It’s a Great Debut for “Gatsby” at the Box Office

Baz Luhrman‘s stunning new epic drama The Great Gatsby based on the iconic book opened way above expectations this weekend with $51 million. That was a huge number for a historical film that is geared towards women but the appeal of Leonardo DiCaprio and Luhrman’s artistry clearly pulled in a lot of fans. I have to say I’m thrilled for the successful opening because I loved the movie. (The Great Gatsby is a fantastic American tragedy that is sumptuous and gorgeous to behold with fantastic performances by DiCaprio and Joel Edgerton. Grade: A) … While Gatsby‘s opening was great, it still could only manage second place as Iron Man 3 took in a huge $72 million in its sophomore frame for a big $284 million to date… The other new film opening this weekend, Tyler Perry Presents Peeples, tanked big time with just $4.8 million, the first casualty of the summer movie season…. We’ll see how Gatsby and Iron Man hold up against the new Star Trek film next weekend, but in the meantime, check out the new top ten below. And head to Box Office Mojo for all the numbers.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Iron Man 3 BV $72,472,000 -58.4% 4,253 – $17,040 $284,893,000 $200 2
2 N The Great Gatsby (2013) WB $51,115,000 – 3,535 – $14,460 $51,115,000 – 1
3 2 Pain and Gain Par. $5,000,000 -33.4% 3,303 +16 $1,514 $41,608,000 $26 3
4 N Tyler Perry Presents Peeples LGF $4,850,000 – 2,041 – $2,376 $4,850,000 $15 1
5 3 42 WB $4,650,000 -23.2% 2,930 -415 $1,587 $84,732,000 $40 5
6 4 Oblivion Uni. $3,864,000 -31.5% 2,770 -660 $1,395 $81,655,000 $120 4
7 5 The Croods Fox $3,600,000 -14.3% 2,650 -265 $1,358 $173,215,000 $135 8
8 6 The Big Wedding LGF $2,500,000 -35.6% 2,298 -335 $1,088 $18,288,000 $35 3
9 7 Mud RAtt. $2,343,000 +8.4% 854 +278 $2,744 $8,363,000 – 3
10 8 Oz The Great and Powerful BV $802,000 -62.0% 774 -386 $1,036 $229,985,000 $215 10

This is Why I Still Love “Glee”

Last Thursday’s season finale of Glee was a busy one. We saw the Glee Club win Sectionals, Brittany (Heather Morris), leave town for M.I.T., Will (Emmy nominee Matthew Morrison) and Emma (Jayma Mays) finally tie the not, and the identity of “Catfish” was revealed. (Hello I soooo knew it was Unique played by fantastic Glee Project finalist Alex Newell). What we didn’t see was whether or not Rachel (Emmy nominee Lea Michelle) got her part on Broadway in Funny Girl. We did at least get to witness her amazing performance of the Celine Dion hit “To Love You More” at her callback, and that performance is precisely why people should still be watching Glee. Michelle was amazing and the number was just stunning. I have it for you below… But you will have to wait til September for season 5 of Glee and the reveal of Rachel’s fate.

Glee~ “To Love You More” by Rachel (Lea Michelle)

American Idol Quick Wrap 5/8/13~ Here Comes the Tears

Tonight, the best top three singers in the history of American Idol performed admirably thru many vats of tears on arguably the best episode of the season to date. Not only were their songs bringing us to tears but the annual home town visits were showcased and that was a serious bawl-fest. Whether it was the “Boston Strong” signs Angie witnessed or Candice‘s massive family displaying their incredible joy or the heartbreak of visiting Kree’s home where she grew up with her late parents, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. And that includes my house where I was a blubbering fool….
Yes, the emotions were high throughout the night which helped to bring out some great performances as the contestants sang three songs (Jimmy’s Choice, Judge’s Choice, Producers Choice) as they fought for a spot in next week’s finale. All of them have a good shot with these wonderful performances, but just who has the edge? Take a look at my performance rankings and predictions below~

American Idol Season 12 Top Three Performance Rankings~
~ the Astounding
1. Candice- “Somewhere”: tackling the iconic ballad from West Side Story, Candice absolutely slayed the monster with a version that rivals Barbra and Broadway’s best. It was simply amazing. Her vocals were rich with piercing emotion and soaring notes that not only transported us to a different plane but made the song seem new and fresh.I was crying and giving a “Standing O” alongside the judges. It was arguably the best “moment” of the season to date. FYI~ the other best “moment” of the season was Candice’s “Love Song”. Somebody absolutely deserves to win this competition with her insanely good performances and that someone is Candice!
~ the great
2. Kree- “Here Comes Goodbye”: singing the Rascal Flatts hit (co-written by American Idol alum Chris Sligh), Kree gave her best performance of the season. It was a glorious and emotionally wrenching vocal that had me in tears. If she records music this good with this amount of feeling, she will have a big career ya’ll. Just wonderful.
3. Angie Miller- “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”: delivering Elton John’s classic ballad with a surprising amount of heart and subtlety, Angie gave her best performance of the night. Shockingly I agreed with Randy that the verses were the best part and her simplicity there really connected with the emotion perfectly. Angie is a pro and so comfortable in front of or behind the piano. Well done.
4. Candice- “One”: Candice hit it out of the park again on U2′s glorious anthem. Her emotions were on point and the vocals really cut to the core of this aching rocker. Candice showed she can sing any genre yet again tonight and with this rock track, I’d love to see her venture into this genre on her debut album. So good!
5. Angie- “Try”: holy crap, I have to admit it. I believed Angie the rock star tonight as she truly rose to the occasion on P!nk’s recent top ten smash. Her voice fit the song perfectly and she had such confidence and swagger on the stage. She really is the whole package now.

~ the good
6. Candice- “Next to Me”: with this soaring and sultry version of Emeli Sande’s current hit, Candice showed how she can be a contemporary artist and still smash the hell out of the vocal. It felt like it was her very own song and I loved how she played with the riffs at the end.
7. Angie- “Maybe”: I’m sure most people didn’t know this Emeli Sande song before tonight, but I bet a bunch of you went straight to iTunes and bought it after hearing Angie’s lovely interpretation. (Seriously, I’m living for all things Emeli Sande right now!) It’s the perfect kind of song for Angie to sing and record. Another fine job.
~ the pretty good:
8. Kree- “Better Dig Two”: singing the recent # 1 country hit by The Band Perry (co-written by my fiend Shane MacAnally), Kree was able to let loose a bit and have fun. I could see her record something like this in the future. However, on a night of great performances, this one just seemed average. I did love seeing Kree have fun on an uptempo number though.
9. Kree- “Perfect”: I have to agree with Kree that this # 2 smash from P!nk wasn’t the right fit for her. While her voice sounded great, especially on the countrified first verse, the song just felt a bit off. I do love that Kree focused on the positive message of the song and she certainly delivered that sentiment well.

Predictions~
I don’t think they’ll announce an actual bottom two. They’ll just say who’s going home and that person will be…
Going Home: Kree

Sadly, I think this is the end of the line for our kind-hearted and full-voiced country girl Kree Harrison. She’s a true authentic singer and artist and I can’t wait to see what she does in the future…. However, if I’m wrong and she makes the finale, I’ll be surprised and excited. But who would she replace? At this point I don’t really think she can take down Candice or Angie…. We’ll find out tomorrow night on American Idol.… Oh and on a side note, I have to applaud the judges for their most civil and least long-winded judging of the season. I wish they had been like this all year!

And just because I had to watch it like 10 times in a row, I’m gonna share it with you again. Check out Candice’s astounding performance of “Somewhere” below.

Jessica Sanchez Takes on “GLEE”

My favorite singer, and easily the best vocalist, from last season’s American Idol, Jessica Sanchez wound up in second place to the very successful Phillip Philips. However, Sanchez is doing her best to make her mark on the business with a just-released debut album, Me, You, and the Music and a big guest appearance on Glee. Sanchez hits the musical dramedy for its season finale playing Frida Romero, a big voiced diva from a rival Glee club. She will be performing the current top 40 pop hits “Wings” by Little Mix and “Clariy” by Zedd. I can’t wait to see her unleash those massive pipes on the Glee kids Thursday night on Fox… In the meantime, you can check out her great new album full of pop and dance tracks in stores and digital outlets now. It will make its debut on the Billboard 200 tomorrow in the top twenty as well. For more on Sanchez, head here and check out a preview of her appearance on Glee below.

Jessica Sanchez on Glee

And here’s Jessica’s current hit single featuring NeYo, “Tonight”. Enjoy!

Iron Man 3 Makes a Smashing Debut

Iron Man 3 smashed its way into theaters this weekend with a giant $175 million over its first three days. That marks the second highest debut in history after last year’s The Avengers. No doubt the good vibes from that film rubbed off on the third installment in the Iron Man franchise erasing the lackluster fan reaction to the second film. (Personally, I think Iron Man 3 was a huge improvement over the # 2. It was fun an entertaining if a bit overwrought and forced. I give it a “B” grade.) It should continue to do well over the next few weeks as the summer movie season kicks into high gear…. No other new films dared challenge Man, so the rest of the top ten were mostly holdovers trying to get some attention. One indie film, Mud the Southern drama starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, did expand to just over 500 theaters and was able to crack the top ten though…. Take a look at the full list below and head to Box Office Mojo for all the numbers.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Iron Man 3 BV $175,300,000 – 4,253 – $41,218 $175,300,000 $200 1
2 1 Pain and Gain Par. $7,600,000 -62.5% 3,287 +10 $2,312 $33,919,000 $26 2
3 3 42 WB $6,210,000 -41.7% 3,345 -60 $1,857 $78,336,000 $40 4
4 2 Oblivion Uni. $5,797,000 -67.4% 3,430 -362 $1,690 $75,969,000 $120 3
5 5 The Croods Fox $4,225,000 -37.2% 2,915 -368 $1,449 $168,743,000 $135 7
6 4 The Big Wedding LGF $3,875,000 -49.0% 2,633 – $1,472 $14,210,000 $35 2
7 11 Mud RAtt. $2,150,000 -3.0% 576 +213 $3,733 $5,158,000 – 2
8 13 Oz The Great and Powerful BV $1,822,000 +0.6% 1,160 -450 $1,571 $228,568,000 $215 9
9 7 Scary Movie 5 W/Dim. $1,435,000 -58.2% 1,857 -876 $773 $29,603,000 $20 4
10 9 The Place Beyond the Pines Focus $1,298,000 -52.4% 1,162 -422 $1,117 $18,678,000 $15 6

Michael Buble and P!nk Rule the Charts

Sorry for the delay on my post about the biggest hits in music this week, but I’ve been dealing with some “real” work stuff as my short comedy Dirty Talk continues across the festival circuit. (We just played Boston and won the Audience Award at the Miami LGBT Film Fest!!) … But back to the music world, Grammy winner Michael Buble nabs his fourth # 1 album as To Be Loved debuts atop the Billboard 200 Albums chart. He holds off fellow Grammy winner and American Idol winner Fantasia who lands at # 2 with Side Effects of You, her third top ten album and second # 1 R&B Album. Also debuting in the top ten are alt-rockers Phoenix, metal head Rob Zombie and Will.I.Am with a slightly disappointing #9 debut for his latest. Take a look at the full top ten below and head to Billboard for more on all the Albums charts.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. To Be Loved- Michael Buble (debut)
2. Side Effects of You- Fantasia (debut)
3. The 20/20 Experience- Justin Timberlake (last week~ 3)
4. Bankrupt!- Phoenix (debut)
5. Save Rock and Roll- Fall Out Boy (lw~ 1)
6. Based on a True Story- Blake Shelton (lw~ 4)
7. Venemous Rat Regeneration- Rob Zombie (debut)
8. Indicud- Kid Cudi (lw~ 2)
9. #willpower- Will.I.Am (debut)
10. The Truth About Love- P!nk (lw~ 10)

You saw P!nk‘s long running hit album hanging on for another week in the top ten above, and a big reason why is the third top ten smash from the album “Just Give Me A Reason” featuring Nate Ruess which holds on to the top spot of the Hot 100 Singles Chart for a third week. She fends off a strong charge by Macklmore & Ryan Lewis and will have to face some new competition by Swedish dance duo Icona Pop who charge into the top ten with their fist top ten hit “I Love It”. Take a gander at the new top ten below and head to Billboard for all the singles genre charts here.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Just Give Me A Reason”- P!nk w/ Nate Reuss (lw~ 1)
2. “Can’t Hold Us Down”- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (lw~ 2)
3. “Stay”- Rihanna w/ Mikkey Ekko (lw~ 6)
4. “Thrift Shop”- Macklmore & Ryan Lewis (lw~ 3)
5. “Mirrors”- Justin Timberlake (lw~ 7)
6. “When I Was Your Man”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 4)
7. “Suit & Tie”- Justin Timberlake w/ Jay Z (lw~8)
8. “Feel this Moment”- Pitbull w/ Christina Aguilera (lw~ 9)
9. “I Love It”- Icona Pop (lw~ 13)
10. “Radioactive”- Imagine Dragons (lw~ 12)

And here’s Michael Buble’s new single “It’s A Beautiful Day” from his new chart topping album To Be Loved.

American Idol Quick Wrap 5/1/13~ May Day May Day!

As, I was watching last night’s American Idol, I kept screaming at the TV: “May Day, May Day”! No, not just because it was the first day of May, but because the top four were crashing throughout the vocal battle last night. Well, ok, 3 of them were crashing at times, because Miss Candice Glover seriously killed it on both of her songs. The fierce four sang “Songs from 2013″ with surprisingly blah results and the over-worn theme of “Standards”. Unfortunately, Angie, Amber and Kree all seemed a little tired or defeated and you could see that this long journey is starting to get to them with tons of stress and pressure. And while that was apparent, in a few of their numbers, the ladies voices were glorious as always… I wish I could say the same about the judges who were battling each other again. I’m sorry but I think Mariah may have to get the boot alongside the incredibly annoying Nicki and useless Randy next year. And, um, while Harry Connick Jr gave good advice and was an amusing mentor, his hard criticism really defeated the girls and he sounded like a real jerk at times. However, in the long run, he actually could be a really good and honest judge should the producers consider him for next year… And while they contemplate that, let’s take a look at my rankings and predictions for last night.

American Idol Performance Rankings for 5/1/13

~the great

1. Candice- “You’ve Changed”: with the best vocal and performance of the night, Candice simply killed it on this beautiful standard. She made the song seem current and infused it with the perfect mix of emotion and heartbreak. Astounding.
2. Amber- “My Funny Valentine”: reprising the song that got her into the top twenty, Amber changed it up a bit and gave another flawless vocal. It was a beautiful and heart-tugging performance that stands as one of Amber’s best to date. I really hope she can pull out a miracle and make it another week with pipes as amazing as hers.

~ the good

3. Kree- “See You Again”: with what I consider the most emotionally connected performance of the night, Kree brought me to tears on her cover of Carrie Underwood‘s new hit. I wish it had just been her and the guitarist because she could’ve had an “Idol Moment”, but it was still a great performance and Kree’s best in weeks.

4. Candice- “When I Was Your Man”: tackling Bruno Mars’ recent # 1 smash, Candice delivered another solid performance. She really connected with the audience and made the song sound like it was written for a woman. She’s not only a supreme singer but a great storyteller.

~ the ok:
5. Kree- “Stormy Weather”: while her vocals were strong and the song started out good, it just left no impression and fell flat. Kree really never quite connected to the song and her bluesy tone was lost as she followed Harry Connick Jr’s advice. (He steered her wrong despite his smart advice on the standards for the other ladies). That said, it was one of the better of the “Standards” half of the show. I just wish the judges and Harry hadn’t highjacked the whole critique section and made a mess of things.
6. Angie- “Someone to Watch Over Me”: while the production of the song was overwrought , Angie’s vocals were clear and lovely. There were some standout moments that were a nice counterpoint to her over-singing in the rest of the song. And she did look gorgeous, but it was a little forced and Disney-fied and that finally note was so out-of-place and obnoxious.
~ the eh:
7. Amber- “Just Give Me A Reason”: my girl Amber faltered on the current # 1 song in the nation by P!nk and Nate Reuss. Her vocals were fantastic of course, but she seemed lost otherwise. She was stiff and in her head. Also, this is clearly not a song that she would record and you could see it in her unconformability. I just wish she had done Rihanna’s “Diamonds” instead of Angie.
~ the bad:
8. Angie- “Diamonds”: I’m sorry, but this was not good. While Angie sang it well and has a great voice, her interpretation of the song turned it into a bad jazz club joint and lost all the meaning and heat of the song. It was all kinds of forced and her fake pleading to the camera did her no favors either.
9. The Top 4 -”Wings”: um, what was that? No introduction was provided or explained for the ladies singing the new top 40 song by UK X Factor girl group Little Mix and it just felt weird. Also, none of them got to showcase their vocals and there were dancers and pyrotechnics that took away from our talented top four. Uncle Nigel and the Idol Producers, what the hell was that?

Predictions~
Bottom 2: Amber and Kree
Going home: Amber
* However, this is a crazy week in Idol history as fourth place is where we saw shocking boots for Chris Daughtry and Tamyra Gray. So, with that in mind, I wouldn’t be shocked if Angie fell into the bottom and got the boot. She did go first and was not very good last night, so it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if she suddenly lost support and fell victim to the fourth place curse. But you know she got a ton of votes last week so, we will see.

So, there you have it. The ladies faltered a bit as we’re nearing the end of a long and exhausting race. America’s votes from the last two weeks will be combined for tonight’s results and Amber may finally be in danger (boo!). But, could there be a shocking elimination? As long as it’s not Candice, I will be able to handle it. Will you? Let me know who your favorites are below and watch the American Idol results tonight on Fox.

The Tony Nominations Get Kinky!

Kinky Boots, the fierce new musical from Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper and Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, based on the indie film about a drag queen teaming up with a boot maker led this morning’s Tony Award nominations with 13 bids. The show will compete for Best Musical, Book of a Musical, Music & Lyrics, Direction, Choreography, Featured Actress (Analeigh Ashford) and Lead Actor (Billy Porter and Stark Sands) and more. Boots out shown the supposed front-runner Matilda the Musical which came in just behind it with 12 nominations including Best Musical. Those shows will go up against two other film to stage shows: Bring It On: The Musical and A Christmas Story: The Musical.… On the play side, Oscar winner Tom Hanks and his show The Lucky Guy (the final work by the late great screenwriter Nora Ephron) landed nominations as did Broadway vets Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalfe, and David Hyde Pierce. Take a look at all the nominees below…. The other big news with this morning’s nominations was the virtual shutout for the hit revival Annie which only managed 1 nomination and the snubbing of lots of Hollywood stars like Alec Baldwin, Jessica Chastain, Al Pacino, Scarlett Johannson, Sigourney Weaver and most notably Bette Midler who is brilliant in her one woman show I’ll Eat You Last…. For more on these snubs, head to Gold Derby here and head to the Tony website for more on the show which airs Sunday June 9 on CBS.

The 2013 Tony Award Nominations:

Best Musical
Bring It On: The Musical
A Christmas Story, The Musical
Kinky Boots
Matilda The Musical

Best Musical Revival
Annie
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Pippin
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Best Actor (Musical)
Bertie Carvel, Matilda The Musical
Santino Fontana, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella
Rob McClure, Chaplin
Billy Porter, Kinky Boots
Stark Sands, Kinky Boots

Best Actress (Musical)
Stephanie J. Block, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Carolee Carmello, Scandalous
Valisia LeKae, Motown The Musical
Patina Miller, Pippin
Laura Osnes, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Best Featured Actor (Musical)
Charl Brown, Motown The Musical
Keith Carradine, Hands on a Hardbody
Will Chase, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Gabriel Ebert, Matilda The Musical
Terrence Mann, Pippin

Best Featured Actress (Musical)
Annaleigh Ashford, Kinky Boots
Victoria Clark, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella
Andrea Martin, Pippin
Keala Settle, Hands on a Hardbody
Lauren Ward, Matilda The Musical

Best Book of a Musical
A Christmas Story, The Musical
Joseph Robinette
Kinky Boots
Harvey Fierstein
Matilda The Musical
Dennis Kelly
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella
Douglas Carter Beane

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
A Christmas Story, The Musical
Music and Lyrics: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Hands on a Hardbody
Music: Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green
Lyrics: Amanda Green
Kinky Boots
Music & Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper
Matilda The Musical
Music & Lyrics: Tim Minchin

Best Director (Musical)
Scott Ellis, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots
Diane Paulus, Pippin
Matthew Warchus, Matilda The Musical

Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, Bring It On: The Musical
Peter Darling, Matilda The Musical
Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots
Chet Walker, Pippin

Best Costume Design (Musical)
Gregg Barnes, Kinky Boots
Rob Howell, Matilda The Musical
Dominique Lemieux, Pippin
William Ivey Long, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Best Lighting Design (Musical)
Kenneth Posner, Kinky Boots
Kenneth Posner, Pippin
Kenneth Posner, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella
Hugh Vanstone, Matilda The Musical

Best Scenic Design (Musical)
Rob Howell, Matilda The Musical
Anna Louizos, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Scott Pask, Pippin
David Rockwell, Kinky Boots

Best Sound Design (Musical)
Jonathan Deans and Garth Helm, Pippin
Peter Hylenski, Motown The Musical
John Shivers, Kinky Boots
Nevin Steinberg, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Best Orchestrations
Chris Nightingale, Matilda The Musical
Stephen Oremus, Kinky Boots
Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook, Motown The Musical
Danny Troob, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

PLAYS
Best Play
The Assembled Parties Author: Richard Greenberg
Lucky Guy Author: Nora Ephron
The Testament of Mary Author: Colm Toíbín
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Author: Christopher Durang

Best Play Revival
Golden Boy
Orphans
The Trip to Bountiful
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Actor (Play)
Tom Hanks, Lucky Guy
Nathan Lane, The Nance
Tracy Letts, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
David Hyde Pierce, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Tom Sturridge, Orphans

Best Actress (Play)
Laurie Metcalf, The Other Place
Amy Morton, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Kristine Nielsen, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Holland Taylor, Ann
Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful

Best Featured Actor (Play)
Danny Burstein, Golden Boy
Richard Kind, The Big Knife
Billy Magnussen, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Tony Shalhoub, Golden Boy
Courtney B. Vance, Lucky Guy

Best Featured Actress (Play)
Carrie Coon, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Shalita Grant, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Judith Ivey, The Heiress
Judith Light, The Assembled Parties
Condola Rashad, The Trip to Bountiful

Best Director (Play)
Pam MacKinnon, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Nicholas Martin, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Bartlett Sher, Golden Boy
George C. Wolfe, Lucky Guy

Best Costume Design (Play)
Soutra Gilmour, Cyrano de Bergerac
Ann Roth, The Nance
Albert Wolsky, The Heiress
Catherine Zuber, Golden Boy

Best Lighting Design (Play)
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Lucky Guy
Donald Holder, Golden Boy
Jennifer Tipton, The Testament of Mary
Japhy Weideman, The Nance

Best Scenic Design (Play)
John Lee Beatty, The Nance
Santo Loquasto, The Assembled Parties
David Rockwell, Lucky Guy
Michael Yeargan, Golden Boy

Best Sound Design (Play)
John Gromada, The Trip to Bountiful
Mel Mercier, The Testament of Mary
Leon Rothenberg, The Nance
Peter John Still and Marc Salzberg, Golden Boy

“The Killing” Returns this June!!

One of my favorite shows from the past few years, the mystery drama The Killing comes back from the dead for season 3 on June 2. The show which had been cancelled and then un-cancelled by AMC makes a dramatic return with a new season long story about a serial killer and reunites Holder (Joel Kinnaman) with Linden (Emmy nominee Mirielle Enos) who had left the force after the Rosie Larson case wrapped up. Joining the cast is Golden Globe nominee Peter Sarsgaard as someone with a key to the murder spree. This season’s mystery will be solved in one season promises AMC after much fan and critic displeasure with the Larsen case going over two seasons. I’m thrilled the show is coming back because it’s a taut, tense and brilliant drama. And for those who gave up before watching the entire second season, I say catch up on Netflix now because this show is just too good to be ignored…. Catch new episodes of The Killing this June and also watch for Enos on the big screen alongside Brad Pitt in World War Z on June 21st.

The Killing Season 3 Promo:

“Pain & Gain” Doesn’t Have Much Muscle But Still Tops the Box Office

The new action film about muscle-head criminals (and the true life scandal about their actions), Pain and Gain, topped the box office this weekend with $20 million. It was a lackluster opening considering the combined power of stars Mark Wahlberg and The Rock, and the poor audience reaction does not bode well for its future. But, it still won the weekend over Tom Cruise’s Oblivion which added another $17 million for a decent $64 million after two weeks. Both films should take huge hits next week when Iron Man 3 crashes the party… One other film opened this weekend and was DOA as the star-studded romantic comedy The Big Wedding with Robert DeNiro, Susan Sarandon, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton and Topher Grace tanked with only $7.5 million. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo and check out the new top ten below… The summer movie season can’t get here soon enough is all I’m saying!

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Pain and Gain Par. $20,000,000 – 3,277 – $6,103 $20,000,000 $26 1
2 1 Oblivion Uni. $17,443,000 -52.9% 3,792 +9 $4,600 $64,731,000 $120 2
3 2 42 WB $10,725,000 -39.5% 3,405 +155 $3,150 $69,079,000 $40 3
4 N The Big Wedding LGF $7,500,000 – 2,633 – $2,848 $7,500,000 $35 1
5 3 The Croods Fox $6,600,000 -28.5% 3,283 -152 $2,010 $163,025,000 $135 6
6 5 G.I. Joe: Retaliation Par. $3,620,000 -37.2% 2,707 -468 $1,337 $116,396,000 $130 5
7 4 Scary Movie 5 W/Dim. $3,457,000 -43.8% 2,733 -669 $1,265 $27,494,000 $20 3
8 7 Olympus Has Fallen FD $2,768,000 -38.2% 2,334 -304 $1,186 $93,076,000 $70 6
9 6 The Place Beyond the Pines Focus $2,699,000 -45.1% 1,584 +42 $1,704 $16,205,000 $15 5
10 9 Jurassic Park 3D Uni. $2,310,000 -43.0% 1,848 -482 $1,250 $42,000,000 $10 4