Get the Freaking Phone! Jackman Stops Play for Fan's Cell

(NEWSER) - Neil Patrick Harris will host the Tony Awards tomorrow night, and the New York Times caught up with the actor to talk about him and the show:

• How involved is Harris? "I have a lot of say in what comes out of my mouth. There are writers on the show, obviously, but the last thing I want is to come across like I walked in the afternoon of, and stand there and read a teleprompter. ... I want the jokes to sound like they’re coming out of my mouth. I might sing. We’ll see."

(NEWSER) - Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg added to a growing store of off-the-cuff comments yesterday when he defended the Obamas’ theater outing to his Big Apple by saying the president “lives on a budget,” the Times reports. Obama, who makes $400,000 a year, “does not get paid that much,” Bloomberg continued, before clarifying his comments. “The president is worth a lot more than we pay him.” More»

Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman set to co-star in play about cops

(NEWSER) - Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman will share a Broadway stage this fall in A Steady Rain, the dark tale of two Chicago cops whose lifelong friendship is tested. This is Craig’s New York stage debut, though the Bond man has performed in London theaters, the Post reports. Jackman is a sought-after Broadway veteran who won a Tony for the 2004 musical The Boy From Oz. More»

(NEWSER) - Wolverine tore the box office apart this weekend, clawing in $87 million, USA Today reports. Though that’s less than the debuts of last summer’s opener (Iron Man, $98.6 million) and the top-grossing X-Men film (The Last Stand, $102 million), it still bodes well for a blockbuster season. Romcom Ghost of Girlfriends Past opened with a weak $15.3 million, while Obsessed ($12.2 million), 17 Again ($6.4 million), and Monsters vs. Aliens ($5.8 million) rounded out the top five. More»

Sharp performance from Jackman saves stale X-Men spinoff from total mediocrity

(NEWSER) - A charismatic Hugh Jackman gamely slashes his way through X:Men Origins: Wolverine, say critics, but he's let down by a stale script and effects that fail to lift the movie above generic superhero fare.

• Hollywood.com: The "action-filled spinoff delivers on the brawn but not the soul of the X-Men franchise that spawned it."