Romance won the last weekend before the onslaught of the summer blockbusters.

For the second weekend in a row, Think Like a Man took the top spot at the box office. The romantic comedy brought in $18 million to bring its cumulative total of $60.8 million. Seeing as it was made for $12 million, this one is well into the black even with marketing and distribution costs.

The kid-friendly The Pirates! Band of Misfits came in second with $11.4 million, a fairly weak showing in the kid demographic. It’s the only film in this genre for a while, so it might make it up, but off of a $55 million budget, it’s got a long way to go.

The Lucky One fell to third place with $11.3 million, representing a 49.7% drop. This is very much in line with second weekends, so not a bad showing for the film.

Coming in fourth was the moster hit The Hunger Games with another $11.2 million. Domestically it has $372.4 million and a worldwide total of $600.9 million.  Seeing as film series of this type do more as they go on, we could easily be looking at $1 billion worldwide by the last installment, Mockingjay.

Rounding out the top five was The Five-Year Engagement with $11.1 million. Seeing as number three through five were so tight, it won’t be too surprising to see them change positions when the actual numbers come out.

Two other new releases didn’t fare so well with Safe landing in sixth place with $7.7 million and the John Cusack Edgar Allen Poe thriller The Raven coming in seventh with $7.25 million.

There’s only one major release next weekend, some little film called The Avengers. Current tracking polls are targeting a $150 million opening for this latest film from Marvel. The film has already racked up $178.4 million overseas, so it looks like this film is well on its way to being a monster for the rest of the movies coming out to deal with.

A Stafford Middle School teacher in Stafford, TX was arrested this past week over accusations he had inappropriate communications with students.

Paul Roberts, 53, was arrested this past week for accusations of sending inappropriate texts and social networking messages to two students at the school.  He has also been charged with an improper relationship with a student, a second-degree felony in Texas, but there is no word on what that may have entailed.

In a letter to parents at the school issued last Wednesday, SMSD Superintendent Lance Hindt said:

After a thorough investigation, it has been determined that the teacher did engage in inappropriate conduct as outlined by district policy.

[...]

There have been unsubstantiated reports that this inappropriate conduct may have involved additional students, however, I want to assure you that we will continue to investigate these reports.

According to the Houston Chronicle blog, Roberts began teaching at the school last year and was named “Teacher of the Year,” he also won a Crystal Award in 2011 which recognizes outstanding teachers who go “beyond the norm.”

Roberts has been relieved of his math teaching duties at the school and has been released from the Fort Bend country jail on a $7,500 bond.

While the evidence has not been provided to the public, it sounds like it is fairly solid.  This does make me wonder if social media contact between teachers and students should just be banned outright.  While I am all for teachers being mentors to their students as well as their educators, it seems that we are seeing social networks and texting popping up in these cases more and more.  There has been contact amongst teachers and students outside of school for as long as there has been phones, but for some reason these two forms of communication seem to be the ones abused the most.

[thanks to Jo for the tip]

As we head into the time for the network upfront presentations, it’s time to start wondering what is going to be renewed and what’s canceled for the 2012/2013 television season. While not all decisions are final, we already know a good chunk of which ones have been renewed. It sure doesn’t like much room has been left for new shows this year.

Just a brief description here:

• Renewed for 2012/2013 Season – Means just that, it’s already locked.
• Likely to be Renewed for 2012/2013 Season – Not official yet, but looking good.
• On the Bubble for 2012/2013 Season – Could go either way.
• Likely to be Canceled for 2012/2013 Season – Not official yet, but things are pretty bleak.
• Canceled for 2012/2013 Season – Confirmed to not be coming back.

I will be updating this list as changes are announced by the networks, so be sure to bookmark it if you don’t see a decision as of yet on a show you care about.  The network upfronts where the final decisions are announced are scheduled for the week of May 14.

Renewed for 2012/2013 Season

• 2 Broke Girls (CBS)
• 30 Rock (NBC) (UPDATED – Abbreviated final season)
• 48 Hours Mystery (CBS)
• 60 Minutes (CBS)
• 90210 (CW) (UPDATED)
• The Amazing Race (CBS)
• America’s Next Top Model (CW)
• American Dad (Fox)
• American Idol (Fox) (UPDATED)
• Bachelor Pad (ABC)
• The Bachelor (ABC)
• The Bachelorette (ABC)
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
• Big Brother (CBS)
• The Biggest Loser (NBC)
• Blue Bloods (CBS)
• Bob’s Burgers (Fox) (UPDATED)
• Body of Proof (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Bones (Fox)
• Castle (ABC) (UPDATED)
• The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC) (UPDATED)
• The Cleveland Show (Fox)
• Community (NBC) (UPDATED – Only 13 episodes)
• Cougar Town (ABC) UPDATED – Moving to TBS
• Criminal Minds(CBS)
• CSI (CBS) (UPDATED)
• CSI: New York (CBS)
• Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
• Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Family Guy (Fox)
• Fringe (Fox)
• Glee (Fox)
• The Good Wife (CBS)
• Gossip Girl (CW) (UPDATED – Abbreviated final season)
• Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Grimm (NBC)
• Happy Endings (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Hart Of Dixie (CW) (UPDATED)
• Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
• Kitchen Nightmares (Fox)
• Last Man Standing (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Law & Order: SVU (NBC) (UPDATED)
• The Mentalist (CBS)
• The Middle (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Mike & Molly (CBS)
• Modern Family (ABC)
• NCIS (CBS)
• NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
• New Girl (Fox)
• Nikita (CW) (UPDATED)
• The Office (NBC) (UPDATED)
• Once Upon A Time (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Parenthood (NBC) (UPDATED)
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) (UPDATED)
• Person of Interest (CBS)
• Private Practice (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Raising Hope (Fox)
• Revenge (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Rules of Engagement (CBS)v
• Scandal (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Secret Millionaire (ABC)
• Shark Tank (ABC)
• The Simpsons (Fox)
• Smash (NBC)
• So You Think You can Dance (Fox)
• Suburgatory (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Supernatural (CW) (UPDATED)
• Survivor (CBS)
• Touch (Fox) (UPDATED)
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) (UPDATED)
• Undercover Boss (CBS)
• Up All Night (NBC) (UPDATED – Only 13 episodes)
• The Vampire Diaries (CW) (UPDATED)
• The Voice (NBC)
• Whitney (NBC)
• Wife Swap (ABC)
• Wipeout (ABC) (UPDATED)
• The X Factor (Fox)

Likely to be Renewed for 2012/2013 Season

• 30 Rock (NBC) RENEWED!
• American Idol (Fox) RENEWED!
• Castle (ABC) RENEWED!
• The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC) RENEWED!
• Gossip Girl (CW) RENEWED!
• Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) RENEWED!
• Last Man Standing (ABC) RENEWED!
• Law & Order: SVU (NBC) RENEWED!
• The Office (NBC) RENEWED!
• Once Upon A Time (ABC) RENEWED!
• Revenge (ABC) RENEWED!
• Suburgatory (ABC) RENEWED!
• Supernatural (CW) RENEWED!
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) RENEWED!
• The Vampire Diaries (CW) RENEWED!

On the Bubble for 2012/2013 Season

• 90210 (CW) RENEWED!
• Alcatraz (Fox) CANCELED!
• Bob’s Burgers (Fox) RENEWED!
• Community (NBC) RENEWED!
• CSI: Miami (CBS)CANCELED!
• Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 (ABC) RENEWED!
• GCB (ABC) CANCELED!
• Happy Endings (ABC) RENEWED!
• Hart Of Dixie (CW) RENEWED!
• The Middle (ABC) RENEWED!
• Nikita (CW) RENEWED!
• Parenthood (NBC) RENEWED!
• Parks and Recreation (NBC) RENEWED!
• Private Practice (ABC) RENEWED!
• v (CBS) RENEWED!
• Scandal (ABC) RENEWED!
• The Secret Circle (CW) CANCELED!
• Touch (Fox) RENEWED!
• Up All Night (NBC) RENEWED!
• You Deserve It (ABC)

Likely to be Canceled for 2012/2013 Season

• A Gifted Man (CBS) CANCELED!
• Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC) CANCELED!
• Awake (NBC) CANCELED!
• Bent (NBC) CANCELED!
• Best Friends Forever (NBC)  CANCELED!
• Body of Proof (ABC) RENEWED!
• Breaking In (Fox) CANCELED!
• Cougar Town (ABC) UPDATED – Moving to TBS
• CSI: New York (CBS) RENEWED!
• The Finder (Fox) CANCELED!
• Harry’s Law (NBC) CANCELED!
• I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Fox) CANCELED!
• Missing (ABC) CANCELED!
• Napoleon Dynamite (Fox)
• NYC 22 (CBS)  CANCELED!
• Pan Am (ABC) CANCELED!
• Ringer (CW) CANCELED!
• The River (ABC) CANCELED!
• Rob (CBS) CANCELED!
• Unforgettable (CBS) CANCELED!
• Whitney (NBC) RENEWED!

Canceled for 2012/2013 Season

• A Gifted Man (CBS) (UPDATED)
• Alcatraz (Fox) (UPDATED)
• Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC) (UPDATED)
• Awake (NBC) (UPDATED)
• Bent (NBC) (UPDATED)
• Best Friends Forever (NBC) (UPDATED)
• Breaking In (Fox) (UPDATED)
• Charlie’s Angels (ABC)
• Chuck (NBC)
• CSI: Miami (CBS) (UPDATED)
• Desperate Housewives (ABC)
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)
• The Finder (Fox) (UPDATED)
• The Firm (NBC)
• Free Agents (NBC)
• GCB (ABC) (UPDATED)
• H8R (CW)
• Harry’s Law (NBC) (UPDATED)
• House (Fox)
• How to Be a Gentleman (CBS)
• I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Fox) (UPDATED)
• Man Up! (ABC)
• Missing (ABC) (UPDATED)
• The Nine Lives of Chloe King (ABC)
• NYC 22 (CBS) (UPDATED)
• One Tree Hill (CW)
• Pan Am (ABC) (UPDATED)
• The Playboy Club (NBC)
• Prime Suspect (NBC)
• Ringer (CW) (UPDATED)
• The River (ABC) (UPDATED)
• Rob (CBS) (UPDATED)
• The Secret Circle (CW) (UPDATED)
• Terra Nova (Fox)
• Unforgettable (CBS) (UPDATED)
• Work It (ABC)

Are you ready to go back to alien worlds with director Ridley Scott? I know I am.

Almost as exciting as the idea that Prometheus will answer many questions about Alien is the idea that Ridley Scott will once again be going into science fiction.  The man delivered two of the quintessential science films of my childhood: The aforementioned Alien and Blade Runner.  To see him return to the genre that made people sit back and take notice is just thrilling.  There are very few directors that you can use the term “visionary” for and not come off as sounding pompous, but he definitely falls into that category.

Eagle-eyed viewers will spot a few new shots in the featurette below (I do believe this is the first we’ve seen of the individual escape pod launching), but in general just enjoy a quick glimpse of Scott doing what he does best.

Prometheus opens on June 8 in the United States.

I have been a long time fan of PayPal – the online payment service owned by eBay – but all of that came to a screeching halt today.

Curious as to what my current balance was in PayPal, I logged into the site to see if all my bills for the month had been paid.  Due to the type of account I have, I also have a debit card with them that I love using as I receive a 1.5% cashback bonus.  My balance was healthy, but as I glanced through my transactions there was one that leaped out at me.  Somehow it claimed I had charged $88.29 to a Domino’s Pizza in Flushing, NY.  There are two immediate issues with this: I have never been to Flushing, NY and I never, ever eat Domino’s.

I called up PayPal immediately and was connected to an operator.  I told her the situation and she transferred me to the right department.  I went through the situation again and I will say they were very quick to assist with me putting the charge into contention.  As I feared they wanted me to cancel my card so they could issue me a new one, and while not thrilling, it was totally understandable.

And here is where we hit the snag: I was informed that it would take two to four weeks to issue me a replacement debit card.

Now, I don’t know about you, but in general I expect to get a new card in this type of situation in no more than 48 hours.  I told the gentleman assisting me that the length of time was unacceptable, but he assured me it is usually closer to the two week estimate.  I told him, again, that it was unacceptable in this day and age and that most card companies can get a replacement to you in no more than 48 hours.  He said there was nothing he could do to speed up the process.  I went ahead and canceled my card so that a new one could be issued, but that was when I decided I couldn’t just let this pass by.

If you think about it, I would need to contact everyone I pay with that card and tell them to use a different form of payment for the next month, and then I’d have to go through that all over again when the new PayPal card arrived.  This is far from an optimal solution as I’m sure anyone can see.

With this in mind I decided to turn to Twitter, my favorite mode of communication in situations like this.  After a particularly frustrating situation with FedEx, I used Twitter to finally get some results, so there was no reason to think that I wouldn’t get similar results this time.  I sent my first tweet around 1 PM CST and here I am several hours later without a peep out of them.  Some of my 3,000+ followers joined in as well by re-tweeting me and adding their own comments, and that didn’t seem to motivate them either.

At 2:32 PM CST I informed them via Twitter that I was pulling all of the money out of my account.

I have long loved PayPal, and though there have been many stories of issues with the firm, I have always stood by them as I had never encountered any problems.  While this is the company policy as opposed to a problem, in 2012, taking two to four weeks to issue me a card that gives me immediate access to my money is inexcusable.  Yes, you can pay online without the card, but that doesn’t work quite as well when you’re at the gas pump.  It doesn’t work so well when you use the card to pay for the very server this site is on, or the Interner subscription I access my blog with.  I need a card to pay for things with that money and informing me that it could take up to a month to get me a new card?  No thank you.

So, after years of using my card for more transactions than I care to think about, my PayPal debit card and I are going to have to part ways.  From the sloth like speed with which new cards are issued to the complete non-acknowledgement of a customer complaining loudly, it’s time for us to break up.

And by the way, it is most definitely you and not me that caused the problems.

(screenshot of the offending transaction after the break)

Continue Reading ->

If there is one thing you can say about Johnny Depp, it is that he certainly does his research.

When the first image for The Lone Ranger movie came out, about all anyone could comment on was how odd Johnny Depp looked as Tonto.

Well, some time has passed, and now Depp has explained he took his inspiration from this painting.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he explained his thought process:

I’d actually seen a painting by an artist named Kirby Sattler, and looked at the face of this warrior and thought: That’s it. The stripes down the face and across the eyes … it seemed to me like you could almost see the separate sections of the individual, if you know what I mean.

No, I’m not sure we totally know what you mean, Mr. Depp, but it does make some sense. Luckily he added more.

There’s this very wise quarter, a very tortured and hurt section, an angry and rageful section, and a very understanding and unique side. I saw these parts, almost like dissecting a brain, these slivers of the individual. That makeup inspired me.

As for the crow, I now see what he was going for and it makes a ton of sense.

It just so happened Sattler had painted a bird flying directly behind the warrior’s head. It looked to me like it was sitting on top,” Depp said, which led him to another eureka moment. “I thought: Tonto’s got a bird on his head. It’s his spirit guide in a way. It’s dead to others, but it’s not dead to him. It’s very much alive.

And speaking on why he chose to play Tonto, Depp had this to say.

The whole reason I wanted to play Tonto is to try to [mess] around with the stereotype of the American Indian that has been laid out through history, or the history of cinema at the very least — especially Tonto as the sidekick, The Lone Ranger’s assistant. As you’ll see, it’s most definitely not that.

You would think after as many Johnny Depp movies as I’ve watched over the years I would have known there was a reason for every choice he made. So, color me impressed.

The Lone Ranger is being directed by Gore Verbinski (The Pirates of the Carribbean), produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and will hit theaters on May 31, 2013.

[via Entertainment Weekly]

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but … I can’t wait for G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

While I’m positive I’ll walk away from the film going, “Blast it! Duped again!” these trailers have completely sucked me in. Despite the fact that it obviously has a lot of ties to the cliffhanger ending of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Bruce Willis is obviously playing Bruce Willis – it’s even more obvious in the first trailer - there seems to be an actual coherent plot going on here.  Not only that, there is no signs of over the top silliness like the “accelerator suits” from the last film, or Marlon Wayans cracking horrible jokes as Ripcord.  It appears that the filmmakers this time around tried to actually make, and I know this sounds insane, a serious film out of this children’s toy line.

Will it live up to these trailers?  Who knows, movies rarely do, but for now I am actually looking forward to this.

The reign of The Hunger Games has come to a close, but don’t expect the new champion to stay on the top for long.

After four weeks at the top, The Hunger Games has fallen from the top spot and been replaced by Think Like a Man.  It brought in an impressive $33 million off of a $12 million budget.  In short, it’s in profit, and seeing as I’ve seen like one commercial for it, it isn’t off of being a marketing machine.

Also surprising this weekend was The Lucky One, so apparently folks were ready for some romance at the theater as opposed to kids trying to kill one another.  It landed in second with $22.8 million.

The Hunger Games fell to third place with another $14.5 million for a cumulative $356.9 million domestically.

Possibly the biggest surprise of the weekend was the Disney documentary Chimpanzee. With only 1,563 screens to its name, the film still managed to come in fourth with $10.2 million.

Coming in fifth was The Three Stooges with $9.2 million, which doesn’t sound that impressive, but it was only a slip of 45.9%.

From the land of oddities, Battleship, which doesn’t open here until next month, is doing pretty well for itself in the foreign markets.  In only its second weekend the film is up to a cumulative $129.6 million.  If this is any indication for the domestic release, this film is going to do better than many expected.

Next week’s big releases are The Five-Year Engagement, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, The Raven and Safe.

It seems that the leaders of the Navajo Nation are on board with the idea of Johnny Depp as Tonto in the new Disney film, The Lone Ranger.

While many have been questioning how wise it was to cast Depp as Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s Native American sidekick, it seems the Navajo are okay with it.  New images have been released that show the leaders of the Nation meeting with the stars of the film as filming has moved on to their land.

Johnny Depp is seen here posing with Dr. Gayle Dine’Chacon, Surgeon General of the Navajo Nation.  (via Badass Digest)

The next few come from Collider, and show Depp meeting with various leaders of the Navajo.

At least part of what we are seeing here is that perhaps he doesn’t always have the crow on his head.

And finally a picture of Armie Hammer with the leaders.

I’ve had a lot of questions about the idea of Depp in this role, but he has gone on record about how he is trying to make sure he attempts to change the view people have Native Americans.  If he succeeds, more power to him as it may tke a named star like him to do it.

The Lone Ranger is being directed by Gore Verbinski (The Pirates of the Carribbean), produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and will hit theaters on May 31, 2013.

[via Collider]

The promotion for the upcoming Ridley Scott Alien prequel Prometheus has definitely taken to the viral side of things.

Earlier this week fake promotional posters for Weyland Industries products hit various sites around the Internet.  We already saw the promotional video for David (Michael Fassbender), and now there is a poster to go along with it that oddly features a mention of Verizon FiOS.  The others center around some of the vehicles and technology we’ve seen in the trailers.  I’ve always loved stuff like this that lists all the fake tech you’ll see in a movie.  Because, as everyone knows, you really need to know the USCSS Prometheus uses “nuclear powered ion engine drives.”  There, isn’t your enjoyment of the movie already that much more?

Even with all of this promotion, I still think this film isn’t going to do huge box office.  ”Hard” sci-fi rarely does, so I’m counting myself lucky that I’ll get to see some questions I’ve had since 1979 answered, but I do highly doubt this will set the box office on fire.

Prometheus opens June 8.

Could someone check my head for a fever? This new G.I. Joe:Retaliation movie is actually starting to look descent to me.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I have no delusions of this being an Oscar-worthy film, or some sort of high art, but as someone who grew up with this version of G.I. Joe, it’s looking a lot more like the film I always hoped for as a kid.  We’ll just try to forget G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra happened, and hope that those involved got it right this time.  From what I’ve been seeing in the trailers and commercials, it looks like it has some possibilities, and now finally getting a good look at the likes of Cobra Commander, and … you get the idea.

The last thing I want to have happen is to get my hopes up and just have them dashed yet again, but I can’t help it, it’s looking like what I’ve always wanted from this property.

It’s hard to believe, but it looks like Sin City: A Dame to Kill For really is going to happen.

Announced just last week, Robert Rodriguez is already starting to discuss the casting process for the follow-up to his 2005 Sin City.  Speaking with MTV, the director shared some details on who may return.

We still have to cast. I’m shooting Machete [Kills] next month, and we go right into Sin City [A Dame to Kill For].  It might overlap, but we haven’t done any casting yet, except for the people who we know are already in it and returning.   A Dame to Kill For, all those people come back. I just had lunch with Mickey [Rourke] this weekend. He’s all excited to come back, but he’s probably the first one. I saw Rosario [Dawson] too. I ran into her for something else, and she’s pumped. They’ve always been excited about doing another one, so that will be fun.

As I explained previously, the Sin City books are done out of order, so although we saw Marv (Mickey Rourke) die in the first film, there is nothing stopping him from showing up in the sequel.

Rodriguez had this to say about the long rumored possibility of Angelina Jolie’s involvement with this project..

It was immediately [known] that we were going to do it. I think it was 2007, and I was already meeting with Angelina Jolie and people to do it. The Weinsteins had just started a new company. They just didn’t have the money to do it at the time. It was like, “Go do another movie or two and come back. We’ll be ready.” I went off and did a couple movies. Frank went off and did some movies. Then it got harder and harder to come back and find the time to do it. We missed that moment when it was ready to go. Then it was so far afterwards that it might as well have been any time now, but people never lost their appetite for it. They still come up to us and say “When are you doing another ‘Sin City’?” We thought we had to do it at some point. Now we’re just making the time.

I haven’t even gotten to meet with her yet about it or discuss with Frank about who we would want to go with or talk to first. That’s a fun process, but that probably won’t happen in the next month.

The last interesting tidbit was that everyone really enjoyed the format of the first film being three stories, and while they plan to keep with that theme for this time, only one of them will be made up of previous material.

Dramatically, the three-act structure has lasted and is tried and true. I did an anthology before called “Four Rooms,” and if you look it up, anthologies are never successful. That’s the end of that, I thought. Then I said, “I bet I can do an anthology if it’s the same director, and not four, not five, not eight stories. That’s too many.” Three is a good number. I think two is just weird. Three feels like a dramatic structure, even if they’re separate stories. I feels like one, two, three acts and maybe a wrap around. It worked on “Sin City,” and that’s probably the first anthology that ever worked, that I can think of. So I’m going to stick with that template because, one, I invented it. I can claim it and go, “I’m going to do it again.” If it doesn’t work, then I’ll know that “Sin City” was just a fluke.

[...]

If we did just one story, the audience might feel cheated that they didn’t get a bigger glimpse of it, especially having waited so long.  So, lets go back to the three story structure.  We’ll take A Dame to Kill For, which already pre-exists, and have Frank [Miller] come up with two more new stories and a wrap-around so it feels similar in structure to the first one, but even more expanded than that.

With the news that we’ll get two brand new stories set in Basin City, I’m more excited than ever to see this film take shape.

[via MTV]