Hey... How bout us? can we get in on it too???? Everyone else is...

Retailers Want In on Stimulus Plan... 

BEST DOGGONE XMAS WEEKEND!

BEST DOGGONE XMAS WEEKEND! 

Friday: 'Marley & Me' #1, 'Bedtime Stories' And 'Benjamin Button' Tied #2, 'Valkyrie' #4

FRIDAY 11 PM UPDATE: Marley stays top dog! Family fare is what post-holiday moviegoers wanted today. But overall attendance was down after an enormous Christmas Day at the domestic box office. Nevertheless it's looking like a jolly $200 million 3-day weekend that's 10% bigger than last year's. Early box office numbers show Fox's Marley & Me easily holding onto No. 1 Friday in 3,480 theaters with $14.4M for a huge projected 4-day holiday of $52.5M. (I hope the studio is purchasing a few treats for the pooch being pimped out in the pic.) Not surprisingly, Disney's Bedtime Stories moves up into 2nd place with $10.2M in 3,681 runs, thanks to kiddie matinees and gumball dreams kicking in, and what may be a strong 4-day holiday of $41M. That's neck and neck with Paramount's The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button which is playing in almost 700 less venues and winning over audiences with its Oscar-touted visuals and performances. (Although some think Adam Sandler beat Brad Pitt Friday with $11M because of the much shorter running time of 99 minutes vs 167 minutes.) MGM/UA's Valkyrie sticks at #4 adding another $8M grosses from 2,711 dates for what should be a 4-day holiday of $32M. Tom Cruise can breathe easy now: he's still a star. The pic's $24M Fri-Sat-Sun estimate is in line with his opening weekends for Collateral, The Last Samurai, and Vanilla Sky not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices. 

Warner Bros' Yes Man hangs on for #5 with $6.6M Friday and a predicted 4-day holiday of $24.5M. Sony's Seven Pounds holds for 6th with a solid $5.3M Friday and a 4-day holiday estimate of $19.5M. Children packed Universal's The Tale Of Despereaux enabling the toon mouse to scamper into No. 7 with $3.5M Friday and a $13M projection for the 4-day holiday. In 8th place, Fox's The Day the Earth Stood Still made $3M Friday for what should be a 4-day holiday of $10.5M. But #9, Lionsgate's The Spirit, went from a little disappointing debut to a lot disappointing despite its comic book roots. "A true wipeout, down around 25% tonight. At around $3 million, it may come in 9th," a rival studio exec tells me. Rounding out the Top 10, Miramax's Oscar-buzzed Doubt got a nice 30% bump from Christmas Day after expanding into 1,267 theaters for $1.8M and an estimated 4-day holiday of $7M.

FRIDAY 8 AM: Christmas Day was "enormous" for the movie industry with the top two pics setting all-time records for the holiday, studios are telling me. Even the weather cooperated. Good thing too because, for weeks now, Hollywood has been hotly anticipating today's opening of five high-profile movies with potential to be blockbusters (because Christmas releases on average have a 6.9 multiple). Latest estimates for Thursday box office nationally are:

No. 1 Fox's Marley And Me $14.6M in 3,480 theaters, No. 2 Paramount's The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button $11.8M from 2,988 venues, No. 3 Disney's Bedtime Stories $10.5M for 3,681 runs, and No. 4 MGM/UA's Valkyrie $8.3M from 2,711 plays, No. 5 Warner Bros' Yes Man $5.8M for 3,434 theaters, No. 6 Sony's Seven Pounds $4.8M in 2,758 dates, and No. 7 Lionsgate's The Spirit $3.8M from 2,509 venues.

When it comes to North American moviegoing habits, this rule is primo -- don't ever bet against a pooch. So my info is that 20th Century Fox's Marley And Me based on the bestselling book is beating the competition "by a mile". Driven by women moviegoers, the Owen Wilson tearjerker about a man and his dog did twice what was expected -- as did No. 2, Paramount's Oscar buzzed The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt. "It's a classic dovetail: Marley's strength is smack in the middle of the country and the south, while Button is strong on both coasts," one studio insider tells me. I also hear Benjamin Button is rapidly selling out today because of demand and a long running time. Bedtime Stories had been expected to lead the pack of five films opening today. But watch out for it tomorrow because of the Adam Sandler starrer's short running time and kiddie matinees all holiday weekend. Tom Cruise's Valkyrie is definitely doing business and won't flop like his other film for UA, Lions For Lambs), but at least it's not stillborn. In 5th place is holdover Sony's Seven Pounds, again demonstrating Will Smith's box office drawing power even in a downer film. Taking a hit from the new openers is Warner Bros' Yes Man comedy which moved down from 1st to 6th. Remains to be seen if Jim Carrey gets a payday on this film. (See my previous, The Worst Talent Deal Ever?) Refresh for updates...

WEDNESDAY PM: Big movies, big stars, big holiday weekend, and, if the weather cooperates, there's a certainty of big box office grosses. But there's still more snow and ice storms forecast for up and down North America threatening to lower yet another weekend's movie ticket take overall and prevent 2008 from having a banner year. Here are Christmas weekend predictions.

#1. First up, Disney's Bedtime Stories starring Adam Sandler, kids, gumballs... C'mon, this is gonna be huge, and it's got the widest release of all five pics. Who cares about the awful reviews? The pic looks like fun for kids and their parents, and it's only 99 minutes long. The very strong family tracking looks a lot like this holiday season's Night At The Museum, which also starred a funnyman to draw in general audience (Ben Stiller), had stinky reviews, but made $575M around the world. Playing in 3,681 theaters, Bedtime Stories should open to $40+M over the 4-day holiday, according to my box office gurus.

#2. Right behind it is 20th Century Fox's heavily marketed Marley And Me based on the bestselling book. All my movie analysts don't dare bet against a dog movie. (Remember how well another PG pic about a pooch, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, debuted earlier this year? How about $29.3M on its opening 3-day weekend, all for the cost of canine food.) This is undoubtedly Owen Wilson's comeback pic. The movie is tracking big with females of all ages, and well with (Old Yeller-fixated?) older males. It'll do well on Friday's date night as long as girlfriends remembers to stuff Kleenex in their purses, and their boyfriends aren't too embarrassed to walk out of the theater crying. Seriously, are audiences adequately prepared for the plot denouement? The marketing campaign doesn't dare hint at it. Running into 3,480 venues, it's got Christmas Day's second widest release. My box office gurus expect a $30M opening for the holiday long weekend. I think it could go higher and maybe beat Bedtime Stories for No. 1.

#3. Receiving good reviews and great Oscar buzz and a gargantuan awards campaign, Paramount's The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is certainly going to be sampled. Still, there's some skepticism about the box office potential of what is now being referred to as "Hollywood's most expensive art flick". Not to mention that it's being marketed to within an inch of its megaplex life for a hefty price. (Then again, studio boss Brad Grey feels a special obligation to try to win an Oscar for his former management client Brad Pitt and their once joint production company Plan B.) All those new Golden Globe nominations will surely help market the film which is tracking strongest with females over age 16 and males over age 25. But the PG-13 pic's hefty 2 hour, 47 minute running time will limit its box office gross. Still the studio is hoping that the strong word of mouth could push Benjamin Button to a great multiple. (One Paramount exec tells me the pic could play like The Pursuit Of Happyness which started at $26M and end up with $162M domestic. But I say Brad Pitt simply isn't the phenomenal box office draw that Will Smith is...) Playing in 2,988 dates, Benjamin Button should open to $25M, according to my box office gurus.

#4. It wasn't too long ago that MGM/UA's Valkyrie was a bad joke, what with Tom Cruise dressed in a German army uniform in a World War II movie, directed by Bryan Singer still living down his underperforming Superman Returns, with an ever-changing release date that finally settled on December 25th. (Because when I think Nazi's, I think Christmas Day.) But a team of marketing experts -- led by MGM/UA's Michael Vollman and outside consultant Terry Press who reputedly spent $60M to do it -- managed to turn things around. Although Hollywood analysts don't see how this pic will earn out unless it's a blockbuster overseas where Cruise is still considered a huge star. (Lions For Lambs did 3x its domestic take overseas.) Still, I could have sworn it was going to be stillborn domestically. Yet all of a sudden, Valkyrie is receiving decent reviews and tracking well with males aged 16+ and stealing away the guy audience that normally would see The Spirit. Is this still a referendum on Tom's viability as a superstar? Yes and no. After all, his photo isn't even featured on the movie poster. I once thought anyone who believed Valkyrie could open to more than $15M was nuts. Now my box office gurus agree with MGM predictions that the PG-13 pic, playing in 2,711 theaters, can do $25M for the Christmas long weekend. But I still suspect, despite the curiosity factor, it'll be hard-pressed to beat $20M.

#5. My movie analysts don't expect much life from Lionsgate's The Spirit adapted from Will Eisner's graphic novels despite a flashy marketing campaign meant to cultivate its Sin City visuals rather than its comic book content. "It's tracking only with genre audiences. Lionsgate shouldn't have tried to brave the Christmas competition," one rival studio exec tells me. Opening in 2,500 plays, The Spirit isn't expected to exceed low teens over the 4-day holiday. 

As for the one-week holdovers, Warner Bros' Yes Man could recover from last weekend's disappointing box office due to disastrous winter storms enough to come in #5 among all the movies with $20M for the Christmas long weekend. Also affected weather-wise was Sony's Seven Pounds which may come in #7 with a 4-day holiday total in the low teens. And Universal's Tale Of Despereaux should come in #8 playing primarily to preschoolers for a $10M Christmas long weekend. 

Scientific illiteracy all the rage among the glitterati

Scientific illiteracy all the rage among the glitterati

By Steve Connor, Science editor

Saturday, 27 December 2008

 

When it comes to science, Barack Obama is no better than many of us. Today he joins the list of shame of those in public life who made scientifically unsupportable statements in 2008.

Closer to home, Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith faltered on the science of food, while Kate Moss, Oprah Winfrey and Demi Moore all get roastings for scientific illiteracy.

The Celebrities and Science Review 2008, prepared by the group Sense About Science, identifies some of the worst examples of scientific illiteracy among those who profess to know better – including top politicians.

Mr Obama and John McCain blundered into the MMR vaccine row during their presidential campaigns. "We've seen just a skyrocketing autism rate," said President-elect Obama. "Some people are suspicious that it's connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it," he said.

His words were echoed by Mr McCain. "It's indisputable that [autism] is on the rise among children, the question is what's causing it," he said. "There's strong evidence that indicates it's got to do with a preservative in the vaccines."

Exhaustive research has failed to substantiate any link to vaccines or any preservatives. The rise in autism is thought to be due to an increased awareness of the condition.

Sarah Palin, Mr McCain's running mate, waded into the mire with her dismissal of some government research projects. "Sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not," Ms Palin said. But the geneticist Ellen Solomon takes Ms Palin to task for not understanding the importance of studies into fruit flies, which share roughly half their genes with humans. "They have been used for more than a century to understand how genes work, which has implications in, for example, understanding the ageing process," she said.

Hollywood did not escape the critical analysis of the scientific reviewers, who lambasted Tom Cruise, for his comments on psychiatry being a crime against humanity, and Julianne Moore, who warned against using products full of unnatural chemicals.

"The real crime against humanity continues to be the enduring misery caused by the major mental illnesses across the globe, and the continuing lack of resources devoted to supporting those afflicted," said the psychiatrist Professor Simon Wessely.

In answer to Moore, the science author and chemist John Emsley said that natural chemicals are not automatically safer than man-made chemicals, which undergo rigorous testing.

"Something which is naturally sourced may well include a mixture of things that are capable of causing an adverse reaction," Dr Emsley said.

Other mentions went to the chefs Nigella Lawson, who said "mind meals" can make you feel different about life, and Delia Smith, who claimed it is possible to eliminate sugar from the diet. The dietician Catherine Collins said that Lawson's support for expensive allergy foods is a wasted opportunity and too costly for those on limited incomes, while Lisa Miles of the British Nutrition Foundation said that sugars are part of a balanced diet.

Kate Moss, Oprah Winfrey and Demi Moore all espoused the idea that you can detoxify your body with either diet (scientifically unsupportable) or, in the case of Moore, products such as "highly trained medical leeches" which make you bleed. Scientists point out that diet alone cannot remove toxins and that blood itself is not a toxin, and even if it did contain toxins, removing a little bit of it is not going to help.

But top prize went to the lifestyle guru Carole Caplin for denouncing a study showing that vitamin supplements offer little or no health benefits as "rubbish" – it is the third year on the run that she has been mentioned in the review. Science author and GP Ben Goldacre pointed out that the study Ms Caplin referred to was the most authoritative yet published. "Carole should understand that research can often produce results which challenge our preconceptions: that is why science is more interesting than just following your nose," Dr Goldacre said.

Talking sense: Two who got it right

*The writer Jilly Cooper gets nine out of ten for making a stab at why alternative treatments might work: "If you believe them, then they work." That describes the placebo effect, where a harmless but useless remedy seems to work because the patient feels as if it is working.

*The vocal coach and singer Carrie Grant is applauded for raising the profile of Crohn's disease without abusing the science. "There are so many therapies available, but none of them are going to cure you," she said.