3/25/12

The Daily Roundup for March 26


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IT WAS A HUNGRY WEEKEND AT THE BOX OFFICE!

Hunger Games' beats record with $155-million debut

Lionsgate hit a bull's-eye with “The Hunger Games” this weekend, as the story of expert archer Katniss Everdeen and her battle for survival debuted with a record-breaking $155 million at the box office.
The film starring Jennifer Lawrence posted the third-highest domestic debut of all time, behind only the $169.2-million opening for the final "Harry Potter" installment and the $158.4-million launch of "The Dark Knight." That means "The Hunger Games" also grossed more on its opening weekend than any other non-sequel.
The astronomical level of receipts began rolling in after midnight on Friday, when the movie raked in nearly $20 million on just its first night in theaters. Moviegoers immediately responded positively to the film about teenagers in a fight to the death, assigning the picture an average grade of A, according to market research firm CinemaScore. That's good news for Lionsgate, as it means the movie could have legs with fans who didn't rush out to see the movie during its first weekend in theaters.
The crowd who saw the film this weekend was slightly more female, as 61% of the audience were women. By comparison, the most recent "Twilight" film attracted an 80% female contingent back in November, indicating part of the success of "The Hunger Games" had to do with its appeal to both genders. Both adults and teenagers showed up to the multiplex as well, with 56% of the audience over the age of 25.
"People were walking out of the initial screenings saying 'Wow, this is a real movie,'" said David Spitz, Lionsgate's executive vice president of distribution. "And that was because of the critical response, and what [director] Gary Ross did in hiring Jennifer Lawrence and actors like Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson."
Based on the first novel in author Suzanne Collins’ bestselling young-adult trilogy, "The Hunger Games" did go over well with critics, notching a 86% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie features 21-year-old Oscar nominee Lawrence in her biggest role to date, and also stars young newcomers Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. The next installment in the series, "Catching Fire," is slated to hit theaters in November 2013.
The movie played well across the country, in New York and Boston as well as in Salt Lake City, where a Utah theater had the weekend's highest gross for "The Hunger Games." On Friday and Saturday, Megaplex Theatre in South Jordan, Utah, collected $276,000 in sales. The location is part of a six-theater circuit that has drummed up interest in the movie through special film-themed events, including a reenactment of the Hunger Games themselves.
The movie will be the biggest success thus far for independent studio Lionsgate, which produced the film for a little over $80 million after tax credits from North Carolina, where it was shot. After its opening weekend alone, "The Hunger Games" is already the studio's highest-grossing film, besting Michael Moore's 2004 documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," which collected $119.2 million by the end of its run.
Here are the top 10 movies at the domestic office, with international results when available, according to studio estimates:
1. "The Hunger Games" (Lionsgate): Opened to $155 million. $59.3 million overseas in 67 foreign markets.

2. "21 Jump Street" (Sony/MGM): $21.3 million on its second weekend, down 41%. Domestic total: $71.1 million. $5.3 million overseas in 14 foreign markets. International total: $16 million.

3. "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" (Universal): $13.1 million on its fourth weekend, down 42%. Domestic total: $177.3 million. $5.5 million overseas in 25 foreign markets. International total: $21.3 million.

4. "John Carter" (Disney): $5 million on its third weekend, down 63%. Domestic total: $62.3 million. $22.2 million overseas in 54 foreign markets. International total: $172.1 million.

5. "Act of Valor" (Relativity/Bandito Bros.): $2.1 million on its fifth weekend, down 45%. Domestic total: $65.9 million.

6. "Project X" (Warner Bros.): $2 million on its fourth weekend, down 52%. Domestic total: $51.8 million. $4.4 million overseas in 27 foreign markets. International total: $20.8 million.

7. "A Thousand Words" (Paramount/DreamWorks): $1.9 million on its third weekend, down 47%. Domestic total: $14.9 million.

8. "October Baby" (Samuel Goldwyn/Provident): Opened to $1.7 million.

9. "Safe House" (Universal/Relativity): $1.4 million on its seventh weekend, down 49%. Domestic total: $122.6 million. $2.3 million overseas in 42 foreign markets. International total: $71.1 million.

10. "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (Warner Bros.): $1.4 million on its seventh weekend, down 43%. Domestic total: $97.2 million. International total: $212 million.]

GET READY FOR THE HOLLYWOOD EXES


R-Kelly’s ex-wife Andrea Kelly has just been added to the cast of the new VH1 reality series called Hollywood Exes. The show will follow popular celebrity exes including Eddie Murphy and Will Smith’s ex-wives.
Along with Nicole Murphy and Smith’s first wife, Sheree Fletcher, Andrea Kelly will share screen time with Mayte Garcia who is Prince’s ex-wife.
VH1 reports:
“These five women, who have all been friends for years and in some cases for as long as 20 years, want to show the world they are more than just a trophy wife with a pretty face. They want to establish themselves as independent, successful women and bring relevance and honor to themselves separate from their very famous exes…even if there is a little drama along the way.”
Hollywood Exes is set to launch on the network this summer and will have ten episodes that will run an hour in length j .


The Return of R. Kelly’s ‘Trapped In The Closet’
Cable channel IFC has ordered up new episodes of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" hip-hopera and will air them later this year. Kelly tweeted "The Alien is back and It has brought friends along," alluding to the alien muses he claims inspired his masterpiece. 
Last year, Kelly dropped the news that he had written 32 new chapters of his work and was looking for investors to help get the project moving forward. Luckily for us, it looks like he's found them.

Trailer: 
what you think??


Woman Jailed 18 Months After Impersonating Ex-Boyfriend Online…
What started as a prank to get back at her ex-boyfriend, led to various court dates for Thornton, a New Jersey resident.
Thornton had been dating Michael Lasalandra, a Parsippany police detective, and when the two broke up, she took to Facebook to inflict her revenge.
The heartbroken woman used photos of Lasalandra to create a fake profile, then used  it to say awful things about “his lifestyle and career.” The profile included Mr Lasalandra’s name, birth date and posted photographs of him and “status updates” stating that he had herpes, used drugs and slept with prostitutes regularly.
One update allegedly posted by Thornton pretending to be Lasalandra, stated, ”I’m a sick piece of scum with a gun.”
Lasalandra complained to officers that he was being impersonated online and a grand jury subpoena was issued to obtain the IP address from which the profile was made. All signs pointed to Thornton’s home computer, and she was subsequently charged with the crime of “identity theft” for creating the fake facebook profile.
Court documents claimed that New Jersey law generally states that impersonating another or assuming a false identity and acting in such an assumed character to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another is a crime.
Thornton’s attorneys argued that the state’s identity theft law doesn’t apply to the allegations, filing a defense motion on her behalf which stated:
Under the New Jersey statute, there is no plain wording, commentary, memorandum or any evidence of legislative intent to show that impersonating someone online or by electronic means is a crime.

Prosecutors claimed Thornton’s actions harmed her ex-boyfriend’s reputation and sought to prove
‘Certainly it would damage his good name, standing or reputation if false comments and assertions [were made],’ the court papers said.
The case, which has been going on since October 2011, drew to a close Monday (March 19, 2012) when Thornton accepted a pre-trial intervention program.
Thornton has since been released from jail, where she spent 18 months, and will now have to perform 50 hours of community service and complete a psychological evaluation.
If her community service is not completed, Thornton’s charges will be reinstated.


Bridal Bliss Exclusive: NFL Star Adrian Wilson & Wife Renew Vows But what about the Jumpoff Malika Haqq?
A lot can happen in a year. For Arizona Cardinals’ safety Adrian Wilson and his wife of 10 years, Alicia Wilson, the last year has been an emotional roller coaster filled with unexpected change, unwanted drama and new beginnings.
After hitting a rough patch in their marriage, the once-happy childhood sweethearts and proud parents of three made a mutual, but tough, decision to legally separate. It was a private decision that suddenly wound up the topic of public scrutiny when reality TV star Malika Haqq, the woman Adrian went on a few casual dates with during the separation, brought reality TV cameras along for the ride.
Adrian wound up on two episodes of E!'s Khloe and Lamar. When the shows aired and news of his involvement with Malika broke, many of his fans labeled him a "cheating husband" and Malika a "homewrecker," and rumors that he had abandoned his wife and kids started popping up all over the web.

Adrian, Alicia and Malika exchanged a few jabs on Twitter and that's the last fans heard of the feud. Adrian reconciled with Alicia shortly afterward, and he tells us, things aren’t at all what they seemed to be on the show, and he and his wife have moved on. Reunited and feeling good, the happy couple recently renewed their vows in a lavish Hawaiian ceremony. If that doesn’t silence their haters, Adrian is hoping this interview will help clear a few things up.

Read on as Adrian talks to ESSENCE.com exclusively about what really happened between he and his wife and why he chose to fight for his family rather than return to bachelorhood.
 

ESSENCE.COM: Initially, what led you and Alicia to separate?
ADRIAN WILSON: I think we were kind of at a crossroads. Communication has always been a big component in our marriage, and somewhere along the line I think the communication just kind of fell apart. Once that happened, it seemed like it was just downhill from there. It was just a tough situation. I feel like it was something that we had to go through.

ESSENCE.COM: How bad were things between you?
WILSON: We were in the final stages of getting a divorce and everything being settled. She was ready to go her way, and I was going to go my way, but it wasn’t really something that we both wanted. We worked back to where we are.

ESSENCE.COM: How and when did you reconcile?
WILSON: We were separated for six months. That’s what everybody doesn’t understand. We were separated for a while. Getting back together was something that we had to talk about for a very long time. We talked some times all night long and into the next morning — talking about what needed to change. We realized they weren’t really big things; they were just things we needed to work on as a couple. There were things we needed to do in our marriage individually to make each other feel comfortable again and recognizing that I’m responsible for how she feels, and she’s responsible for how I feel. That communication was one of the main things that got us back to the point where we are now. I tell my wife more now than ever before, and she  does the same for me.

ESSENCE.COM: What was it like watching yourself go on a date on reality TV and then dealing with the fallout from gossip sites and fans afterward?
WILSON: The whole episode attacked my character, and it was shown in a way that reflected the opposite of who I really am. But that’s cool; that’s what they do. Am I mad? Sure. But at the end of the day, that’s not what is most important to me. It’s no longer on my mind. I told my wife all about it and about everything that happened before the show even aired. She was well-prepared for everything — for the backlash and all that stuff. It wasn’t what it should have been, but that’s on me. It’s not on anyone else but me. But being able to get through that, and be where we are now, makes me think the experience helped us out tremendously. I think it made us stronger.

ESSENCE.COM: Looking back, did dating Malika help you better appreciate what you and Alicia have?
WILSON: I don’t think there’s anything like true love. I’ve known my wife since middle school. I don’t think there’s anything stronger than knowing the other person the way we know each other. My wife did her thing; I did my thing. We were apart. Whatever. It was never really about any other person, it was about us individually. We were able to come back together and make it work, and that was the most important thing for us. The love that we’ve always had for each other is still there, and that’s a beautiful thing. That love is never gonna break.

ESSENCE.COM: Why did you choose to renew your vows now?
ADRIAN WILSON: We never had a wedding. This is a 10-year vow renewal, but it’s our first real actual wedding. I always told her that if we get to 10 years, I’d give her her time to shine and do all the things that brides do. She was very excited about it. It’s a great opportunity and real fresh start for us. We invited the people who actually love us for who we are and who’ve supported us throughout it all. Plus, we wanted to get our kids  involved and just show them that mommy and daddy have gotten back together and how important family is.

ESSENCE.COM: What message do you have for other couples who are feeling like separation or divorce may be their next step?
WILSON: I think you come to a crossroads and tough times in every relationship and every marriage. But at the end of the day, what are you doing individually to make it better? You can’t just close the door on your issues or on the person you’ve been with for so long. You can’t push things to the side, just be okay with that, and then think it won’t come up again. The problem is going to come back again, and be bigger than it was before. I don’t see anything wrong with fighting for what you have. Sometimes you lose so much more — you lose credibility with your kids, credibility with your family — if you don't. I’m a fighter, so I say, fight for everything that you have.


This could all be yours for 17,000,000.00 Courtesy of Alicia Keys & Swizz Beats
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz are on the move. The celebrity couple is selling their New York penthouse for 17-million-950-thousand dollars. The property spans six-thousand-167 square feet and features five bedrooms and four bathrooms. It also includes a wine cellar, a gourmet eat-in kitchen, a floating glass staircase, and a master suite with a spa.
Alicia and Swizz purchased the penthouse back in 2010 from rocker Lenny Kravitz for 12-million-740-thousand dollars.
Swizz Beatz is currently working on his sophomore album, “Haute Living.” The record is expected to arrive in stores sometime later this year. Alicia Keys has yet to announce when she’ll release her first album since becoming a mom in October of 2010.


A Florida student snaps out in class and threatens her Prof says “I WILL KILL THE F*** OUT OF YOU”
A Florida student was Tased and taken to hospital after issuing death threats during a foul-mouthed rant in the middle of a class on evolution.
Jonatha Carr repeatedly asked her professor, 'How does evolution kill black people?', and was unsatisfied by his response that evolution does not 'kill' people.
She then apparently lost her temper, screaming obscenities and assaulting other students and staff, before being dragged out and taken away by police.
The outburst was caught on camera by a number of students, who posted the footage online on sites such as YouTube and Facebook.
The extraordinary incident took place during a class at Florida Atlantic University taught by Stephen Kajiura.
 He had been telling students about how peacocks' feathers aid natural selection, when Carr - sitting in the front row - asked her bizarre question about evolution killing black people.
When Mr Kajiura could not give a satisfactory response, the student exploded in rage, and started shouting and threatening the rest of the class in racially charged language.
She screamed 'I will kill the f*** out of you', and claimed to 'hate' evolution.
Carr told the professor, 'You are f****** sick' and 'You better shut the f*** up before I f****** kill you.'
She then stomped around the classroom and struck a male student in the head, daring him to hit her back.
At that point two members of the university staff intervened, managing to immobilise Carr after she had lashed out at them.
Police arrived at the scene after being called by other students, and took her into a squad car, subduing her with a Taser, according to WSVN.

Video: 
Carr, 24, has now been expelled from the school and is being held in hospital, according to university authorities.
Rachel Bustamante, a student who posted video of the incident on the internet, described the outburst as the 'craziest thing I've ever seen'.
Mr Kajiura told the University Press, FAU's student newspaper, that he did not know Carr, but had previously had a civil discussion with her via email.
He described her bizarre behaviour in his class, saying: 'She became increasingly belligerent.
 It was at this point, a highly emotionally charged individual who was no longer capable of responding rationally. She was threatening to kill both me and the students in the class.'
After the outburst, he added, 'Everyone gave up and started texting.'


Anita Baker Deals with a Stalker


Anita Baker had to shut down one of her stans yesterday after making the mistake of following them on Twitter...
Read from the bottom up

DAMN first Janet with a nasty doll…..Now Anita? Jesus please take the wheel!


Deion Sanders Goes In On Pilar, Responding To Her $200 Million Lawsuit
Celebrity divorce is a very real, very nasty situation in most cases; and Deion Sanders’ situation with his ex-wife to be is no different. The pair has been battling it out (all her doing) since Pilar woke up one day and decided to take it to the press that she didn’t even know she was getting divorced. Please.

So when Deion’s daughter Deiondra took to her personal Twitter to air out the dirty laundry of her step-mother, Pilar took it real personal and filed a lawsuit to the tune of $200 million against her former husband and his daughter for plenty of “reasons” including defamation, libel, slander and who knows what else was listed.
But Deion has his little girl’s (and his own) back on this one. He refuted the court claims noting that Deiondra wasn’t lying when she went on her rants about Pilar being a “gold digging h-e.”
Though Deion always prefers to take the high road– and insists that his children do the same; sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. He has been wanting to get the case thrown out, but the courts say that a jury will have to rule on this one.

Who do you think the jury will favor?


SAY WHAT?: Rihanna goes to Ashton’s Pad for a Midnight Snack?
 They've both hogged headlines thanks to the turbulent denouement of their relationships with equally high profile exes.
But forget Demi Moore and Chris Brown because last night the plot took an unexpected twist when Rihanna arrived at Ashton Kutcher's home.
The 24-year-old singer was spotted by a photographer as she drove up to Ashton's property with her security team around midnight.
 The snapper confirmed to TMZ that the Barbados-born singer arrived almost square on the witching hour and didn't leave until roughly 4am.
Global singing sensation Justin Bieber also recently paid a visit to 34-year-old Ashton's $10 million bachelor with a view to buying the property.
But RiRi's visit seemed to be a little late for a tour of the amenities.
Perhaps she and Ashton have become friends in order to compare notes about their recent scandals. Rihanna has come under fire recently for asking her ex Chris Brown to work with her after he brutally beat her two years ago.

Diamond REVEALS Why She's Not Doing "Love & Hip Hop: ATL"
Reports hit the net that Diamond (formerly of Crime Mob) was prepping to appear on the "LAHH ATL spinoff" alongside Rasheeda, Stevie J and others. But now, word has it she won't be appearing afterall, and singer K. Michelle will be replacing her. During a chat with the Street Disciplez(Ei8ht & Mra), Diamond dished on why she won't be on Love and Hip Hop Atlanta.




Here are the highlights:


ON WHETHER OR NOT SHE WILL APPEAR ON "LOVE & HIP-HOP: ATLANTA":
"No I will not be on the show. Absolutely not."

ON WHETHER OR NOT TALK OF SCRAPPY AND HIS MOTHER APPEARING ON THE SHOW INFLUENCED HER DECISION TO STAR ON THE SHOW:
"Well I'm not sure who all is on the show, but I just know that right now I've been focused on my album and just being surrounded around positive things and positive people, and I just can't play with my career like that. Me being an artist in the middle of my career, you never know how TV can go. It can go good or it can go bad, and I just choose not to gamble with my career like that, you know."
"Actually I prayed about it 'cause I was going back and forth about it, and something just didn't sit right for me to go down that particular path right now. I'm not saying that I won't do reality television somewhere down the line, but as of now, I just feel like my music is my foundation, and that's what people want to hear from me. Me and my life through my music, not reality television."

ON WHETHER SHE RECORDED ANY EPISODES FOR THE SHOW:
"No, I actually took about, I think two meetings, and that was really it."

ON THE RUMOR THAT SHE QUIT THE SHOW AFTER GOING INTO THE BATHROOM TO PRAY WHILE FILMING AN EPISODE:
"Uh uh, that's hilarious! Are you serious? No, I'm the type of person that's all or nothing, so if I were to sign up for it...I would've started it, and I would've finished it. But I hadn't even began filming. You know I had two meetings that I took with the network, and that was it."

ON "LOVE & HIP-HOP" EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MONA SCOTT-YOUNG BEING UPSET WITH HER FOR DECIDING TO NOT DO THE SHOW:
"That is funny. I don't know, like, I know the network really wanted me, so they probably could be disappointed 'cause I decided to pull out. I don't know if there's ever been a situation where someone that they were really banking on being on the show pull out like that, so I really don't know, but that's not nothing I'm interested in."

ON WHETHER TALK OF MONA SCOTT-YOUNG AND THE OTHER PRODUCERS OF THE SHOW SETTING UP SITUATIONS INFLUENCE HER DECISION TO NOT APPEAR:
"I definitely took that into consideration; I'm not going to lie to you. I can't play with my life...it's real out here, you know what I mean? And I would hate for somebody to get hurt and to mess up my career, and I'm just going in a positive direction right now, so I don't even want to play those type of games and see if that is true or not."


Karrine Steffans is Pregnant Again
At various times Karrine 'Superhead' Steffans has claimed to have been impregnated by Bow Wow, Lil Wayne and Darrius McCrary. Well according to her, she's knocked up again. For real this time...







Karrine has one 14 year old son, fathered by old school rapper, Kool G Rap.



Record Label Won’t Release Songs Kandi did for Jo Dee Messina On R.H.O.A
Well it looks like Kandi won’t be getting that Country Grammy anytime soon.
It has been announced that the songs Kandi did with Jo Dee Messina on the hit reality show Realhouse wives of Atlanta will not be released by her label.
Jo Dee took to twitter to express her dismay.
Now Jo Dee is a country music star who probably doesn’t want to be Tardy for the party. And what I mean by that is this, her label understands that there is a stigma attacked to black artist these days. They look at black artist as jokes quite frankly. So the label is smart in not releasing these songs, because now that they have been written recorded and performed on the show, they will be pegged “Those songs heard on the real house wives.”


T.I. In Talks To Collaborate With Marvel Comics
T.I. reveals that he's in talks with Marvel Comics for a collaboration.
With the recent news of T.I.'s upcoming album Trouble Man and role on the Starz show "Boss," one would expect that the King of the South would have enough work on his plate for the next few months. But in a recent interview with Forbes' Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Tip revealed that he might be dipping into the world of comic books soon.
T.I. revealed that Marvel Comics has been seeking out the rapper for some form of collaboration. Although Tip kept tight-lipped as to the nature of the collaboration, he said that Marvel has been pining to work with him for quite some time.

“There is a Marvel Comics franchise that has been inquiring about my availability for quite some time," he said. "I will not let any cats out of the bag prematurely, however, there is a Marvel Comics franchise that has been requesting about my availability.”
The Atlanta rapper also revealed that he's got a number of other film projects in the works as well. He explained that he's set to appear in films alongside the likes of Omar Epps, comedian Kevin Hart and Tom Cruise.
"We also have a new Tom Cruise film with Doug Liman who made the [first] Bourne Identity, Swingers," he added. "I have that as well on the horizon...aside from that, I have some other film things that I'm looking into, something with Kevin Hart that I'm looking into, something with Omar Epps that I'm looking into."


AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
“Pray Harder”
WWJD? He would pull up his pants and lose the chain wallet. I’m pretty sure that Jesus wouldn’t be down with the whole biker lifestyle either.



HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD!

EFREM

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