On Jews and Lists and Movies

Earlier this month, Tablet Magazine slowly unwrapped its list of the 100 Greatest Jewish Films of all time. I let this one slip past my radar until I read Heeb alum and Indiewire’s lead film critic Eric Kohn’s take on the thing over on his site, Screen Rush:

Nevertheless, the deeper you dig into Tablet’s list, the higher your eyebrows are bound to rise. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"? "Miracle on 34th Street"? "Citizen Kane"? Come now.

Interest piqued, I dove into their list and, sure enough, I was as confounded as Kohn was with most of their picks. The whole piece may as well be called "A List of Movies We Could be Pithy About." There are a few redeeming bits here and there, but overall it’s a disjointed venture, an over-intellectualized attempt at tickling their way into an assload of pageviews.

Tablet’s primary mistake is that they don’t set down finite ground rules for their rankings. What, after all, constitutes a Jewish film? For these writers, the rules are apparently malleable. Sometimes it’s a Jewish film because of its themes, other times it’s because the filmmakers or actors are Jewish. Other times it’s just to be contrary and still other times it’s because there’s Nazis in the film, somewhere. The Sound of Music? What are you talking about?

Heeb undertook a task as monumental but more manageable when we published our 100 Greatest Jewish Movie Moments. The difference there is that the moments we chewed on were clear and explicable. That’s why it makes more sense that our list concludes with John Goodman’s classic diatribe from The Big Lebowski whereas Tablet plops the entire film at number 15. What, besides this scene and Goodman’s other Hebraic flourishes, makes the film a paragon of Jewish cinema? I can’t tell you, because they opted not to explain their thinking.

Probably the stupidest choice on their list is their number one spot, which went to E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Jody Rosen tries to explain the thinking behind naming it "the greatest Jewish movie ever made."

The saga of the spaceman marooned on planet Earth follows the classic, folkloric outline of the foundling myth. But there is another, archetypally Jewish story here, a minority story, indeed: an immigrant’s tale. E.T. is the ultimate greenhorn—an anxious, bewildered creature, adrift in a strange land. Like generations of newcomers before him, E.T. learns to speak a few halting, oddly accented English words, including the phrase that migrated from Melissa Mathison’s script straight into pop-culture lore. Your great-great-grandparents recited Psalm 137 and sang “Mein Shtetle Belz.” This alien says "E.T. phone home."

Uh huh. All immigrants are Jews. Or all spacemen are Jews. Or something.

Rosen meanders around universal themes in the film for 700 words, never once coming close to defending the concept that E.T. is a specifically Jewish film. Probably because it isn’t. Overall, this is the issue with the list as a whole. The writers and editors at Tablet are imprinting their own Jewishness scattershot on a pile of films that seemed decent enough to include. Many of them have no Jewish overtones, undertones or otherwise, but hey, look! They put White Christmas on their list! Edgy.

Let’s dig in a little deeper to some more nonsense. Sunset Boulevard is the second most Jewish film ever because its lesson is that "life is tough." Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind made it to number ten because, "In a word, Judaism is this: Remember!" Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin is on the list simply because it’s a great film.

Sergei Eisenstein’s masterpiece influenced generations of filmmakers—some of whom blatantly copied from the master—and did more than almost any other film in history to shape the grammar of the nascent medium.

Nevermind Eisenstein’s inclusion of an anti-anti-semitic moment in the film, when a blowhard amidst fervent revolutionaries rants "Kill the Jews!," after which he is roundly beaten.

Not selling you on stupid quite yet? How about number 75, "Every Jeff Goldblum Movie Ever." I’m surprised Tablet didn’t actually include them all so they could pump more clicks out of you.

One of the most annoying on the list is number 100, Schindler’s List which the editors hate. Liel Liebovitz explains:

And yet, for all of its wretched awfulness, we couldn’t help but include the film in our list; its massive visibility helped educate wide swaths of the population previously only dimly aware of the subject.

How caddish to put this film all the way down at 100 just to prove a point. If you hate it so much leave it off, but the point of the list isn’t really to say anything about Jewish cinema, is it? It’s to prove your cleverness, nu?

All Time Great Movies On DVD

Movies have always fascinated people the world over. The classic movies of the 50s and 60s have enthralled viewers with their magnificent scenery, great storylines, and sizzling star castings. These movies have never gone out of style or even out of our minds. Movies like 'Gone with the wind', 'Sound of music', 'My fair lady' and 'Roman Holiday' all have their own unique charm that has captivated the hearts of millions of viewers the world over. These epic movies have created a permanent place in the hearts and minds of millions of moviegoers.

Watching these all time great movies on DVD is a great way to celebrate holidays or other special occasions. We will be discussing here some of the greatest movies of all time which are available on DVD for home viewing.

One such great "must watch" is the epic movie named 'Ten Commandments' based on the biblical story of Moses. This movie is great to watch with the whole family. The character of Moses was portrayed by Charton Heston, which became as immortal as the film itself. The story from the bible is the source of the plot, along with it the backdrop of an era before Christ, where Jewish slaves where inhumanly tortured. Together with the intriguing life of Moses, these things combine to make this movie an all time great.

Another such piece, which comes to mind while talking about the all time great movies on DVD, is the classic musical 'Sound of music'. This is the story of the VonTrapp family with seven little children who lost their mother very early and were raised by their father captain Georg VonTrapp played by Christopher Plummer. Along comes Maria played by Julie Andrews who serves as a governess for these seven children. The songs in this film herald the musicals of that era. One the most wonderfully shot, picturized and choreographed movies of all time is this one, which we would love to treasure on DVD. It is a great film, which can be watched by every generation and will remain forever young in the minds of generations to come.

A classic movie called 'My fair lady' is an all time favorite for most viewers. It is about an uneducated woman who sells flowers. The main character Eliza Dolittle played by none other than beautiful Audrey Hepburn and Professor Henry Higgins played by Rex Harrison. Here Audrey Hepburn plays a clumsy flower girl with thick cockney accent.

Another very nice heart warming romantic movie, which is a good watch on your home DVD is the classic 'Roman Holiday'. Audrey Hepburn plays Princess Anne who is weary of the strict protocols and anxious to have some fun before she is crowned with the responsibilities of the affairs of the state. Anne escapes her royal retainers in Rome and scampers incognito through the city. She happens to meet American journalist Joe Bradley played by none other than the handsome Gregory Peck, who at once recognizes her as a source of hot news and offers to give her a guided tour of Rome. Both characters fall in love with each other.

Taylor Lautner Talks Breaking Dawn: "It's the Best One!"

We'll get to Breaking Dawn in a minute, but first, let's talk Taylor Lautner's ego.

At just 19, he's been compared to megastars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg and Tom Cruise, he's got a smoking hot bod (Brad Pitt's even noticed!) and makes boatloads of money ($200,000 car, anyone?).

So has all the fame gone to the young Twilight star's head?

READ: Taylor Lautner Naked in Abduction? "There Is an Intense Steamy Scene," Star Says

We're happy to report, no!

"He's so humble!" Lautner's Abduction costar Michael Nyqvist told us at last night's Hollywood premiere of the flick. "If I at that age had that kind of career, I'd go crazy. He's so cool about it. He's a very good guy."

Lautner proved it when he greeted hundreds of screaming fans and signed autographs along Hollywood Boulevard for more than half an hour before finally walking the red carpet.

Lautner, dressed in a dark blue Paul Smith suit and sportin' some scruff, dished to E! News that he's already prepping for the impending pandemonium for the first of the two Breaking Dawn movies.

"I'm so excited," he gushed. "I always do get excited but I can say I've never been more excited than for this one specifically."

Oh? "For me, it's by far my personal favorite," he says. "It's the best one."

As for reports that he's is set to team up with Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock") for the upcoming action flick Goliath, Lautner says nothing's official.

"There's a few things floating around right now that I'm very excited about," he told us. "It's a little too early to tell. I can definitely say I'll be challenging myself to something new."

Also at the premiere were Lautner's pal Selena Gomez and boyfriend Justin Bieber. However, only Ms. Gomez took some time to stop on the red carpet for pics.

A Dangerous Mind with Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley needed vodka shots to prepare for spanking scenes

What's the best way to get ready to shoot a confronting movie scene? Vodka shots — at least according to Keira Knightley.

Knightley has a lead role in A Dangerous Mind, the latest film from notoriously weird director David Cronenburg, playing Sabina Spielrein, who comes between psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud (played by Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender).

One scene depicting Jung violently spanking Spielrein is so full-on that Knightley needed some dutch courage to film it.

"I did a couple of shots of vodka — definitely — beforehand, and then a couple of glasses of champagne as a celebration of never having to do that again," she told press at the Toronto Film Festival.

Knightley is adamant the scene isn't just "some weird sexy spanking thing", revealing she was never actually spanked. "There was a box which [Fassbinder] hit, so he was nowhere near me, thank God!"

Ryan Gosling Is Silent, Deadly and Fantastic Behind the Wheel in Drive

Review in a Hurry: Ryan Gosling is a driver. He's a very good driver. He can drive stunt cars and getaway cars, and he can also fix cars. Then one day, things don't go so well. Lots of violence happens. Simple, yes, but funny how the no-frills approach really, really works in this instance.

The Bigger Picture: It's fascinating how the simple act of eliminating a lead character's back story can make a movie 100 percent better, at least in this case. Most filmmakers would have taken the time to show us exactly why Gosling's unnamed driver is so focused on cars and punctuality, perhaps with flashbacks to his childhood as in the James Sallis novel the movie's based on.

But director Nicholas Winding Refn (Bronson) and screenwriter Hossein Amini (the forthcoming Snow White and the Huntsman) give us nothing to go on besides his single-mindedness in the present, which feels appropriate. He doesn't analyze his actions or focus on the past, so why should the film do that on his behalf?

We know the driver instead through his actions. He's a master behind the wheel, whether crashing cars for the movie business or holding his more criminal clients to a strict five-minute timetable. There's no margin for error in his life, and he's so unaware of his own need for human contact that he barely understands what it is when a beautiful next-door neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son spur a vaguely remembered sense of protectiveness. When her husband returns from prison in debt to some seriously scummy shysters, the driver's willing to help him do one last job to pay off the psychos and protect the family. But those one last jobs never quite work out as they should, and one of the hazards here involves Albert Brooks, doing a surprisingly scary turn as a crooked mobster.

So silent and still is Gosling that the moments of violence, when they do come, would be shocking no matter what. Be forewarned, though: While the gore isn't wall-to-wall, it's horror-movie level when it does erupt. One could infer that the driver is still in shell-shock from similar prior events, but that's just a guess. The hypnotic, synth-driven songs and score that power many of the driving scenes suggest his attempt at entering a more peaceful trance.

It's possible that Drive benefits from low critical expectations in a slightly disappointing cinematic year, but it's certain nonetheless that it's one of the best of 2011.

The 180—a Second Opinion: Refn occasionally goes overboard with subjective illumination. During several notable scenes, the use of an overly artificial spotlight distracts from the metaphorical one the moment already inherently has.

"Planet of the Apes" remake puts franchise back on track

If the prospect of another journey to the Planet of the Apes holds as much appeal for you as a rotten banana, you're not alone.

Tim Burton's flung-poo 2001 remake squandered a lot of the goodwill amassed by the original franchise which, between the years of 1968 and 1975, yielded five movies, a live-action TV series, and a Saturday morning cartoon.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is everything Burton's movie wasn't -- smart, exciting and thought-provoking, while operating in the realm of the movies' great misunderstood monsters.

Like King Kong and Godzilla before him, audiences will fear the intelligent ape Caesar (played brilliantly via motion-capture animation by Andy Serkis) while also empathizing with his plight.

The film stars James Franco as Will Rodman, a genetics researcher testing a new drug on apes that repairs neural pathways and could potentially cure Alzheimer's. It's a personal crusade for Will, whose father Charles -- played by John Lithgow -- suffers from the disease.

The drug seems to be working on a lab ape known as "Bright Eyes" (that's what the intelligent apes called Charlton Heston in the original movie, and it's one of about a dozen shout-outs to the original "Apes" films here), but when she goes on a rampage, drug company exec Jacobs (David Oyelowo) shuts down the program.

Bright Eyes didn't freak out because of the drug, however; she was merely protecting her baby, the one that Will takes home, raises on his own, and names Caesar. And while Caesar has benefited from his mother's exposure to the drug, Will secretly brings the experimental formula home and start giving it to Charles, who seems to be improving.

As Caesar gets older, Will's girlfriend Caroline (Freida Pinto, playing a zoo vet so underwritten that Rosario Dawson's character in "Zookeeper" feels like Dr. Jane Goodall by comparison) warns him that the ape will become strong and violent.

And when a pushy next-door neighbor gets into an altercation with a now-relapsing Charles, Caesar lashes out and winds up getting incarcerated in a primate facility where he learns the law of the jungle -- and figures out a way to build an army against the cruel humans.

Plot-wise, "Rise" most resembles "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes," in which talking ape Caesar leads his enslaved brothers in a revolt. But while that film was more of a political parable, this new one marries questions about the excesses of genetics research with a tense and suspenseful prison-break story. (The latter mirrors director Rupert Wyatt's exceptional previous film, "The Escapist.")

So many contemporary movies have a hard time balancing two things at once -- "The Change-Up" treats gross-out gags and midlife romance like they were walking and chewing gum -- that it's a real pleasure to watch "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" unfold, skillfully encompassing sci-fi, action, suspense, and the Will/Caesar relationship, which falls somewhere between parent/child and boy-and-his-dog.

Franco's not the first actor you'd think of for this kind of movie, but he plays it straightforwardly, handling the role's emotional moments and its streams of science-babble with ease. He also knows that, billing aside, this is Serkis' show all the way.

Cox, who spear-headed the prison break in "The Escapist," flips the script by playing the warden of the monkey jail, and if Tom Felton wanted to avoid post-"Harry Potter" typecasting after a decade of playing Draco Malfoy, then perhaps playing Cox's sadistic, chimp-taunting son wasn't the way to do it.

With its army of apes, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas, "Rise" bites off a lot, effects-wise, but the movie delivers some of the best motion-capture animation since "Avatar." Nobody gives a performance with ping-pong balls on his face like Andy Serkis, as he previously proved in "King Kong" and the "Lord of the Rings" movies, and here he makes Caesar vulnerable, conflicted, loving, and ultimately terrifying.

It's not the kind of acting that wins awards, but Serkis' work here is mesmerizing. (Granted, I miss the old-school methods, where Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall were buried in layers and layers of latex to play the simian stars, but when the CG is this good, it's hard to complain.)

While there are some minor nits to be picked here -- Pinto's barely-there character, a rare slackening of the pace in the build-up to the big finale, a few too many inside jokes for fans of the original "Apes" series" -- "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" feels like a genuine summer surprise.

Who would think that the dog days of August would give us one of the most genuinely appealing big-studio tentpole movies of the year?

Shia Labeouf, Megan Fox hit the back seat for ‘Transformers’

Actor Shia Labeouf was making headlines on Tuesday — only hours before his new movie “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” premiered in theaters — with an interview published in Details magazine in which he claims that he and former “Transformers” co-star Megan Fox shared some intimate moments on the set of the films. It makes us wonder what exactly took place in the back seats of those shape-shifting “Transformers” cars.

The Details profile says its reporter asked LaBeouf if he had “hooked up” with the 25 year-old sex symbol, and the actor nodded in the affirmative. “Look, you’re on the set for six months with someone who’s rooting to be attracted to you and you’re rooting to be attracted to them,” LaBeouf told the magazine. “I never understood the separation of work and life in that situation. But the time I spent with Megan was our own thing, and I think you can see the chemistry on-screen,” he said.

The 25 year-old LaBeouf was asked by Details if, at the time he and Fox were together, she was in a relationship with then boyfriend and now husband Brian Austin Green. “I don’t know,” LaBeouf said, repeating the answer several times according to the magazine. A representative for Fox declined comment.

Fox starred in the 2007 “Transformers” and the 2009 sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” but she was dropped from the franchise for the third film. “Dark of the Moon,” in the latest installment Fox has been replaced with former lingerie model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. We wonder what stories the actor might cook up, if any, about hooking up with her four years from now on, say, “Transformers 5″.

Michelle Williams in "Marilyn" film gets NY debut

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "My Week with Marilyn," starring Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams as 1950s sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, will see its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, organizers said on Thursday.

Directed by Simon Curtis, the film is based on a week that British writer Colin Clark worked as an assistant with Monroe while she was filming "The Prince and the Showgirl" in the United Kingdom in the early summer of 1956.

That film featured Monroe working opposite Sir Laurence Oliver and was shot when Monroe was on a honeymoon with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller. When he left England, Clark was assigned to introduce Monroe to British life.

"My Week with Marilyn" is based on a diary Clark kept, excerpts of which were published in two books in 1995 and 2000. Along with Williams, the movie also stars Kenneth Branagh as Olivier, Dougray Scott as Miller and Dame Judi Dench.

"After seeing Marilyn Monroe so often portrayed in films as a caricature, it is a pleasure to see this complex personality and unique on-screen presence portrayed so well by such a talented actress as Michelle Williams," said Richard Pena, program director for The Film Society of Lincoln Center, which backs the festival.

The film, which will look to compete in Hollywood's Oscar race this upcoming season, will get its New York Film Festival premiere on October 9 and be released in theaters on November 4.

Williams has been nominated twice for Oscars for her work in "Brokeback Mountain" and "Blue Valentine," but she has never won the world's top film honor.

"Captain America" shoots down "Harry Potter"

(Reuters) - Superhero movie "Captain America: The First Avenger" triumphed at the U.S. and Canadian box offices with $65.8 million in weekend ticket sales as the magic faded from the final "Harry Potter" film's record-breaking debut.

The strong opening for "Captain America" topped expectations in its battle against the hugely successful "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2," which saw its massive opening-weekend audience from last week shrink by 72 percent.

The final installment in the popular "Potter" series took in $48.1 million over its second weekend in domestic (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, plus $121.3 million internationally, distributor Warner Bros. said on Sunday.

Romantic comedy "Friends with Benefits" starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, took the No. 3 spot over three days with $18.5 million domestically, a solid start for a film that cost about $34 million to produce, according to Sony Pictures studio.

"Captain America" drew a 64 percent male audience to the film set in the 1940s, about a scrawny, bullied orphan transformed into a muscular superhero thanks to a serum developed by the government. He is the latest Marvel comic book character to hit the big screen before the superheroes join forces in next year's film "The Avengers."

The success against the "Harry Potter" finale "was well beyond what anybody was expecting," said Don Harris, executive vice president of distribution for Paramount Pictures, which released "Captain America." The film drew positive reviews and "had a retro look to it" that appealed to moviegoers even after a summer filled with superhero flicks, he said.

For the eighth and final "Harry Potter" movie in the series about a British boy wizard battling against evil, sales dropped sharply, as expected, after avid fans had rushed to see the movie when it debuted. The film broke records around the world including best opening weekend ever in the domestic and international markets.

The film's total ticket sales now stand at $274.2 million in domestic theaters and $560.4 million internationally, for a combined total of $834.6 million.

Other top films for the weekend were big-budget Hollywood film "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" at No. 4 with $12 million, and adult-oriented comedy "Horrible Bosses" at No. 5 with $11.7 million.

"Captain America" and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" were released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, distributed "Deathly Hallows - Part 2" and "Horrible Bosses." "Friends with Benefits" is from Screen Gems, a unit of Sony Corp.

Spielberg plans return trip to "Jurassic Park"

(Reuters) - Twenty years after his Velociraptors and T.rex ruled Jurassic Park, director Steven Spielberg says the maneaters are returning to a movie theater near you -- teeth sharpened, and not for the popcorn.

Spielberg on Thursday told audiences at the giant Comic-Con International convention in San Diego that he was at work on a new "Jurassic Park" movie, delighting a packed house at the pop culture showcase.

"We have a story. We have a writer working on the script, and I think we will see a 'Jurassic 4' in our foreseeable future, probably in the next two or three years."

"Jurassic Park" thrilled audiences in 1993 with its modern-day dinosaurs developed from DNA in fossils that wreaked havoc upon a theme park where, instead of enjoying the wonders of science, the guests got eaten. The movie took in $915 million worldwide in its day and spawned two sequels.

Spielberg made his first trek to Comic-Con this year to show audiences clips from his upcoming film, "The Adventures of Tintin," which was directed by the Oscar winner and produced by "Lord of the Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson. It is scheduled for release in December of this year.

The movie is based on the comic books by Belgian artist Georges Remi, whose pseudonym was Herge, and they tell of a young journalist and his faithful dog who find themselves on numerous adventures, solving mysteries.

Spielberg said he and Jackson, a pair of filmmakers he characterized as "just two huge Tintin fanboys," began conceptualizing the movie as many as six years ago. He said they used state-of-the-art digital camera technology and capitalized on innovations developed by director James Cameron on his smash hit movie, "Avatar."

"We wanted to use animation to get as close to the characters that (Herge) invented and not characters that we would then reinvent based on big names, big movie stars," Spielberg said.

The director, a sci-fi film fan since childhood who made the genre movies "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," was at Comic-Con to receive an Inkpot Award for achievement in science-fiction movies.

He received a standing ovation from the crowd and told them: "We all love the same source material that has brought all of us here and the source material has always been the collective imaginations of so many brilliant artists and storytellers."

Weinstein Co. to remake French film 'Untouchable'

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) - The Weinstein Company has acquired the French language movie "Untouchable" -- and the rights to remake it in English, the studio announced Friday.

It's the kind of movie the Weinstein Co. loves: an improbable tale -- based on actual events -- of the friendship between Philippe, a wealthy paraplegic, and Driss, the street tough he hires to help him negotiate life.

The deal gives the Weinstein Co. rights in North America, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa and China and distribution rights for pan-Asian satellite television.

Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache directed the movie, which stars Francois Cluzet ("In the Beginning," "Tell No One") as Philippe and Omar Sy ("Those Happy Days") as Driss.

The Weinstein Co. expects to release the movie in the U.S. in 2012. Quad Films produced "Untouchable" and the Weinstein Co. acquired it from French movie studio Gaumont.

"Horrible Bosses" eyes joblessness, aims for laughs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In Hollywood's new film comedy "Horrible Bosses," an ex-Lehman Brothers executive who is jobless and desperate for money offers sexual favors to some old buddies in return for cash.

While that may seem odd or out-of-place for a Wall Streeter in a Hollywood movie (Gordon Gekko would never stoop so low), the director of "Hollywood Bosses" sees many more such jokes and plots in films, given the currently weak economy.

Director Seth Gordon said his movie, about three old friends who feel stuck in their jobs so they plot to kill their mean bosses, reflected real people's struggles to change jobs.

"You are going to see a bunch of movies that are themed in this way about people that are stuck in some way and want to restart and possibly can't. I think that premise is something that is really relatable right now," Gordon said.

"Horrible Bosses," stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as three average Americans being bullied by their bosses -- one played by Jennifer Aniston in her raunchiest role yet as an oversexed dentist -- who want to move up the ladder but can't. Its big-name supporting cast includes Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell.

Fans, stars, Hollywood say farewell to Harry Potter

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of fans braved rain and battled security restrictions in London's Trafalgar Square on Thursday to say farewell to the boy wizard Harry Potter at the world premiere of the final movie in the record-breaking series.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" is the eighth installment -- and the first in 3D -- of a franchise that has generated more public excitement and media hype than any other in living memory.

The silver screen adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione have been a magic pot of gold for Hollywood studio Warner Bros, with the seven films released so far grossing $6.4 billion in ticket sales and billions more from DVDs and merchandise.

For a generation of Potter fans, the movies have extended the wizarding world created by British author J.K. Rowling in her seven-book saga which began in 1997 and concluded in 2007.

More than 400 million copies have been sold around the globe, making Rowling the first billionaire author and providing a huge support base upon which the films were built.

Six-foot-high fences blocked off entrance to Trafalgar Square for hundreds who arrived too late to get their hands on the red wristbands, which allowed access to where stars walked the red carpet among thousands of screaming Pottermaniacs.

"I'm just going to stand here all night on this little ledge," said 16-year-old Lauren Kent, who arrived too late to acquire one of the prized wristbands and was perched at the base of a column across from the square.

Thousands of die-hard fans lucky enough to make it into the packed square -- some in full regalia from the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry -- screamed out the names of characters and those of stars such as Daniel Radcliffe as they walked the red carpet past a giant TV screen to a raised platform where the main cast spoke to cheering fans.

"We've grown up in the Harry Potter generation -- I read the first book when I was five so now it's weird that it's coming to an end... like the end of childhood," said Rhys, an 18-year-old who braved the rain in the central London square watched over by the towering statue of British naval hero Admiral Nelson.

The young actors strolled among the fans, hundreds of journalists and cameras and made an emotional appearance on the platform in front of the throng of admirers.

"I don't think the end of the story happens tonight," Radcliffe said to cheers and later tears from the crowd.

Rowling joked that Thursday's premiere was the closest she's come to considering penning another Potter novel.

The actors told Reuters that -- like their fans -- they too have struggled to come to grips with a post-Potter world, despite being A-list stars with huge fortunes.

"I'll just miss being Hermione and getting to live her life and in that world and getting to bring to life a set of books that I myself loved so much," a short-haired Emma Watson told Reuters television after strolling the red carpet in a champagne-colored gown with a sheer top.

The actors who were cast in their roles aged between nine and 11, have all agonized over breaking with the Potter films.

The 22-year-old Rupert Grint, who plays Potter's sidekick Ron Weasley, felt he was stepping into the real world from a kind of bubble that has enveloped a portion of his life.

"It's hard for me to remember life before this and for it to come down to this two-hour and 10 minute film...I don't know -- it's very strange for me," he told Reuters television.

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

Consistent with the gradual trend toward darker content as the franchise progressed, "Deathly Hallows - Part 2" climaxes with an intense battle at Hogwarts between good and evil.

Buildings are flattened, wizards and witches die and Harry steels himself for the final showdown with his evil nemesis Lord Voldemort, played by a snake-like Ralph Fiennes who called his character a "high definition villain."

Radcliffe, 21, who has played Harry Potter throughout the last decade and is now working on Broadway, appeared on the red carpet dressed in a tailored grey suit. He told Reuters TV that the splashy London premiere was a "fitting send off. It feels right. It feels like we're doing justice not only to what is a fantastic film but a fantastic series.

"It's like I'm a different actor in it," Radcliffe said of the movie. "It's the only time I've watched a 'Harry Potter' film and gone: 'Yes, I'm pleased with my performance'."

Whether critics agree remains to be seen, with most reviews coming out after the premiere.

The Daily Telegraph, however, featured an article by Philip Womack which described Deathly Hallows - Part 2 as "monumental cinema, awash with gorgeous tones, and carrying an ultimate message that will resonate with every viewer, young or old: there is darkness in all of us, but we can overcome it."

The movie opens in some countries on July 13, and in the key British and U.S. markets on July 15.

Rowling's wizarding world will not disappear altogether, however. She recently unveiled Pottermore, a website allowing fans to interact with the characters and storylines, and will finally retail the stories as ebooks exclusively on the site.

Perhaps British actor Alan Rickman -- who has played sneering Professor Severus Snape since the very first film -- summed up the Potter phenomenon best on the night.

"This thing has a beginning, a middle and an end. That's why it's a good story and this is the end."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; editing by Paul Casciato)

The Green Lantern tops US box office

The Green Lantern shone at the US box office this weekend, opening with $52.7 million in ticket sales.

The Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively superhero film is the latest of several comic book adaptations to hit cinemas this summer.

Coming in second place was last week's winner, Super 8, with $21.3 million.

Jim Carrey's new movie, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, came in third position, making $18.2 million.

Fourth and fifth place went to X-Men: First Class and The Hangover Part II with $11.5 million and $10 million.

Rounding off the top ten were Kung Fu Panda 2, Bridesmaids, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Midnight in Paris, and Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer.

New "X-Men" tops class at worldwide box office

The fifth movie in the "X-Men" series took the No. 1 spot at the worldwide box office after selling about $120 million worth of tickets, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday.

"X-Men: First Class," a relaunch of the Marvel comic book franchise, opened at No. 1 across the United States and Canada with $56 million -- fulfilling the studio's expectations, even if some analysts were predicting a $60 million start.

Its international tally of $64 million from 74 markets included about 30 No. 1 debuts, including Britain ($9 million), France ($7.7 million), Mexico ($5.3 million) and Brazil ($4 million).

"X-Men" was the No. 2 pick overseas, behind "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" with $69.4 million.

Even though the North American opening was sharply lower than most of the earlier films in the "X-Men" franchise, it all but guarantees there will be more films revolving around the exploits of a stable of mutant superheroes.

"We have successfully launched a brand new chapter of this franchise," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president for domestic distribution at the News Corp unit.

"X-Men: First Class," which reportedly cost about $160 million to make before tax credits, is a prequel dealing with the formative years of the future superheroes. Both critics and fans hailed the new direction.

Instead of hiring A-list talent, Fox went with critically acclaimed British director Matthew Vaughn ("Kick-Ass") and actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. The cast also includes recent Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence, "Mad Men" actress January Jones and Kevin Bacon.

McAvoy and Fassbender play the lead roles originated by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in 2000's "X-Men" and two sequels. A 2009 spinoff "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," starring Hugh Jackman in the title role, opened to $85 million in North America. Jackman has a cameo in the new film.

'Super 8' a box office mystery

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The pairing of J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg has turned "Super 8" into the box office mystery of the summer.

The period sci-fi pic -- directed by Abrams and produced by Spielberg -- officially rolls out Friday in 3,379 theaters, following sneak previews at 329 locations Thursday. Amid decidedly muted advance buzz, its performance this weekend is the subject of heated speculation among insiders.

Paramount, which maintains that the $50 million film doesn't need a big opening weekend, is predicting a debut in the $25 million to $30 million range. It will vie for honors with "X-Men: First Class," which debuted last weekend to $55.1 million. The superhero sequel enjoyed strong midweek business, with a total of $69.9 million through Wednesday.

Overall awareness for "Super 8" isn't quite where it should be, although there could be a myriad of reasons why. The film has no big stars and is an original story sandwiched between known franchise titles.

At the same time, "Super 8" is drawing strong reviews, with critics crediting Abrams for going outside of Hollywood's comfort zone and making a film he calls an homage to the movies he grew up with as a kid, many of them from Spielberg.

Set in 1979, "Super 8" tells the story of a group of kids who are filming a home movie when there's a violent train crash. When unexplained events start to threaten their town, they begin to suspect something inhuman escaped from the train. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ryan Lee, Riley Griffiths, Gabriel Basso and Zach Mills.

Still, Paramount has been doing everything it can to ratchet up interest. It teamed with Twitter to host Thursday's paid previews and on Wednesday night held free sneaks in 11 cities in partnership with key websites.

One other new film enters the market this weekend, "Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer," based on the bestselling book series and targeting girls ages 6-10. Coincidentally, the $20 million film is expected to open to between $6 million and $10 million. The film comes from the producers behind "Precious."

Among specialty films, Woody Allen's box office pleaser "Midnight in Paris" expands nationwide to a total of 944 theaters -- one of the widest plays ever for an Allen film. "Midnight in Paris" has grossed $7.8 million through Wednesday.

Robin Wright eyes Netflix's "House of Cards"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Robin Wright is in early negotiations to join Kevin Spacey in Netflix's first original series, "House of Cards."

The political thriller, based on the book and British miniseries of the same name, will stream exclusively to Netflix's 20 million subscribers in late 2012. Netflix has committed $100 million for 26 episodes of the drama, outbidding HBO, AMC and others for the series.

David Fincher is directing the pilot, and coincidentally directed Wright in the upcoming remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." "House of Cards" will be Wright's first TV series regular role since she played Kelly Capwell on the NBC soap "Santa Barbara" from 1984-88.

Warner Bros may change "Hangover 2" tattoo for DVD

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Ed Helms' face might look very different when "The Hangover: Part II" comes to DVD and Blu-ray in December.

Warner Bros. movie studio has told a Missouri judge that if it can't resolve the ongoing legal tussle over the tattoo on display in the blockbuster comedy by the time it comes out on home video, the studio will digitally alter the controversial mark on Helms' face.

Warner Bros. was sued by a Missouri tattoo artist who claims he owns a copyright on the unique tattoo first worn by former boxer Mike Tyson and now by Helms in "The Hangover: Part II".

The tattoo's owner, S. Victor Whitmill, attempted to stop the film's release in May but was denied a preliminary injunction. The movie has since grossed $350 million worldwide and counting.

The case has continued, however, and U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry on Thursday set a jury trial date for February 21, 2012. At issue is whether to award Whitmill a permanent injunction against the film's distribution and/or damages for copyright infringement.

Whitmill and his lawyers had sought a trial in August. But Warners opposed that schedule, saying in court documents that such a quick resolution wasn't necessary because the studio plans to whitewash the offending mark from the movie after its theatrical run. The move would eliminate any further alleged damages to Whitmill from his copyrighted tattoo appearing in the film.

"If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute, Warner Bros. does not intend to make any use of the allegedly infringing tattoo after the film ends its run in theaters because Warner Bros. will digitally alter the film to substitute a different tattoo on Ed Helms's face," the documents said.

Lawyers for the studio added that the home video release is currently scheduled for early December 2011.

Woody Allen wows critics, just don't call him soppy

(Reuters) - "Life is noisy and complicated," so goes a line in the new romantic comedy, "Midnight in Paris," in classic, cynical Woody Allen banter.

But this isn't your usual comedy of errors from Allen. Critics are lauding his latest film as "pleasant," a "souffle," and in a compliment which may seem out of character to his longtime fans, "sweet natured."

So is the 75-year-old Allen, who often filled his old scripts with nervy tirades about everything from failed relationships and sex to mid-life crises, getting sentimental in his old age? Hardly, he says.

"No, it happens to be the idea that you get at the time," he told Reuters in an interview this week sitting in a soft chair in his dark, unpretentious Park Ave office filled with boxes, a smiling assistant and no sign of a shrink's couch.

"People think there is a design to it, but there is not. It is a desperate attempt to come up with a viable idea so that you can earn your salary that year," he said in typically droll fashion about his latest film effort.

Allen has always been beloved in Europe. But such gushing from American critics -- whose reviews have made "Midnight in Paris" currently the top-rated movie on critic aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes with 92 percent approval -- is unusual.

Ever the contrarian, Allen dismisses whether it means Americans are finally ready to forgive him for his past misdemeanors, notably the tabloid scandal over his relationship and marriage to Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his former long-time partner, Mia Farrow.

"I fell in love with this girl, married her, we have been married for almost 15 years now, we have children. There was no scandal, there was a lot of tawdry press," Allen said.

"It will be a big part of my obituary and it will lend a little color. I will not be thought of simply as an illiterate lawyer, as a bland, nice Jewish boy, who worked hard and didn't get in any trouble. At least there was some trouble, some juicy scandal in my life," he joked.

"The Book of Mormon" favored to sweep Tony Awards

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "The Book of Mormon," a satirical show about Mormons from the creators of the TV series "South Park," looks set to sweep the Tony Awards on Sunday, aiming to be the most acclaimed show since "The Producers" with 14 nominations.

The Tony Awards, which honors Broadway's best musicals and plays and can help propel winning shows to commercial success, will be handed out at New York's Beacon Theater in a live televised event hosted again by actor Neil Patrick Harris, the Emmy-winning star of TV comedy "How I Met Your Mother."

This year is expected to feature less Hollywood winners than last year, although nominees include Frances McDormand who adopted a thick Boston accent for the best play nominee, "Good People" and Al Pacino for his turn as Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice," nominated for best play revival along with favorite "The Normal Heart."

"The Book of Mormon," go into Sunday's awards with the highest number of nominations, followed by "The Scottsboro Boys" with 12. The short-lived musical is on a 1930s case in which nine black men were unjustly accused of attacking two white women on a train in Alabama.

Two musical revivals follow. "Anything Goes" has nine nominations, led by best actress nominee Sutton Foster, and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" had eight, though its star Daniel Radcliffe, of "Harry Potter" fame, missed out on an acting nomination.

"The Merchant of Venice" is up for seven awards, while the play "War Horse," by Nick Stafford is tipped to win best play.

But it is "The Book of Mormon," by "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, which is expected to win in several categories and aims to beat the record of the Mel Brooks musical comedy, "The Producers," which won 12 Tony Awards after it opened in 2001.

The show has been a smash hit, winning critical acclaim and sold-out houses with the story of Mormon missionaries in Africa, successfully skirting initial worries about racial and religious insensitivity.

Stone told Reuters in an interview when the show opened in March that he didn't want to be "presumptuous" in even thinking about any Tony awards and was more relieved that audiences understood the humor.

"People do seem to be getting the show," Stone said. "For us it's a deeper satisfaction that we have been working on this for seven years. To sit in the theater and put this kind of material in front of people and for them to essentially get it, is a really satisfying feeling."

Josh Gad, who is one of two favorites to win best actor in a musical along with Norbert Leo Burtz in "Catch Me If You Can," told Reuters he thought the show was successful because it straddles the line between poking fun at Mormons and entertaining audiences with catchy numbers and heart-warming undertones.

"You can get away with the vulgarity and some of the eyebrow raising numbers only if you have a large amount of heart, and they came with plenty to spare," Gad said of Stone and Parker. "At its core there is something very sweet and very genuine about this tale."

The show has also done well at the box office, pulling in more than $1.1 million for the week ending June 5, making it the third highest grossing Broadway show after long-running favorites "Wicked" and "The Lion King."

"I don't think anyone, especially myself, was prepared for just how much of an incredible response the show was going to receive," Gad said this week. "It's blown all of us away."

On his own nomination, he called it "the coolest experience of my life...Just because it's something I dreamed of as a kid."

Annulment in order for "Love Wedding Marriage"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – A romantic comedy that would have seemed insipid even in 1953, "Love Wedding Marriage" is one of those unnecessary films that makes your scream (or least wonder), "Why?"

Why did anyone think this, instead of almost anything else, was worth making? Why did Dermot Mulroney decide that this was the right material for his directorial debut? Why is the normally smart IFC Films involved with this? The answers already lie among the mysteries of the ages. The film is available through video-on-demand beginning May 1, with theatrical release to follow June 3.

Maybe someone who could swallow the idea of twentysomething Mandy Moore as a marriage counselor/psychologist could go along with the irksome inventions of the script by Caprice Crane, who, it is not surprising to learn, wrote numerous episodes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place," and Anouska Chydzik; Crane's work is nothing if not consistent.

No sooner has she married vintner and Maserati-driving Charlie ("90210" and "Twilight" hunk Kellan Lutz) than Moore's Eva desperately dedicates herself to saving the marriage of her parents. Mom (Jane Seymour) has had it with crazy Dad (James Brolin), who runs around asserting his Jewishness (whether hereditary or newly acquired remains unclear), questioning whether or not his alcoholic beverages are kosher and nailing a mezuzah to his daughter's doorframe even as she protests she's not Jewish.

In the process, of course, Eva neglects her own marriage, which hits its biggest bump with the revelation that beefcake Charlie has never disclosed a secret prior marriage. Eva just doesn't know if she can get over this betrayal, even as she works on her mom to forgive Dad his progressive lunacy and an equally inane deep dark secret of his own.

Supplied with uniformly vapid dialogue, the characters come off like a bunch of twits: Moore's wide-eyed, open-mouthed reactions to every little surprise are those of a high school student, not a doctor; Lutz's dyed blond hair does nothing to encourage taking him seriously; Brolin and Seymour have never played in such a caricatured manner, and cameos by Christopher Lloyd and Colleen Camp as eccentric therapists are embarrassing. A sappy musical score provides the syrup for this very flat pancake of a movie.

Vanessa Hudgens to play Fraser's daughter in drama

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Former "High School Musical" starlet Vanessa Hudgens is set to play a pregnant, homeless teen "Gimme Shelter," an indie drama that will also star Brendan Fraser as her father.

Hudgens' character flees her abusive mother and seeks out her biological father. He first takes her in but then throws her out when she refuses to abort her child. Fraser's character fathered her as a result of a youthful fling.

Ron Krauss is writing and directing the picture, which is eyeing an end of May start in Connecticut.

"Shelter" marks the 22-year-old actress first purely ' dramatic feature role, and continues her efforts to move beyond her teen-queen image. Hudgens came into the public's eye with Disney's "High School Musical" movies before moving to Zack Snyder's ensemble fantasy "Sucker Punch," and she has the family adventure movie "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" opening in September.

Fraser, who coincidentally starred in the first "Journey to the Center of the Earth" film, was last seen in "Furry Vengeance."

`Bombay Beach,' `The Guard' highlight Tribeca

NEW YORK – A welcome sense of optimism pervaded the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival.

After several years of gloomy prospects for independent film, filmmakers and audiences seemed buoyed by the hope of new technologies leading viewers to worthy movies.

"The field has been completely leveled," said writer-director Edward Burns at the closing night screening of his "The Newlyweds." "It is a good time to be a filmmaker."

Burns' proclamation — unthinkable so recently — was largely because, as he boasted, he made "The Newlyweds" for just $9,000. He was able to because of a cheap but still highly professional-grade camera (and, surely, product placement dollars from most of Tribeca's prominent sponsors).

Several of the films at the festival were to be released by Tribeca Film on video-on-demand, a platform many hope will help resuscitate independent films, many of which have struggled to find release after the shuttering of many distributors and the narrowing of studio interests.

Business, too, seemed on the uptick when — following healthy buying at the Sundance Film Festival — several films found distribution in the first few days of the festival. Among them was "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," a documentary on master sushi chef Jiro Ono and culinary perfectionism acquired by Magnolia Pictures.

It was one of several highly enjoyable films from the festival. Here are a handful of other highlights:

"BOMBAY BEACH": Arguably the hit of the festival, Alma Har'el's lyrical debut was the unanimous jury choice for best documentary feature. It's a beautifully stylized film about stray characters living in the California desert by the Salton Sea, a small community in a forgotten, post-apocalyptic landscape. Shot largely at sundown and with a soundtrack of Bob Dylan and Beirut, the film takes on a dreamlike quality. Many fictional films try to portray dignity in rural decay, but the authentically poetic "Bombay Beach" is the real deal.

"THE GUARD": Tribeca has had a curious Irish connection. Two of the best films to come out of the festival in recent years were from Ireland: the absurd comedy "Zonad" and Conor McPherson's cathartic ghost story "The Eclipse." "The Guard," which earlier premiered at Sundance and will be released later this year, was written and directed by John Michael McDonaugh, who shares the darkly comic sensibility of his playwright brother, Martin McDonaugh. Brendan Gleeson stars as a thoroughly politically incorrect police officer in Galway. He proudly calls himself "the last of the independents." When a drug smuggling case brings over an FBI agent (Don Cheadle), the two spark an irresistible chemistry.

"DESPICABLE DICK AND RIGHTEOUS RICHARD": The aging, Midwestern rascal Dick Kuchera has been on a decades-long path of 12-step program recovery. He tries to cloak a lifetime of lying and selfishness in psycho-babble, rarely convincing anyone of his earnestness. Joshua Neal's documentary on Kuchera is an unforgettable character study. Kuchera is locked on the make-amends step and one wonders if he'll ever get out: Each day brings another round of sins to atone for. Most movies tell stories of change, but "Despicable Dick" is one of utter, human stasis.

"THE TRIP": The meta narratives of Michael Winterbottom are so layered that you'd expect them to result in confusion rather than laughter. But Winterbottom's "The Trip" was the funniest film of Tribeca. It's a kind of follow up to the director's 2005 comedy, "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story," which depicted a film production trying to adapt Laurence Sterne's famous novel. There were a few scenes of brilliantly rhythmic exchanges between British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, each playing exaggerated versions of their selves. "The Trip," which ran as a TV miniseries in the U.K., simply continues their banter, here on a road trip of haute cuisine in northern England. It opens in the U.S. on June 10. If the prospect of dueling Michael Cain impressions isn't enticing, what is?

"CATCHING HELL": An Alex Gibney documentary is one of the most reliable things at Tribeca. He has previously showcased films such as "My Trip To Al-Qaeda" and the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side." This year, he finds an equally harrowing but less severe story of injustice on the baseball diamond — or more accurately, just adjacent to it. "Catching Hell," a film originally made for ESPN's "30 for 30" series that will be broadcast later his year, is about the scapegoating of Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who was made a villain for his minor role in a 2003 playoff game. Gibney's film, though, is more about mob mentality, which can rage even over a little bloop hit down the left-field foul line.

`Bombay Beach,' `The Guard' highlight Tribeca

NEW YORK – A welcome sense of optimism pervaded the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival.

After several years of gloomy prospects for independent film, filmmakers and audiences seemed buoyed by the hope of new technologies leading viewers to worthy movies.

"The field has been completely leveled," said writer-director Edward Burns at the closing night screening of his "The Newlyweds." "It is a good time to be a filmmaker."

Burns' proclamation — unthinkable so recently — was largely because, as he boasted, he made "The Newlyweds" for just $9,000. He was able to because of a cheap but still highly professional-grade camera (and, surely, product placement dollars from most of Tribeca's prominent sponsors).

Several of the films at the festival were to be released by Tribeca Film on video-on-demand, a platform many hope will help resuscitate independent films, many of which have struggled to find release after the shuttering of many distributors and the narrowing of studio interests.

Business, too, seemed on the uptick when — following healthy buying at the Sundance Film Festival — several films found distribution in the first few days of the festival. Among them was "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," a documentary on master sushi chef Jiro Ono and culinary perfectionism acquired by Magnolia Pictures.

It was one of several highly enjoyable films from the festival. Here are a handful of other highlights:

"BOMBAY BEACH": Arguably the hit of the festival, Alma Har'el's lyrical debut was the unanimous jury choice for best documentary feature. It's a beautifully stylized film about stray characters living in the California desert by the Salton Sea, a small community in a forgotten, post-apocalyptic landscape. Shot largely at sundown and with a soundtrack of Bob Dylan and Beirut, the film takes on a dreamlike quality. Many fictional films try to portray dignity in rural decay, but the authentically poetic "Bombay Beach" is the real deal.

"THE GUARD": Tribeca has had a curious Irish connection. Two of the best films to come out of the festival in recent years were from Ireland: the absurd comedy "Zonad" and Conor McPherson's cathartic ghost story "The Eclipse." "The Guard," which earlier premiered at Sundance and will be released later this year, was written and directed by John Michael McDonaugh, who shares the darkly comic sensibility of his playwright brother, Martin McDonaugh. Brendan Gleeson stars as a thoroughly politically incorrect police officer in Galway. He proudly calls himself "the last of the independents." When a drug smuggling case brings over an FBI agent (Don Cheadle), the two spark an irresistible chemistry.

"DESPICABLE DICK AND RIGHTEOUS RICHARD": The aging, Midwestern rascal Dick Kuchera has been on a decades-long path of 12-step program recovery. He tries to cloak a lifetime of lying and selfishness in psycho-babble, rarely convincing anyone of his earnestness. Joshua Neal's documentary on Kuchera is an unforgettable character study. Kuchera is locked on the make-amends step and one wonders if he'll ever get out: Each day brings another round of sins to atone for. Most movies tell stories of change, but "Despicable Dick" is one of utter, human stasis.

"THE TRIP": The meta narratives of Michael Winterbottom are so layered that you'd expect them to result in confusion rather than laughter. But Winterbottom's "The Trip" was the funniest film of Tribeca. It's a kind of follow up to the director's 2005 comedy, "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story," which depicted a film production trying to adapt Laurence Sterne's famous novel. There were a few scenes of brilliantly rhythmic exchanges between British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, each playing exaggerated versions of their selves. "The Trip," which ran as a TV miniseries in the U.K., simply continues their banter, here on a road trip of haute cuisine in northern England. It opens in the U.S. on June 10. If the prospect of dueling Michael Cain impressions isn't enticing, what is?

"CATCHING HELL": An Alex Gibney documentary is one of the most reliable things at Tribeca. He has previously showcased films such as "My Trip To Al-Qaeda" and the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side." This year, he finds an equally harrowing but less severe story of injustice on the baseball diamond — or more accurately, just adjacent to it. "Catching Hell," a film originally made for ESPN's "30 for 30" series that will be broadcast later his year, is about the scapegoating of Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who was made a villain for his minor role in a 2003 playoff game. Gibney's film, though, is more about mob mentality, which can rage even over a little bloop hit down the left-field foul line.

'Fast Five' takes checkered flag at box office

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The first big budget film of the summer season, "Fast Five," broke new records as it scored $83.6 million in its first weekend in theaters, industry estimates showed Sunday.

Ticket sales for the fifth volume in the high-speed car chase series marked the biggest premiere for any film so far this year, largely outpacing other new films this week.

Coming-of-age flick "Prom" only got $5 million for its cast of young and largely unknown actors, while moviegoers were similarly unimpressed by "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil," a 3-D cartoon which opened with $4.1 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Movie ticket sales have been soft this year, reflecting the impact of a deep recession, the worst in the United States since the 1930s.

Paul Walker and Vin Diesel were among "Fast" veterans who reunited for the fifth edition in the series, with Rio de Janeiro as a setting this time.

The "Hoodwinked" sequel's poor showing may owe to the continued popularity of two other 3-D animated family films: tropical bird comedy "Rio," in second place with $14.4 million, and 9th place finisher "Hop," an Easter romp that scored $2.6 million in its fifth week on the big screen.

"Rio" previously roosted atop the box office for two consecutive weeks. The cartoon about pet macaw Blu voiced by "Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg bolts from chilly climes to Brazil's beaches.

"Hop," a real-action-animation hybrid about the wayward son of the Easter Bunny, had also spent two weeks at the top.

In fourth place was the latest comedic offering from Tyler Perry, the critically-panned "Madea's Big Happy Family," which raked in $10.1 million in its second weekend.

"Fast Five", "Thor" top box office attractions

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "Fast Five," the fifth entry in the "Fast and the Furious" street-racing franchise, raced to the biggest opening of the year at the North American box office, while "Thor" was the top choice overseas.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Fast Five" earned about $83.6 million during its first three days of release across the United States and Canada, proving the appeal of car chases in exotic locales for young male moviegoers.

Industry prognosticators had expected the film to edge past the $71 million start for the previous film, "Fast and Furious" in 2009. The opening also boosted the flagging fortunes of both its distributor, Universal Pictures, and the overall industry.

"Thor" pulled in $83 million from 56 foreign markets, a week before the Marvel comic book adaptation opens in North America. Top-ranked openings included Britain ($9 million), France ($8.1 million) and South Korea ($5.7 million). Its foreign total stands at $93 million after the Paramount Pictures release got an early start in Australia last weekend.

"Fast Five" earned $45.3 million internationally after expanding to 14 markets from four last weekend. It opened at No. 1 in each of the 10 new markets, including Russia ($11.5 million), Germany ($10.2 million) and Spain ($6.3 million). Its foreign total stands at $81.4 million.

The strong performances of the two action films suggest a strong summer for the Hollywood studios, which have suffered a dismal year so far. Ticket sales in North America are off 17 percent and attendance is down 18 percent from 2010. Universal, newly controlled by Comcast Corp, had the smallest market share of the six major studios last year. It has enjoyed a decent 2011 because it distributed the hit cartoon "Hop."

BRAZIL IN SPOTLIGHT

Boasting a price tag of about $125 million, "Fast Five" reunites franchise stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in a high-octane series of car chases set in the slums of Rio De Janeiro. It easily crushed the old mark for the best opening of the year -- $39.2 million -- set two weekends ago by "Rio," a cartoon also set in the Brazilian city. "Fast Five" is actually the strongest new release since "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I" opened to $125 million last November.

Universal said "Fast Five" set a new company record, surpassing the $72.1 million bow of "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" in 1997. Figures are not adjusted for inflation.

The franchise originated in 2001 as "The Fast and the Furious," and hit top gear with the 2009 installment, which earned $353 million worldwide.

Two other new releases crashed in North America during the weekend. The Walt Disney Co teen comedy "Prom" came in at No. 5 with $5 million, and Weinstein Co's animated sequel "Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil" at No. 6 with $4.1 million. They had been expected to open in the $7 million to $9 million range.

"Prom" marks the first film given the green light by Walt Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross after he was given the job during a restructuring in October 2009. It cost about $8 million to make. Disney hopes to do better when its fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" film opens on May 20.

Weinstein, the closely held studio behind best picture Oscar winner "The King's Speech," said it was disappointed by the opening for its Hansel and Gretel story, but it had limited financial exposure. The company received a distribution fee from the film's producer, a firm run by vodka mogul Maurice Kanbar. The Hollywood Reporter described "Hoodwinked" as "one of the most obnoxious and least necessary animated films of the century thus far."

After two weeks at No. 1, "Rio" fell to No. 2 with $14.4 million; the total for the Fox cartoon rose to $103.6 million. Fox is a unit of News Corp.

Stars gather as 'King's Speech' eyes Oscars crown

HOLLYWOOD (AFP) – British royal drama "The King's Speech" got another boost on the eve of what supporters hope will be its Oscars coronation Sunday, as stars gather for the climax of Tinsel Town's annual awards season.

The movie, nominated for 12 Academy Awards including best picture and best actor for Colin Firth, won best foreign film at the Spirit independent movie awards, barely 24 hours before the main Hollywood show.

Ballet thriller "Black Swan," nominated for five Oscars, won best film at the Spirits as well as best actress for Natalie Portman -- who is frontrunner in that category on Sunday.

With less than 24 hours to go before the annual awards mega-bash, stars were fine-tuning their acceptance speeches -- fingers crossed -- and preparing to don their gowns and tuxedos for the Oscars red carpet.

While "The King's Speech" is the frontrunner, no one is taking anything for granted as rivals including Facebook movie "The Social Network," classic Western remake "True Grit" and boxing movie "The Fighter" vie for Oscars glory.

That said, Firth is considered all but certain to be named best actor for his portrayal of Britain's King George VI, helped by Australian voice coach Lionel Logue -- played by Geoffrey Rush -- to overcome his crippling stammer.

David Fincher could well be named best director for "The Social Network," which tells the story of how Mark Zuckerberg created the game-changing website from a controversial start while a Harvard student, some critics say.

"The Social Network" started the awards season as favorite, taking four Golden Globes in January. But the British royal film has since swept up a series of prizes, in the US as well as at Britain's BAFTAs.

`Black Swan' wins top honor at indie Spirit Awards

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The ballet thriller "Black Swan" won four prizes Saturday at the Spirit Awards honoring independent film, including best picture, best actress for Natalie Portman and director for Darren Aronofsky.

James Franco was picked as best actor for the survival story "127 hours," while the Ozarks crime story "Winter's Bone" earned both supporting-acting prizes, for John Hawkes and Dale Dickey.

All three films are up for best picture at Sunday's Academy Awards, where Portman is considered the favorite to win the best-actress Oscar and Franco is a co-host alongside actress Anne Hathaway.

With plenty of overlap among nominees at the Oscars, the Spirit Awards are a warm-up for Hollywood's biggest party.

The British monarchy saga "The King's Speech," the best-picture front-runner at the Oscars, won the prize for best foreign film.

"Black Swan" also took the cinematography award for Matthew Libatique.

Portman and Aronofsky joked about the difficulty in getting "Black Swan" off the ground, with cash tight and few people believing the film could ever make its money back.

"My ballet teachers were, like, every day, `So when do we get paid?'" said Portman, who won for her role as a ballerina losing her grip on reality.

`Last Airbender' rules Razzies as worst picture

LOS ANGELES – The action fantasy "The Last Airbender" — about people who can command fire, air, water and earth — now controls something else: the Razzie awards for Hollywood's worst film achievements of 2010.

"The Last Airbender" led Saturday's Razzies with five awards, among them worst picture, worst director and worst screenplay for M. Night Shyamalan.

The movie also received Razzies for worst supporting actor (Jackson Rathbone, who was cited for both "The Last Airbender" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse") and for a special award, worst eye-gouging misuse of 3-D.

A spoof of the Academy Awards, the Razzies were announced the night before the Oscars, Hollywood's biggest party.

"Sex and the City 2" took three Razzies, including worst actress, a prize shared by co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, worst screen couple or ensemble for its entire cast, and worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel.

Ashton Kutcher was picked as worst actor for "Killers" and "Valentine's Day," while Jessica Alba took the Razzie as worst supporting actress for four 2010 releases, "The Killer Inside Me," "Little Fockers," "Machete" and "Valentine's Day."

Shyamalan has been on a downward spiral since 1999 Oscar best-picture contender "The Sixth Sense," which earned him directing and writing nominations at Hollywood's highest honors. He won Razzies as worst director and worst supporting actor for his 2006 fantasy flop "Lady in the Water."

Despite terrible reviews, "The Last Airbender" managed to find a decent audience, pulling in $300 million worldwide at the box office. Shyamalan adapted the movie from the animated TV series "Avatar: The Last Airbender."

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Complete entertainment coverage"He managed to take a cartoon property and make it even less lifelike by making it with real actors," said Razzies founder John Wilson. "Most people who like the show, and this would include my 14-year-old son, hated the movie. It made no sense whatsoever."

"The Last Airbender" was among movies that critics knocked for smudgy, blurry 3-D images. The movie was shot in 2-D and converted to digital 3-D to cash in on the extra few dollars theaters charge for 3-D screenings.

"They call it converted. We call it perverted," Wilson said. "The more times you trick the public and charge them that fee and don't really deliver, eventually it's going to be like Lucy and Charlie Brown with the football. Fool me ten times, I'm done."

Wilson said the characters of "Sex and the City 2" were getting too old to cavort the way they do, calling the movie "`The Expendables,' but with estrogen," referring to Sylvester Stallone's tale about aging action heroes.

"Sex and the City 2" also was offensive, Wilson said, showing Parker and her gal pal co-stars disrespecting Arab culture on a trip to Abu Dhabi and flaunting their privileged ways.

"It was released in the middle of a period of American history when everyone's scrounging not to lose their homes, and these women are riding around in Rolls-Royces, buying expensive shoes and just throwing money around like they're drunk," Wilson said.

The King's Speech: The making of a very British smash hit

The King's Speech has captured the imagination of cinema audiences around the world. But it almost never happened. Here, its key players reveal the story behind a movie phenomenon 'I actually used my voice very badly for a while,' said Colin Firth who plays King George VI

The King’s Speech has swept all before it to become a critically acclaimed, worldwide box-office success. The story of an unconventional Australian therapist, Lionel Logue, who teaches the painfully shy King George VI to overcome a crippling speech impediment and lead his country into World War II, has been nominated for 14 Baftas and 12 Oscars.

With exclusive interviews with lead star Colin Firth, the producers and back-room staff, together with candid onset photography and the set designer’s beautifully detailed paintings, Live lets the movie team speak for itself about the making of the film of the year.

The story began in April 2008, when, soon after British producer Iain Canning set up new film company See-Saw Films, a play by writer (and childhood stammerer) David Seidler arrived in his office. It had been sent to him by valued contact and Bedlam Productions chief Gareth Unwin; he had a hunch that it could be adapted for the screen. Canning agreed on a joint production – and that Colin Firth was perfect to play the Duke of York.

In August 2009, with director Tom Hooper and a cast also now including Helena Bonham Carter, the team looked for funding – but the timing, just after the financial crisis, could hardly have been worse...

Woody Allen movie to open Cannes Film Festival

Director Woody Allen's new romantic comedy Midnight in Paris is to open the Cannes Film Festival in May, organisers have announced.

Shot in the French capital last year, it features a cameo from France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux called the movie "a wonderful love letter to Paris".

US actor Robert De Niro will chair the jury at the event, which runs from 11 to 22 May in the south of France.

The international cast of Midnight in Paris includes Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and France's Marion Cotillard.

According to Cannes organisers, it will open in French cinemas on the same day it is screened at the festival so "audiences can experience live the entire programme of the opening night".

"It's a film in which Woody Allen takes a deeper look at the issues raised in his last films - our relationship with history, art, pleasure and life," Mr Fremaux continued.

The director's previous work, the London-based You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, screened out of competition at last year's festival.

Sanctum

The Avatar director is merely executive ­producer of this ­cliched underground adventure, drably directed by Australian Alister Grierson.

Never have I seen 3D used so poorly. There are no breathtaking panoramas, and most of the film is shot in near-darkness.

A gruff old potholer (Richard Roxburgh), his stroppy son (Rhys Wakefield, pictured), a cocky capitalist (Ioan Gruffudd) and various ­disposable members of the cast are marooned deep beneath the earth’s crust when a cyclone hits, blocking their exit. The only way to go is down.

That goes for the script and performances, too, making Sanctum reminiscent of The Cave, a forgettable film of 2005 in which second-rate actors fell, drowned or killed each other one by one, until the least ­annoying one was left.

This follows exactly the same format, but by the end it may be you who are screaming to be let out of the dark.

The Fighter

The Fighter is two movies for the price of one. The first is a real-life Rocky, as lovable lug Micky Ward (Mark ­Wahlberg) starts out as a ­dim-­witted loser but becomes a champ thanks to his ­marginally brighter ­girlfriend — that’s the usually sweet Amy Adams, ­valiantly playing against type as a foul-mouthed working-class barmaid with tattoos and denim hot pants.

It’s also a shouty, working-class family drama — think ­EastEnders, with more smoking, gallons of hair lacquer and enough ­leopard-skin on the women to clothe a tribe of Zulu warriors.

In order for Micky to triumph as an individual in the ring, he first has to take on his spectacularly dysfunctional family outside it — notably seven tough sisters, all seemingly unmarried, jobless and spoiling for a fight, his ­ferocious manager-mother (Melissa Leo) and his unreliable trainer-brother Dicky (Christian Bale).

Of these characters, the most colourful is Dicky, a one-time championship contender who sent Sugar Ray Leonard to the canvas and became a local legend.

Unfortunately, failure has gone to his head and he’s become an emaciated, wild-eyed ­crack addict who’s not much use to himself, let alone his brother.

Dicky’s being followed around by a camera crew, who he thinks are interested in him because he’s planning a ­comeback but actually want to record the decline and fall of a drug addict.

Bale steals the movie with a mesmerisingly goofy ­performance. It could easily be dismissed as a brazen attempt to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, except that we get a glimpse of the real Dicky during the end credits, and he’s just as much of a show-off.

Rabbit Hole

The performance of the week turns out to be in Rabbit Hole, a gruelling, wordy drama about a couple (Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman) ­suffering after the accidental death of their four-year-old son.

Sensitively directed by John Cameron Mitchell, it looks like an opened-out stage play, and it is. Although it’s sad, it avoids ­miserabilism, because it is leavened by touches of humour and a refusal to wallow. The reason to see it is Kidman. She’s wonderfully transparent, subtle and honest. This is an astonishing performance, rightly Oscar-nominated.

But though the play won a Pulitzer prize, the film will ­struggle to find an audience.

Harry Potter franchise to get outstanding Bafta award

The Harry Potter films will receive an outstanding British contribution to cinema prize at this year's Bafta awards, organisers have announced.

Potter author JK Rowling and producer David Heyman will receive the award on behalf of the franchise.

The films have "highlighted the expertise within the British craft and technical industries", Bafta said

The 2011 Bafta Film Awards will be held at London's Royal Opera House on 13 February.

Starting in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the seven films released so far have made more than $5.4 billion worldwide.

An eighth and final instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, will be released in July.

Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, 21, said he had "loved every minute of making these films".

"To me the real heroes are the crew and the huge team of craftsmen that have made all eight of them possible," he went on.

"This award is a testament to their incredible work."

Radcliffe's sentiments were echoed by co-star Emma Watson, who said it was "a huge honour".

"Thank you so much Bafta for this amazing award," added Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley opposite Radcliffe's Harry and Watson's Hermione Granger.

To date, the Potter movies have received seven Oscar nominations and 28 Bafta nominations.