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01/29/12--07:40: 'The Artist' Director Michel Hazanavicius Earns Top DGA Honors (chan 1768130)

The 84th annual Academy Awards don't happen for another four weeks, but you can start writing down "The Artist" and Michel Hazanavicius in pen on your printable ballot. At the Directors Guild of America awards on Saturday night, Hazanavicius was named best director of the year, meaning should probably get a speech ready for Feb. 26. The DGA award winner has also won Best Director 58 times in the 64 years that the award has existed. Those nearly insurmountable odds mean Hazanavicius should have a fairly easy time defeating Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Alexander Payne and Terrence Malick at the Academy Awards; the last time the DGA and Oscars disagreed was 2002 when Rob Marshall won the DGA award for "Chicago," but Roman Polanski took home the Oscar for "The Pianist." This is the second huge win for "The Artist" in as many weeks; the film took home the Producers Guild award for Best Feature, a nominal Best Picture precursor. Should the film also win Best Ensemble at the SAG awards on Sunday night, it will have likely locked up Best Picture; even if it doesn't, "The Artist" has likely already locked up Best Picture, thanks to the strong support it has received throughout awards season. [via Variety]


01/29/12--09:17: Katherine Heigl: In Defense Of Her Supposedly Dying Career (chan 1768130)

What does Hollywood think of Katherine Heigl? "She's not on any lists at all," one anonymous "top talent agent" said to Vulture recently. "She's on a respirator. She's not the girl anymore." As Vulture points out, studio executives think Heigl is less bankable than such contemporary leading ladies as Emma Stone, Amanda Seyfried, Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst. Except maybe they're wrong? At least you could make that argument following the surprisingly decent box-office returns for "One For the Money," a bomb-in-waiting that Lionsgate rescheduled twice before Heigl opened it to around $11.75 million this weekend. Not bad! Especially considering the unanimous negative reviews and overall apathy about the project. Of course, there are caveats to the non-failure of "One For the Money": Lionsgate paired with Groupon to offer discount tickets for the film, something the studio did because of sagging pre-release tracking figures among Heigl's core constituency -- women age 25-to-35, who fall into the sweet spot of Groupon users. (It's also based on the beloved and popular Janet Evanovich book series about Stephanie Plum.) That said: does anyone think Seyfried, Kunis, Dunst, Johansson or Stewart could have actually done better with something as flaccid-looking as this dud? The answer you're looking for is no; none of those actresses has ever led a movie by themselves to an opening as "lofty" as nearly $12 million. Which makes you wonder why some people in Hollywood hate Heigl. You know why the Internet hates Heigl -- she's outspoken, prickly, annoying, ridiculous and filled with crazy hubris; she also mommy blogs -- but making movies is a business that thrives on results and "what have you done lately," not making friends. In the case of Heigl, what she's done lately is take seeming direct-to-DVD dogs and turn them into something that resembles mediocrity. That's a backhanded compliment, true, but it's also kinda impressive. Can you even believe that "Killers" grossed $47 million? Or that "Life As We Know It" topped $53 million? Do you know one person who saw either of those? Do yo know one person who saw "One For the Money"? Heigl has consistently performed as a leading lady. Take out "Knocked Up" -- her biggest hit and a movie that was sold on Seth Rogen's stupid face -- and her grosses since 2007 are as follows: $76.8 million ("27 Dresses"), $88.9 million ("The Ugly Truth"), $47 million ("Killers"), $53 million ("Life As We Know It"). Toss in $54 million for "New Year's Eve," a disappointment that can't be blamed on Heigl since it featured 17 other famous people, and that's a solid run. You know what you're going to get from Heigl, and in a world of dwindling stars and dwindling grosses, that steadiness is not something that should be tossed asunder. If Heigl does have a problem, it's her eye for material. For lack of a better term, she's blind. With the exception of "27 Dresses," the run of movies Heigl has made since her "Knocked Up" breakout have been variations on bad to worse to ZOMG-AWFUL. "It's funny, because the question we were asking ourselves last night is, 'Does she have really bad management, or just terrible taste?'" said another anonymous person to Vulture, this one a public-relations maven. "[P]art of the problem seems to that she seems to have become incredibly complacent with her choices: She's out there promoting crap, and people are not respecting that." Even if they are still paying to see it. Still, Heigl needs to find better material. Which is maybe not what the anti-Heigl cabal of bloggers, jilted publicists and agents want. If she could open something like "One For the Money" to $12 million, imagine what she'd be able to do with a movie that's actually good and/or actually focuses on her chillier attributes. She's the bad guy, after all. Put her in a new millennium-take on "My Best Friend's Wedding" and watch the receipts pile up.


01/29/12--12:44: Weekend Box Office: 'The Grey' Freezes Out 'One For The Money' And 'Man On A Ledge' (chan 1768130)

Liam Neeson had to fight off more than just Arctic wolves this weekend; he also had to face the fearsome power of online group discounts. Nonetheless, Neeson's new chilly thriller, "The Grey," managed to debut atop the box office chart and earn as much as the next two new releases combined. Not too shabby, considering that both "One for the Money" and "Man on a Ledge" offered viewers discounted tickets through Groupon and Living Social, respectively. Neeson has become a bankable action star lately ("Taken," "Unknown"), despite his rapidly approaching 60th birthday. Nonetheless, expecations for "The Grey" were modest (in the $14 to $18 million range), thanks to its R rating and its rookie distributor (Open Road, whose only previous film was last fall's underwhelming "Killer Elite"). Still, reviews were generally good, which means a lot to the older audiences that have made Neeson's recent bonecrunchers into hits. So the movie outperformed expectations and scared up an estimated $20.0 million. For the third consecutive winter, Neeson seems to own the frozen wasteland that is January and February moviegoing. Last week's winner, "Underworld Awakening," slipped to second place with an estimated take of $12.5 million. That's a 51 percent drop from last week's business, which is not unusual for a big action blockbuster. Considering how thoroughly saturated the action market is this weekend (7 of the top 10 movies and 10 of the top 20 movies qualify), "Underworld" is actually holding up pretty well. Its total to date comes to $45.1 million. Opening in third place, "One for the Money" debuted with an estimated $11.8 million, at the upper end of the $9 to $12 million range of pundits' predictions. Despite being based on a popular series of Janet Evanovich crime novels, expectations were modest, since the movie featured Katherine Heigl (a waning box office draw) stretching beyond romantic comedy, and since the film wasn't screened for critics (never a good sign). The Groupon experiment may have helped, however. Discounted tickets were offered for $6, which Groupon misleadingly touted as a 60 percent savings (only true if your tickets usually cost $15; the national average is about $8). It's not clear how many people bought the tickets -- the online coupon site indicated only that it sold more than 100,000 of them, which is pretty good. The first time Groupon tried this gambit, with last year's "The Lincoln Lawyer," it sold 200,000 tickets, but it wasn't competing against a similar simultaneous promotion involving another online coupon site selling discounted tickets. LIke "Underworld," "Red Tails" lost about half (45 percent) of its first-week business, sliding two slots to fourth place with an estimated $10.4 million. Still, George Lucas's World War II aerial adventure has very strong word-of-mouth, so it could show some staying presence amid the current surplus of action movies. So far, it's earned $33.8 million. Premiering at No. 5, crime drama "Man on a Ledge" opened with an estimated $8.3 million, which is about in the middle of the range of pre-weekend expectations ($7 to $10 million). Despite his starring roles in such hits as "Avatar," "Terminator Salvation," and "Clash of the Titans," Sam Worthington is not considered a box office draw (really, did you buy a ticket for any of those films because he was in them?). The Living Social promotion may have helped, but not much; the site says it sold just under 12,000 tickets. (Like Groupon, Living Social claimed the $6 discount price was saving you a lot of money, 54 percent, which is true only if your tickets usually cost $13.) Several movies sought to take advantage of the so-called Oscar bounce from Tuesday's Academy Award nominations. "The Descendants," which has been in theaters for nearly three months, expanded from 560 theaters to 2,001 and saw business boosted 176 percent from last week, to an estimated $6.6 million, good for seventh place. Fellow Best Picture nominee "The Artist" added 235 theaters (for a total of 897) and saw business rise 40 percent, to an estimated $3.3 million, finishing at No. 12 for the weekend. "The Iron Lady" added 168 venues (for a total of 1,244), but it lost business (13 percent) and finished at No. 14 with an estimated $3.2 million. At No. 16, "Hugo" added 315 screens (for a total of 965) and was rewarded with a 143 percent boost to $2.3 million. And "Albert Nobbs" opened on 245 screens and grossed an estimated $773,000, for a modest average of $3,155 per screen. For the fourth straight weekend, box office is well above what it was this time a year ago. January box office stands at an estimated $812.3 million, up 13 percent over last January's $718.4 million.
The full top 10: 1. "The Grey," $20.0 million (3,185 screens), new release 2. "Underworld Awakening," $12.5 million (3.078), $45.1 million total 3. "One for the Money," $11.8 million (2,737), new release 4. "Red Tails," $10.4 million (2,573), $33.8 million 5. "Man on a Ledge," $8.3 million (2,998), new release 6. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," $7.1 million (2,630), $21.1 million 7. "The Descendants," $6.6 million (2,001), $58.8 million 8. "Contraband," $6.5 million (2,650), $56.4 million total 9. "Beauty and the Beast," $5.3 million (2,145), $41.1 million 10. "Haywire," $4.0 million (2,441), $15.3 million


01/29/12--17:01: Screen Actors Guild Red Carpet: Michelle Williams, Brad Pitt, George Clooney (PHOTOS) (chan 1768130)

Another awards ceremony, another excuse for your favorite movie and television stars to dress up in their Sunday best! The 18th annual Screen Actors Guild awards are happening at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and George Clooney, Michelle Williams, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep and more were on the red carpet. Wanna see how great they all looked? Of course you do! Launch the gallery below and enjoy! PHOTOS:


01/29/12--17:24: Screen Actors Guild Award Winners 2012: 'The Help,' Viola Davis, Jean Dujardin (chan 1768130)

Actors love other honoring actors, which is why the Screen Actors Guild Awards exist. Well, that and as yet another precursor to the Academy Awards. Who took home the actor trophies at the 18th annual SAG Awards -- and thus moved one step closer to Oscar gold? Find out below. Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture: "The Help" Male Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist" Female Actor in a Leading Role: Viola Davis, "The Help" Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners" Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, "The Help" Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series: "Boardwalk Empire" Male Actor in a Drama Series: Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire" Female Actor in a Drama Series: Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story" Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series: "Modern Family" Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Betty White, "Hot in Cleveland" Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Paul Giamatti, "Too Big to Fail" Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Kate Winslet, "Mildred Pierce" Stunt Ensemble, Motion Picture: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" Stunt Ensemble, Television Series: "Game of Thrones" Lifetime Achievement Award: Mary Tyler Moore