OPINION
Movies and viewers love to get miserable
Washington Post/Newsweek Post Global Nov 30, 08 7:57 AM CST
(Newser)
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Bleak is the new chic in Tinseltown, writes Dan Zak in the Washington Post . Cloverfield' s crowd-trampling monster, the psycho serial killer of No Country for Old Men , and the twisted oil entrepreneur of There Will Be Blood (need we mention the Dark Knight ?) highlight the "raw misery of the human condition," sniffs Zak. "Big movies have tent-poled 2008 with a tarp of cruelty."
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Pol wants share of Dark Knight revenues for citizens of oil town
Variety Nov 12, 08 2:51 PM CST
(Newser)
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The mayor of Batman, Turkey, is threatening to sue Warner Brothers for a share of the nearly $1 billion The Dark Knight has generated. The unauthorized name use has wreaked psychological havoc in the Anatolian oil city by driving up unsolved murders and female suicides, Huseyin Kalkan tells Variety —though he didn’t explain why the action comes 70 years after the hero’s comic-book debut.
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Hitman flick knocks Thunder from top spot in slow weekend
Variety Sep 7, 08 8:05 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Nicolas Cage action flick Bangkok Dangerous stumbled to box office victory during an unusually slow Labor Day weekend, Variety reports. With sales down 17% over last year's holiday, Bangkok needed just $7.8 million to top Tropic Thunder 's $7.5 million. Completing the top 5 were The House Bunny ($5.9 million), The Dark Knight ($5.7 million), and Traitor ($4.7 million).
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Stiller flick stays on top
Variety Aug 31, 08 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Tropic Thunder kept rumbling this weekend with an $11.5 million box office score and a hold on the top spot, Variety reports. The Vin Diesel vehicle Babylon AD debuted in second with $9.5 million, while third-place Dark Knight made history as the second flick ever to bank $500 million. Filling out the top five were The House Bunny ($8.3 million) and political thriller Traitor ($7.9 million).
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Blockbusters boost studios to record-breaking sales
Los Angeles Times Aug 28, 08 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Hollywood studios are reeling in their highest-grossing summer ever, the Los Angeles Times reports. Domestic ticket sales stand at $3.9 billion, up from last year's record-breaking summer. A steady stream of smash hits—and higher ticket prices—accounted for the record take, more than making up for costly flops like Speed Racer .
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The House Bunny hops to second place
Variety Aug 24, 08 6:41 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Tropic Thunder banked $16.1 million to become the third flick this summer to win two straight weekend box office crowns, Variety reports. Sorority laffer The House Bunny earned $15.1 million to debut in second, followed by Universal’s remake of Death Race ($12.3 million), The Dark Knight ($10.3 million), and the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars ($5.6 million).
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Pair could be dealt 20-year sentence for playing card prank
ABC News Aug 19, 08 5:46 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Virginia police didn't see the humor of a Joker-inspired prank that terrified dozens of residents, ABC News reports. Two 18-year-olds have been charged with conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism after leaving playing cards with threatening messages on them scattered around their town. Cops say the felony charge—which carries up to 20 years in jail—is justified by the fear the duo created.
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Variety Aug 17, 08 6:44 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Hollywood spoof Tropic Thunder bombarded the box office this weekend by banking $26 million in top spot, Variety reports. Batman flick The Dark Knight fell to second but raked in $16.8 million and became the second-highest grossing domestic pic ever. Filling out the top five were Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Mirrors , and Pineapple Express , Bloomberg reports. Woody Allen's Vicky Cristinia Barcelona debuted on 692 screens and came in tenth.
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Brit prosecutors says they have 'insufficient evidence' to press the case
BBC Aug 14, 08 1:54 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Christian Bale will not be charged in the alleged assault of his mother and sister, the BBC reports. A spokesman for the British prosecutor’s office said there was “insufficient evidence to afford a realistic prospect of conviction.” Bale and his family have been incommunicative with the press since the incident at a London hotel last month, after which Bale was arrested and questioned.
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OPINION
Salon Aug 12, 08 8:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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This summer has seen several enormous hits, but moviegoers are nevertheless suffering from “blockbuster fatigue,” Stephanie Zacharek writes in Salon. "The whole point of going to the movies in the first place is to be overwhelmed," the critic acknowledges, pondering what draws us to a blockbuster in the first place, and how an entire season of them can leave viewers in a cinematic daze.
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Pineapple Express beat Batman on Friday, slid into No. 2 overall
Variety Aug 10, 08 3:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Dark Knight is still lording it over the box office, grossing $26 million over the weekend for a fourth consecutive win—and overtaking Shrek 2 to become the third biggest Hollywood blockbuster ever with a cumulative $441.5 million. Judd Apatow's new comedy Pineapple Express beat The Dark Knight on Friday, but finished at No. 2 with $22.4 million for the weekend. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 took third place, grossing $10.8 million.
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Be afraid, be very afraid, Radar warns
Radar Aug 10, 08 7:44 AM CDT
(Newser)
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First a technician died on the set of the Dark Knight , then Heath Ledger overdosed. Christian Bale allegedly assaulted his mother recently, and now Morgan Freeman is recovering from a nasty car accident and undergoing a divorce. Folks have started muttering about a Dark Knight curse, and Radar insists the hex is real. What other tragedies plague actors linked to the film? Aaron Eckhart is doomed to play supporting roles for the rest of his life.
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Dark Knight still rules, banking $43M in third weekend win
Variety Aug 3, 08 5:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Even the undead can't stop Batman: The Dark Knight defeated The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in its third weekend win, grossing an unexpected $43.8 million and hitting nearly $400 million. The Mummy sequel took second with $42.4 million, while Kevin Costner's Swing Vote , the only other newcomer, grossed $6.9 million. Step Brothers took third with $16.3 million.
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