“Edison Chen in 1st movie since sex photo scandal - Denver Post” plus 4 more

Edison Chen in 1st movie since sex photo scandal - Denver Post
Crowd floods theater to see absurd thriller 'Zombieland' - Daily Texan Online
Accused Kirsten Dunst Thief Convicted Of Trespassing - Starpulse.com
BOX OFFICE: ‘Zombieland' feasts on competition - La Crosse Tribune
Senate leader says budget cuts likely - Times-Republican

Edison Chen in 1st movie since sex photo scandal - Denver Post

Posted: 05 Oct 2009 12:18 AM PDT

HONG KONG—Edison Chen will appear in his first movie since his career was derailed by a sex photo scandal more than a year ago.

The 28-year-old Chinese-Canadian actor-singer will feature in the English-language comedy, "Almost Perfect," which stars Kelly Hu, according to the Web site of New York-based production company Slew Pictures.

Slew Pictures founder Bertha Bay-Sa Pan is directing the movie, the story of an Asian woman who juggles the competing needs of her new boyfriend and her immediate family. Pan made the 2002 drama, "Face," starring Bai Ling.

It was not clear when the movie would be released. Slew Pictures' publicists did not immediately respond to an e-mail Monday seeking further details about the movie, and Chen's managers didn't return a call.

Photos that were leaked onto the Internet early last year showed Chen performing sex acts separately with eight female Hong Kong stars. The photos caused an uproar and forced the stars to suspend their careers.

A Hong Kong computer technician was sentenced to 8 1/2 months in jail in May for copying the photos from Chen's laptop.

Chen appeared in the 2002 hit Hong Kong police thriller, "Infernal Affairs," and in the 2006 horror movie, "The Grudge 2." He also had a cameo in the Hollywood blockbuster, "The Dark Knight," released last year.

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Crowd floods theater to see absurd thriller 'Zombieland' - Daily Texan Online

Posted: 05 Oct 2009 02:12 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES — The undead were alive and well at movie theaters as Woody Harrelson's horror comedy "Zombieland" opened on top with $25 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Yet the general box office was less lively as a flurry of new wide releases did solid to ho-hum business. Overall Hollywood revenues came in at $113.4 million, down 4 percent from the same weekend last year.

Sony scored a one-two punch with "Zombieland" and the animated family tale "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," which took in $16.7 million, slipping to second-place after two weekends at No. 1. The movie raised its domestic total to $82.4 million after three weekends.

Mixing gory action with laughs, "Zombieland" teams Harrelson with Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone as a band of humans fighting legions of undead — and taking a road trip to a supposedly zombie-free amusement park.

"What really clicked was the humor of it," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "Truly, there were points in this movie that were so funny, I thought I was going to throw up. I'm serious. It really is a blast."

Taking a big bite of the family audience with $12.5 million was a double-feature reissue of Disney's "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" in 3-D, which came in at No. 3. Playing for a limited two-week run, the double-feature sets the stage for the release of "Toy Story 3" in 3-D next year.

The Warner Bros. comedy "The Invention of Lying," with Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner, had a soft opening of $7.4 million, finishing at No. 4. Taking place in an alternate reality where everyone tells the truth, the movie stars co-director and co-writer Gervais, who plays a man that discovers how to profit by fibbing.

Fox Searchlight's roller-derby tale "Whip It" — featuring Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis and Drew Barrymore, who also directed — made a weak debut at No. 6 with $4.85 million. The movie casts "Juno" star Page as a beauty-pageant queen who shifts gears to become a roller-derby star.

Female crowds accounted for 70 percent of the audience for "Whip It," according to Fox Searchlight parent 20th Century Fox. Critics gave the movie high marks, so the studio is hoping it has a longer shelf life than its opening weekend indicates.

"Like the story, the movie's an underdog, and we think audiences are going to continue to discover it," said Fox distribution executive Chris Aronson.

Tied for sixth-place with $4.85 million was Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story," which expanded nationwide after a week in limited release. The Overture Films documentary, Moore's exploration of the roots of the economic meltdown, raised its total to $5.3 million.

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Accused Kirsten Dunst Thief Convicted Of Trespassing - Starpulse.com

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 05:27 AM PDT

A man accused of stealing from Kirsten Dunst has been convicted of trespassing - but faces a possible retrial for burglary.

James Jimenez allegedly joined Jarrod Beinerman in stealing a designer purse and $2,000 cash from Dunst's New York hotel room in 2007 while she was filming the comedy How To Lose Friends And Alienate People.

Jimenez took the stand last month to tell the court he believed he was tagging along on an errand as Beinerman collected the bag for a pal's sick mother.

He was convicted of trespassing on Friday but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the burglary charge.

He is currently free on $50,000 bail until sentencing on November 13. A decision on whether to retry Jimenez for burglary is yet to be announced.

Beinerman, 34, was sentenced to four and a half years in jail last September after confessing to illegally entering the suite and taking Dunst's belongings, as well as an iPod and a digital camera belonging to her co-star Simon Pegg.

Both actors were at the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York City last month to testify against Jimenez.

See more photos of Kirsten Dunst here!

Image © PR Photos

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

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BOX OFFICE: ‘Zombieland' feasts on competition - La Crosse Tribune

Posted: 04 Oct 2009 10:16 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The undead were alive and well at movie theaters as Woody Harrelson's horror comedy "Zombieland" opened on top with $25 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Mixing gory action with laughs, "Zombieland" teams Harrelson with Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone as a band of humans fighting legions of undead - and taking a road trip to a supposedly zombie-free amusement park.

Fox Searchlight's roller-derby tale "Whip It" - featuring Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis and Drew Barrymore, who also directed - made a weak debut at No. 6 with $4.85 million. The movie casts "Juno" star Page as a beauty-pageant queen who shifts gears to become a roller-derby star.

Female crowds accounted for 70 percent of the audience for "Whip It," according to Fox Searchlight parent 20th Century Fox. Audiences and critics gave the movie high marks, so the studio is hoping it has a longer shelf life than its opening weekend would indicate.

"Like the story, the movie's an underdog, and we think audiences are going to continue to discover it," said Fox distribution executive Chris Aronson.

"Capitalism" played in just 962 theaters, compared to 3,036 for "Zombieland" and about 1,700 cinemas each for "Invention of Lying," "Whip It" and the "Toy Story" movies.

This was Moore's second-best nationwide debut, behind his 2004 sensation "Fahrenheit 9/11," which had a $23.9 million opening weekend.

Overture is counting on "Capitalism" to stick around for an extended box-office run, as did "Fahrenheit 9/11" and other Moore hits such as "Sicko" and "Bowling for Columbine."

"Where most movies are a two-week story, Michael's movies play for a long time," said Kyle Davies, Overture head of distribution.

In limited release, Joel and Ethan Coen's comic drama "A Serious Man" had a big opening with $251,510 in six theaters, averaging a whopping $41,918 per cinema. That compares to an $8,235 average in 3,036 theaters for "Zombieland."

Released by Focus Features, "A Serious Man" follows the domestic and professional troubles of a physics professor in a 1960s Midwest Jewish community.

Lionsgate's basketball documentary "More Than a Game" - which explores the high school years of NBA star LeBron James - opened solidly with $196,681 in 14 theaters, averaging $14,049 a cinema.

Paramount Pictures' fright flick "Paranormal Activity" continued to do strong business, taking in $535,000 from midnight-only screenings in 33 cities. The studio plans to expand the movie to all-hours show times on Friday.

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Senate leader says budget cuts likely - Times-Republican

Posted: 03 Oct 2009 09:13 PM PDT

Senate leader says budget cuts likely

By MIKE GLOVER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOHNSTON - Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said Friday it's ''highly likely'' Gov. Chet Culver will be forced to issue across-the-board spending cuts this month to wipe out looming budget deficits.

Gronstal's comments followed legislative fiscal experts' report that state revenues for the first quarter of this year ran $140 million less than last year. Next week, a separate panel will meet to issue official projections about state tax collections.

It's widely anticipated that report will show the state's budget in the red, and Culver's only options are to order across-the-board spending cuts or call lawmakers into a special session to deal with the budget.

Gronstal said across-the-board cuts were far more likely.

''I think it's highly likely that in this month of October you will see some action in that area,'' said Gronstal, speaking during a taping of the Iowa Public Television program, ''Iowa Press.''

Gronstal declined to say how much he thinks Culver will have to cut, saying he'll wait for the Revenue Estimating Conference to issue its report Wednesday.

However, Gronstal recommended Culver think big.

''My recommendation would be to make a larger cut and then if things turn out to be better than expected, we can make adjustments in the next session of the legislature,'' he said.

Culver spokesman Phil Roeder said the governor could move fast after receiving next week's revenue estimate.

Republicans urged Culver to summon lawmakers back into special session to make selective spending cuts.

''I think across-the-board cuts are the dumb and lazy way to do it,'' said Rep. Christopher Rants, a Sioux City Republican seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Rants said 60 percent of the state's budget goes to education, with local schools financed with a mix of state money and local property taxes. If the state cut spending, schools could make up the loss by raising property taxes, he said.

He said Culver must cut at least $300 million in state spending, and with the state budget at roughly $6 billion that would be a 5 percent reduction.

House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, blamed the shortfall on big spending by Democrats, who hold majorities in both legislative chambers.

''We absolutely need to go in and reduce spending,'' Paulsen said.

Gronstal rejected the big-spending argument, saying the state is simply suffering from the national recession.

''Things do not look like they are getting better,'' he said. ''It's going to take us a while to get out of this.''