Entertainment news, movie reviews, awards, festivals, celebrity photos, industry events

Steering latenight's 'peaceful transfer of power'

Rick Ludwin has been through plenty of regime changes in his 29 years at NBC, but nothing in his experience compares to the buzz generated by a transition at the top of "The Tonight Show."

News:

'Madea' holds on to box office crown

'Brothers' can't steal spotlight from Perry pic

CAA'S New York publishing foray

Simon Green joins agency

Sumner's debt forces screen sale

Mogul faces prospect of ending exhibition biz

Keira Knightley set for Fox's 'Never'

Actress to star in sci-fi thriller

'Button' still tops at foreign box office

'Slumdog' a winner with Brit audiences

Jason Bateman comes up for 'Air'

Actor reunites with Jason Reitman for comedy

All News > All Reviews >

film

'Madea' holds on to box office crown

'Brothers' can't steal spotlight from Perry pic

Keira Knightley set for Fox's 'Never'

Actress to star in sci-fi thriller

'Button' still tops at foreign box office

'Slumdog' a winner with Brit audiences

Jason Bateman comes up for 'Air'

Actor reunites with Jason Reitman for comedy

NY's tax credit program revamped

Organization pitches stripped-down version

Trio set for 'Rape' drama

Bello, Breslin, Jackson to star in indie pic

All News > All Reviews > All film >

tv

NY's tax credit program revamped

Organization pitches stripped-down version

Univision pinkslips 300 staffers

Hispanic media giant lays off 6% of workforce

HBO alums boost 'Borgias'

Fontana to write, Albrecht to produce series

Conan ends on ratings high note

'Late Night' nabs biggest aud since Jan. 2005

Ed McMahon hospitalized in L.A.

Spokesman says 'serious' but 'we're hopeful'

CW casts 'Melrose Place,' 'Vampire'

McQueen, Cassidy added to shows

All News > All Reviews > All tv >

international

'Button' still tops at foreign box office

'Slumdog' a winner with Brit audiences

Chadha brews culture stew with pic

Director's slate includes cross-cultural projects

Boespflug exits post at WB France

Exec leaves managing director position

'Seraphine' tops Cesar Awards

'Christmas Tale,' 'Class' also nab honors

Venice taps Lee to lead its jury

Film fest chooses two-time Golden Lion winner

Court orders rethink of film levies

Germany may have to retool subsidy program

All News > All international >

business

CAA'S New York publishing foray

Simon Green joins agency

CAA'S New York publishing foray

Simon Green joins agency

Sumner's debt forces screen sale

Mogul faces prospect of ending exhibition biz

NY's tax credit program revamped

Organization pitches stripped-down version

Two exits create labor uncertainty

AMPTP future vague as Counter retires

Stringer unveils Sony shake-up

Chairman/CEO plans games, tech overhaul

All News > All business >

music

Interview: Animal Collective

Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) talks sports, music with Variety

Ian Montone duets with Rick Yorn

Music manager partners with production co.

Playboy jazz fest announces lineup

Kenny G, Rodriguez, Austin to perform

Swift isn't slowing down

'Fearless' remains at No. 1 on charts

All News > All Reviews > All music >

technology

CAA'S New York publishing foray

Simon Green joins agency

Avid brings 3-D without blinders

New edit tool means more 3-D, less 'kludging'

Stringer unveils Sony shake-up

Chairman/CEO plans games, tech overhaul

'Sufei's Diary' a hit in China

Interactive online program captures audience

Fox debuts Italian web TV service

FlopTV represents first online TV venture

All News > All technology >

legit

No consensus on Piven grievance

Equity undecided on actor's 'Plow' departure

Cast set for Kushner's 'Guide'

Show runs May 9 - June 28

Carrey, Gyllenhaal do 'Yankees'

New Line taps actors for adaptation of musical

'Wicked' leads box office surge

Broadway Grosses

'Addams Family' musical sets date

Tryout set for Oriental Theater on Nov. 13

All News > All Reviews > All legit >

videogames

Consoles offer new ways to get movies

Homevideo turns to downloads via gaming

'Button' tops Visual Effects Awards

Brad Pitt's animated head earns high marks

Midway Games files for bankruptcy

Video game co. in debt after ownership change

Video games go up in down economy

Industry profits increased 13% in January

'Tomb Raider' maker sells out

Warner Bros. to lose $93 million in deal

Prickly time as Sega axes staffers

Company cuts 560 staffers

All News > All Reviews > All Games >

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'ER' winds down, healthcare still ailing

As 'ER' heads toward its April finale, healthcare remarkably remains as widespread a source of debate and concern as it was when the show debuted fifteen years ago.

DC's sweet on tweets

Twitter wins over Washington...
• ...so is Twitter already over?

Redstone's dilemma

Good news: The debt's refinanced. Bad news: The stock market.

H.A.L. blog

In an almost too-obvious connection, Writers In Treatment will host the Reel Recovery Film Series, an (wait for it) addiction-themed film fest.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. kingdom has to adjust to Peter Chernin's recent exit.

Murdoch prepares for post-Chernin role

Rupert Murdoch is the undisputed ruler of News Corp. No CEO has been more intertwined and publicly associated with his company's business, at least not since Ted Turner left the scene. But even media titans need a strong support system and last week Murdoch was put on notice that he will soon lose his ablest lieutenant, Peter Chernin.

Memo to Peter Chernin from Peter Bart

Congratulations on your liberation, Peter, and welcome back to the real world. Or what passes for it. While some are surprised by your departure as chief operating officer, those familiar with the details of your parachute would be surprised had you stayed.
• See more weekly content.

CHARTS:

Weekend Estimate

February 27, 2009 - March 1, 2009 (*millions)

	FILM	GROSS
1	Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail	$16,500,000
2	Jonas Brothers: 3D Concert Experience	$12,700,000
3	Slumdog Millionaire	$12,150,000
4	Taken	$9,950,000
5	He's Just Not That Into You	$5,875,000
6	Street Fighter	$5,650,000
7	Paul Blart Mall Cop	$5,600,000
8	Coraline	$5,252,363
9	Confessions of a Shopaholic	$4,490,000
10	Fired Up	$3,800,000
LATEST NEWS: WEEKEND B.O. > FOREIGN B.O. >
CHARTS: DOMESTIC B.O. > FOREIGN B.O. >

TV RatingsWednesday, February 25, 2009 (*millions)

Top Show	Total
American Idol (Fox)	24.3 mil
Top Shows	A18-49
American Idol (FOX)	8.9/23
Lost (ABC)	4.5/11
Criminal Minds (CBS)	3.4/8
Networks
FOX	8.9/23
ABC	2.7/7
CBS	2.7/7
NBC	2.2/6

from Nielsen Media Research - preliminary results

CHARTS: TV PRODUCTION > TV SCHEDULE >

Reviews:

In Theaters
Film
TV
Music
DVD
Video Games
Legit

FILMS NOW PLAYING:

Crossing Over

You can feel the characters being moved around like pieces on a chessboard in "Crossing Over."

Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

The law of diminishing returns catches up with Tyler Perry in this wildly uneven effort.

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience

The focus is on the fans in Disney's rock doc "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience."

FILMS COMING SOON:

Sunshine Cleaning

Anyone who saw "Little Miss Sunshine" will feel a lot of the same buttons being pushed.

Watchmen

"Watchmen" is less a fully realized comicbook epic than a sturdy feat of dramatic compression.

All Film Reviews >

Film Reviews:

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Neither the best nor the worst of movies derived from videogames, "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" at least gives action fans plenty to ogle be...

Bob Funk

With a title like "Bob Funk," anything is possible, and an anything-goes manner appears to guide writer-director Craig Carlisle's patchwork comedy abo...

An American Affair

An assassination-conspiracy drama by way of coming-of-age story, "An American Affair" is the offspring of improbable parents ("JFK" and "Summer of '42...

The Velveteen Rabbit

Appreciably more subdued than most other recent kidpics of its kind, "The Velveteen Rabbit," a loose adaptation of the classic children's story by Mar...

Watchmen

"Watchmen" is less a fully realized comicbook epic than a sturdy feat of dramatic compression. ...

All Film Reviews > All Reviews >

TV Reviews:

Ashes to Ashes

Although the producers aren't likely to run out of David Bowie songs, they have largely exhausted any hint of originality with this slavish sequel to ...

Jesse Stone: Thin Ice

"Thin Ice" -- Tom Selleck's fifth outing as Robert B. Parker's small-town police chief Jesse Stone -- maintains the bluesy, breezy tone established by...

America

Rosie O'Donnell brings her considerable wattage as producer, co-writer and star to "America," an unabashed message movie about the plight of kids in f...

Dark Days in Monkey City

Using nature footage of macaques, the producers have cobbled together a dramatic narrative that's a little-too-brazenly modeled after the visual style...

The 81st annual Academy Awards - From the Kodak Theater

The Oscar show is watched worldwide by an estimated 800 million people, but it's a very different experience inside the Kodak Theater....

All TV Reviews > All Reviews >

Music Reviews:

Alan Menken

Alan Menken, in his first concert-with-band in 35 years, charmed his way through an "and then I wrote" scrapbook to a friendly and friend-filled house...

The Broadway Musicals of 1924

Celebrating its ninth season, the four-part Broadway by the Year concert series focused first on 1924, a year that gave birth to the crossword puzzle ...

Sutton Foster

Sutton Foster brought her versatile talents and outsize personality uptown for one night Thursday as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook concer...

Joan Baez

The post-partisan politics advocated by President Obama might have trouble taking root in Washington, but Joan Baez (an Obama supporter who performed ...

Rita Moreno

At 77, Rita Moreno is keenly aware that she has retained the attractiveness of her youth spent navigating Hollywood and the Great White Way. ...

All Music Reviews > All Reviews >

DVD Reviews:

Open Season 2

Boog is back but not so Martin Lawrence, who voiced the domesticated bear in "Open Season" (Mike Epps takes his place). Same goes his antler-challenge...

Magnificent Obsession

Criterion has long harbored a weakness for helmer Douglas Sirk, and this two-disc release of his 1954 version of "Magnificent Obsession" furthers the ...

Mary Poppins

The 45th anniversary of "Mary Poppins" returns as a two-disc DVD edition and remains the exact same collection as the 40th anniversary package Disney ...

The Express

The extras on the DVD offer a bit more insight into Ernie Davis' real-life struggles and accomplishments, but not nearly enough to make it a must buy....

The Films of Michael Powell

Of all Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's films, "A Matter of Life and Death" is the most rhapsodic, so three cheers and then some to see it bow ...

All DVD Reviews > All Reviews >

Video Games Reviews:

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

Rockstar takes this in an exciting new direction, creating a fresh story and cast for an existing backdrop, and bringing with it a host of improvement...

Fusion Fall

There's been something of a gold rush for free browser-based, kid-friendly online games recently, particularly from cable networks like Nickelodeon an...

Lord of the Rings: Conquest

A beloved fantasy franchise loses its most distinctive quality -- the epic scope of its battles, backdrops, characters and themes -- in Electronic Art...

The Tale of Despereaux

The demise of troubled publisher Brash Entertainment almost kept "The Tale of Despereaux" videogame off shelves, a fate averted by a last minute deal ...

Prince of Persia

One of the most visually stunning videogames ever made, it melds a hand-painted look with spare sound design and haunting music to create an aesthetic...

All Game Reviews > All Reviews >