Entertainment News

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ricky Gervais sees dead people. And he has found them to be a demanding bunch in his new movie "Ghost Town" as they clamor for help and attention from the only man who knows they're there.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Filmmaker Spike Lee was focusing on the past when he made a movie about oft-forgotten the role of black soldiers in World War Two, a war film with both blood and schmaltz set in Tuscany.

LOS ANGELES - The Nicolas Cage action-thriller "Bangkok Dangerous" needed just $7.8 million to take the top spot at the box office in what was the slowest movie weekend in at least five years, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Less than a year after starring in the biggest movie of his volatile career, Nicolas Cage led the North American box office to its worst weekend in five years on Sunday with one of his weakest.

TORONTO (AP) — The Coen brothers' new movie gave John Malkovich a chance to blow off some steam. Malkovich's seething character in "Burn After Reading" bursts out in perpetual tantrums, a nice exercise in anger management, according to the actor.

NEW YORK - Broadway prepared to say goodbye Sunday to "Rent," 12 years and 5,124 performances after it first became a rock musical with a message for theatergoers of all ages.

LOS ANGELES - Though the MTV Video Music Awards are the main event in town this weekend, some celebrities are satisfied enough with the side activities connected to the extravaganza.

LOS ANGELES - Another year, another attempted comeback for Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards.

ROME (Reuters) - Pop star Madonna, once accused by the Vatican of staging one of the most satanic shows in history, surprised fans by dedicating her hit "Like a Virgin" to the pope at a sold-out concert held in Rome.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz could find themselves facing another round of twin rumors.

NEW YORK - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has agreed to sit down with ABC's Charles Gibson later this week for her first television interview since John McCain chose her as his running mate more than a week ago.

PAYSON, Utah - Actor Gary Coleman hit a pedestrian with his truck after arguing with him in a local bowling alley, police said.

NEW YORK - Spurred by an historic telethon Friday night, viewers stood up to cancer and pushed total donations for research to battle the disease past the $100 million mark.

LOS ANGELES - Though the MTV Video Music Awards are the main event in town this weekend, some celebrities are satisfied enough with the side activities connected to the extravaganza.

LOS ANGELES - Another year, another attempted comeback for Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards.

LOS ANGELES - The Nicolas Cage action-thriller "Bangkok Dangerous" needed just $7.8 million to take the top spot at the box office in what was the slowest movie weekend in at least five years, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Association of National Advertisers sent a letter objecting to the proposed Internet search advertising partnership between Yahoo Inc and Google Inc to government regulators reviewing the deal, the group said on Sunday.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Filmmaker Spike Lee was focusing on the past when he made a movie about oft-forgotten the role of black soldiers in World War Two, a war film with both blood and schmaltz set in Tuscany.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tommy Lee Jones is suing the makers of "No Country for Old Men" for more than $10 million that the Oscar-winning actor claims he is owed for starring in the 2007 hit crime thriller.

TOKYO (AP) — Posing proudly for a snapshot with a glittery championship belt, Seigi Nishiyama is among some 600 other sports fans packing a Tokyo theater who can't get enough of World Wrestling Entertainment.

LOS ANGELES - Woody Allen would take no bows.

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - The raison d'etre for "Passchendaele" is a savage World War I battle by that name, a proud yet horrific moment in Canadian history that cost the still-young and underpopulated country so many of its finest young men.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Indie film darling Darren Aronofsky stumbled with his most recent movie, "The Fountain," but he's back on track with "The Wrestler," which had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival and is seeking distribution.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - "The Day That Never Comes" is what Metallica fans felt they were pining for while awaiting the follow-up to 2003's ill-received album "St.

ARTIST: JESSICA SIMPSON

ALBUM: DO YOU KNOW

NEW YORK (Billboard) - After she scored nine pop hits between 1999 and 2006, top 40 radio gave Jessica Simpson the heave-ho.

LONDON (Reuters) - "Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers" benefited from a late surge in public support to win the title Friday of oddest book title of the past 30 years, The Bookseller magazine said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. publisher Beaufort Books has bought a novel about the Prophet Mohammad's child bride a month after Random House canceled its release, citing fears it could "incite acts of violence."

NEW YORK - Another beloved children's series will soon be over.

NEW YORK - The publisher that took on O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" after it was dropped in the face of public outrage has signed up another rejected project: Sherry Jones' "The Jewel of Medina," a novel about a wife of the prophet Muhammad that Random House canceled out of concern that it would anger Muslims.

LONDON - It may not be a best-seller, but "Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers" has won a literary accolade: oddest book title of the past 30 years.

Big-deal musicals honing their acts out of town reached out for a little help this week.

Additional casting has been announced for the world premiere of Beau Willimon's political play, Farragut North, for Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company.

The First Wives Club - A New Musical will premiere at The Old Globe in San Diego in summer 2009, prior to Broadway.

Casting has been announced for Signature Theatre's Washington, DC, premiere of the viciously bloody comic satire The Lieutenant of Inishmore, to play Sept. 23-Nov. 16 in Signature's ARK Theatre in Arlington, VA.

Caldwell Theatre Company is breathing new life into a comedy about death, Lying in State, by David C. Hyer, which begins Sept. 5 in Boca Raton, FL.

NEW YORK - After winning three silver medals in Beijing, Olympic swimmer Dara Torres has mastered another daunting challenge: walking the runway at New York Fashion Week.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ricky Gervais sees dead people. And he has found them to be a demanding bunch in his new movie "Ghost Town" as they clamor for help and attention from the only man who knows they're there.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Filmmaker Spike Lee was focusing on the past when he made a movie about oft-forgotten the role of black soldiers in World War Two, a war film with both blood and schmaltz set in Tuscany.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Nicolas Cage action-thriller "Bangkok Dangerous" needed just $7.8 million to take the top spot at the box office in what was the slowest movie weekend in five years, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

PAYSON, Utah - Authorities in Utah say a truck driven by actor Gary Coleman hit a man on his foot after the two argued in a bowling alley.

NEW YORK - After winning three silver medals in Beijing, Olympic swimmer Dara Torres has mastered another daunting challenge: walking the runway at New York Fashion Week.

NEW YORK - The stars descended on New York Fashion Week on Sunday, with Olympian Dara Torres hitting the catwalk, Justin Timberlake putting on a runway show and the likes of Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci lining the front rows.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cindy McCain or Michelle Obama for the White House?

NEW YORK (AP) — Designers at New York Fashion week heard London calling — from 1975.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nobody draws attention like Lindsay Lohan and gal pal Samantha Ronson.

DEAR ABBY: I am a woman living with a man, but "in love" with another man whom I formerly dated but broke up with because he's an alcoholic. "Spike" is a true biker -- exciting, funny and fun. Our lifestyles didn't mesh, so I made the decision we shouldn't be together. I miss him very much, and it keeps me from being totally committed in my head to the man I live with.

DEAR ABBY: My sister-in-law, "Carol," doesn't wash her hands after changing diapers. I find it repulsive, and I can't help but cringe. I have also noticed that her kids don't wash their hands after using the bathroom -- or any other time, for that matter -- unless instructed to do so and closely watched. Even then, they don't use soap.

DEAR ABBY: My father and I usually get along well, but whenever we get into an argument, he'll say something like, "Well, maybe I should just kill myself. Then you won't have to deal with me!" This has been going on for as long as I can remember. I'm 21 now.

DEAR ABBY: My daughter, who is being married in three months, mentioned to me that her fiance's friends have a tradition of covering the newlyweds' car with condoms. Whatever happened to tin cans and a "Just Married" sign?

DEAR ABBY: "Nobody's Grandma" (June 12) is sad about her children's desire to remain childless. I would encourage her to seek out a family in her neighborhood, church or other shared connections who live far from family or have no grandparents.

09/05/2008 - DEAR MARGO: I'm in an unusual (or perhaps not) situation.

09/04/2008 - This is an unusual column for me to write. Throughout my years as an advice columnist (first as "Dear Prudence," now "Dear Margo"), I have never plugged anything or suggested to my readers that they participate in any event. I do so now to continue a tradition.

08/29/2008 - DEAR MARGO: I have been working for a director for some time now -- from the time I was in school.

08/28/2008 - DEAR MARGO: I think my husband of 20 years had an affair.

08/22/2008 - DEAR MARGO: My friend has been writing, e-mailing and web-camming a man located in China who is from Africa.

Creators Syndicate - Bigots Oppose Barack by 1,000-to-1 Margin

Creators Syndicate - This year, my wife and I have yet another son going into ninth grade. It's the start of high school and the beginning of serious academic study, the year when a child starts to think about what they want to be when they finally finish school. Mostly, though, it means it's time for the dreaded bug collection.

Creators Syndicate - Lazy Columnists Pad Out Stories by Quoting Experts, Experts Say

Creators Syndicate - This past week, as we watched the Olympics on TV almost every night, I had to sit by quietly while my wife commented, with disturbing regularity, on all the young male athletes. She wasn't talking about scores, times, or world records, or even their medals, but about how well built they all were.

Creators Syndicate - Phelps Warned Not to Lick Medals

LOS ANGELES - Anita Page, an MGM actress who appeared in films with Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford and Buster Keaton during the transition from silent movies to talkies, has died. She was 98.

SAN ANTONIO - Tommy Lee Jones is suing the makers of "No Country for Old Men" for more than $10 million that the Oscar-winning actor claims he is owed for starring in the 2007 hit crime thriller.

NEW YORK - Broadway prepared to say goodbye Sunday to "Rent," 12 years and 5,124 performances after it first became a rock musical with a message for theatergoers of all ages.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - NBC is bringing out the big guns for its 15th and final season of ER. The big, nostalgia-laden, tear-inducing guns.

NEW YORK - David Spade is the father of Playboy playmate Jillian Grace's newborn daughter, Spade's representative said Thursday. The baby girl was born Aug. 26 in Missouri, and Spade plans to visit her on his first break from filming the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement," publicist Meredith O'Sullivan said.