Brazilian director swaps Saramago for Shakespeare (Reuters)
Reuters - After more than a year poring overJose Saramago's book "Blindness" for the upcoming movie of thesame name, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles is embarkingon a new literary journey with William Shakespeare.
AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Batman's joust with the Joker has set another box office record. Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, "The Dark Knight" set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday.
Reuters - The new Batman movie, "The DarkKnight," raked in $66.4 million in its opening day to set thesingle-day box office record, according to its distributorWarner Bros.
AP - PARIS (AP) — Angelina Jolie has left the building. Oh, and so have the twins. Before dawn Saturday, the Hollywood superstar and her newborn twins left the French Riviera hospital where she gave birth a week ago, the hospital said in a statement.
Reuters - The new Batman movie, "The DarkKnight," swooped into theaters to gross a record $18.5 millionfrom midnight preview screenings ahead of its official openingon Friday, according to distributor Warner Bros.
AP - Actor Verne Troyer has settled a lawsuit he filed against a porn broker after the defendant agreed not distribute a sex tape depicting Troyer and a former girlfriend, court documents filed Friday show.
Coroner: Kallenbach died of natural causes (AP)
AP - Comedian Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a long-running member of Howard Stern's "Wack Pack," died of complications from cystic fibrosis, a medical examiner ruled Friday.
AP - Because of his own injuries, Ben Vereen seems like a natural to highlight a fundraiser for an institute that researches brain damage, but it took an introduction from the woman who walks his dog to make it happen.
AP - As Chris Finegan watched Heath Ledger's stunning portrayal of the Joker on Friday in "The Dark Knight," he couldn't help but think of another actor who wasn't on the screen: James Dean, who also died prematurely and tragically, nearly 53 years ago.
E! Online - Inspired by Heath Ledger's way-twisted Joker in The Dark Knight, we assembled a posse of nine movie villains who'd make anyone's skin crawl?and asked E! Online readers to pick No. 10. And boy, what a freak show!
"Space Chimps" could soar on DVD (Reuters)
Reuters - "Space Chimps" is on aperilous mission into North American cinemas to compete against"WALL-E" and "Kung Fu Panda" for the family audience, not tomention vie for screens against such hot openers as "The DarkKnight" and "Mamma Mia!" You wouldn't wish such a fate on adog.
E! Online - We get it, already: Heath Ledger's twisted turn as the Joker in The Dark Knight is so good it's disturbing. And we have to agree, this Gotham City thug is one of a very special breed of baddie?those sickos who go beyond freaky, beyond evil, beyond twisted. They're creepy.
Will Ferrell attached to edgy social comedy (Reuters)
Reuters - Will Ferrell is attached tostar in "2-Face," a comedy involving a character with a splitpersonality: One part of him is a racist, and the other is ableeding-heart liberal.
Reuters - Hollywood studios and the ScreenActors Guild on Wednesday held their third meeting since thestudios declared an end to contract negotiations, but the twosides parted company again without any public comment.
