Movie News

BEIJING (Reuters) - More than just a box-office hit in China, animated Hollywood comedy "Kung Fu Panda" has led Chinese artists to find fault with their own film industry and call for fewer government controls on culture.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Lost scenes from the sci-fi classic "Metropolis," recently discovered in the archives of a Buenos Aires museum, were shown to journalists for the first time in decades on Thursday.

NICE, France - They'll always have Nice.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - All four members of supergroup ABBA appeared together on Friday at the Swedish premiere of the film "Mamma Mia!," delighting fans with their first public showing for years.

NEW YORK (AP) — A-Rod and the Material Girl? That's a lot of hits. Reports that Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez and Madonna have become close just as their marriages are disintegrating have both the celebrity gossip industry and the sporting world — each a chatty bunch — buzzing with questions about the two "friends."

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Josh Peck has spent much of his teenage and young adult life in front of television cameras portraying the chubby, goofy character Josh in the Nickelodeon cable TV series "Drake & Josh."

BERLIN (Reuters) - Film historians had doubted they would ever find the missing portions of "Metropolis" -- until three reels of the science fiction film made in Germany a long time ago, were discovered in a country far, far away.

PHILADELPHIA - A foundation created by Steven Spielberg is giving $1 million to the National Museum of American Jewish History.

LOS ANGELES - Will Smith usually plays the hero in his summer blockbusters. But in "Hancock," he drinks, swears, mouths off — and goes to prison.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Happy 232nd birthday, America! Along with baseball, Britney and oh so many flavors of Doritos, you've given the world an uncountable wealth of movies to enjoy. On this momentous holiday weekend, let's focus on nine films that most fully embody the American spirit, plus a 10th to be determined by E! Online readers. (See, that's some freedom of choice right there!)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The prehistoric epic "10,000 BC" scored a triple victory on the latest home video charts, topping the national DVD sales and rental charts as well as the Blu-ray Disc sales chart its first week in stores.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - We've been keeping our eye on Matt Damon, and not just because he's the Sexiest Man Alive. For quite some time, Damon had seemed to be plumping up like Ball Park Frank.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - With the Fourth rapidly approaching, it's a relatively slow time for Hollywood dealmakers, but there is a little action on the Couch.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Heading into the holiday weekend, there are no fireworks coming from the Screen Actors Guild.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Daniel Craig's cover is about to be blown. He's the cool and suave new James Bond, but the dudes working on the Quantum of Solace video game revealed his true identity: game geek. And one who's not quite the killing machine he is onscreen. (If you haven't seen the movie's new trailer, by the way, do so now.)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney began filming the story of drug-addled U.S. journalist Hunter S. Thompson at the late author's funeral, he says it was one of his "greatest failures" in making the documentary.

NICE, France - Partially eclipsed by the glitterati of Cannes and the royal glare of Monaco, Nice is a place where even the brightest stars — like Brangelina — are greeted by little more than indifference.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Why do the papers write false stories in the tabloids about the stars like Denise Richards and Lindsay Lohan? Don't they know that it ruins their careers as well hurts their familes? The tabloids should print positive things about the stars.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Elaborate DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions of "Batman Begins," "Casablanca" and "The Flintstones" top this year's slate of pricey gift sets from Warner Home Video, a category that experienced 26% growth in the past year, according to the studio.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - Christie Brinkley testified at her divorce trial Thursday that the day she learned her husband was having an affair with a teenager was the day "my life as I knew it had vanished."

Los Angeles (E! Online) - All together now...it was an offer he couldn't refuse.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Hancock," the new Will Smith action movie opening ahead of the July Fourth holiday, seems sure to extend Hollywood's latest hot streak, keeping the U.S. box office on pace to exceed last year's record summer.

Selected home-video releases:

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Steven Seagal may be above the law, but he's not above settling some outstanding legal issues.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Last weekend, like a lot of other moviegoers, Steve Martin's Inspector Clouseau lined up to buy a ticket to "WALL-E." He struggled several times to pronounce "I would like a ticket for 'WALL-E"' only to learn that the show was sold out.

"Mrs. Angelina Jolie and her husband, Mr. Brad Pitt, told me to tell you that she is doing absolutely fine." — Dr. Michel Sussmann, Jolie's obstetrician at a hospital in Nice, France, where Jolie is expecting twins. Sussmann was apparently unaware that Jolie and Pitt aren't married.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - It's that time of year: Will Smith season. And the the King of July 4th has another smash hit on his hands with Hancock, costarring Oscar winner Charlize Theron and funnyman Jason Bateman. This is the only major release at the box office over the holiday weekend, and every studio clears a path because, no doubt about it, he's the No. 1 movie star in the world.

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Val Kilmer and Xzibit are about to have a "Bad" trip.

NEW YORK - Jerry Herman, eyes welling with tears, could hardly believe what he was hearing as he watched the new animated blockbuster "WALL-E."