plans once the strike ends.

Here's the official WGA announcement to striking writers; thanks to DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com.

"On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.

Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. If you're not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work. If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so. Questions concerning return-to-work issues should be directed to the WGAW legal department or the WGAE’s assistant executive director.

The decision to begin this strike was not taken lightly and was only made after no other reasonable alternative was possible. We are profoundly aware of the economic loss these fourteen weeks have created not only for our members but so many other colleagues who work in the television and motion picture industries. Nonetheless, with the establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual formulas based on distributor’s gross revenue (among other gains) we are confident that the results are a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future.

We hope to build upon the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and solidarity that were generated by your hard work during the strike.

Over the next weeks and months, we will be in touch with you to discuss and develop ways we can use our unprecedented unity to make our two guilds stronger and more effective than ever.

Now that the strike has ended, there remains the vote to ratify the new contract. Ballots and information on the new deal, both pro and con, will be mailed to you shortly. You will be able to return those ballots via mail or at a membership meeting to be held Monday, February 25th, 2008, at times and locations to be determined.

Thank you for making it possible. As ever, we are all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone President, WGAW

Michael Winship President, WGAE

"

I was recently watching “The Pirates Who Do Nothing: A Veggie Tales Movie” (do you still envy my job?) when it occurred to me that the villain of the piece was British -- as it so often is in movies. Why is that? I’m British, and I don’t think I’m particularly dastardly.

From Basil Rathbone as the evil sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood, ” to Cruella de Vil in “101 Dalmatians,” George Sanders in “Rebecca” and “The Jungle Book,” Jeremy Lyons in “The Lion King,” the list goes on. Hollywood is fixated on British villains.

An interesting note -- the actor who played Darth Vader in “Star Wars” was British, yet James Earl Jones was brought in to overdub his lines!

[Photo courtesy of Disney Pictures]

Terrible reviews did nothing to keep audiences away from the latest Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson pairing, "Fool's Gold." It took top honors at the weekend box office with $22 million. In second place, proving once again that his fan base is as loyal as it gets, was Martin Lawrence's "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" with $17.1M.

The "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus" 3D concert movie picked up another $10.5M but saw its receipts tumble 66%. Fourth place went to Jessica Alba's "The Eye" .. which only lost 46% of its audience in its sophomore weekend. Not bad for a movie with absolutey no buzz. The unstoppable "Juno" added another $5.7M to push its total to $117M.

"Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights: From Hollywood to the Heartland" bombed, earning just $507,000 on 962 screens. Too bad. It's a fun movie that was a daring experiment for Vaughn to do.

And the disastrous debut of "The Hottie & the Nottie" should put an end to Paris Hilton's dreams of movie stardom. It earned $25,000 in its first weekend on 111 screens. That translates to about 20 tickets sold per theater. Ouch.

Looks likes the three-month-old writers strike could be coming to an end. Sunday, Guild leaders unanimously voted to ask members to decide on ratifying the contract and end the walkout, according to AP reports.

West Coast Guild members will meet up Tuesday to allow writers to decide whether the strike should be brought to an immediate end.

Keep checking reeltalktv.com to get the latest updates on the writers strike.

In a little less than a month the southern gem of music festivals begins. Yep, I’m talking about SXSW (South by Southwest).

In a nutshell, SXSW is a music and film trade show by day and an explosive entertainment festival by night. If you’ve never been to the festival, I highly recommend it! There’s no other place where you’ll have the ability to hear hundreds of musical acts from around the world in the best city in the world, (next to NYC), Austin, Texas.

Also on the festival’s agenda is their film conference and interactive festival. I’m salivating over the thought of this right now! There is nothing I love more of – music, film and media!

SXSW is March 7-16. For more information on the festival, visit SXSX.com.

I have been dying to see a film version of Tolkien’s the Hobbit ever since I was a young girl and fell in love with the book. It had such a profound effect on me that I named my pet hamster Bilbo Baggins and even resented Frodo when he became the lead character in “Lord Of The Rings.” My father had to convince me to read it when, out of loyalty to Bilbo I expressed reservations.

Now there are reports that Guillermo del Toro is about to sign on to direct the planned back-to-back film versions of “The Hobbit.” If that’s true, they are sure to be fantastic!

As Peter Jackson is tied up with “The Lovely Bones” and “Tintin,” (another childhood fave of mine!) he will only be able to executive produce the projects, after recently reconciling with new line cinema after years of post-LORT acrimony.

If del Toro does step in, it would be a great fit. No other director can handle fantasy, fear and genuine feeling as well as him. (If you’ve only seen “Hellboy” then check out “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Cronos.”) My only concern is that the recent “Beowulf” stole the thunder of “The Hobbit” with that excellent dragon fight finale.

Apparently those filmmakers admitted being influenced by the battle with Smaug that ends “The Hobbit”. Del Toro will have to up the ante quite a bit to match that!

After “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" in 3D grossed a mind-blowing $31.7 million during its opening weekend, Walt Disney Pictures issued the most anti-climactic press release of 2008: The Mouse House is extending the theatrical engagement of the monster hit.

Cynics would say Disney had plans all along of keeping the film that documents Miley Cyrus' smash-hit concert in theaters longer than the 'special one-week engagement' that was advertised. That the studio knew the film was breaking advance online ticket sales records, but they stuck to the 'one week only' sales pitch to maximize sales.

Either way, this means that the huge Hannah Montana fan base gets another chance to see their heroine in 3D action.

Read the full press release.

Here is our weekly list of links sure to fill you with all the entertainment sound bites you need to know. It's time for our weekly series: REEL TALK's Mix Tape Tuesdays!

Fashion week begins soon, (sigh) another reason to restart the diet.

It’s FAT TUESDAY, now you can watch your friends have more fun in NOLA than you.

And it's also Super Tuesday. Mashable.com has a huge web list of candidate information, including educational sites and resources.

The ultimate Valentines Day cards -- with little Law and Order twist.

Eva Longoria Parker visited our studios last week, you can watch the interview here.

New On DVD:

Lets get it on with Jesse L. Martin who will play Marvin Gaye in a biopic labled “Sexual Healing.” The project will be produced by James Gandolfini who will also star in the project

Can’t watch raunchy movie scenes without getting red in the face? Check out Clean Flicks. While they no longer edit out certain cenes, they now offer "carefully selected" films that meet their standards...worth a try.

And the Tuesday film of the week, we posted this in our Romantic Shorts section. Check it out, it's pretty funny.

[Clip Courtesy of AtomFilms.com]

SPOILER ALERT
The more romantic comedies I watch, the more I realize that they are very difficult to do well. I haven’t seen a great one in years. And in fact, in recent years, we have had spectacular disasters such as “Failure to Launch”, “Because I Said So”, “Catch And Release” and “The Wedding Date”. But good or bad, there’s a formula they all follow…and it goes like this.

Two polar opposites (often a ‘high-maintenance’ woman, see “French Kiss” or “When Harry Met Sally” or “The Family Stone”) meet and decide they hate each other. Meg Ryan is particularly adept at this role.

Man can be ultra-laid back (Matthew McConaughey in “Failure to Launch,” Matthew McConaughey in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Fools Gold”), foreign (Kevin Kline in “French Kiss”) or a journalist (Richard Gere in “Runaway Bride,” James Marsden in “27 dresses”).

Then there’s a deception. The man usually tricks the women into believing he is sincere and wants to spend time with the woman. Sometimes the woman does the tricking (“Failure to Launch,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”).

Then, despite themselves, our leads fall for each other and they have sex. Subsequently, the deception is discovered and feelings are hurt and the trust/love is gone (“27 Dresses” when the article comes out in paper, “Failure to Launch” when he realizes his parents ‘bought’ her services).

Then comes the period of reflection. Cue montage of moments together and regret filled whining to best friend (Rosie O’Donnell and Jeremy Piven perhaps?)

Next, there is often a last minute rush to catch the other person before he/she marries someone else or takes off for another country. The best example of this is Woody Allen rushing through the streets of NYC to reach Mariel Hemingway before she departs for London in “Manhattan.” Worst is Katherine Heigl racing to catch James Marsden at a wedding on a boat. Paul Rudd also rushes to the airport to catch Lake Bell in this week’s “Over Her Dead Body.”

No screenplay ever again should end with someone rushing to the airport or buying a ticket to get through the gate to declare his/her love to another. Am I cynical? When it comes to romantic comedies, yes.

Recent news indicates that Joe Johnson has replaced the film’s original director, Mark Romanek for the Universal sci-fi flick. Johnson last directed “Hidalgo” and “Jurassic Park III.”

It’s been noted that Romanek has fled the production due to creative differences.

The film’s main character, Benicio Del Toro is still attached to star in the production with Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt to costar.

Production for “The Wolfman” starts in London mid March.

If the writer's settlement is indeed imminent, as this weekend's reports of a breakthrough in negotiations suggest, it will immediately be a boon to the Oscars, of course, the normal program will be what we'll see.

There may also be an urgency as to production numbers, since some rehearsals may have been curtailed. But I suspect it'll look normal and with this year having hot races in three of the four acting categories and best picture up for grabs, the ratings for the show should be healthy.

As for movies, it may take some time before productions that were halted by the strike to start gearing up. It's the TV series, which were all shut down, that will be playing catch up. I suspect the producers will come up with a way to speed up the production process and get the actors back in front of the lenses with surprising speed.

Once things are back to normal, I think lots of people on both sides, and the audiences around the world, will be asking, "what took you so long?"

[Photo Courtesy of Getty Images]

While there wasn't a festival-defining film discovered at this year's Sundance Film Festival like "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Once," the overall quality of the movies unspooled this year was way above average. And "Hamlet 2" starring Steve Coogan did sell for $10 million to Focus Features, so anyone who said studios didn't find much to like at Sundance this year weren't paying attention.

"The Wackness," "The Merry Gentleman," "Blind Date," "The Great Buck Howard," "Bottle Shock," these are all films you're going to see in your local multiplex in the near future. And I haven't even mentioned documentaries like "Made in America," and "Sugar," Sundance '08 may not have been buzz-worthy, but it was film-worthy.

Now take a break from the work your boss is paying you for and check out the great interviews we snagged in Park City. From Jack Black to Alan Rickman to Bono(!), it was a whole lotta busy fun. Can't wait for next year!

According to Variety, Paramount and Matt Reeves are in talks to create a sequel to 'Cloverfield.'

This news is pretty interesting, seeing that 'Cloverfied' took a HUGE 68% drop in box office revenue in its second week. Again, this is interesting news, but expected. If you stayed for the closing credits, you definitely heard the "Help Us" whisper.

With the fun viral campaign this movie had prior to the premiere, you're bound to know that "Help Us" means more. Take the phrase and play it backwards and you you'll hear "It's Still Alive." Pretty eerie, but it hints at a sequel. Don't believe me, listen here:

If you were gone this weekend, not to worry! We've developed a set of links sure to fill you with all the entertainment sound bites you need to know. Check back every Tuesday for our new series: "REEL TALK's Mix Tape Tuesdays!"

- A little while ago, we wrote about casting notes on the new “G.I. Joe” movie. Now, Movieblog.UGO reports extra casting details.

- Habbo Entertainment is partnering with Paramount to start a series of virtual movie licenses. Guess it’s time to get my Second Life account reactivated.

- Political candidates as entertainment techies? Well, if Mitt Romney can tech out, then it’s time for my Grandmother to embrace technology. Go Grannie, Go Grannie!

- New on DVD:

"The King of Kong," the documentary about compulsive gamers.

- And you thought his TV reign stopped with “Cleopatra 2525.” Sam Raimi is returning to the telly to produce “Wizard’s First Rule” – based off of Terry Goodkind’s book series

- Cool graphic novels for kids.

- What's M. Night Shyamalan up to today? After “The Lady In The Water,” it seemed as if the director took a long hiatus. Brownie points if you leave up-to-the-minute details in the comments section.

- Check out Buzzsugar’s lexicon of books to read if you’re not watching television (or haven’t paid your cable bill).

- Veteran actor Christopher Allport passed away this weekend during an avalanche at California’s Mountain High Ski resort. He was 60-years-old.

[Photos courtesy of Getty Images and Apple Inc.]

This weekend, the satirical spoof "Meet The Spartans" opened in second place while Stallone's return to to his OTHER famous character, suitably titled "Rambo," was a close second.

With Oscar nominations fresh on movie-lovers lips, these box office box office receipts are surprise. As we all know, four out of five nominations for best picture were dramas. And one would think that pictures like "Untraceable" or "The Air I Breathe" would smother the box office on their opening weekend. This is prime proof that everyone needs a good laugh once and a while -- especially during times like today.

Watch a clip from "Meet The Spartans" after the jump.

What's your opinion on this? Did "Meet The Spartans" do well due to the national moral or is this movie simply a well-made picture?

Sound off on our forum!

The newest concert film "U2 3D" by the superstar Irish rock band is an incredible experience.

Shot in state-of-the-art 3D with multiple cameras during the band's 2006 South American tour, it looks like nothing else you've ever seen, though you'll have to take my word for it. Since it was filmed in 3d, we can only show you scenes from the movie in 2D -- check them out here.

Comprised of 14 U2 hits, including "Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” “With or Without You" and "Vertigo,” and none of the usual extraneous interviews or onstage babble you find in concert films, (like the band's 1988 release "Rattle & Hum"), "U2 3D" is the most exhilarating concert I’ve never attended. The depth and clarity of the picture is amazing. I felt as if I was on stage alongside Bono. The set list is superb, crossing smoothly between old and new, high energy and more thoughtful songs.

"U2 3D" opened January 23 In limited release nationwide on IMAX & DLP theaters and well worth seeking out.
You should also check out the band and the filmmakers discuss the making of "U2 3D" and the incredible technology used in the process.

People seemed to be shocked that Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for best actor for “In The Valley Of Elah” because no one saw the film. Everyone expected him land a nomination for his role in “No Country For Old Men.”

I actually preferred his performance in the former….a very strong film that didn’t connect with audiences. Perhaps its subject matter of American servicemen committing crimes was too close to home. The story was literally ripped from the headlines.

Tommy Lee Jones has played similar roles before, specifically in his own “The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada.” No one can do gruff, Western sheriff better than he. In “No Country For Old Men” he was the voice of experience -- and of cynicism. He provided some of the humor in that film. But in “Elah,” I was struck by the sadness he managed to convey in his face. The scene on the phone with his wife, (played by Susan Sarandon, in a tiny, but Oscar worthy role!) Is superb. As he tries to hold in his grief and comfort his wife, his years of blind patriotism are called into question. By the end of the film, he has gone from proud military man, to a father who has lost his trust in this country. It’s a quiet, but powerful performance.

It remains to be seen if there will be an Oscar ceremony at all this year, due to the ongoing writers strike, though director Gil Cates says he has a "Plan B." Translation: a version not many people will watch if no stars turn up.

Now, I have no quarrel with the deserving nominees, but did anyone at the academy see "The Kite Runner?" The five nominations for best foreign films haven't been screened here, though I am seeing "The Counterfeiters" soon. I’ve never heard of the others yet, but we'll get to them when they open.

Other notable snubs were Philip Bosco as the Alzheimer's stricken father in "The Savages, Amy Adams for "Enchanted, " Angelina Jolie for "A Mighty Heart” (one of the best performances I've ever seen), Christian Bale for "Rescue Dawn" or "3:10 To Yuma," Russell Crowe for "American Gangster," and Frank Langella as a lesser-known literary type in "Starting Out In The Evening."

Matthew Amalarc for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" was also overlooked, as was Tom Hanks for "Charlie Wilson's War."

Those who made the following movies, however, weren't disappointed and probably didn't tune in: "Reno 911 Miami," “Daddy Day Camp," "The Bratz Movie," "Smokin' Aces" and any other dud you care to add.

So now the tension begins. Not so much about the awards, but if they will manage to solve the writers strike in time. If not, who will present the Oscars to an empty auditorium?

See a full list of 2008's Oscar nominees.

(12:25 pm Sunday) – As I type this on my used & abused iBook, we’re en route back to NYC. We’re some where between The Great Lakes and LaGuardia Airport (Had a layover in Minneapolis, where it’s a balmy 13 degrees – BELOW ZERO!!).

Our whirlwind trip to cover the opening weekend of the Sundance Film Festival turned out even more productive than we hoped it would be. Alison cranked out a dozen interviews with quite the eclectic group of actors – Sir Ben Kingsley, Maria Bello, Jack Black, Stanley Tucci, etc. Our photographer Adam managed to talk with Bono from U2 and also shot a ton of video for stories that hopefully will give our viewers a taste of what Sundance is all about -- from the great films to the celebrity factor, the gifting suite mania and the ‘Going Green’ push that’s the big fad of this year’s fest.

Covering the Sundance is key to fulfilling REEL TALK’s mission to bring all things cinema to the movie fans who watch us each week -- and hopefully log on to our site daily. :)

We’ll have a bunch of our interviews and stories here on REELTALktv.com in the next few days, keep checking back.

Time to nap.

When it comes to celebrity sightings, few places can beat the Sundance Film Festival in terms of raw numbers. We spotted so many famous faces on Main Street, like William Hurt walking past the nightclub Harry O’s . Danny Glover meanwhile couldn’t take two steps without shaking hands and taking pictures with fans.

Bill Pullman, Michael Keaton, Esai Morales, Armand Assante, singer John Legend and some girl from “High School Musical” (not Tisdale or Hudgens) all made the gift suite rounds at The Dance. And who do we run into at the Greenhouse suite but E!’s tree-lovin' movie critic (and Reel Talk guest host) Ben Lyons.

We also crossed paths with the charming (and sexy) Tilda Swinton on Main Street, directly across from where PETA activists where trying to shame Mary Kate Olsen for apparently wearing fur around town.

Alison interviewed Swinton earlier for the movie “Derek,” which she wrote and stars in. I asked if she was anxious for Tuesday to arrive and she had a blank expression for a second until she remembered it’s the day Oscar Nominations are announced! (trust me, she wasn’t faking. She honestly didn’t remember)

She told us if she’s nominated for “Michael Clayton” (we think she will) she won’t be disappointed if the Writers Strike derails the Oscar event. Why? Because she’s scared to death about doing the whole dog-n-pony red carpet thing! She has no desire to go through the fashion hassle. How refreshing is that?

The world's biggest rock band U2, confirmed those rumors we told you about the other day about dropping in on Park City to promote their new concert film. But as usual, the boys from Dublin were a few steps ahead of everyone. Ahh, everyone except team REEL TALK!

Saturday, word spread around town they would be appearing at the Bon Appetit Supper Club on Main Street sometime after 5 pm. The crowd outside the venue grew so large the sidewalks and the street in front were impossible to pass.

We had already spent all day shooting various story elements and I had to drive Alison back to our condo because of certain personal concerns…No details but trust me, traveling with a lactating mom can be tricky. But I digress.

As we left, our hustling photographer Adam Siegel rolled the dice and went around back to see if the band would try to skip the media circus out front and sneak in through the back. Total shot in the dark, right?

His frigid 2-hour stakeout would pay off, because who else but Bono, the Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. came out of a few chauffeured SUVs just after 6p, right in front of the only TV photog waiting in the right place, at the right time!

Adam not only got U2's arrival, he scored a (very) brief interview with Bono about "U2 3D," the new film that promises to redefine concert movies. It was premiering late Saturday night and was hands down, the festival's toughest ticket.

This being our last night here, scoring the biggest 'get' of the festival up 'til now was a great way t