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Sugar Bits - Amy Winehouse's Mother Writes Letter

PopSugar — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:32:33 PST

In light of Amy Winehouse's recent erratic behavior, her mother has written an open letter urging her daughter to take the first step towards recovery by acknowledging her drug problems, phoning home, and letting her family help her get well. We hope it's not too little too late. - News of the World
Despite its bad early buzz, The Golden Compass took the top spot at the box office over the weekend with $26 million, while Enchanted came in at number two, and This Christmas at third. $26 Million isn't too bad, except for the fact the film cost $180 million to make. - BuzzSugar
Ugly Betty's David Blue, who stars as Michael Urie's boyfriend, was mugged at gunpoint on Saturday in LA after leaving a wrap party for the show, but fortunately he was unharmed. That sounds ugly! - TMZ
Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough married Leigh Boniello in Orlando on Saturday, in front of his bandmates. Congrats to the happy couple! - OK! Magazine
Scott Baio married his longtime girlfriend Renee Sloan, on Saturday in LA. The two recently welcomed their first child together. Charles in Charge is officially off the market. - People

Golden Compass Tops the Box Office, Studio Still Disappointed

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:30:00 PST

The Golden Compass opened this past weekend to the tune of $26 million, easily taking the top spot at the box office, but still disappointing New Line studio heads who'd expected more like $30-40 million. This is especially frustrating given the $180 million it took to make the film.

Enchanted followed behind The Golden Compass in its third week in theaters, bringing in $10.7 million while This Christmas came in at No. 3. Fred Claus inched its way from sixth place to fourth this weekend, as audiences perhaps sought out more holiday-themed fare. Beowulf rounded out the top five with $4.4 million.

This upcoming weekend I predict the top films will be I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks, though it should also please many folks that Juno finally opens in more cinemas this weekend.

Photo courtesy of New Line

Sugar Bits - Enchanted Tops the Box Office Again

PopSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:35:34 PST

Enchanted took the top spot at the box office for the second week in a row, followed by This Christmas and Beowulf. The holiday movie season will be in full swing next weekend with the release of The Golden Compass and Atonement, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top then. - BuzzSugar
Denise Richards' mother passed away on Friday after a long battle with cancer. Our hearts go out to Denise and her family. - People
In an auction to benefit the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne sold items worth $800,000 from their former LA home, including a pair of Ozzy's skull-adorned sneakers ($2,625) and his old portable coffee mug ($1,625). Maybe we underestimated how much people still want a piece of their personal lives. - BBC
After settling his lawsuit against Kanye West just last week, Evel Knievel died Friday after struggling with ill health for years. Our thoughts are with the family of the legendary stuntman. - E! News
Ethan Hawke had appeared single but apparently he's been dating his children's former nanny for two years. At least he was courteous enough to wait until his relationship with Uma was over unlike a lot of other men. - Gatecrasher

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Box Office: Enchanted's Spell Is Long-Lasting

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:30:00 PST

For the second weekend in a row, Enchanted hypnotized audiences, topping the box office by a long shot with $17 million. Family holiday flick This Christmas stayed strong at No. 2, though took home about half as much as Enchanted did. Beowulf followed up in third place while the new psychological thriller Awake came in at No. 4 with $6 million. Hitman just barely edged out Fred Claus for fifth place.

This weekend I'll be curious to see if The Golden Compass succeeds in drawing the masses that New Line is so desperate to see. According to Variety, the studio held sneak preview screenings this past weekend, hoping to "boost interest in the film, which has been lagging in tracking, although awareness is high." Also opening this Friday is the romantic drama Atonement, starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Sugar Bits - Linda Hogan Files for Divorce

PopSugar — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:31:32 PST

Hulk Hogan's wife Linda filed for divorce early last week, and although a source close to her claims she doesn't actually want to split, it sounds like the family has crumbled in the aftermath of Nick Hogan's accident. Another reality TV couple bites the dust. - The St. Petersburg Times
Enchanted took the top spot at the box office over the weekend, followed by This Christmas and Beowulf. As usual, family-friendly fare rules during the holiday season. - BuzzSugar
EW released their list of the year's top 25 entertainers with J. K. Rowling topping the list, followed by Valedictorians including George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, The Sopranos, and Will Smith. Let the year-end list making begin! - Entertainment Weekly
Superman star Brandon Routh married his longtime girlfriend Courtney Ford on Saturday. Congrats to the super couple! - ET Online
Jaime King married director Kyle Newman on Friday, who she met on the set of his movie Fanboys. Big weekend for celebrity weddings! - People
Negotiations between striking Broadway stagehands and producers have resumed, with both sides agreeing to a twelve hour break today in the process of agreeing on a fair labor deal. With the Hollywood Writers Guild back in negotiations today as well, things are finally looking up for all these strikes. - AP

Source

Box Office: Audiences Are Enchanted

BuzzSugar — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:30:00 PST

The magic of Disney strikes again! The half-animated, half-live-action fairytale story Enchanted put a spell on the box office over the long Thanksgiving weekend, bringing in approximately $50 million over the five-day stretch. After Toy Story 2, Enchanted is the highest-grossing Disney movie to open Thanksgiving weekend.

Holiday newcomer This Christmas enjoyed an impressive opening in second place while Beowulf held steady at No. 3. The video game-inspired action flick Hitman opened at No. 4 and the animated Bee Movie continued to "bee" successful at No. 5. Meanwhile, The Coen Bros.' No Country for Old Men just barely edged out Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium for the No. 10 spot.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:30:00 PST

Breaking Dawn Part 1

Twilight's star-crossed lovers Edward and Bella (Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart) tie the knot in this installment, but their idyllic honeymoon is interrupted when they discover that vampires can, in fact, impregnate humans. Bella is willing to do anything to protect the life of her baby, Edward will do anything to save Bella, and Jacob tries to keep his wolfpack at bay. The movie goes quickly from cheesily romantic to surprisingly graphic, but the film is very loyal to the book. DVD extras include a six-part making-of documentary, a wedding video, a Jacob featurette, and a commentary track with the director.

25%

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Harold and Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn) reunite for this holiday-themed sequel, the third part in their drug-fueled comedy series. This time, the guys have grown apart (Harold is now a husband in the suburbs while Kumar is a slacker in the city), but Christmas Eve hijinks force them to work together and grow close again. The boys - and Neil Patrick Harris - are as raunchy as ever, but this installment is as funny as the original, and festive to boot. DVD extras include deleted scenes.

69%

See one more new release after the jump.

Cool Concept: The Cryoscope Weather Forecaster

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:59:25 PST

I know we're inching closer to a future resembling a Star Trek episode when concept gadgets like this Cryoscope weather cube are dreamed up. The haptic weather forecasting device works by the user touching its exterior aluminum cube to physically feel how the temperature will be outside.

Connected to the Internet, the cube translates web reports of the weather by pumping heat either in or out of the cube. Watch the Cryoscope's creator Robb Godshaw explain the inner workings of this magic weather cube in the video above. Do you think it's too early to add to my Christmas wish list?

14 Geeky Languages to Learn With Your Love

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:15:00 PST

Love may be a universal language, but we're not sure that phrase includes the sci-fi alien races and fantastical creatures that rule the far depths of the galaxy, who express love in words beyond our human comprehension. When you're thinking of a unique way to woo your valentine this year, plan a tutorial to learn together one of these 14 geeky languages. While several of these Trekkie, Tolkien, or computer gaming-inspired languages have enough depth to warrant a university level class, many are not fully realized, so have fun discovering select words and phrases to bring to future geeky date outings.

Wookie - Made up of three dialects, the main Wookie language is Shyriiwook. As you'd expect it consists of lots of barks and grunts, but don't you dare say that to Chewbacca. The Star Wars Christmas Special has detailed examples of this mystifying tongue.
Klingon - The language of Klingons, the sometimes ally of the Federation, is arguably the best known of the imagined star languages. Described by its Hollywood creators as gutteral in tone, dedicated Trekkies maintain the Klingon Language Institue, preserving the galaxy's "fastest growing language."
Vulcan - Known as the language of Spock, one version of Vulcan looks like musical notes. Much of the language is available online today as Gene Roddenberry was insistent when making Star Trek: The Motion Picture that the Vulcans receive their own linguistic treatment.
Romulan - As biological cousins of the Vulcans, the Romulan language is difficult to differentiate from Vulcan to the untrained ear. The Central Institute of the Romulan Language ensures you get the right training to one day know the difference.
Cardassian - Residents of the Alpha Quadrant, Cardassians are a fearsome foe of the Federation. Little is known of their language, maybe because of its rectangular-shaped letters and script.
Andorian - The blue-skinned moon species from Andora appeared throughout the Star Trek series and would of course show up in the directory of a PADD.
Elvish - With a background in linguistics study from Oxford, Tolkien did not take the creation of the Lord of the Rings languages lightly. Based on Welsh and English, you can study Liv Tyler's Arwen in the film trilogy for pronunciation and read the many online Elvish resources, including an English to Elvish dictionary.
Dwarvish - Also called Khuzdul, Tolkien is said to have drawn inspiration for the secret language of the Dwarves from Hebrew, reflecting many of the same sounds and structure. As many Lord of the Rings languages, it's been almost fully realized and you can study up with the Dwarvish dictionary.

Check out even more languages to geek out over after the jump.

Best in Show: the 2012 Golden Collar Award Nominees

Nancy Einhart — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:02:08 PST

Welcome to the dog days of award season. Hot on the heels of Martin Scorsese's successful write-in campaign for Blackie, the canine star of Hugo, here's a look at the rest of the pooches vying for an honor from the first-ever Golden Collar Awards.

Handed out by Dog News Daily, the Golden Collar Awards will take place on Feb. 13 at the dog-friendly Hotel Palomar in LA. Who are you rooting for? Check out the full list of nominees.