Flash Info About Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Director

David Yates

Producer

David Heyman, David Barron

Screenwriter

Steven Kloves

Starring

• Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
• Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
• Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
• Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange
• David Bradley
• Robbie Coltrane
• Warwick Davis
• Tom Felton
• Michael Gambon
• Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
• Maggie Smith
• Richard Griffiths
• Natalia Tena
• Julie Walters
• David Thewlis
• Evanna Lynch

Season Finale Preview of 'Flashpoint'

CBS show "Flashpoint" is nearing its season wrap and a preview of the finale has been given. The drama cop series will have an episode called "Planets Aligned" rolled on Thursday, September 18.

This time the Strategic Response Unit will rescue a girl who is kidnapped inside a booby-trapped house. Using their tactics to get inside the house, they discover a shocking fact when one of the kidnappers is actually a teen who went missing several years earlier.

"Flashpoint" is originally a production of CTV which is based in Canada, but is run under CBS in United States every Thursday at 10 P.M. ET. Its recent September 11 episode drew as many as 8.6 million viewers, giving CBS a head up among the other big TV stations, Fox, NBC, The CW and ABC.

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Get Ready The Dragon Ball Movie

The trailer of live-action Japanese manga adaptation, "Dragonball", won't be coming out until October 17, but apparently fans do not wait any longer to get a slightest idea about the promotional footage as the so-called screenshots from the trailer have been outed. The revealing stills are coming out along with newfound poster highlighting on Emmy Rossum's Bulma. 

The images cut out from the trailer showcase Justin Chatwin as Goku in action as well as in training with his master Roshi. Two of them also revealed for the first time the evil villain Lord Piccolo as portrayed by James Marsters. Most of the screenshots came in courtesy of Nerdorama, while the poster and one still in particular were brought forward by Dragonball The Movie. 
Based on the phenomenally popular Akira Toriyama's Japanese manga, "Dragonball" is directed and co-scripted by James Wong. Produced by Stephen Chow, the 20th Century Fox film will follow Goku's journey to fulfill his dying grandfather's wish, which is for him to train with Master Roshi to prepare him to protect the seven mystical dragonballs. It will come out on April 10, 2009. 

Israelis flattered by `The Zohan' movie

n Zohan Dvir, Israelis have a Hollywood hero no matter that the soldier-turned-hairstylist played by Adam Sandler represents some of their country's worst stereotypes.

"You Don't Mess With The Zohan" looks to be a big hit in the Holy Land. Billboards bearing the leading man's split-legged, blowdryer-wielding image are plastered across city walls and numerous stories have been written and broadcast in the local media, which has called it the "most Israeli film in Hollywood."

The movie tries to bridge Jews and Arabs by making fun of them. But in Israel, where the movie opened Thursday, people are drawn in more because of its Israeli protagonist and the cadre of Israeli actors and musicians featured in the film.

The Zohan, as he's known, is Israel's most legendary commando. He can karate kick through walls, catch bullets with his teeth and outswim jet boats; he's equally skilled in the bedroom. But after awhile he tires of killing off terrorists and barbecuing nude with bikini-clad babes on the beach and longs for more meaning in his life.

"When will we have peace?" he asks his mother, played by the veteran Israeli actress Dina Doronne. "How much longer will we have to fight?"

"We've been fighting for 2,000 years," she responds blandly, "so it should be over soon."

Zohan doesn't buy it, so he fakes his own death in dramatic fashion so he can re-emerge anonymously in Manhattan and fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a women's hairstylist. There he charms his way to success and discovers that Jews and Arabs can get along, before some ridiculous plot lines force him back to his aggressive ways.

Israelis didn't seem too slighted by the not-too-favorable portrayal of them. At Wednesday's premiere in Tel Aviv, the packed crowd burst out in ovation and laughter at each sighting of an Israeli actor and at each over-the-top cliche of their behavior like when Zohan brushes his teeth with hummus, disco dances with a huge bulge in his pants or plays paddle ball with hand grenades.

"I wasn't insulted at all. It was funny. Exaggerated, but funny," said Guy Ben-Yaacov, 23. "Besides, I know a few guys like Zohan."

Israelis involved in the film said the exposure could only be good for their country.

"I think it is almost a gesture toward Israel," said Ido Mosseri, who plays Zohan's pushy expat Israeli sidekick Oori. "I was a little worried because Israeli crowds are very critical, but I think they took it all in with love."

Amir Kaminer, movie critic for the Yediot Ahronot daily, said Sandler's Zohan is the most prominent Israeli character out of Hollywood since Paul Newman played the Jewish fighter Ari Ben Canaan in "Exodus" in 1960. But that's where the comparison ends.

He said it was natural Israelis were excited about the fanfare, but that the movie was "vulgar and stupid" and an inaccurate depiction of Israel.

"We're not all about eating hummus, killing Arabs and fornicating. We do other things as well," he said. "There has been a lot of water under the bridge between Ari Ben Canaan and Zohan Dvir."

Once you get over Sandler's atrocious attempt at an Israeli accent, the fact that Zohan isn't even a real Israeli name and several other glaring loopholes, the film does raise some issues to which Israelis can easily relate.

Like Zohan, many young Israelis escape the country, at least temporarily, after completing their military service to go on lengthy backpacking trips through Asia or South America or to work in odd jobs in American cities.

And in New York, for instance, young Israelis are commonly seen working as furniture movers or aggressively selling useless knickknacks.

Oddly enough, the concept for the Zohan movie evolved from a spoof of just such Israelis.

Comedian-writer Robert Smigel came up with a "Saturday Night Live" sketch in 1990 called the "Sabra Shopping Network," the first "SNL" skit Sandler appeared in.

Two years later, Smigel followed it up with "Sabra Price Is Right," starring Tom Hanks as a pushy Israeli game show host, Sandler and Rob Schneider as its presenters and Smigel as a cigarette-smoking announcer, all pushing shoddy electronics on hapless clientele.

With Schneider by his side, as usual, Sandler takes things a few steps further as Zohan. Armed with an Israeli entourage, an accent coach and an adviser named Eytan Ben-David, who happens to be a former Israeli soldier who now works in a hair salon in Los Angeles, he aims for an epic satire of the Israeli soldiers he used to admire as a Jewish boy. The result, however, is something more like Borat meets Austin Powers meets the Hebrew Hammer.

Shaanan Streett, frontman for one of Israel's best-known hip-hop ensembles, Hadag Nahash, has four of his band's Hebrew songs featured in the film. He didn't mind the ribbing at all.

"I have no problem making fun of Israel, 'cause I think we are pretty damn funny," he said. "A lot of Israelis think that Israel is holier than holy, but when things are not so sad here, they are actually funny .... it's actually a step toward normality to make fun of us."

25 getting Hollywood Walk of Fame stars next year

Hollywood will enshrine an eclectic bunch in its famous curbside Walk of Fame next year, including Hugh Jackman, Ben Kingsley, The Village People and fictional Tinker Bell.

Recipients of the sidewalk stars also include Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Cameron Diaz, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Burton, Leslie Caron, Charles Durning, Ralph Fiennes, William Petersen, Kyra Sedgwick, John Stamos, Mark Burnett, Chuck Lorre, Kenny "Baby Face" Edmonds, Dave Koz, The Miracles, Doug Morris, Rush, Shakira, KFI radio personality Bill Handel and KCRW host Harry Shearer, who also provides voices for characters on "The Simpsons."

Cheeta isn't on the list. The animal actor, whose credits include the 1967 comedy "Doctor Dolittle" and the "Tarzan" movies, was trying for the seventh time to get a sidewalk star. His handlers had launched an online petition to get supporters to urge the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to give him a star in 2009.

Guinness World Records has called the 76-year-old chimp the oldest living, non-human primate. Cheeta is retired and lives in Palm Springs.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce's Walk of Fame Committee chose the recipients, who were ratified by the board of directors Thursday.

Hulk grabs $ 55 Million Debut

The Incredible Hulk" pulled his weight at the box office, debuting as the top weekend movie with $55.4 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, the fright flick "The Happening" opened a solid No. 3 with $30.5 million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC are:

1. "The Incredible Hulk," Universal, $55,414,050, 3,505 locations, $15,810 average, $55,414,050, one week.

2. "Kung Fu Panda," Paramount, $33,612,594, 4,136 locations, $8,127 average, $117,289,932, two weeks.

3. "The Happening," Fox, $30,517,109, 2,986 locations, $10,220 average, $30,517,109, one week.

4. "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," Sony, $16,370,344, 3,466 locations, $4,723 average, $68,760,685, two weeks.

5. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Paramount, $14,741,834, 3,804 locations, $3,875 average, $276,524,265, four weeks.

6. "Sex and the City," Warner Bros., $9,788,353, 3,155 locations, $3,102 average, $119,522,016, three weeks.

7. "Iron Man," Paramount, $5,620,375, 2,403 locations, $2,339 average, $297,918,329, seven weeks.

8. "The Strangers" Universal, $4,024,485, 2,410 locations, $1,670 average, $45,287,220, three weeks.

9. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" Disney, $3,165,013, 2,308 locations, $1,371 average, $131,904,474, five weeks.

10. "What Happens in Vegas," Fox, $1,667,587, 1,422 locations, $1,173 average, $75,755,145, six weeks.

11. "Baby Mama," Universal, $441,685, 453 locations, $975 average, $58,797,040, eight weeks.

12. "The Visitor" Overture Films, $420,928, 254 locations, $1,657 average, $6,621,330, 10 weeks.

13. "Made of Honor," Sony, $303,434, 357 locations, $850 average, $45,400,892, seven weeks.

14. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Universal, $287,625, 306 locations, $940 average, $62,106,520, nine weeks.

15. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!," Fox, $188,736, 294 locations, $642 average, $153,355,932, 14 weeks.

16. "Speed Racer," Warner Bros., $183,385, 260 locations, $705 average, $42,504,512, six weeks.

17. "Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure," National Geographic, $168,794, 48 locations, $3,517 average, $14,218,128, 37 weeks.

18. "Nim's Island," Fox, $165,442, 277 locations, $597 average, $46,694,283, 11 weeks.

19. "The Fall" Roadside Attractions, $152,713, 84 locations, $1,818 average, $1,364,206, six weeks.

20. "Then She Found Me," ThinkFilm, $140,762, 119 locations, $1,183 average, $3,020,648, eight weeks.

`Dark Knight' nearly lives up to the hype

It's difficult to separate the movie from its mystique.

Even under ordinary circumstances, "The Dark Knight" would have been one of the most hotly awaited movies of the summer blockbuster season. The loss of Heath Ledger to an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January has amplified the buzz around the film and his crazed performance as the Joker to extraordinary levels.

Nothing could possibly satisfy that kind of expectation. "The Dark Knight" comes pretty close. Christopher Nolan's film is indeed an epic that will leave you staggering from the theater, stunned by its scope and complexity. It's also, thankfully, a vast improvement over his self-serious origin story, 2005's "Batman Begins."

As director and co-writer with his brother, Jonathan (David S. Goyer shares a story credit), Nolan has found a way to mix in some fun with his philosophizing. Ambitious, explosive set pieces share screen time with meaty debates about good vs. evil and the nature of and need for a hero.

Batman (Christian Bale) has been that guy. Now, he's not so sure he should be anymore. He's protected Gotham fiercely (and with some fierce toys), but the new district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), seems to be putting a dent in organized crime with help from Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman). Perhaps Batman should return to his "normal" life as billionaire Bruce Wayne and leave the clean-up work to the professionals. Maybe he can even rekindle his romance with old flame Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, taking over more than capably for Katie Holmes, although she doesn't get much to do, either).

And so "The Dark Knight" presents an existential crisis what comic-book hero doesn't suffer these? but does so in a totally different way from its predecessor. Whereas "Batman Begins" felt too solemn and introspective, this installment might actually be too fast. Like the Caped Crusader himself, speeding through the streets of Gotham City on his tricked-out Bat-Pod motorcycle, Nolan moves breathlessly from one scene to the next.

Trouble is, he's got such great vision and is so adept at creating a compelling mood, it makes you wish he'd held some moments for a beat or two longer, just to savor them and to let us do the same. A couple of scenes in Bruce's stark, crisply lit Bat-bunker come to mind, as does Batman's nighttime flight over a glittering Hong Kong. (Wally Pfister, a longtime Nolan collaborator who also shot "Batman Begins" and "Memento," returns as cinematographer. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard once again teamed up to compose the huge, sweeping score.)

Nolan was wise enough, however, to give Ledger plenty of room to shine albeit in the actor's indelibly perverse, twisted way. There's nothing cartoony about his Joker. Ledger wrested the role from previous performers Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson and reinvented it completely.

Yes, he's funny, wringing laughs from both clever one-liners and maniacally grand schemes. He can be playful, finding unexpected avenues into the character: "You complete me," he purrs to Batman, mockingly borrowing Tom Cruise's classic line from "Jerry Maguire" and dashing all possibilities for the Caped One's imminent retirement.

But because there's no logic behind his mayhem, he's also truly terrifying. The terror he inflicts on Gotham is meticulously planned (the opening bank heist, shot with IMAX cameras, is a marvel of timing) and yet his sole inspiration is to create chaos, then watch the city squirm and burn.

That his attacks grow larger each time, regardless of the collateral damage, makes him so genuinely disturbing. Ledger seems to have understood that, and brings an appropriate and riveting unpredictability to the role. It's also a neat touch that his makeup, which looked like a slapdash effort from the start, steadily deteriorates, streaking, cracking and peeling away as the film progresses; it's an outward manifestation of his psychological spiral.

Back to Batman, though because theoretically, it is his movie, right?

Bale seems more assured than ever, now that he has more facets of Batman/Bruce's personality to reveal than he did in the last film. He's consistently proven he's capable of going to dark, scary places for his characters (see: "American Psycho," "Rescue Dawn") and this is no exception.

Also returning are Michael Caine as Bruce's butler, Alfred, and Morgan Freeman as gadget guru Lucius Fox. Both veterans help anchor the movie with a wisdom and calmness that's crucial when everything (and everyone) is in a state of turmoil. As for Oldman, he disappears into the role of Lt. Gordon and makes it look so effortless, he makes you forget he's acting.

Eckhart, the snarky star of "Thank You for Smoking," may seem an unusual choice to play a law-and-order kind of guy. Here, he's subtle enough to keep us guessing until nearly the end as to where his morals and allegiances truly lie (though eventually he will become the villainous Two-Face, as we know).

But the key showdown, of course, is between Batman and the Joker. Theirs is a relationship that's strangely symbiotic you could even call it codependent. Or as the Joker puts it, "You and I could do this forever."

If only.

"The Dark Knight," a Warner Bros. Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace. Running time: 152 minutes. Three stars out of four.

___

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 No one under 17 admitted.

Iron Man 2' And 'Avengers' Are Set To Open Only A Year Apart

A release date has been set, the principal cast will be returning and honchos at Marvel are already talking up potential villains. Just one month after its release, the overwhelming success of "Iron Man" has everyone talking sequel — including director Jon Favreau, the one guy in this whole affair who isn't even officially committed to the project.

Unlike with actors, it's unusual for studios to sign directors to more than one film. And yes, Marvel is brand-new to the whole negotiating thing. But could it be that the reason Favreau isn't signed yet for "Iron Man 2" is because he really wants to do ... something else?

Favreau himself teased as much at the green carpet for "The Incredible Hulk," insisting that, despite the overwhelming success of "Iron Man," he'd still like to be considered for "The Avengers."

"I'd love to [direct 'The Avengers']. But they announced that it's coming out in 2011, and 'Iron Man 2' is coming out in 2010, so there's no way that I could direct both. They'll either change the date, or maybe I'll just do 'Avengers' and not 'Iron Man 2,' or maybe just 'Iron Man 2' and not 'Avengers.' I would have preferred for those two movies to be at least two years apart so I could be involved with both of them."

Given a choice between the two, Favreau seems to prefer "The Avengers," the superhero tag-team event that will showcase Captain America, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, among others. Why? Because it will feature Captain America, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, among others.

" 'Avengers' seems to be the more fun one," Favreau said. "You get to use all the heroes for that one."

Favreau insisted that he hasn't had any official meetings with Marvel about either.

If Favreau does wind up working on "Iron Man 2," it may be on a different story line than perhaps he originally intended. As early as last July, when MTV News visited the set of "Iron Man," Favreau was hinting that the sequel would follow the famed "Demon in a Bottle" arc, wherein Tony Stark battles alcoholism. (For goodness' sake, the first shot of Stark in the current "Iron Man" is of him holding a drink!)

There's no doubt that it was set up, but now it might not pay off, Favreau implied.

"I always said it was interesting. I still think that. [But I'd] like to see if the public is ready to see Tony Stark fall apart yet. They might want to see him grow as a superhero before then," Favreau said. "It's just one of the story lines that I find compelling and would lend itself well to being in the movie.

"You want to stand out," Favreau continued. "There are so many superhero films out. I mean, 'Hancock' seems like it deals with similar themes. I want to see how they handle it and how the public receives that."

But regardless of what develops in closed-door meetings between Favreau, Marvel, the screenwriters and Robert Downey Jr., there is one thing that Favreau is happy to divulge about the sequel, independent of whether he'll be directing.

"Happy Hogan will have more to do next time," he said of the character he played in the first film. Hogan had a much more developed presence in the comics and eventually scores a romance with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). "I had my hands full this time."

John Cusack takes on John McCain in political Ad

Why has John Cusack jumped into the political arena with a video saying John McCain is a war-profiteering clone of President George W. Bush?

"I know my opinion doesn't matter more than anyone else's and I just make films," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday. "But I do feel you have to speak out, and that's what I'm doing."

The 30-second video, which went out to members of the liberal political activist group MoveOn.org on Wednesday, will begin airing on television Thursday. In it, Cusack offers a "pop quiz" to voters, asking them among other things: "Who supports keeping our troops in harm's way in Iraq but not the bipartisan G.I. bill of rights to support them when they return home?"

McCain and Bush both do, Cusack says, adding, "Bet you can't tell them apart."

The cost to air the ads is $45,000. They will appear nationally on the Bravo cable channel and in Washington, D.C., on CNN, MSNBC and Comedy Central.

In his latest film, the war satire "War Inc.," Cusack makes no secret that he believes the Iraq war was created to profit private businesses like Blackwater Worldwide and Bechtel Corp., which hold war-related contracts worth millions of dollars.

"I'm not going to pretend this thing in Iraq was some kind of free market utopia to spread the gospel of democracy through the Middle East," he told the AP from London, where he's at work on another project.

Cusack says he supports Democrat Barack Obama.

Although he has made such films as "War Inc." and last year's "Grace is Gone," in which he plays the husband of a soldier killed in Iraq, Cusack notes this has been his first high-profile foray into partisan politics.

Film Title and Description of Visual-Special Effects ( part 2)

Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1895)

The first known (and only surviving) film with live-recorded sound made to test Edison's Kinetophone (with a cylinder-playing phonograph and connected earphone tubes) was this 17-second short film. It was noted as the first film combining both sound and motion. The projector was connected to the phonograph with a pulley system, but it didn't work very well and was difficult to synchronize. It was formally introduced in 1895, but soon proved to be unsuccessful since competitive, better synchronized devices were also beginning to appear at the time.

The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots (1895), aka The Execution of Mary Stuart

This was the first special effect (in-camera), reportedly, of the controversial execution (decapitation) of Mary, Queen of Scots (Robert Thomae) on the execution block, using a dummy and a trick camera shot (substitution shot or "stop trick"). In the short sequence, Mary knelt down, and put her head on the block as the executioner raised a large axe. When the axe was brought down, her head rolled off the chopping block to the left - where the executioner picked it up in the final frame and held it up.

A Railway Collision (1900)

Director R. W. Booth and producer Robert W. Paul (Paul's Animatograph Works) made this short 22-second film - one of the earliest attempts to realistically re-create a large-scale railroad disaster by using miniature scale models; the film depicted two trains speeding toward each other on the same track, and colliding on the embankment.

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

In Edwin S. Porter's landmark film, a primitive one-reeler action picture about 10 minutes long with 14-scenes, he incorporated parallel editing, innovative camera movements, location shooting, jump-cuts or cross-cuts - and this early special effect - a composite made of two separate images. The in-camera matte effect was of two separately filmed segments: the interior of a train station and the window (where a shot of a passing train was matted). It was filmed in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which would remain virtually unchanged for half a century.

"Kung Fu Panda" kicks Sandler at box office

Moviegoers across North America were in a fighting mood during the weekend, cheering the family cartoon "Kung Fu Panda" to the top spot at a box office packed with hits.

DreamWorks Animation's Jack Black comedy about a panda who dreams of martial arts glory handily beat forecasts by earning an estimated $60 million during its first three days, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Sunday.

But it was not a complete knockout. Columbia Pictures' Adam Sandler comedy "You Don't Mess with the Zohan," in which the comedian plays an Israeli commando-turned-New York hairdresser, opened at No. 2 with $40 million, also beating forecasts. Going into the weekend, the championship could have gone either way. In one corner, "Kung Fu Panda" was powered by rave reviews and an underserved family audience; in the other, Sandler could count on young male fans unlikely to be swayed by negative notices from puzzled critics.

Last weekend's champ, New Line Cinema's romantic comedy "Sex and the City," fell to No. 4 with $21.3 million, a massive 63 percent drop from its surprisingly strong opening weekend. Sales to date stand at $99.3 million for the big-screen adaptation of HBO's fashion-and-relationship series.

Just ahead of it was "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" with $22.8 million, down one place. The total for the Paramount-distributed adventure rose to $253 million after three weekends.

Viacom Inc-owned Paramount distributes DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc productions. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. New Line is a division of Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures.

Top 5 in TV, film, music, concert tours, video, DVD

TELEVISION

1. "Lost," ABC.

2. "Two And a Half Men-Special," CBS

3. "Million Dollar Password," CBS.

4. "60 Minutes," CBS.

5. "NCIS," CBS.

(From Nielsen Media Research)

FILM

1. "Sex and the City," New Line Cinema.

2. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Paramount.

3. "The Strangers" Universal.

4. "Iron Man," Paramount.

5. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" Disney.

(From Media By Numbers LLC)

HOT FIVE

1. "Lollipop," Lil Wayne feat. Static Major. Cash Money/Universal Motown.

2. "Bleeding Love," Leona Lewis. SYCO/J/RMG. (Platinum)

3. "Viva La Vida," Coldplay. Capitol.

4. "Take a Bow," Rihanna. SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG.

5. "I Kissed a Girl," Katy Perry. Capitol.

(From Billboard magazine)

ALBUMS

1. "Here I Stand," Usher. LaFace/Zomba.

2. "Sex and the City," Soundtrack. New Line/

3. "3 Doors Down," 3 Doors Down. Universal Republic/UMRG.

4. "II Trill," Bun-B. J Prince/Trill/Rap-A-Lot 4 Life/Asylum.

5. "Spirit," Leona Lewis. SYCO/J/RMG. (Gold)

(From Billboard magazine)

CONCERT TOURS

1. Bon Jovi.

2. Kenny Chesney.

3. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.

4. Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige.

5. Rascal Flatts.

(From Pollstar)

VIDEO SALES

1. "Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird," Warner Home Video. (Gold)

2. "Yoga Conditioning for Athletes," Gaiam Video.

3. "The Lion King (Platinum Edition)," Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

4. "Ancient Mysteries: Ancient Altered States," A&E Home Video.

5. "Dragonball Z: Prelude to Terror: Volume 32," Toei Animation.

(From Billboard magazine)

VIDEO RENTALS

1. "National Treasure 2 : Book of Secrets," Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

2. "Untraceable," Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

3. "Mad Money," Anchor Bay Entertainment.

4. "P.S. I Love You," Warner Home Video.

5. "27 Dresses," 20th Century Fox.

(From Billboard magazine)

DVD SALES

1. "National Treasure 2 : Book of Secrets," Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

2. "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark," Paramount Home Entertainment.

3. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Paramount Home Entertainment.

4. "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," Paramount Home Entertainment.

5. "National Treasure," Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

(From Billboard magazine)

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More singing is in store for the Pirates star as she steps into Audrey Hepburn's pumps for My Fair Lady.

Keira Knightley has some pretty big lace-up Victorian boots to fill, with the Atonement actress reportedly in talks to star in the remake of the iconic My Fair Lady, Variety reports.

The musical film made famous by iconic British actress Audrey Hepburn will retain the original score and is slated to be shot on location in London.

Columbia Pictures copresident Doug Belgrad said of the venture, "This update will preserve the magic of the musical while fleshing out the characters and bringing 1912 London to life in an authentic and exciting way."

Hmmm. 1912 London? Not sure that will fly with today's kids, but someone over at Columbia Pictures must have liked what they heard. On with the show!

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Meet The Fresh Faces Of 'High School Musical: Senior Year'

Considering this latest incarnation of "High School Musical" has the added line of "Senior Year" to its title, I think we can all be pretty sure this is the last we will be seeing of Zac, Vanessa, Ashley, Lucas, Monique or Corbin in the halls of East High. Unless of course someone wants to make "College Musical." Instead, should this feature film version of "High School Musical" be a huge hit, I think Disney may keep its franchise alive by introducing us to a brand new class of kids.

That's exactly why I think such a big deal has been made about the three new cast members making their debut in HSM3. Disney held an international casting search involving over 1,000 teen actors across the United States, Canada, and the U.K. to find three sophomore Wildcats. Matt Prokop, Justin Martin, and Jemma McKenzie-Brown were the lucky three plucked out of near obscurity.

17-year-old Matt's biggest role to date was a small part in "Hannah Montana". 14-year-old Justin played Simba in "The Lion King" on Broadway. British born Jemma had a role in a BBC show called "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard.” After this film comes out October 24th, I have no doubt their names will become as familiar to pre-teen and teenage girls everywhere as the rest of the HSM cast.

I traveled to the set and had a chance to sit down with the three newbie’s who seem to be fitting in with the group quite perfectly. Ashley Tisdale has taken Jemma under her wing. Vanessa Hudgens admits to whipping out her English accent around Jemma. Corbin Bleu has the gang over to his room almost every night to play video games. Everyone is giving the trio tips on how to stay grounded should fame strike. According to Matt their main advice was not let fame go to their heads.

"Be yourself mainly. That's the one thing they said. With all of the success, just don't change. Just be who you are and true to yourself."

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Meet Alain Robert — The Real Life Spiderman

Alain Robert made news, climbing to the top of a 52-story Manhattan tower on Thursday, before police placed the real-life Spiderman under arrest.

Now, in his very first interview since being released from jail early Friday morning, Alain revealed to Access Hollywood, that the climb of the New York Times building wasn’t his first.

“The night before, I did a little trial,” he said. “I climbed a few meters. I saw that it was solid at least because my weight is only 50 kilograms [around 110 pounds]. I knew that I was going to use either the left hand side or the right hand side or both, but not staying in the middle.”

Alain explained no one caught him as he made his trial climb at around 2:30 AM, which only went up a few meters.

His real climb, however, he did for a cause.

“What I am hoping is that the government is going to realize that [the fight] on global warming, it’s something very urgent and we [have] until 2009 to [make] the right decision,” he said.

Alain said beyond his dreams of getting the government to help the fight against global warming, he has another dream – to climb a building in Europe.

“It’s climbing the Burj Dubai, which is going to approach 800 meters, more than double the New York Times [building],” he said.

He has no plans, however, to try and scale another American landmark — the Empire State Building.

“It’s full of platforms all along the building,” he explained. “The police might stop you after a few meters.”

But his climb was not without its costs. Early Friday, authorities in NY charged Robert with four misdemeanor counts for his climb: criminal trespassing in the third degree, reckless endangerment in the second degree, making graffiti and disorderly conduct.

COBLOS CINTA

Bella is thrilled when she finds out she succeeds in becoming a candidate for president of the student body. She asks for help from her closest friends:

Putri, Icha, Sasha, and Heidy. Her opponent, Aldi, will be a tough one to beat. He’s popular, charming, smart and he knows how to get the students’ sympathy. Aldi is also being helped by his team: Ferry and Dimas.

During the first stage of the campaign, Aldi manages to get ahead by doing a more “naughty” campaign style, while Bella’s campaign are too plain and dull. After being hit by the first poll (where she only gets 13% of the vote), Bella decides its time for her to change. Following the lead from her friends, she sheds her idealism in order to win the students’ votes. Her new strategy seems to work, because in the next poll she’s catching up real fast.

But what she never expects, is when she realizes she has slowly being attracted to Aldi. And he also feels the same way. And on one night, the two of them find themselves alone and they almost kiss…

The kiss never happened, and they try to bury it away. But the moment was captured by Anto, a student reporter working for the school tabloid. He spins the picture into a scandalous story, and shakes the whole election. The voters are in confusion, and Bella’s team fall apart. Icha, one of Bella’s best friend, comes out to Bella that she has been in love with Aldi all this time.

Who will win the election? What will become of Bella and Aldi? Without the support of her best friends, can Bella win the election?

All questions will be answered on the night when the result of the election is being announced at the school party.

A sexy look at teen politics. In theatres 22 May 2008

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Lantern", "Hornet", "Ga'Hoole" Updates

Various outlets visited the set of "Observe and Report", a new comedy from Jody Hill ("The Foot Fist Way") starring Seth Rogen and Ray Liotta.

Whilst on-set, both Rogen and producer Donald De Line got talking about their upcoming projects - namely "Green Lantern", "Green Hornet" and "Guardians of Ga'Hoole".

In terms of "Green Lantern", De Line says it's still stuck in development and awaiting Greg Berlanti's first draft of the screenplay. He re-iterated that Jack Black was NOT attached and the film is more of a "classic character origin piece" dealing with Hal Jordan he tells Collider.

As for "Green Hornet", Rogen tells Superhero Hype that the film will be a "very intense" PG-13 action film. The project has NOT yet been greenlit, but he has been meeting with directors and things look to be moving forward and "would probably shoot sometime after [the Judd Apatow untitled project] so we're kind of leaving that slot open." Sony Pictures apparently responded well to a draft they turned in three weeks ago.

Finally talk turned to "Guardians of Ga'Hoole", an animated adaptation of the 14-book bestselling kids series that Zack Snyder ("300," "Watchmen") is helming. De Line says when not working on "Watchmen", Snyder has been busy on character designs and a screenplay to get the project ready for its 2010 release date. Also the first three books will constitute the first movie.

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'I'm too good at sex to cook'

KATE BECKINSALE has offered an unusual excuse for her poor performance in the kitchen – she’s too damn good in bed.

The tasty actress has given up on trying to create tantalising culinary treats because she believes people are divided into two groups – those who are geniuses with a whisk and those who are earth-shattering lovers in the sack.

And Kate has proudly announced she falls firmly into the latter group, which must surely keep her largely takeaway-fed husband LEN WISEMAN a happy man in the bedroom.

She told Glamour magazine: “I’m the worst wife in the cooking department. I always thought you can’t be good at food and sex, but you can always order the food in.

“I’d rather he didn’t order in the sex.”

Meanwhile, Kate has already lined up a boyfriend for her nine-year-old daughter LILY - BROOKLYN BECKHAM.

The Underworld star, who is a close friend of VICTORIA BECKHAM, has admitted she is dreading the day Lily starts experimenting with boys, but would be happier if she dated Becks' boy.

She said: “She and the Beckham boys get on really well. So if she did have to have a boyfriend, then I suppose Brooklyn would get my seal of approval.”

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Maguire Up For Another "Spider-Man"?

Sam Raimi expressed a definite interest in the idea of returning for a fourth "Spider-Man".

Today acclaimed actor JK Simmons, who plays the no-nonsense Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson in the film series, tells IESB that Tobey Maguire was still open to the idea of returning as well last time they talked.

"I spoke to Tobey in, I guess it was February... sort of awards season time and, y'know, he's certainly amenable to doing some more and hopefully we'll be able to get everybody back and make another good one."
The studio has apparently already told Simmons they want him back for a sequel, but he says that if Sam Raimi weren't involved in some capacity he may not do it - "If he's involved, hopefully directing or at least as a producer then I'm pretty confident that it would be something that I want to do. Plus they pay money."

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Knightley Is The New "My Fair Lady"

Sony Pictures and CBS Films are set to remake the classic Lerner & Loewe musical "My Fair Lady".
Keira Knightley is in talks to star as Eliza Doolittle in the project produced by Duncan Kenworthy ("Love Actually," "Notting Hill") and frequent West End producer Cameron Mackintosh.
The film will retain the Lerner & Loewe musical's score and 1912 setting, with shooting to take place on location in the original London settings such as Tottenham Court Road and Covent Garden.
Further material from George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion," which served as the basis for the musical, will be added to this film to "dramatize as believably as possible for present-day audiences the emotional highs and lows of Eliza Doolittle as she undergoes the ultimate makeover, transforming under the tutelage of Professor Henry Higgins from a Cockney flower girl to a lady."

Further material from George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion," which served as the basis for the musical, will be added to this film to "dramatize as believably as possible for present-day audiences the emotional highs and lows of Eliza Doolittle as she undergoes the ultimate makeover, transforming under the tutelage of Professor Henry Higgins from a Cockney flower girl to a lady."

The musical was first staged in 1956 featuring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. Audrey Hepburn and Harrison starred in the Oscar-winning George Cukor-helmed film in 1964. Two further stage revivals took place starting in 1979 and 2001.

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