Actors Approve Contract, Ending Threat of Strike

SAG: members can keep working, pending talks

(NEWSER) - The contract between the Screen Actors Guild and Hollywood studios expired early today—but SAG has decided to let members keep working for the time being, E! Online reports. The two sides are scheduled to reconvene tomorrow. The Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers made it what it called a “final offer” last night, but SAG officials were skeptical. More»

Franchises, concepts drive movie receipts more than A-list personalities

(NEWSER) - The lure of A-list movie stars is on the wane, the Hollywood Reporter notes after an examination of recent box-office receipts and extensive polling of Tinseltown insiders. Due in part to ubiquity on the internet and magazine racks, big names like Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts have seen their films gross far less than those driven by franchises—think Pirates of the Caribbean or Bourne. More»

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»

See, they really were just like us...once

(NEWSER) - Even Tom Cruise had a newspaper route—in his pre-Hollywood days, of course. The Daily Beast uncovers the summer jobs of 15 celebrities:

• Amy Adams: The Enchanted star was, briefly, a Hooters girl after high school, but she says she “wasn’t cut out to be a Hooters waitress.”
• Brad Pitt: His first job in Hollywood involved wearing a chicken suit at El Pollo Loco.

Men prefer Clint, women like Johnny Depp in Harris poll

(NEWSER) - Americans love Clint Eastwood—he's the nation's favorite movie star for the fourth time in the annual Harris poll. Eastwood topped the men's list, as well being the favorite of Republicans and Independents. Democrats preferred Denzel Washington, while women liked Johnny Depp. The overall winners, not broken down by gender or politics, from Entertainment Weekly : More»