Will: 'We Got to Help Each Other'

Even Hollywood can make movies for the non-'lily-livered:' Nile Gardiner

(NEWSER) - "Hollywood may well be a bastion of liberalism, but it does continue to occasionally produce major films that advance conservative principles," Nile Gardiner writes in the Telegraph . His best of the aughts:

1. Master and Commander, 2003: The Peter Weir flick starring Russell Crowe is "an epic tale of heroism and love for country in the face of incredible odds, and a glowing tribute to the grit and determination that forged the British Empire."
2. Black Hawk Down, 2001: Critics may have called it an "anti-war film," but Gardiner doesn't buy it. Instead, it's "an extraordinarily powerful and deeply patriotic tribute to the heroism and bravery of the US military."

Tom is 'so proud of' Connor, 13, 'for really doing this on his own'

(NEWSER) - Which gets you further in Hollywood: having Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as parents or having Will Smith as your close family friend? Either way, Connor Cruise, the famed actors' adopted 13-year-old son, has scored himself a big screen debut in Smith's upcoming drama, "Seven Pounds," People.com reports. The younger Cruise will play a minor role as a young Smith. More»

Pic banks top December gross of all time; Chipmunks also wows

(NEWSER) - I Am Legend rocked the box office for $76.5 million this weekend, the highest gross for a December pic ever, Variety reports. Twentieth Century Fox also surprised with Alvin and the Chipmunks, which scored $45 million, second ever for G- or PG-rated December debuts. Together they boosted a sluggish box office with a 37% spike over this weekend last year. More»

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Tonight's Obama fundraiser to bring in a record-breaking $15M

(NEWSER) - George Clooney's $40,000-a-plate dinner for President Obama tonight is expected to scoop up an eye-popping $15 million. The Hollywood fete, to be held at Clooney's Los Angeles digs, will feature celebs like Barbra Streisand, Robert Downey Jr., and Tobey Maquire among the 150 guests, and is co-hosted by Dreamworks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg. But two-thirds of the money raised will be from "just folks"—tens of thousands of Americans who forked over an average of $23 each for a chance to win dinner tickets. "The number of people who wanted to go to Clooney's house was through the roof," a source tells the Wall Street Journal . The pool has already been winnowed down to 50. Background checks are being carried out on the hopefuls, and two winners (who can bring guests) will be announced today. More»