OTG Daily News

WASHINGTON, December 26, 2011 — For many department stores, today marks a kind of “Black Monday” as staffers gear up for the inevitable onslaught of Christmas gift returns. But for Hollywood, the entire month of December 2011 has been a kind of black hole into which year-end releases fall while rapidly losing escape velocity. Aside from the Tom Cruise thriller, “Mission Impossible—Ghost Protocol,” which topped this weekend’s box office numbers at the number 1 spot with $26.5M in domestic receipts (first-weekend full release), most of the remaining holiday-release films on the docket failed to win much traction. (UPDATE: Today, Reuters updated figures for the four-day weekend MI take to an even more impressive $46.2M.) The Cruise action flick gained a near-perfect score from the online reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes where it's described as “Stylish, fast-paced, and loaded with gripping set pieces,” further noting that it is “big-budget popcorn entertainment that really works.” ...

Jennifer Hudson has revealed she turned down the title role in " Precious " because she didn't want to pack on weight to play the abused single mom. Fresh off her Oscars victory in " Dreamgirls ," director Lee Daniels approached the singer/actress and asked her to consider playing Precious -- but she wasn't interested. In her new memoir "I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down," Hudson writes, "As much as I was moved by this film, I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight." Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe eventually won the role as Precious, while Hudson became a weight loss icon and WeightWatchers spokesperson.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Silent film is taking over Hollywood's awards scene. The silent-era tale " The Artist " heads the Golden Globes with six nominations, among them Best Comedy or Musical and acting honors for its French stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. Tied for second-place in Thursday's nominations are the 1960s racial tale " The Help " and George Clooney's Hawaiian family story " The Descendants ." Both films are up for Best Drama, while Clooney was nominated for Best Dramatic Actor and "The Help" earned acting slots for Viola Davis , Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. Also competing for Best Drama: Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure " Hugo "; Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March"; Brad Pitt's baseball chronicle " Moneyball "; and Steven Spielberg's World War I epic " War Horse ." Joining "The Artist" in the Best Musical or Co...

Barbara Walters made an unprecedented choice for her No. 1 Most Fascinating Person of 2011. Walters' coveted title went to Steve Jobs. This was the first time that the honor was given to someone no longer living. The Apple co-founder passed away in October after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56. Walters explained that the choice to honor Jobs was made before his death when he announced his retirement as CEO of the company he helped build. After his death, the choice remained because, as Walters simply stated, "Rules were meant to be broken." Other notable names to make the annual list include the Kardashians, Herman Cain, Donald Trump and Pippa Middleton. ET

" Think Like a Man " gets its first trailer available for viewing pleasure. A courtesy of Yahoo! Movies , the promo video centers on a group of men who have a problem in the way they treat their girlfriends. It additionally shows a funny scene where R&B star Chris Brown is in bed with Meagan Good before he tiptoes out and steals her coffee when she goes into the bathroom. The comedy film follows four men who have their love lives turned upside down as their ladies begin to take advice from Steve Harvey's best-selling book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man". As those guys find out about that, they decide to turn the tables on their girlfriends and take matters into their own hands. Directed by Tim Story, "Think Like a Man" is set to open wide in U.S. theaters on March 9, 2012. Joining Breezy and Meagan in the cast ensemble are Kevin Hart , Kelly Rowland , Taraji P. Henson , Michael Ealy , LaLa Vazquez and Arielle Kebbel . aceshowbiz

Recently, there has been some talk in Hollywood about a possible new Friday movie being in the works. In a statement to TMZ , Ice Cube's Cube Vision production company confirmed they are working on the 4th installment of the movie: “Absolutely yes the studio is in the process of getting the entire original cast to do another 'Friday.'" The statement continues, "[Ice Cube] is very excited about this and has every intention to make it happen.” TMZ has previously spoken with Tiny Lister who plays Deebo and John Witherspoon who plays Ice Cube's father, Willie Jones, and they are also down to do the fourth Friday movie. Lets just hope that this new movie gets done quickly. I wonder if they will get Ezal in the movie too? vibe

Stereogum One of the real joys on " Late Night With Jimmy Fallon " has been the Roots ' choices of jokey, thematically appropriate walk-in songs for Fallon's various celebrity guests: "Da Butt" for Serena Williams, "Hi Hater" for Bill Hader, that sort of thing. According to bandleader Questlove himself, the only song choice Fallon ever vetoed was "She Blinded Me With Science" for Katie Holmes. But after the band played Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann on with a cover of Fishbone's "Lyin' Ass B**ch," all that may change. Though the song choice was intended to be something of an easter-egg inside joke (they didn't sing the lyrics or anything), news of it leaked out, as news does. Pretty soon, Bachmann was on Fox News complaining of misogyny, and NBC was apologizing. And now, the New York Post shares a Rolling Stone report that Questlove will now have to share his song choices with three differ...

If you weren't feeling the L.A. Basketball Wives, too bad. Because they've officially been granted a season 2. The insider reports: "VH1 will be producing a new season of their successful show, and apparently all that reality-show drama wasn't enough to scare Jackie Christie away because we're also told the season's most talked about wife, will be returning. Jackie will have a full plate in 2012 as she prepares to release her new book aimed couples, and how to focus on intimacy. We're also told she just shot a pilot for BET." Theybf

TheWrap Anthony Borgese , a character actor best known for playing criminal roles in " Goodfellas " and " The Sopranos ," has been sentenced to six months of house arrest for his role in arranging for a mob beating. Borgese, who also goes by the stage name Tony Darrow, also will receive two years' probation, Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Brooklyn Federal Court, confirmed to TheWrap. The 72-year-old Borgese faced up to three years in jail after pleading guilty to enlisting a Gambino crime family associate to collect a $5,000 debt for him. The victim of the collection attempt had his jaw and his ribs broken. Borgese's sentence was mitigated after the actor agreed to speak to youth groups about the dangers of mob life and filmed a public service announcement. In addition to his work as lounge owner Sonny Bunz in "Goodfellas" and a recurring role as crime family captain "Larry Boy" Barese in "The Sopranos," Borgese also...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Welcome to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Guns N' Roses . The seminal rock band of the late 1980s and early '90s, best known for hits like "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain," leads the 2012 class of inductees announced on Wednesday. Also making the cut is the hip-hop trio Beastie Boys ; rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers ; the late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro ; Donovan ; and influential British rock group The Small Faces/The Faces, which included Rod Stewart and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. Nyro, who wrote such hits as the 5th Dimension's "Wedding Bell Blues" and Blood Sweat & Tears' "When I Die," is the only female act to make it this time around. The hall passed on Donna Summer , Joan Jett and the Blackhearts , Heart and Rufus with Chaka Khan , who were on the ballot for 2012. But it wasn't just women who were denied entry into the rock hall fo...

Beyoncé has lost the latest round in her legal battle with a video game company. The pop star was hit with a lawsuit in April from Gate Five, alleging she inadvertently put a staff of 70 people out of work after "abruptly abandoning" her project with the company. Gate Five owners claim they were preparing to release a game called "Starpower: Beyoncé," but it fell through when she walked away from the deal last year. On Tuesday, lawyers for the singer applied to have the case thrown out at Manhattan Supreme Court in New York, but Judge Charles Ramos rejected the request and ruled Gate Five can go ahead with the lawsuit. WENN

" Batman Begins " star Christian Bale is hanging up his cape for good -- his upcoming superhero movie will be his last. The actor took on the role for the first time in 2005's "Batman Begins," before returning to the part for the acclaimed "The Dark Knight" in 2008, which pulled in more than $1 billion at the global box office. Bale has donned the Caped Crusader's cowl for a third time in director Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated "The Dark Knight Rises," which will see him fight both Bane and Catwoman, played by Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway, respectively. But Bale star insists the next installment will be the last time fans see him play Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego. He tells the Philippine Daily Inquirer, "I wrapped (filming) a few days ago so that will be the last time I'm taking that cowl off. "I believe the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it's all done. Everything's finished. It's me ...

A recording school created by rapper Nelly’s in his hometown of St. Louis is finally scheduled to open next week. Vatterott College Ex’treme Institute by Nelly-St. Louis is set to begin classes on Nov. 28, according to Allhiphop.com . The 9,000 square-foot facility, located at Laclede’s Landing in downtown St. Louis, houses a recording studio, a music engineering space, and a design studio. Students enrolled in the program create album covers, recordings and other merchandise and music related material. The school seeks those who wish to become professionals in a variety of sectors in the music business. “Working with Nelly and his team has been an exciting opportunity for us at Vatterott College,” said Pam Bell, Chief Executive Officer and President of Vatterott Educational Centers, Inc. “Nelly has shown such commitment to the people of St. Louis and is taking great steps in training the next generation of music producers. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with one of St....

(Reuters) - Legendary musician Jimi Hendrix was named the greatest guitar player in history on Wednesday by Rolling Stone magazine in a list compiled by a panel of music experts and topguitar players. "Jimi Hendrix exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage," said Grammy-winning guitarist Tom Morello in the magazine, citing Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" as key tracks. Hendrix is joined by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend among the top 10, in a list laden with rock 'n' roll icons spanning decades. The panel of experts recruited to vote for their favorite guitar players included musicians such as Lenny Kravitz, Eddie Van Halen(who was voted No. 8), Brian May and Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys, along with a selection of Rolling Stone's senior writers and editors. The experts also weighed ...

Two actors who made names for themselves playing ‘doctor’ in a popular TV series called ER, George Clooney and Noah Wyle are battling it out to play Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic by Sony Pictures. I reported a while back that Sony was interested in seeing a script from Aaron Sorkin , the guy who made the screenplay for “The Social Network”. Whether or not Sorkin will be writing the film adaptation of Walter Isaacson’s biography of the Apple co-founder, it is now being reported that two actors from ER are being courted to play the role of Steve Jobs - George Clooney and Noah Wyle. I can see why Clooney would make a good choice for the old Steve Jobs - the man is charismatic and intelligent-looking, he has the appropriate grey hair and he plays with passion, especially when it comes to robbing banks. Wyle, on the other hand, actually portrayed Jobs once in a 1999 made-for-television film directed by Martyn Burke and based on the book “Fire in the Valley: The Making of The P...

A big screen adaptation of the iconic 1970's TV show " The Six Million Dollar Man " is reportedly being in the works. The Weinstein Co. is closing a deal with Universal Pictures to develop the project with " Valkyrie " helmer Bryan Singer being lined up to direct. According to Latino Review, Singer is eyeing Leonardo DiCaprio to tackle the lead role. DiCaprio is expected to play bionic man Steve Austin, a character that was made famous by Lee Majors in the original television series . However, it is said that he would not seal any deal before he read the screenplay, which will be written by Christopher McQuarrie. The " Inception " actor is currently filming Baz Luhrmann's high-profile film project " The Great Gatsby ", which also stars Tobey Maguire , Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton . His upcoming project includes " Django Unchained , which will open in the U.S. on December 25, 2012, the same day when "Great Gatsby"...

Three more musical guests have been announced for the upcoming "Grammy Nominations Concert Live". They are four-time Grammy winner Rihanna , seven-time Grammy winner Usher , and country music sensation The Band Perry . The three acts are set to take the stage at the one-hour special on November 30 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Joining them in the performer line-up are previously-announced Jason Aldean , Lady GaGa , Ludacris , Lupe Fiasco and Sugarland . This year marks the fourth time Grammy nominations are announced live on primetime television . Two-time Grammy winner LL Cool J , who has previously hosted the event for two years in a row, has been chosen to do the honor once again. In addition to unveiling nominations for the 54th Grammys, the special telecast will feature a special live announcement from an iconic group regarding their historic band reunion set to take place on the main event of 2012 Grammy Awards on February 12, 2012. aceshowbiz

Bosses behind Michael Jackson 's estate are in talks to transform the late superstar's extraordinary life into a big screen blockbuster. John Branca, the executor of the King of Pop's estate, has started negotiations with Montecito Picture Company bosses Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock about possibly producing a biopic. The studio usually focuses on comedies, and has previously released " Road Trip ," " Old School " and " I Love You, Man ." Pollock confirms to Variety.com that talks have taken place. Jackson has hardly been out of the headlines since his tragic death in 2009. His personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for administering the fatal dose of anesthetic propofol last week. wenn

Rhythm-and-blues diva Patti LaBelle was accused Monday of screaming obscenities at a toddler and throwing a punch at the child's mother outside a Manhattan apartment house. Kevin and Roseanna Monk made the allegations about LaBelle's encounter with their daughter Genevieve in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. The Monks' lawyer, Sam Davis, said Genevieve, then 18 months old, was scampering around the lobby of a Riverside Blvd. apartment building on the upper West Side in November when LaBelle, in full star regalia with oversize shades and a fur coat, started yelling. PHOTOS: WHEN STARS ATTACK! "'What are you doing letting your kid run around like that?'" Davis quoted LaBelle as asking Roseanna Monk. He said LaBelle, a mother of five whose real name is Patricia Louise Holte, then started "screaming at my client, throwing water from a bottle at the mother's face and the baby's face." Davis said Monk, a kindergarten teac...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The gods of ancient Greece have extended their rule to the weekend box office with a No. 1 debut for the action tale "Immortals." The story of Greek hero Theseus took in $32 million domestically, while Adam Sandler's comedy "Jack and Jill" opened at No. 2 with $26 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The new movies bumped the animated hit "Puss in Boots" to the No. 3 spot after two weekends at the top. "Puss in Boots" earned $25.5 million, raising its domestic total to $108.8 million. Director Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar," a film biography starringLeonardo DiCaprio as longtime FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover, played in narrower release and opened at No. 5 with $11.5 million. Released by Relativity Media, "Immortals" stars Henry Cavill andFreida Pinto in a tale of human heroes battling an evil king (Mickey Rourke) who aims to bring down the Olympian gods. With males making up 60 percent of...