Entertainment News December 7 - TOP 3 Stories for Friday
DECEMBER WILDsound Film and Screenplay Festival
Be a part of the only festival in the world where the AUDIENCE is the main character of the night. After the films and scripts are showcased, a full Q&A Moderation is presented lead by our Guest Industry Moderator. This is the viewers chance to state their opinions on what they felt about the movie and screenplay and for the artist to get feedback on their work
Kanye West received eight nominations Thursday for the 50th annual Grammy Awards, leading a varied and surprise-filled pack.
Amy Winehouse, the troubled Brit soul singer whose life has become tabloid fodder, received six mentions, four of which are in the top general categories. Winehouse is the only performer represented in the album, record, song and new artist races. She is also up for female pop vocal performance and pop vocal album.
Nominations in the top four categories are spread across a fairly broad spectrum and dominated by no specific genre. The album category brings Winehouse together with a jazz master (Herbie Hancock's "River: The Joni Letters"), a mid-level country star (Vince Gill's "These Days") and the guiding lights of hip-hop (West's "Graduation") and modern rock (Foo Fighters' "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace"). WILL 'GOLDEN COMPASS' FIND AUDIENCES?
Hoping to chart a new film franchise, New Line opens "The Golden Compass" in 3,528 theaters this weekend. Fantasy epic is the only wide release of the frame, leaving elbow room for Disney's princess tale "Enchanted" and other holdovers.
Meanwhile, on the limited side of the biz, at least 13 pics will enter the fray, including Focus Features period piece "Atonement" and the Weinstein Co.'s "Grace Is Gone." Weekend is also the first for Fox Searchlight's quirky comedy "Juno," which bowed Wednesday. "Compass," directed by Chris Weitz and based on Brit author Philip Pullman's young adult book trilogy "His Dark Materials," stars Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.
New Line is positioning the film as a worldwide event. "Compass" should easily win the weekend at the overseas box office as it goes day-and-date in 27 markets. Pic opened respectably on Wednesday with $4.3 million in nine territories, led by $1.9 million from 502 sites in the U.K.
"Compass" cost $180 million to produce, according to the studio.
At that pricetag, a domestic debut of under $30 million could be problematic for New Line. Studio said tracking suggests the film could open at $30 million-$40 million, although some box office observers put it lower.
