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(06/30/03 12:42am)
LOS ANGELES -- The "angels" have lost a little of their kick, but they can still pulverize the opposition, even if he's big and green.\n"Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" debuted with $38 million, off $2.1 million from the opening numbers the first movie put up in November 2000, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nThe previous weekend's No. 1 movie, "Hulk," fell to second place, free-falling 70 percent from its $62.1 million opening. "Hulk" took in $18.4 million to squeak past the $100 million mark after 10 days in theaters.\n"Finding Nemo" held up well in third place with $13.9 million. With $253.9 million in the bank, the animated adventure is on track to pass "The Matrix Reloaded" as the year's top-grossing movie.\nThe British fright flick "28 Days Later" lacked the huge advertising blitz of "Charlie's Angels" and "Hulk," but managed to take fourth place with an unexpectedly strong $9.7 million while playing in barely a third as many theaters as the big-studio movies.\nOverall, Hollywood revenues fell for the third straight weekend. The top 12 movies grossed an estimated $111.3 million, off 15 percent from the same weekend last year.\nSummer revenues are virtually even with last year's, but domestic grosses for all of 2003 are down 3.5 percent from 2002, when the industry took in a record $9.32 billion, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.\n"There's a little malaise out there in the business," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released "Hulk." "Hopefully, in the next few weeks it'll pop up again."\nThis week brings two eagerly awaited sequels, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde," plus the animated family film "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas." All three open Wednesday to get a jump on the Fourth of July weekend.\nUniversal executives were disappointed with second-weekend numbers for "Hulk," though the movie still will turn a profit, Rocco said.\nAdapted from Marvel Comics' "The Incredible Hulk," the movie took a more dark and dramatic approach than other recent comic-book flicks. Reviews were mixed.\nSony, which released the "Charlie's Angels" movies, hopes strong weekday business will help the sequel catch up to the first movie, which had a total gross of $125.3 million, said studio vice chairman Jeff Blake.\nThe movie opened strongly in some overseas markets, including Japan, where its $6.2 million take was double that of the first one, Blake said.\nBoth "Angels" movies feature Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in an update of the 1970s TV detective series.\nFactoring in higher admission prices since 2000, "Full Throttle" sold roughly a million fewer tickets domestically than the first "Charlie's Angels."\nThe new movie also played more widely than the original "Charlie's Angels." The first opened in 3,037 cinemas, averaging $13,213 a theater, while "Full Throttle" debuted in 3,459 theaters for a $10,986 average.\nEstimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.\n1. "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," $38 million.\n2. "Hulk," $18.4 million.\n3. "Finding Nemo," $13.9 million.\n4. "28 Days Later," $9.7 million.\n5. "Bruce Almighty," $6.2 million.\n6. "2 Fast 2 Furious," $5.7 million.\n7. "The Italian Job," $5.4 million.\n8. "Rugrats Go Wild," $3.5 million.\n9. "Hollywood Homicide," $3 million.\n10. "Alex & Emma," $2.7 million.
(06/23/03 1:02am)
LOS ANGELES -- "The Hulk" was a monster at the box office in its debut weekend, with the comic-book adaptation taking in a June opening record of $62.6 million.\nThe action flick about a scientist turned into a raging green beast by a lab accident took over the top box-office spot from the animated fish tale "Finding Nemo," which slipped to second place with a weekend take of $20.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nThe weekend's other new wide releases opened quietly. Rob Reiner's romantic comedy "Alex & Emma," starring Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson, debuted at No. 7 with $6.2 million.\n"From Justin to Kelly," a romance starring "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini, opened at No. 11 with only $2.9 million.\n"The Hulk" had the highest gross ever for a June opening, surpassing the previous record of $54.9 million for "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." But taking today's higher admission prices into account, "Austin Powers" sold slightly more tickets in its opening weekend than "The Hulk."\n"The Hulk," starring Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly and Nick Nolte, was directed by Ang Lee, best known for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Many critics credited Lee with bringing a deeper sense of brooding character to the movie than other comic-book adaptations have had.\nDistributor Universal Studios said the opening-weekend audience was evenly split between people under and over 25, as the movie drew the young action-flick crowd as well as adults who remember the comic book and "Incredible Hulk" TV series.\nDespite the June record, revenue for "The Hulk" came in well below that of last month's Marvel Comics adaptation, "X2: X-Men United," which grossed $85.6 million in its opening weekend.\n"The Hulk" did exceed the numbers for the first "X-Men" movie, which opened with $54.5 million.\n"The Hulk" continues a string of comic-book successes. Last year, "Spider-Man" opened with a record $114.8 million debut weekend, while other hits include "Daredevil" and the "Blade" movies. Coming next year are a "Spider-Man" sequel and "The Punisher," also based on Marvel comics.\n"The comic-book genre seems to be one of the most consistent performers," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Audiences are pretty satisfied with what they're seeing, and they keep going back. I don't know if that'll last forever, but it emboldens the creative types at studios to keep making these"
(05/19/03 11:44pm)
LOS ANGELES -- Mutants preserved their power at the box office as "X2: X-Men United" remained the No. 1 movie, taking in $41.4 million in its second weekend.\nEddie Murphy's family comedy "Daddy Day Care," in which he plays an out-of-work father who starts a toddler-tending business, opened in second place with $27.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\n"X2," the sequel based on the comic book about genetic mutants with superpowers, lifted its 10-day total to $149 million after an opening weekend of $85.6 million, the fourth best of all-time.\nBy Wednesday, "X2" should pass the $157.3 million that "X-Men" took in during its entire run three years ago, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released both movies.\nThe improved box office indicates fans of the comic books drove the first film, while its exposure since then through home video and TV airings has broadened the franchise's appeal, Snyder said.\n"It's grown in stature, plus this one got the kind of reviews that drove more of an adult audience and a female audience to see it, people who might not normally go to see a comic-book-based story," Snyder said.\nThe overall box office was down, with the top 12 movies grossing $103 million, off 11 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Spider-Man" continued to dominate theaters.\nMurphy, whose early movie career was built on street-smart action comedies such as "Beverly Hills Cop" and "48 Hrs.", has bombed in his recent edgier flicks, including last year's "Showtime," I Spy" and "The Adventures of Pluto Nash."\nHis hits lately have come from family movies such as "The Nutty Professor," "Doctor Dolittle" and their sequels.\n"Eddie Murphy is Bill Cosby," said Tom Sherak, a partner in Revolution Studios, which produced "Daddy Day Care" for Sony. "People who grew up with the edgy Eddie Murphy, they're older now and parents, but they still want to see him. He's not that urban kid any more, he's a grown-up, a good father and family man, and he makes these movies that appeal to families."\nOpening "Daddy Day Care" over the family-friendly Mother's Day weekend helped, and the studio avoided big head-to-head competition by sandwiching it between the opening weekends of "X2" and the upcoming "The Matrix Reloaded," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.\n"The Matrix Reloaded," which debuts Thursday, is expected to top the $58 million opening weekend of "Hannibal," the record-holder for R-rated movies. But the higher rating could make it tough for "Matrix Reloaded" to match the opening of "X2," which is rated PG-13.
(05/05/03 5:00am)
LOS ANGELES -- The mutants of "X-Men" are stronger than ever, showing even more box office power than in their first outing.\nThe superhero sequel "X2: X-Men United" debuted with $85.85 million domestically, the fourth-best opening-weekend gross ever and a 58 percent increase over the $54.5 million first weekend of the original "X-Men" three years ago.\nOpening in second place was "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," starring Hilary Duff in a big-screen adaptation of her Disney Channel TV series about a young teen coping awkwardly with adolescence. With an audience of mostly young girls, the movie took in a healthy $17 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nReceipts for "X2" came in behind the record $114.8 million for "Spider-Man" over the same weekend last year. The first two "Harry Potter" movies had the second and third best openings, $90.3 million for "Sorcerer's Stone" and $88.4 million for "Chamber of Secrets."\nOverall, however, Hollywood revenues were down with the top 12 movies grossing $140.8 million, off 7.6 percent compared to the same weekend last year, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.\n"X2" drew about 14.3 million viewers, up 4.2 million from the opening weekend for "X-Men."\nThe studio also opened "X2" in a record 95 countries, with the movie taking in nearly $70 million overseas.\n"X2" reunites director Bryan Singer with his "X-Men" cast, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as mutants with superhuman abilities that include telepathy and shape-shifting.\nThe film's success continues a string of hits based on Marvel comic books, including "Spider-Man," "Daredevil" and "Blade II." Marvel's "The Hulk" opens next month.\nDancer Upstairs," opened solidly in 13 theaters with $105,300. The film, which expands to more theaters over the next three weekends, stars Javier Bardem as a Latin American policeman tracking a terrorist.
(05/02/03 4:47am)
LOS ANGELES -- Academy Awards overseers plan to write new rules to restrain Oscar campaigning, which has become more aggressive as distributors target the industry with ads and special events to plug their films.\nFrank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said Thursday the group's board is appointing a committee to draft new guidelines that should be in place well before awards season begins late this year.\nThe new rules might include harsher penalties for violations, Pierson said. The most common penalty now is to reduce a studio's allotment of tickets to the Oscar ceremony, which Pierson said amounts to a "slap on the wrist."\nCurrent academy rules are intended to minimize efforts to influence Oscar voters and maintain a level playing field between studios with big awards budgets and smaller distributors with less to spend during Oscar season.\nAcademy officials say those rules helped curtail excessive campaigning in the mid-1990s, when studios were showering voters with elaborately packaged sets containing videotapes of Oscar-contending films. Studios now are limited to sending academy members packaged tapes or DVDs containing only the movie, with no extra features.\nOver the last few years, though, campaigning has grown more competitive, with distributors sometimes spending millions of dollars to boost the awards prospects of a single film.\nFor example, current rules prohibit distributors from inviting academy members to receptions or other events to promote a film specifically for Oscar consideration. Distributors get around that by holding private parties and screenings as general industry events, to which academy members often are invited.\nBad blood arose this year as some studios complained that Miramax was trying to influence voters by suggesting Martin Scorsese deserved the best-director prize for "Gangs of New York" as a career award because he had never won an Oscar. Roman Polanski wound up winning for "The Pianist."\nLast year, Universal executives claimed rivals were secretly bad-mouthing the studio's "A Beautiful Mind," the eventual best-picture winner.\n"This sort of takes the fun out of the issue. This should be a celebration and a party, the whole Oscar thing, and when it begins to get nasty, it takes the edge off for all the participants," Pierson said.\nEven studios have told academy executives that campaigning has gotten out of hand, Pierson said.
(04/21/03 4:05am)
LOS ANGELES -- "Anger Management" kept its grip on the No. 1 spot at the box office for a second weekend.\nThe Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson comedy took in $25.6 million in ticket sales, giving it a 10-day total of $80.3 million.\nThat means it should hit $100 million by next weekend and does not face serious competition from new films until May 2, when "X2: X-Men United" opens, said Tom Sherak, a partner in Revolution Studios, which produced "Anger Management" for Sony.\nThe family flick "Holes," based on Louis Sachar's book about the adventures of juvenile delinquents forced to dig holes in a dry lake bed, debuted a strong second with $17.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\n"Holes," whose cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Patricia Arquette, had the strongest average among the top 10 films, at $7,336 in 2,331 theaters. "Anger Management" was next at $7,171 in 3,570 cinemas.\n"Malibu's Most Wanted," with Jamie Kennedy as a white rapper whose gangsta demeanor cramps his father's political ambitions, opened at No. 3 with $13.1 million. Chow Yun-Fat's martial-arts action comedy "Bulletproof Monk," about a Buddhist superhero charged with protecting a sacred scroll, debuted in fourth place with $8.6 million.\nIn narrower release, the comedy "Chasing Papi," about a ladies man with three women on the line, opened at No. 12 with $2.21 million.\n"A Mighty Wind," the latest "mockumentary" from director Christopher Guest ("Best in Show"), nearly equaled the gross for "Chasing Papi" while playing in fewer than a fourth as many theaters.\n"Mighty Wind," a spoof about a reunion concert of '60s folk groups, took in $2.2 million in just 133 theaters for an impressive $16,541 average, compared to a $3,778 average in 585 cinemas for "Chasing Papi."\nBox-office analysts were surprised by "Holes," whose returns exceeded even distributor Disney's expectations by a few million dollars.\n"'Holes' was sort of off the radar," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "But kids know this book, and there's really no movies out there for kids right now. Almost every time when there's a void in the marketplace for family films, all of a sudden one pops up, and families rush out."\n"Mighty Wind" also had a built-in audience of fans who loved the "mockumentary" format of "Best in Show" and Guest's earlier comedy, "Waiting for Guffman." The movies largely feature the same performers, including Guest, writing partner Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Fred Willard and Parker Posey.
(04/15/03 4:32am)
LOS ANGELES -- "Anger Management" bullied its way to the No. 1 spot with a whopping $44.5 million box office in its debut weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nThe Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson comedy revived the box office after four straight slumping weekends as the top 12 movies took in $86.9 million, up 6 percent from the same weekend last year.\n"Anger Management" grossed more than the rest of the top 12 combined. Last weekend's No. 1, "Phone Booth," fell to second place with $7.5 million.\nPlaying in 3,551 theaters, "Anger Management" averaged an impressive $12,532 a cinema. The weekend's other main new release, Rob Zombie's gory horror tale "House of 1,000 Corpses," was No. 7 with $3.4 million in 595 theaters, for a $5,714 average.\n"Anger Management" had the highest gross ever for a movie opening in April, beating the previous record of $36.1 million set by last year's "The Scorpion King."\nSandler plays a mild-mannered man railroaded into anger counseling with a therapist, played by Nicholson, who puts him through ordeals that goad him into comic outbursts.\nAudiences have gobbled up comedies this year, possibly because they are looking for escape from news about the Iraq war. The $100 million hit "Bringing Down the House" was No. 1 for three straight weekends, and "Head of State" debuted at the top of the box office.\n"The comedy genre this year is just incapable of burning out," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "People are looking to blow off steam. What better way than seeing a movie that combines Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler?"\nIn limited release, the low-budget "Better Luck Tomorrow" had a huge first weekend, grossing $398,489 in just 13 theaters for an average of $30,653. Directed by Justin Lin, the film features a cast of unknowns in the story of straight-A, Asian-American teens who, bored with their suburban lives, slide into petty crimes that lead to violence.\nMTV Films acquired the movie at last year's Sundance Film Festival, feeling its fresh faces, dark humor, eclectic music and ambivalent ending would appeal to the network's youthful audience.\nAsian-Americans made up a bit more than half the audience, but the filmmakers hope it can cross over to a wider crowd as the movie expands to more theaters over the next two weekends.\n"These kids could be anybody," said Van Toffler, MTV president. "It's silly to underestimate the eclectic moviegoing tastes of our demographic. The cast doesn't have to look or feel like them for them to want to see it"
(04/07/03 4:27am)
LOS ANGELES -- "Phone Booth," starring Colin Farrell as a man trapped in a phone booth by a sniper, rang up $15 million in ticket sales to debut as the weekend's No. 1 movie.\nThe teen flick "What a Girl Wants," with Amanda Bynes as an outgoing American reunited with her stuffy British dad, opened in second place with $12.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nVin Diesel's action tale "A Man Apart," about a rogue federal agent battling a Mexican drug cartel, premiered at No. 3 with $11.2 million.\nLast weekend's top movie, "Head of State," fell to fourth place with $8.8 million.\nHollywood remained in a box-office slump, with the top 12 movies grossing $84 million, down 10 percent from the same weekend a year ago. It was the fourth straight weekend that revenues declined, and the box office so far is down about 7 percent compared to last year.\nStudio executives say the war in Iraq might be dampening the movie-going mood. But analysts said movie choices so far this year generally have been weaker than the first part of 2002, when hits such as "Ice Age," "Blade II," "John Q" and "Panic Room" opened to big audiences.\n"The fact that it's down four weekends in a row, everybody says, hey, this has to do with the war and people's moods," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "But no matter what the mood of the country, if there are good movies out there, people will want to go see them."\nThe box office should heat up this coming weekend, when the Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson comedy "Anger Management" opens. Coming a few weeks later is the "X-Men" sequel "X2," followed by "The Matrix Reloaded," the middle chapter of Keanu Reeves' sci-fi saga.\n"Phone Booth," directed by Joel Schumacher, stars Farrell as a publicist held hostage in Manhattan's last remaining phone booth by a sniper (Kiefer Sutherland).\nThe movie originally was set for release last November, but it was put on hold because of the sniper attacks around Washington, D.C., that killed 13 people. After two suspects were caught in those shootings, 20th Century Fox rescheduled the film, reasoning that enough time had passed and that its story line of a gunman targeting a specific victim was dissimilar.\nEddie Griffin's stand-up comedy concert movie "DysFun-Ktional Family" opened with $1.1 million in 602 theaters for a weak average of $1,827 a cinema, compared with $6,056 in 2,481 theaters for "Phone Booth."\nIn limited release, Nick Nolte's casino-heist caper "The Good Thief," directed by Neil Jordan, opened strongly in nine theaters with $137,626 for a $15,292 average.
(04/01/03 4:27am)
LOS ANGELES -- Audiences gave their votes to Chris Rock and put his presidential farce "Head of State" in the lead with a weekend box office of $14 million.\nThe Steve Martin and Queen Latifah comedy "Bringing Down the House," the top movie for three straight weekends, held the runner-up slot with $12.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nThe journey-to-the-center-of-the-Earth adventure "The Core," starring Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, opened in third place with $12.4 million. Debuting at No. 4 was the John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson military thriller "Basic," with $12.1 million.\n"Chicago," last weekend's Academy Awards champ with six trophies including best picture, rode its Oscar triumph to a $7.4 million weekend, up 20 percent from a week earlier. That gave it a three-month total of $144.9 million.\nIn limited release, Robert Duvall's "Assa-ssination Tango," the story of a hit man enchanted by Argentina's dance culture, debuted with a solid $64,000 in seven theaters. Along with starring, Duvall wrote and directed the film.\nAn overall box-office slump continued. The top 12 movies grossed $87.3 million, down 24 percent compared to the same weekend a year ago, when "Panic Room" had a big $30 million opening and "Ice Age" remained a strong holdover.\nOverall, movie revenues are down 5 percent to 6 percent compared to last year's, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.\n"It's been significantly depressed I think based on the distraction of what's going on in the world," said Rob Friedman, motion-picture vice chairman at Paramount, which released "The Core."\nThe box office is expected to rebound as big summer flicks start arriving. The Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson comedy "Anger Management" warms things up in mid-April, followed by the May debuts of the "X-Men" sequel "X2" and the sci-fi follow-up "The Matrix Reloaded."\nThe war might be steering audiences more toward comedies, which account for six of the year's 10 top-grossing movies. Weekend audiences chose funny flicks such as "Head of State" and "Bringing Down the House" over action tales like "The Core" and "Basic."\n"There's strong evidence that comedies are on people's minds," said Jim Tharp, head of distribution for DreamWorks, which released "Head of State."\n"Bringing Down the House" also might have benefited from the Oscars awards show, where Martin was host and Queen Latifah was an acting nominee for "Chicago."\n"Steve Martin was front and center, he mentioned the movie a couple of times, you had Queen Latifah in the audience. That couldn't hurt," Dergarabedian said. "The Oscars were like a nice three-hour infomercial for 'Bringing Down the House."
(03/24/03 6:06am)
LOS ANGELES -- The musical "Chicago" won the best-picture Academy Award on Sunday at an Oscar show overshadowed by the U.S.-led war on Iraq.\n"Chicago," which had a leading 13 nominations, was shaping up as the big winner numerically, taking the supporting-actress prize for Catherine Zeta-Jones and four technical awards. Chris Cooper won supporting actor for "Adaptation."\nAdrien Brody was a surprise best actor winner for his role as a Holocaust survivor in "The Pianist," which also netted Roman Polanski the best-director Oscar. Nicole Kidman was named best actress for portraying novelist Virginia Woolf in the somber drama "The Hours."\nPedro Almodovar won the original screenplay Oscar for "Talk to Her," and Ronald Harwood the adapted screenplay award for "The Pianist."\nWorld events sparked several emotional highlights, including Brody's tearful speech and an attack on President Bush by filmmaker Michael Moore, winner of the best-documentary Oscar for "Bowling for Columbine."\nBrody played the title character in "The Pianist," based on the real-life story of musician Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who lived through World War II by hiding from the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto. "The Pianist" was directed by Polanski, a Holocaust survivor himself.\nThe only best-actor nominee who did not already have at least one Oscar, Brody won with his first nomination. Over a 15-year career, Brody has focused on provocative films over commercial ones, among them "The Thin Red Line" and "Summer of Sam."\nThe 6-foot-1, 160-pound Brody lost 30 pounds in six weeks to capture Szpilman's gauntness after years of deprivation in the Warsaw ghetto.\n"This film would not be possible without the blueprint provided by Wladyslaw Szpilman," Brody said. "This film is a tribute to his survival."\nZeta-Jones was the first performer to win an acting Oscar for a musical since Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey for 1972's "Cabaret." In "Chicago," Zeta-Jones played a jailed vaudeville scamp scheming for celebrity after slaying her husband and sister. Documentary winner "Bowling for Columbine" is Moore's alternately hilarious and horrifying examination of gun violence in America.\nBy the show's halfway mark, ABC News twice offered a brief war update, then switched back to the Oscars.\nEarlier, demonstrators on both sides of the war issue gathered near the Kodak Theatre, site of the Oscars.\nHalf a block from the area where stars arrived, supporters of U.S. troops in Iraq chanted "USA, USA," and held a banner reading "God Bless America."\nPlanners scrapped the glitzy red-carpet arrival festivities. And some celebrities opposed to the war wore peace pins. \nA few stars and filmmakers backed out of the 75th annual Oscars, either in protest of the war or because they felt uncomfortable making merry when people were dying in Iraq.
(03/24/03 5:38am)
LOS ANGELES -- Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie swept away the competition at the Razzies, an annual spoof of the Academy Awards singling out the worst achievements in film.\n"Swept Away," the island-romance bomb that starred Madonna and was written and directed by Ritchie, took five Razzie Awards on Saturday, among them worst picture of 2002.\nMadonna tied for worst actress with fellow pop queen Britney Spears, who made her starring debut in "Crossroads," another worst-picture contender.\nRitchie was chosen worst director, while "Swept Away" earned Madonna a second award for worst screen couple with co-star Adriano Giannini. A remake of an acclaimed Italian film about a rich snob stranded with a hunky sailor, Madonna's "Swept Away" also received the trophy for worst remake or sequel.\nMadonna was named worst supporting actress for her brief cameo as a fencing instructor in the James Bond flick "Die Another Day," for which she also sang the theme song.\n"She's not even in the movie for two minutes, but she's so awful in that one scene, that for the whole rest of the movie, you cannot forget that your eyes and ears have been assaulted with the stupidity of her appearance," said Razzies founder John Wilson.\nMadonna's latest Razzies bring her career total to nine, tying her with Sylvester Stallone for most awards ever. Three years ago, the Razzies also chose Stallone and Madonna as worst actor and actress of the 20th century.\nOther Razzie 2002 "winners" chosen by about 500 members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation:\n• Worst actor: Roberto Benigni, "Pinocchio."\n• Worst supporting actor: Hayden Christensen, "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones."\n• Worst screenplay: George Lucas and Jonathan Hales, "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones."\n• Worst original song: "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," "Crossroads."\n• Most flatulent teen-targeted movie: "Jackass: The Movie."\nRitchie and Madonna were the first husband-wife Razzie recipients since John and Bo Derek, who were named worst director and actress for 1984's "Bolero" and 1990's "Ghosts Can't Do It"
(02/24/03 4:53am)
LOS ANGELES -- Serious film proved no match for a daredevil and a big old frat party.\nBen Affleck's superhero adventure "Daredevil" remained the No. 1 movie for the second straight weekend with $18.9 million, pushing its 10-day total to $70.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\n"Old School," starring former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Will Ferrell with Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson as thirtysomething partiers who form a college fraternity, debuted a close second with $17.5 million.\nA rush of heavy new dramas had modest to weak openings. "The Life of David Gale," starring Kevin Spacey as a capital-punishment opponent who lands on death row, was No. 6 with $7.2 million.\nThe Civil War epic "Gods and Generals," featuring Robert Duvall in a follow-up prequel to "Gettysburg," debuted at No. 8 with $4.8 million. "Dark Blue," with Kurt Russell and Ving Rhames in a police thriller set in the days leading up to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, opened in ninth place with $3.75 million.\nHollywood had a solid weekend overall, with the top 12 movies grossing $96.2 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year.\nAmong the new movies, "Old School" had a healthy $6,508 average in 2,689 theaters. "The Life of David Gale" averaged $3,580 in 2,002 cinemas, "Gods and Generals" did $3,115 in 1,533 theaters and "Dark Blue" managed just $1,723 in 2,176 locations.\nCritics welcomed "Old School" as a lowbrow but fun successor to the campus classic "Animal House," with Ferrell earning high marks compared to other "Saturday Night Live" alumni, whose big-screen efforts often draw bad reviews.\nMen made up 58 percent of the audience for "Old School," and 56 percent of viewers were younger than 25.\n"The genius of the movie, if you can call it genius, is it had appeal across a pretty broad age range," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "You had older teens and twentysomethings interested, then you had thirtysomethings who wanted to see people they could relate to in this frat-house setting."\n"Daredevil," based on the Marvel Comics character, is poised to become the first movie released in 2003 to top $100 million. The movie began with a largely male audience but drew solidly among women this past weekend, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released "Daredevil."\n"It's a legitimate across-the-board movie today," Snyder said.\nThe musical "Chicago" continued to trade on its leading 13 Academy Awards nominations, coming in at No. 5 with $8.5 million. Considered the front-runner to win best picture, "Chicago" pushed its two-month total to $94.4 million.
(02/12/03 4:41am)
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- "Chicago," the musical adapted from the stage hit about two murderous women competing for tabloid celebrity, led Academy Award contenders Tuesday with 13 nominations, including best picture.\nOther best-picture nominees for the 75th annual Oscars were "Gangs of New York," "The Hours," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "The Pianist."\nBesides best picture, "Chicago" scored nominations for lead actress Renee Zellweger, supporting actresses Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones and supporting actor John C. Reilly.\nZellweger plays a stage wannabe jailed for killing her lover. Zeta-Jones co-stars as her conniving jailhouse rival. Queen Latifah plays an opportunistic warden, and Reilly is Zellweger's cuckolded husband. Richard Gere, who had done well in earlier film honors, was snubbed in the lead actor category for "Chicago."\n"Chicago" director Rob Marshall also earned a nomination.\nJulianne Moore earned two acting nominations: best actress for "Far From Heaven," as a woman whose marriage disintegrates after her husband begins an affair with another man, and supporting actress as a despondent housewife in "The Hours."\nMoore said she was "absolutely stunned" to receive two nominations. She plays a 1950s housewife in both films.\n"They're wildly diverse characters. The fact that both happened to be placed in the 1950s, I didn't even think about that when we filmed them. Except that I didn't want my hairdos to be the same," said Moore, who covered her trademark red hair with a blonde wig in "Far From Heaven."\nAlong with Moore and Zellweger, best actress nominees were Salma Hayek as Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo in "Frida"; Nicole Kidman as author Virginia Woolf in "The Hours"; and Diane Lane as an adulterous wife in "Unfaithful."\nMeryl Streep was shut out for a best-actress nomination in "The Hours" but did earn a supporting-actress nomination for the twisted Hollywood tale "Adaptation."\nStreep's nomination puts her in the record books as most-nominated actor ever. She had been tied with Katharine Hepburn at 12 nominations each; Streep now has 13.\nBest-actor nominees were Adrien Brody as a Jewish musician hiding out in Nazi-occupied Poland in "The Pianist"; Nicolas Cage in dual roles as a neurotic screenwriter and his oafish twin brother in "Adaptation"; Michael Caine as a British journalist in the 1950s Vietnam tale "The Quiet American"; Daniel Day-Lewis as a ruthlessly charming crime boss in the 1860s vengeance epic "Gangs of New York"; and Jack Nicholson as a widower examining his dreary life in "About Schmidt."\nCaine started a personal crusade to ensure "The Quiet American" was released in theaters amid fears it would go straight to video because it critiques American intervention overseas.\n"It's been a long, long journey," Caine said. "I just wanted to see whether I could get a nomination. And I've got one, I'm happy now and my work is done."\nAs for winning, two-time Oscar winner Caine said he would "hold out hope" despite daunting competition. All of his fellow contenders, except Brody, are also previous winners.\n"I get the difficult year, don't I?" he said.\nIt was the 12th nomination for three-time Oscar winner Nicholson, padding his record as most-nominated male actor ever. A fourth win for Nicholson would tie Hepburn's record of four acting Oscars.\n"Gangs of New York" trailed "Chicago" with 10 nominations, including for director Martin Scorsese. "The Hours" was next with nine nominations, among them a supporting actor honor for Ed Harris as a writer dying of AIDS and best director for Stephen Daldry.\nKidman, also nominated last year for "Moulin Rouge," previously had not been a Woolf fan but became absorbed with the British author's works while researching "The Hours." The part required Kidman to wear a prosthetic nose to approximate Woolf's rather plain features.\n"In some ways, I feel just privileged to actually have had the chance to play her and had the opportunity to step into her skin," Kidman said by telephone from England, where "The Hours" had its London premiere Monday night. "For it to be rewarded this way, it's kind of what you dream of."\n"The Lord of the Rings" franchise, whose first installment, "The Fellowship of the Ring," grabbed a leading 13 nominations last year, this time received just six. Other than best picture, the nominations for "Two Towers" all were in technical categories such as film editing and visual effects while director Peter Jackson, a nominee last year, was shut out this time.\nA surprise directing nominee was Pedro Almodovar for the Spanish-language movie "Talk to Her." Almodovar also earned an original screenplay nomination. His film was ineligible for the foreign language category since host country Spain submitted another movie for academy consideration.\nThe other best director nominee was Roman Polanski for "The Pianist." Polanski is a fugitive from the United States for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.\n"Chicago" followed "Moulin Rouge" as the second-straight live-action musical to score a best-picture nomination after a 22-year drought for the genre. The animated musical "Beauty and the Beast" was nominated for best picture in 1991. Considered one of the front-runners, "Chicago" could become the first musical to win the top Oscar since 1968's "Oliver!"\n"Spider-Man," 2002's top-grossing movie, earned just two nominations, for sound and visual effects.\nAlong with Harris and Reilly, supporting actor nominees were Chris Cooper as a guerrilla horticulturist in "Adaptation"; Paul Newman as a Depression-era crime boss in "Road to Perdition"; and Christopher Walken as a con man's father in "Catch Me If You Can."\nThe other supporting actress nominee was Kathy Bates as Nicholson's bawdy new in-law Roberta in "About Schmidt."\n"Roberta is such an out-there character, she's so full of life and I think that's probably what people respond to," Bates said. "When he comes into that house and realizes that these are to be his new in-laws, it's a pretty daunting moment for his character."\nCharlie Kaufman, a previous screenwriting nominee for "Being John Malkovich," scored a first of sorts. He was nominated for adapted screenplay for "Adaptation," along with fictional twin brother Donald, who shares the writing credit.\nIt was the first nomination ever for a fictional entity. In the past, filmmakers have received nominations under assumed names, such as Joel and Ethan Coen as "Roderick Jaynes," their film-editing pseudonym, or Robert Towne, who shared a screenwriting nomination for 1984's "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" under the name of his sheepdog, P.H. Vazak.\nAcademy officials say if "Adaptation" wins, only one Oscar will be awarded, for Charlie Kaufman.\nHired to adapt Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief," Kaufman struggled with the script, then whimsically wrote an incarnation of himself and a nonexistent twin into the story. Cage plays both characters.\nAmong nominees for original screenplay was last year's surprise blockbuster, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," written by its star, Nia Vardalos.\nNominees in most categories are chosen by specific branches of the 5,800-member Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, such as actors, directors and writers.\nAll academy members are allowed to vote for best-picture nominees. The full academy also is eligible to vote in all categories for the awards themselves.\nABC will broadcast the Oscar ceremony March 23 live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
(02/11/03 4:44am)
LOS ANGELES -- Critics called it a bad date movie, but "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" courted movie-goers to the tune of $24.1 million in its first weekend for a No. 1 debut.\nThe martial-arts action comedy "Shanghai Knights" opened in second place with $19.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nThe musical "Chicago," which tripled its theater count to 1,841 cinemas, climbed to No. 3 with $10.7 million, lifting its total to $63.7 million since opening in limited release at Christmas.\nThe previous weekend's top movie, the spy thriller "The Recruit," fell to fourth place with $9.5 million.\nThe weekend's other new wide release, the romantic comedy "Deliver Us From Eva" starring LL Cool J, was No. 6 with $7.1 million.\nIt was a strong weekend overall, with the top 12 movies grossing $103.1 million, up 22 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Collateral Damage," "Big Fat Liar" and "Rollerball" debuted in the top three box-office spots.\n"How to Lose a Guy" stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in a romance of deception between a woman trying to get dumped in 10 days to research a magazine column and a man trying to win a bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. The movie generally was written off by reviewers as cutesy and contrived.\n"In this case particularly I think they were way too hard on the movie," said Rob Friedman, vice chairman of Paramount's motion-picture group, which released the romantic comedy. "The public just loves this movie. Kate and Matthew are a tremendous winning combination."\n"How to Lose a Guy" should hold well with Valentine's Day coming this weekend, when "guys definitely roll over for whatever a girl wants," Friedman said. "I think we'll have more guys seeing the movie this weekend than last."\n"Shanghai Knights," Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson's followup to their mini-hit "Shanghai Noon," features the mismatched buddies on a mission in London to thwart villains trying to usurp the British and Chinese thrones.\nThree years ago, "Shanghai Noon" took in $19.6 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest times at theaters. The sequel slightly exceeded that gross over a three-day weekend during Hollywood's quiet winter season, a sign that the Chan-Wilson franchise picked up new fans through the video release of "Shanghai Noon."\n"Shanghai Knights" should end up surpassing the $57 million total gross of the original movie, said Chuck Viane, head of distribution at Disney, which released both flicks.
(01/27/03 4:35am)
LOS ANGELES -- The horror flick "Darkness Falls," about a vengeful spirit tormenting the town that lynched her, scared up $12.5 million in its opening weekend to debut as the No. 1 movie.\nLast weekend's top movie, the comedy "Kangaroo Jack," fell to second place with $11.9 million.\nOverall, the box office dropped sharply compared to the same weekend last year, when "Black Hawk Down" was the No. 1 film. The top 12 movies grossed $82.9 million, down 25 percent from the same weekend in 2002.
(01/13/03 4:52am)
LOS ANGELES -- Audiences ignored the critics and propelled the Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher comedy "Just Married" to the top of the weekend box office.\n"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which had been No. 1 for three straight weekends, slipped to second place with $15 million in receipts, but that pushed its total domestic gross to $283.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.\n"Just Married" stars Murphy and Kutcher as mismatched newlyweds on a chaotic, slapstick honeymoon in Europe.\nGenerally disliked by critics, "Just Married" appealed solidly to young movie-goers, with people younger than 21 making up 65 percent of the audience, according to distributor 20th Century Fox.\n"I can't say too often I've actually grossed the budget on opening weekend," said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox.\nSteven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" came in third with $14.8 million, raising its total to $119.5 million. It was the 23rd movie released in 2002 to top $100 million, beating the previous record of 22 set in 2000.\nExpanding from narrow release, Denzel Washington's "Antwone Fisher" and Nicolas Cage's "Adaptation" broke into the top 10.\n"Antwone Fisher," directed by Washington and starring Derek Luke as a violent sailor confronting childhood traumas, widened to 1,006 theaters and came in at No. 9 with $3.8 million.\nThe offbeat Hollywood tale "Adaptation," reteaming "Being John Malkovich" writer Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze, was No. 10 with $2.9 million in 560 theaters.
(12/05/02 4:42am)
LOS ANGELES -- It's one thing for the fictional incarnation of a relatively new screenwriter to beat himself up with self-loathing and doubt his own talent. \nIt's another thing for Meryl Streep to do the same when she's approached about co-starring in a film about said screenwriter. \nSeems as though 12 Academy Award nominations and two wins should be validation enough. Yet Streep says she was struck by the same sense of inadequacy she often feels when asked to appear in "Adaptation,'' a wildly inventive yarn in which "Being John Malkovich'' writer Charlie Kaufman inserts a neurotic manifestation of himself into the story of his failed attempt to adapt a non-fiction book for the screen. \n"There was no denying that Charlie's script was so vivid, and I just read it over and over and over,'' Streep said in an interview. "And I went, 'Why do they want me?' I was so thrilled that they did, but I kept wondering why. I thought, this could be somebody so young and sexy and interesting and blah blah. They just finally convinced me they wanted me, so I was just beside myself.'' \nStreep, 53, plays a far-out variation of Susan Orlean, author of "The Orchid Thief,'' a book about obsessive guerrilla horticulturist John Laroche (played in an equally fictionalized version by Chris Cooper). Nicolas Cage stars as Kaufman and his fictional twin brother, who in "Adaptation'' wind up interacting with Orlean and Laroche in a darkly absurd tall tale. \nAlso this month, Streep co-stars in another book adaptation, "The Hours,'' based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Streep plays a modern rendition of the heroine of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway,'' her story interwoven with that of Woolf herself (Nicole Kidman) as she begins writing the book and that of an anguished '50s housewife (Julianne Moore) who's reading the novel. \nLike Kaufman, who found "The Orchid Thief'' impossible to adapt for the screen, Streep initially felt "The Hours'' would prove a tricky translation to film. \n"I'd read it and loved it, then they said they were going to make a movie of it, and I went, 'You're kidding.' Because it's such a completely interior world,'' Streep said. "But (screenwriter) David Hare did an amazing adaptation. It's really quite, quite beautiful.'' \nStreep plays multiple roles in another Pulitzer-winning work, Mike Nichols' HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's two-part play "Angels in America,'' tentatively scheduled to air late in 2003. The cast includes Al Pacino and Emma Thompson. \nMost recently nominated for an Oscar for 1999's "Music of the Heart,'' Streep won the supporting-actress prize for "Kramer vs. Kramer'' and the best-actress honor for "Sophie's Choice.'' A nomination for either "Adaptation'' or "The Hours'' would be a record-breaker for Streep, who now is tied with Katharine Hepburn for most acting nominations. \nShe tries to avoid musing about her Oscar prospects. \n"It enters my brain mostly because every reporter brings it up when I do these things. It just gets me nervous, that's all it does,'' Streep said. "But when people mention it, I'm thrilled, because it means they like the movie, and that's what I'm hoping for. If they like it, then it's something other people may want to go see.'' \nStreep grew up in New Jersey, performed in high school musicals and settled on an acting career while studying at Vassar College. She continued her education at the Yale drama school, acted on stage in New York City and moved into film with 1977's "Julia.'' \nIn the ensuing 25 years, Streep has earned a reputation as the most heavyweight actress of her generation with such films as "The Deer Hunter,'' "The French Lieutenant's Woman,'' "Silkwood'' and "Out of Africa.'' \nShe attributes her long list of prime roles to "probably dumb luck, a good agent. I don't know. Maybe I've liked material that other people haven't. I've done some characters that are sort of unattractive people. I've been drawn to difficult people, so maybe that's part of it.'' \nWith mixed success, Streep has lightened up in a range of comedies, including "Death Becomes Her,'' "Defending Your Life'' and "Postcards From the Edge.'' \n"Adaptation'' director Spike Jonze, who also collaborated with Kaufman on "Being John Malkovich,'' said Streep's comic sensibilities and her ability to express deeply internalized emotion made her ideal for the movie's take on Orlean, a character who goes from subtle introspection to outrageous action by film's end. \n"I didn't know if it was realistic to get her, but Meryl was our first choice to play it, because Charlie and I loved her in so many movies,'' Jonze said. "For our movie specifically, her part is very quiet in a lot of scenes. She's a journalist, therefore she's asking a lot of questions, listening to what other people say. We needed somebody like Meryl who could bring a character to life even though she's not a particularly active character in the first half of the movie.'' \nStreep found herself identifying not only with her own character but with Kaufman's insecurities about his self-worth, which she figures is a universal pitfall among artists. \n"You realize that everyone is just eaten up by that feeling,'' she said. "Maybe it's a good thing. I hope it's some sort of breaking down of whatever is familiar to you. Whatever is complacent, whatever is easy. Whatever you've done before. \n"You're starting over. You're starting with nothing. How do you know how to do anything? Who do you think you are? That's sort of where you have to start in order to start true," she said.
(10/21/02 5:00am)
LOS ANGELES -- Death-by-videotape brought box-office life to "The Ring," a horror flick that scared up $15 million to debut as the weekend's No. 1 movie. \nStarring Naomi Watts as a reporter investigating a video whose viewers die horribly a week after watching it, "The Ring" knocked off "Red Dragon," which had been the top film for two straight weekends. \n"Red Dragon" fell to third place with $8.8 million during the weekend, while "Sweet Home Alabama" remained the No. 2 film with $9.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. \nThe weekend's other new wide releases fared poorly. Katie Holmes' psychological thriller "Abandon" opened weakly with $5.3 million, finishing in sixth place. Samuel L. Jackson's crime caper "Formula 51" bombed with $2.9 million, coming in at No. 12. \nThe overall box office rose slightly. The top 12 movies took in $74.2 million, up 2 percent from the same weekend last year. \nIf those numbers hold when final figures are released Monday, it would be Hollywood's sixth straight weekend of rising revenues and a promising lead-in to the busy holiday season, which starts next month with "The Santa Clause 2" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." \n"People just keep going to the movies," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "That trend just looks like it's going to continue into the holidays." \n"The Ring," a U.S. remake of a Japanese horror sensation, averaged a healthy $7,572 a theater playing in 1,981 cinemas. \n"Abandon," the directing debut of "Traffic" screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, played in 2,341 theaters and averaged $2,264. "Formula 51" averaged a meager $1,562 in 1,857 theaters. \nMost fright films are trashed by critics and come and go quickly, doing the bulk of their business in the first couple of weeks. Distributor DreamWorks hopes for longer life on "The Ring," which received generally positive reviews.
(09/13/02 5:09am)
TORONTO -- It's a delicate matter, putting a human face on a monster. \nTwo entries at the Toronto International Film Festival present personal, often uncomfortable glimpses of Adolf Hitler, one in a fictional setting as an aspiring artist, the other in real, firsthand recollections from an aide. \nThe feature film, "Max," stars John Cusack as a fictional Jewish gallery owner in Munich at the end of World War I who becomes mentor to angry young painter Hitler, played by Noah Taylor. The movie had its world premiere on Tuesday. \nThe documentary, "Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary," offers a rare account of the dictator from Traudl Junge, one of his private secretaries from 1942-45, who had declined to tell her story publicly for almost 60 years. The film is condensed from 10 hours of interviews last year with Junge, who died in February at age 81.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
LOS ANGELES -- Jack Lemmon, who brought a jittery intensity to his roles as finicky Felix Unger in "The Odd Couple," the boastful Ensign Pulver in "Mr. Roberts" and a cross-dressing musician in "Some Like It Hot," has died. He was 76. \nThe two-time Oscar winner died at a hospital Wednesday night from complications related to cancer, spokesman Warren Cowan said. \nLemmon's talents were so broad that of his seven lead-actor Oscar nominations, five were for dramas and two were for comedies. \nAmong his dramatic roles were the violently thirsty alcoholic in "Days of Wine and Roses," the aging, past-his-prime salesman driven to theft in "Glengarry Glen Ross," and a father desperately searching for his son in "Missing." \n"What a career. What range," said John Davis, producer of "Grumpy Old Men," "Grumpier Old Men" and "Out to Sea," three of Lemmon's last pairings with Walter Matthau. "He made some of the most memorable movies of our time. Jack was always changing gears." \nThroughout his career, and especially in films with Matthau, Lemmon was often cast as the well-meaning fellow, a trifle square, who is taken advantage of or beset by disaster. \nThe Harvard-trained actor started in films in the mid-1950s, shooting to stardom in 1955 as the mousy Pulver in the World War II comic drama "Mr. Roberts." The role won him a supporting-actor Oscar. \nIn 1962, Lemmon switched from lighthearted comedies to intense drama, earning his first Academy Award nomination as a lead actor for "Days of Wine and Roses." \nLemmon won a best-actor Oscar for 1973 with "Save the Tiger," in which he played a dress manufacturer whose shady dealings are at odds with the idealism of his youth. \n"I seldom think that I'm up for a good role," he said in 1975. "I nearly walked out on 'Days of Wine and Roses' and 'Some Like It Hot' because I didn't think I could handle the demands they made upon me as an actor. But if you think I'm insecure now, you should've seen me when I was first breaking in." \nOff-screen, the actor seemed sad, said Don Widener, who wrote the 1975 biography "Lemmon." \n"For all his persona on screen, he was one of the saddest men I've known," Widener said Thursday. "You could see it in his eyes. The face would be laughing, but his eyes were sad. I never found out why that was." \nLast year, he won an Emmy for playing a dying professor in the television adaptation of the best seller "Tuesdays With Morrie." Also last year, he received a Golden Globe for best actor in a TV production of "Inherit the Wind." \n"Just watching Jack Lemmon made me want to get into this business," said Hank Azaria, a co-star in "Tuesdays With Morrie." "He could bring grace and dignity to his work even when he was playing ungraceful, undignified people." \nMuch of Lemmon's best-loved work resulted from collaborations with Matthau, who died last summer, and writer-director Billy Wilder. \nLemmon first teamed with Wilder for "Some Like It Hot," the 1959 comedy in which he and Tony Curtis played musicians who dress in drag and join an all-girl band to hide out from mobsters. \nA year later, Lemmon and Wilder were back with "The Apartment," with the actor starring as a sad-sack loser at love who falls for his boss' mistress, an elevator girl played by Shirley MacLaine. \n"Anything I could say about this great human being and artist is not enough," MacLaine said. "We have lost the profound master of emotional canvas painting. Name the feeling, he could paint it with himself as the brush." \nWilder and Lemmon teamed up on five other films. Among them was "The Fortune Cookie," the actor's first film with Matthau. \nLemmon's prim-and-proper persona and Matthau's slovenly grouchiness made for a combination that stood alongside Bud Abbott and Lou Costello or Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as one of the great comic buddy duos. \nAmong their best-loved collaborations was "The Odd Couple" in 1968, with Lemmon's Felix a fussy contrast to Matthau's sloppy Oscar Madison in the comedy about two divorced men sharing an apartment. Thirty years later, they reprised those roles in an unsuccessful sequel. \nLemmon and Matthau had better results with the two "Grumpy Old Men" movies in the 1990s. \nJohn Uhler Lemmon III was born Feb. 8, 1925, in a hospital elevator in Newton, Mass. He had a case of jaundice, prompting a nurse to comment, "My, look at the little yellow Lemmon." \nHis father owned a bakery business, and he was brought up in comfortable circumstances. He made his acting debut at 4 in an amateur play. He also taught himself to play piano. \nLemmon was a sickly boy who required 13 operations before he was 13. To build himself up, he trained in the gym at Andover prep school and became a fleet runner. \nWhen he returned from Navy service as an ensign in World War II, Lemmon told his father he wanted to act, saying, "I'll have to try it or all my life I'll wonder." \nWith $300 from his father, Lemmon moved to New York, landing roles on radio, television and Broadway. When Lemmon got to Hollywood, studio boss Harry Cohn insisted on changing the actor's name, arguing that critics would use it as a weapon by declaring him and his movie lemons. Lemmon stood his ground. \nLemmon returned to Broadway in 1985 for a well-received revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night" and had cameo roles in recent years in such movies as "JFK" and "The Player." \nLemmon was married from 1950 to 1956 to actress Cynthia Stone, and they had a son, Chris. In 1962, he married actress Felicia Farr, with whom he had a daughter, Courtney. \nBesides his wife and children, Lemmon is survived by a granddaughter and two grandsons. A private funeral is planned.