May 20, 2002 |
STAR PERFORMER
As Yoda might say, "Break box office records, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones did not." The latest prequel from a galaxy far, far away grossed $86.15 million from Friday to Monday — well below Spider-Man's historic $114.8 million opening two weeks ago and less than Harry Potter's $90 million debut last November. Still, the force clearly is still with George Lucas: Since opening Thursday, Clones has made $116 million; only Spider-Man has crossed the $100 million faster. Speaking of Spidey, Tobey Maguire and Co. slipped to No. 2 with a still-potent $46 million. The film's 17-day total stands at $286 million. Also holding on strong was Oscar hopeful Unfaithful, which claimed the No. 3 spot with $10.3 million. Meanwhile, Hugh Grant's new comedy About a Boy debuted at No. 4 with, um, about $8.4 million. |
AND THE WINNER IS...
Oh my heck — Sunday night's Survivor: Marquesas finale was a real nail-biter! By a vote of 4-3, devout Christian Vecepia "Vee" Towery edged out fellow disciple Neleh Dennis, 21, to win $1 million and the title of sole Survivor. The 36-year-old California resident is the first African-American to come out on top. Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien, the front-runner heading into the two-hour climax, finished a respectable third. |
THE VIEWERS ARE OUT THERE
This season's most competitive night of programming certainly lived up to its hype. Viewers turned out in droves Sunday evening for the two-hour finales of Survivor: Marquesas and The X-Files — but it was NBC's Cosby Show reunion special that really impressed. Although Survivor was No. 1, Cosby Show: A Look Back placed a very strong second. The X-Files swan song — in which Mulder embraced religion — came in a competitive third from 8-10 pm/ET. Final ratings are due later today. |
ROSIE'S BIG NIGHT
Exiting talk show host Rosie O'Donnell received some very nice parting gifts Friday night: A pair of Daytime Emmy Awards. O'Donnell won her sixth Emmy for outstanding talk show host and her program, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, was named best talk show for the fifth time. Elsewhere, ABC's resurgent soap One Life to Live was named best daytime drama for the first time in its 34-year history. For complete coverage of the 29th Daytime Emmys, click here. |
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
Move over Spider-Man: Disney is developing a feature film based on the '80s TV series The Greatest American Hero. According to Variety, Disney execs hired scribe Paul Hernandez to pen a script after he showed up at a pitch meeting dressed in the original alien suit worn by Hero star William Katt. |
FRIENDS DELIVERS
The final numbers for Thursday's Friends finale are in, and they're huge. Nearly 35 million people tuned in for the birth of Rachel's baby, making it the most watched episode of a regular series this season and the sitcom's second highest viewership total ever; only a post-Super Bowl episode in 1996 drew a larger audience. |
IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN
These are difficult times for comedian Tom Green. The recent Razzie winner was booed off stage Thursday night during a performance at a central Iowa dance club. Drew's ex got on bar patrons' nerves when he kept grabbing the disc jockey's microphone and yelling such catchy phrases as, "Beer, I like to drink beer," "In Iowa, we like to drink beer" and "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Oh, how the not-so-mighty have fallen... |
EARLY SHOW
Eminem's latest album, The Eminem Show, will arrive in stores on May 28, one week ahead of schedule. Interscope Records made the move after the album was leaked onto the Internet. |
A GLASS HALF FULL
The Other Half — Dick Clark's all-male clone of The View — has been renewed for a second season. You'd think dressing Clark, Danny Bonaduce and Mario Lopez in drag á la Uncle Miltie would terrify, rather than attract, daytime TV viewers. Who knew? |
THEY FALL TO PIECES
Lovelorn country-music fans, grab your Kleenex: The late Patsy Cline's label, MCA Nashville, plans a major tribute album to be released later this year. Remembering Patsy will include stars like Michelle Branch, Natalie Cole, Diana Krall, k.d. lang and Lee Ann Womack doing covers of her hits. So far, we know lang is confirmed to sing "Leavin' on Your Mind" and Womack will do "She's Got You." We've got chills already! |
TONY HARBINGER?
Thoroughly Modern Millie won five Drama Desk Awards Sunday, including best musical and outstanding lead actress for Sutton Foster. The Goat and Metamorphoses tied for best play. |
SOMETHIN' SAD
Sharon Sheeley, the songwriter behind such hits as "Poor Little Fool" and "Somethin' Else," died Friday of a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 62. Sheeley also wrote songs for Brenda Lee, Bobby Vee and The Ronettes. |
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