New Moon Eclipses Dark Knight!
As a PG-rated Robin might cry, "Holy crap, Batman!"
New Moon smashed The Dark Knight's single-day and opening-day box-office records with an estimated $72.7 million Friday, its studio reported today.
If the movie's unprecedented midnight business was "absolutely freakish," then its unprecedented full-day take was simply phenomenal.
"It doubled the opening day of the first movie—and Twilight was no slouch itself," Box Office Mojo's Brandon Gray said. "It's just sensational."
With New Moon having already eclipsed its $50 million budget, two of Dark Knight's showiest records, and Twilight's entire opening-weekend gross, about the only question left is: How big can this thing get?
Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray & More Continue Singing Oprah's Praises
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Marc Bryan-Brown/Getty Images; AP Photo/Litboy; AP Photo/Charles Sykes
Before everyone and his mother had a daytime talk show, there was Oprah Winfrey.
And the news that in less than two years there won't be an Oprah Winfrey Show as we know it has prompted an outpouring of well wishes and appreciations from those whose stars have shined a little brighter thanks to Oprah's warm glow.
"I am going to enjoy every episode between now and 2011," offered Food Network star turned syndicated talk-show host Rachael Ray, who waited until Oprah had discussed the matter "one-on-one" with her audience today to comment.
"Oprah opened the door for me to move into daytime television and I can't thank her enough. I look forward to seeing what she does next…there will only ever be one Oprah!"
Hell, even Dr. Phil McGraw knows who first put him on the map.
Michael Jackson's Doc Shipped Propofol From Vegas to L.A., Records Show
Whoever said "everything leaves a paper trail" was damn right.
Dr. Conrad Murray has admitted to giving Michael Jackson the surgical anesthetic propofol to help him sleep, and police say they know where he got it.
According to additional search warrant documents released Friday, investigators found receipts in Murray's Nevada office showing that the cardiologist purchased five bottles the drug from a Las Vegas pharmacy on May 12 and had it mailed to the L.A. mansion Jackson was living in when he died a month later.
All of which should come as no shock to anyone, according to Murray's attorney.
Unleashed Fangirls Derail Justin Bieber Appearance
R.Pattz wasn't there, so why did a bunch of screaming fangirls nearly cause a riot at a Long Island mall?
They were waiting for Justin Bieber, of course!
One girl ended up at the hospital and a member of Bieber's entourage was arrested after more than 1,000 young-and-rowdy fans whipped themselves into a frenzy awaiting the arrival of the the 15-year-old Canadian pop star, who ended up steering clear of the mall altogether because of the melee.
"They are not allowing me to come into the mall. if you dont leave I and my fans will be arrested as the police just told us," Bieber twittered this evening, about an hour after writing, "On my way to Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island, NY to sign and meet fans!! im pumped. see u there."
Aw.
Update
Miley Cyrus' Tour Bus in Deadly Crash
UPDATE 2: E! News has obtained audio of two 911 calls made by what sounds like two different people on the bus that crashed. In the first, the caller tells the dispatcher that the driver is "losing color," while the second caller says that he has gone into cardiac arrest.
UPDATE 1: The Cyrus family has issued a statement responding to this morning's tragedy on Miley's official site:
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas. Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
________
One person is dead and at least one more suffered minor injuries after one of Miley Cyrus' tour buses crashed and flipped onto its side in Virginia this morning.
Cyrus herself was not on board the bus at the time; the Disney has primarily been jetting to tour dates on a private plane for much of this tour.
"She was not on any of the buses and not on scene at any point," Virginia State Police Sgt. Thomas Molner told E! News. "She was on a different route."
Good News for Miley: She's Officially Not a Racist
When Miley Cyrus' infamous slant-eyed photo leaked online, we knew there was going to be trouble. When a Los Angeles woman filed a class-action suit against the Disney star on behalf of her Asian brothers and sisters, we knew it was going to be a lengthy battle. But when it turned out she was seeking roughly $4 billion—yes, billion—in damages from the teen, we knew what outcome was inevitable.
In a win for common sense everywhere, an L.A. judge today threw out Lucie Kim's lawsuit, saying that while the photo may have been offensive, it didn't break any state laws.
Especially not the one Kim claimed it did.
In her complaint, Kim accused Cyrus of violating a statute that prohibits businesses from discriminating against minorities, specifically in terms of offering equal access to public accommodations.
And while Miley's clearly a budding empire, she's not, strictly speaking, a business. Or, so far as we know, offering shelter.
Update
New Moon's "Absolutely Freakish" Debut
What else is there to say about New Moon that hasn't already been gushed? That the sequel to you-know-what starring you-know-who and -who and -who grossed a record-setting, undead-enlivening, "absolutely freakish" $26.3 million in Friday midnight screenings?
Well, there's that.
Yes, New Moon usurped the midnight crown from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($22.2 million), which ousted The Dark Knight ($18.5 million) this past July. Nudge the person in the theater next to you, and pass it on.
How do we know you're reading this on a handheld at a multiplex? Because chances are you are.
Snipes Appeals Overly Taxing Prison Sentence
Not paying your taxes for five years? Understandable. Going to prison for three years as a result? Totally unreasonable. At least according to Wesley Snipes' crack (but not that crack) defense team.
Attorneys for the Uncle Sam-dodging Blade star have filed an appeal against the actor's would-be imprisonment, calling the sentence "unreasonable" and claiming that his tax-evasion trial—which came to a close last February after Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a return—should have taken place in New York and not Florida.
Nevermind that the 47-year-old actor's housing records showed that he lived in both states or that his legal team had ample time prior to the years-in-the-making trial to seek the location swap.
Carrie Prejean's Biblical Boobs Are A-OK!
It is time to get off Carrie Prejean's back about her chest. The woman is correct. The Bible absolutely, positively does not say, "You shouldn't get breast implants." In those exact words.
We have reached this conclusion after seeking counsel and revving up the search engine at BibleGateway.com.
We are sorry we didn't take Prejean's word from the get-go. It just sounded like a rationalization from a beauty queen turned inspirational memoirist. But a little bit of faith would've saved us time, not to mention the embarrassment of having to ask students of the Bible for their thoughts on—how should we say?—pageant helpers.
Our findings—and, yes, our defense of Ms. Prejean—are as follows:
Project Runway: Everybody Cries, One Designer Wins
Every season, it all comes down to Bryant Park.
Nine months after they marched their 13-look collections down the runway at Fall Fashion Week, Althea Harper, Irena Shabayeva and Carol Hannah Whitfield stood quaking before Heidi Klum & Co., waiting to hear who would be named the winner of Project Runway's much-delayed sixth season.
Of course it looked as if time was going to run out, garments were going to go unfinished and each woman was going to float away on a river of tears (mixed with other fluids, in the virus-stricken Carol Hannah's case).
But wouldn't you know, all three ladies, competing in the second all-girl finale in a row, showed classy, polished and, for the most part, extremely wearable collections at the couture extravaganza in NYC.
And for the spoiler-avoiders among us, it seemed like anyone's game.
Update
Ellen: Oprah Will Always Be the Queen of Daytime TV
It's not a death, but it will be a loss.
The accolades are pouring in already for Oprah Winfrey, who's planning to talk on the air tomorrow about her decision to end her syndicated daytime show in September 2011, following its 25th season.
Fellow Daytime Emmy winner Ellen DeGeneres, who a couple weeks ago had a special only-on-Oprah moment when she and wife Portia de Rossi shared their wedding video, took a moment today while taping her own show to laud her colleague's prolific career.
"Right before I came out here, I got a call from Oprah and she told me that she is announcing that next year will be her last year," DeGeneres told her studio audience.
"I don't think I could be here without her. I think she has blazed a trail...She is an amazing woman. She will always be the queen of daytime television?and she also said she is leaving me all of her money."
That got a big hoot from the audience.
Breaking News
Oprah Pulling the Plug on Oprah
Hard to imagine a world without The Oprah Winfrey Show on weekday afternoons.
But that's exactly what the world's going to be like after Sept. 9, 2011, which will mark the end of Winfrey's 25th season as host of her eponymous daytime talk show—and her last show altogether.
We can just hear the Rolodexes twirling as the folks at Harpo Productions start lining up celebrities to tape "goodbye, Oprah" messages.
"Yes, it's true that she will be ending her show in September 2011," a rep for Harpo tells E! News. "She will be speaking about it on tomorrow's live show."
Where will the big shots share, cry and couch-jump now? How will mere mortals get free cars?!








