'MySpace' Parody Launches Film Career (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - Amateur filmmaker David Lehre first screened his short film "MySpace: The Movie" about a month ago at his 21st birthday party.

"Brokeback" named Hollywood word of the year (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Reuters - And the winner for Hollywood's word of the year is "Brokeback," thanks to all the the talk around the water and Internet jokes that have turned a film about two gay cowboys into a cultural phenomenon.

New Home-Video Releases (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - Selected home-video releases:

Review: Chappelle Throws Great 'Party' (AP)

February 27, 2006

Host, actor Dave Chappelle speaks during the MTV Video Music Awards in Miami in this August 29, 2004 file photo. Chappelle appeared in a two-hour episode of 'Inside the Actors Studio.' (Marc Serota/Reuters)AP - Its star-studded lineup poses the possibility of divalike demands, beefs breaking out and entourages elbowing each other out of the way. But "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" is as friendly and down-home as the title suggests.


"Brokeback" wins gays place in Hollywood history (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Ang Lee (C), director for 'Brokeback Mountain' poses with the films' stars Heath Ledger (L) and Jake Gyllenhaal (R) in Century City, California January 28, 2006. For more than 100 years, mainstream Hollywood movies largely shunned gay subjects. But in 2005, 'Brokeback Mountain' was a hit and Hollywood loves a hit. REUTERS/Fred ProuserReuters - For more than 100 years, mainstream Hollywood movies largely shunned gay subjects, which were either disregarded, closeted or dealt with by independent filmmakers.


'Madea's Family Reunion' Debuts at No. 1 (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - "Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion," a comic drama from the creator of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," debuted as the weekend's top movie, taking in $30 million.

Dennis Weaver, famed for TV roles, dead at 81 (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Actor Dennis Weaver poses with the Emmy award he received as best supporting actor in a dramatic series for his role in 'Gunsmoke' at the 1959 Emmy Awards. REUTERS/Photo Courtesy Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/HandoutReuters - Actor Dennis Weaver, best known for playing the loyal, limping deputy to Marshal Matt Dillon on TV's "Gunsmoke" and as the urban lawman with a cowboy hat on "McCloud," has died at age 81, his publicist said on Monday.


Workers Hammer Together Oscar Night (AP)

February 27, 2006

A 25-foot Oscar statue, which weighs 700 lbs., is moved into place in front of the Kodak Theatre Monday, Feb. 27, 2006, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. The 78th annual Academy Awards will be held on March 5. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)AP - A 26-foot-tall golden Oscar stands backstage at the Kodak Theatre amid a sea of black crates filled with miles of TV cables.


'Gunsmoke' Actor Dennis Weaver Dies (AP)

February 27, 2006

Actor Dennis Weaver, president of the Screen Actors Guild, is shown in Hollywood, Ca., in June 1974. Weaver, the slow-witted deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western 'Gunsmoke' and the New Mexico deputy solving New York crime in 'McCloud,' has died. The actor was 81. (AP Photo)AP - Dennis Weaver, the diffident deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western "Gunsmoke" and the canny New Mexico deputy solving New York City crime in "McCloud," has died. The actor was 81.


Best Supporting Actressses Square Off (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - A fearless wife and a frightened wife lead the supporting-actress race for the Academy Awards.

Syriana' Fuels Clooney Toward Oscar Win (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - George Clooney is the jack-of-all-trades at the Academy Awards, earning directing and screenplay nominations for "Good Night, and Good Luck" and a supporting-actor honor for "Syriana."

Witherspoon, Huffman Eye Oscar Duel (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - What a classic showdown of opposites for the best-actress Academy Award: Reese Witherspoon as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" against Felicity Huffman as a man undergoing a sex change in "Transamerica."

Hoffman As Capote Leads Best-Actor Lineup (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - Three legends of entertainment and media are up against a pimp and a gay cowboy for the best-actor Academy Award.

'Da Vinci Code' Author Accused in London (AP)

February 27, 2006

Dan Brown, author of 'The Da Vinci Code' arrives at the London High Court, Monday, Feb. 27 2006.  A trial challenging the author of the blockbuster novel 'The Da Vinci Code' reached London's High Court on Monday, after legal proceedings were brought by two men who claim he stole their ideas. Authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh claim Brown lifted ideas from their 1982 book 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail', itself a best seller. (AP Photo / Michael Stevens)AP - "The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown defended himself Monday in Britain's High Court against accusations he took material for his blockbuster conspiracy thriller from a 1982 book about the Holy Grail.


CORRECTED: "Madea's Family Reunion" oddly alluring (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Reuters - (Corrects film's estimated sales to $30.3 million from $30.5 million in second paragraph, an editing error)

Cinematographers put focus on 'Geisha' (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Reuters - "Memoirs of a Geisha" cameraman Dion Beebe won the feature film prize at the American Society of Cinematographers' 20th annual awards Sunday.

"Geisha" costume designer stitches up guild honor (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Reuters - The lush hand-painted kimonos from "Memoirs of a Geisha" helped Colleen Atwood earn a top Costume Design Guild honor for the second year in a row.

Sound awards swing with "Walk the Line" (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Reuters - The rhythms of Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" won out over the sounds of invading aliens, an angry ape, Japanese geisha society and racial clashes at the 42nd annual Cinema Audio Society Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Strait, Belle fight for mankind (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Reuters - Steven Strait and Camilla Belle will star in "10,000 B.C.," a prehistoric epic from "Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich.

"Crash" wins best picture at NAACP's Image Awards (Reuters)

February 27, 2006

Reuters - With only a week to go before the Academy Awards, the Oscar-nominated film "Crash" was named best picture by the NAACP at its 37th annual Image Awards on Saturday.

Universal Chair Hired to Run DreamWorks (AP)

February 27, 2006

AP - Paramount Pictures has hired Universal Pictures chairwoman Stacey Snider to head its recently acquired DreamWorks division, Paramount said Sunday.

"Madea" No Drag at Box Office (E! Online)

February 27, 2006

Tyler 
 Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, the sequel to Perry's surprise hit 
 Diary of a Mad Black Woman, pulled in $30.2 million to dominate 
 the weekend box office, according to preliminary studio figures Sunday.E! Online - Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, the sequel to Perry's surprise hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman, pulled in $30.2 million to dominate the weekend box office, according to preliminary studio figures Sunday.


Gere Fears AIDS Epidemic Hitting India (AP)

February 27, 2006

Actor Richard Gere smiles during Hasty Pudding Theatricals on Friday, Feb. 24, 2006, in Cambridge, Mass. Gere was awarded Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals Man of the Year. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole)AP - As President Bush prepares to travel to India this week, Richard Gere is applauding the leader's focus on the AIDS crisis there.