Tag Archives: dead-on-arrival

Dredd, White & Blue? Citizens Petition White House For Death Star, Street Judges & Master Chief Statue

We the People of the United States…are some weird dudes.  A clever but clearly tongue-in-cheek petition to build a Star Wars -style Death Star isn’t the only petition that’s been started on the Obama administration’s much-debated We The People website.  That’s the place where ordinary citizens can log in and lobby for change. When a petition registered on the site gets 25,000 signatures, the administration issues an official response to it, which, you might guess, means that there are quite a few wackadoo proposals on the site. In addition to the Death Star proposal, which needs more than 21,000 signatures before its Dec. 14 deadline, there is also a petition started by “Sean M” of San Francisco that seeks to establish a “new legal system of motorcycle riding ‘Judges’ who serve as police, judge, jury, and executioner all in one.” If you saw Dredd 3D   or are a fan of Judge Dredd comics, you’ll get the reference. If you’re like me, you’ll also start thinking of Karl Urban riding in formation with leather-clad Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg who also know how to scowl effectively. And for you gamer fans, nathan p of Columbus, Ohio has petitioned the administration to build a statue of Halo hero   Master Chief on the White House lawn, noting:  “He deserves more praise for what he has done.” Compared to those last two petitions, the Death Star proposal at least has some satirical bite, nothing that its construction will “spur job creation…and strengthen our national defense.” It could also boost Disney’s stock. It will be interesting to see if any of these petitions makes their 25,000-signature deadlines, which all fall at the end of next week. As of this posting, the Master Chief   statute proposal is in the lead with more than 4,700 signatures, and Halo fans are a passionate breed.  This could get interesting. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

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Dredd, White & Blue? Citizens Petition White House For Death Star, Street Judges & Master Chief Statue

Skyfall U.K.’s Biggest Film Ever; Matt Damon Eyes George Clooney Pic: Biz Break

Skyfall has overtaken the likes of Avatar in Britain at the box office. Also in Wednesday’s round-up of news, Matt Damon is a possible addition to a George Clooney -directed period drama; Les Misérables is set for Xmas Imax bow; the Academy will honor Pedro Almodovar ; and the Dubai International Film Festival is removing pro-Syrian ruler filmmakers films from its roster. Skyfall is U.K.’s Highest Grossing Film of All Time In 40 days of release, the 23rd James Bond movie has grossed $151,795,059 to become the highest grossing film in Great Britain ever, overtaking previous records set by Avatar . Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall opened in 587 U.K. theaters on October 26th, Deadline reports . Matt Damon Eyes George Clooney’s Monuments Damon is in negotiations to join period drama The Monuments Men , which will be directed by George Clooney in January in Europe. Along with the two, the film will star Daniel Craig, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville and Bob Balaban. The story “confronts the final chapter of Germany’s rule, which came down to the absolute destruction of everything that makes a culture keep its standing, including the lives that are lost and the sacrifices that are made,” Deadline reports . Les Misérables to Bow in Select Imax Theaters The film will open in select Imax theaters in New York, L.A., Toronto and Montreal the same day as its nationwide Christmas-day release. It will have an extensive Imax roll out internationally in January, Variety reports . Academy to Honor Pedro Almodovar in London Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodovar will be honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the British capital. Special guests will include his brother Agustin Almodovar, filmmaker Stephen Frears, fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, singer Alberto Iglesias and scriptwriter Peter Morgan, THR reports . Dubai and Cairo Film Fests Remove Pro-Syrian Ruler Films The Dubai International Film Festival dropped Basil al-Khatib’s historical drama Mariam , Abdul Latif Abdul Hamid’s The Lover and Joud Said’s My Last Friend from its official selection this year after protests from the Arab film community due to the directors’ support for Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad. Dubai takes place December 9 – 16. Screen reports .

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Skyfall U.K.’s Biggest Film Ever; Matt Damon Eyes George Clooney Pic: Biz Break

‘2016 Obama’s America’ Filmmakers Cry Oscar Bias

The Oscar-winning producer of this year’s anti-Obama doc 2016 Obama’s America is calling foul after the Academy released its Documentary Shortlist for Oscar consideration earlier this week. [ Related: Academy Names 15 As Best Documentary Oscar Contenders; ‘Central Park Five’ Snubbed ] Gerald Molen, who produced 1994’s Schindler’s List (with Steven Spielberg and Branko Lustig) won the Academy Award for Best Picture said political bias is to blame for 2016 not making the cut of 15 titles to advance to the next round. Directed by Dinesh D’Souza, the pic took in a cool $33.44 million domestically, earning more at the box office than the 15 who did advance to Oscar-nomination eligibility combined. Molen, however, said D’Souza believed the Academy – which is criticized by conservatives of being largely liberally biased – might snub the doc. “Dinesh warned me this might happen,” Molen said with a laugh, according to THR . “The action confirms my opinion that the bias against anything from a conservative point of view is dead on arrival in Hollywood circles. The film’s outstanding success means that America went to see the documentary in spite of how Hollywood feels about it.” 2016 Obama’s America is not the only box office cash-cow that didn’t make the short list for 2012. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz’s Katy Perry: Part of Me did not join the fifteen. Though not quite as successful as 2016 , the Katy Perry movie did gross over $25.3 million domestically (and over $32 million worldwide). Both D’Souza’s 2016 and Michael Moore’s 2004 not-so-subtle anti-Bush smash Fahrenheit 9/11 may indicate an emerging cinematic convention: Anti-presidential incumbent non-fictions turn out the crowds, but not the Oscar nominations. Fahrenheit outstripped 2016 at the box office, taking in over $119 million in 2004 dollars and it even scored the Cannes Palme d’Or that year. But it did not receive an Oscar nomination. Still, the Oscar snub has caught the eire of its filmmakers and they’re not above throwing a bit of light-hearted shade to some of those films that did make the list this week. “I want to thank the Academy for not nominating our film,” D’Souza said. “By ignoring 2016, the top-performing box-office hit of 2012, and pretending that films like  Searching for Sugar Man  and  This Is Not a Film  are more deserving of an Oscar, our friends in Hollywood have removed any doubt average Americans may have had that liberal political ideology, not excellence, is the true standard of what receives awards.” [ Source: THR ]

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‘2016 Obama’s America’ Filmmakers Cry Oscar Bias

Holiday Weekend Receipts: Impossible Rules, War Horse Strong

‘Twas the weekend of Christmas, and all through the house, many studio executives had good reason to grouse… Ugh, sorry about that — it’s the egg nog. In fairness, the holiday frame actually signaled a nice rebound from previous weekends (which, when considering the utter horror show this month’s been, isn’t saying so much, but still). Who got what they wanted for Christmas, and who did Santa all but skip? Your Weekend Receipts are here. [All figures are four-day weekend estimates, with the exception of War Horse and The Darkest Hour , which opened Sunday.] 1. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Gross: $46,210,000 ($78,645,000) Screens: 3,448 (PSA $13,402) Weeks: 2 (Change: +261.4%) Oh, so this is how Scientologists celebrate Christmas : With a franchise windfall that ran away with the box-office crown. Xenu? Er, I mean, who knew? 2. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Gross: $31,810,000 ($90,564,000) Screens: 3,703 (PSA $8,590) Weeks: 2 (Change: -19.7%) Enh. I’m more interested to see how this performs internationally, which will likely dictate how, when or even if your third Sherlock Holmes sausage is made. Just roll it in with Iron Man 3 and let Robert Downey Jr. move on with his life, already. 3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Gross: $20,000,000 ($56,940,000) Screens: 3,734 Weeks: 2 (Change: -14%) Raise your hand if you thought that the second weekend of Chipwrecked would outgross the first weekend of the PG-rated We Bought a Zoo by a nearly two-to-one margin. On Christmas, even! Maybe Fox should have bumped that awesome Marley and Me sequel to theaters instead. 4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Gross: $19,400,000 ($27,776,000) Screens: 2,914 (PSA $6,658) Weeks: 1 Clearly the parents who suffered through Chipwrecked needed this bracing Fincherian pick-me-up. Nice timing, Sony! 5. The Adventures of Tintin Gross: $16,100,000 ($24,107,000) Screens: 3,087 (PSA: $5,215) Weeks: 1 In the battle of the movie terriers, Tintin ‘s Snowy was no match for The Artist ‘s Uggie — at least when it came to per screen average, $8,400 to $5,200. Honestly I have no other insights or observations to bring to this. 6. We Bought a Zoo Gross: $15,600,000 Screens: 3,117 (PSA: $5,005) Weeks: 1 Speaking of animal performers, what happened to Crystal the Monkey? First The Hangover Part II made more than half a billion dollars; then Zookeeper slid in with less than a third of that. Now she’s doing holiday tricks for America’s pocket change. Someone mount an intervention, pronto. 7. War Horse Gross: $15,025,000 Screens: 2,376 (PSA: $6,324) Weeks: 1 A miraculous horse! OK, not quite — but still: That’s not a bad two-day showing at all for a two-and-a-half-hour non-sequel with no stars and stiff competition (and not-so-stiff competition; The Darkest Hour was dead on arrival with $5,500,000) up and down the multiplex corridor. I’m very curious to see how this holds in the weeks ahead, if only so we might have the much-needed War Goose spinoff a few Christmases from now. Fingers crossed… [Figures via Box Office Mojo ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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Holiday Weekend Receipts: Impossible Rules, War Horse Strong

Nicki Minaj Mourns Cousin Nicholas Telemaque’s Death

‘My precious cousin. My baby. Killed last nite,’ Nicki Minaj tweeted on July 4. By Rob Markman Nicki Minaj Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images What was supposed to be a day of celebration for Team Nicki was hit with tragedy after Nicki Minaj’s cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday. “Lived in Brooklyn his whole life. My precious cousin. My baby. Killed last nite,” Nicki tweeted , along with a photo of Telemaque. The Harajuku Barbie also wrote , “My cousin Nicholas. Also goes by Juse, or @brolicalcoholic. Murdered. Last nite. Near his home. Brooklyn, NY,” and attached another pic. Yesterday Minaj spent Independence Day performing in Winnipeg, Canada, as part of Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale tour and also celebrated the birthday of her rumored boyfriend, hypeman Safaree “SB” Samuels, to whom she tweeted a b-day message: “HappyBirthdaySB!!!!!!!! @scaffbeezy hope u like ya gift coon!!!!” Since tweeting about her cousin’s death, Minaj hasn’t sent any subsequent messages out through the social networking site as of this writing. On Monday, July 4, at approximately 2:40 a.m. ET, police responded to a call in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where they found Telemaque, 27, with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso region. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The New York Daily News reported that Telemaque had just left C-PAC nightclub, just blocks from his home, when he was shot. Police told MTV News that no arrests have been made and the investigation is still ongoing. Related Artists Nicki Minaj

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Nicki Minaj Mourns Cousin Nicholas Telemaque’s Death

Shooting in Washington D.C.: Three (3) Dead As Reported

Photo: Chief Cathy Lanier, blue jacket, second from left, and other police attend to the scene of a multiple shooting with fatalities on South Capitol Street in Southeast Washington, March 30, 2010. (AP/Washington Post) Washington D.C. (AP) – The shooting killed three (3) people. One shooting victim died at the scene, one was dead on arrival at the hospital, and the third died in the operating room, said Carolyn Hammond, spokeswoman for Washington Hospital Center. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Arrest 3, found one (1) Gun. Shooters had no motive, the Washington Post reported that police pursued a van from the scene, aided by a helicopter. Four police officers were slightly injured during a pursuit of a suspect’s vehicle. > > Read More Shooting in Washington D.C.: Three (3) Dead As Reported is a post from: Daily World Buzz Continue reading

Everybody Just Cool Out, NBC Isn’t Canceling Leno (But They May Be Screwing Conan)

The rumors of Jay Leno’s cancellation are greatly exaggerated, NBC said in a statement today. Everything’s fine, his talk show gets the ratings they’d expected, etc. Though, doesn’t their need to issue a statement imply the opposite?

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Everybody Just Cool Out, NBC Isn’t Canceling Leno (But They May Be Screwing Conan)

Brittany Murphy, Actress, 32

TMZ is reporting that Brittany Murphy , who had long been said to struggle with drugs, died last night after going into cardiac arrest.

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Brittany Murphy, Actress, 32