MONDAY AM: Wishing you a joyous New Year, and better quality movies at the box office. (Oh yeah, as if that's gonna happen. Read my LA Weekly column about 2007's orgy of sequels coming to a megaplex near you.) At the box office there was very little "new" about the Top 10 movies since all were holdouts. So this 4-day weekend is really about the studios optimizing their heavily marketed assets and getting the most $$$ out of the holiday moviegoing frame. "The rich get richer," as one b.o. guru told me. The top two films passed $100 million and firmly established Ben Stiller and Will Smith as huge draws. Meanwhile, co-producers Paramount and Dreamworks were singing about their Dreamgirls take of $41.6 million (revised) for its first 8 days of wide release after expanding from 3 to 852 theaters on Christmas Day when it boasted the best single day ever for a musical. The Motown-inspired pic's studios are embracing exit polls with a 95% favorable rating -- the highest execs there claim they've ever seen -- and collecting reports of cheering and standing ovations from inside theaters in Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri. Finally, Morgan Creek / Universal's The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon and directed by Robert DeNiro, is showing enough strength to soar into 4th place, especially surprising considering its R rating, only 2,218 theater count, and long running time.

Once again (big yawn), No. 1 went to Fox's Night at the Museum, and that four-quadrant hit passed $100 mil Saturday to finish its 4-day holiday with $125.5 mil. (Still, I pity the poor parents who have to sit through this middling comedy twice...) Playing in 3,768 theaters, it earned $13.4 mil Friday (+11% over a week ago) and $13.5 mil Saturday (+8%) and $9.4 mil Sunday (+65%) and an estimated $9.9 mil Monday -- for a $46.5 mil four-day holiday. In 2nd place, with 2,870 theaters, Sony's The Pursuit of Happyness raked in $6.7 mil Friday (up a whopping 27%) and $7.5 mil Saturday (+18%) and $4.9 mil Sunday (+58%) and an estimated $5.4 mil Sunday to enable a $103.7 mil cume. For anyone keeping score, this is Will's 10th film over $100 mil -- and Sony's scored 5 of 'em (Pursuit, the two Men In Blacks, Hitch and Bad Boys 2). As for the 4-day weekend, it did $24.7 mil its 3rd week in release. Moving up several notches was Dreamworks / Paramount's Dreamgirls -- popping into #3 with the best per screen average of the Top 10. It earned $4.8 mil from only 852 theaters Friday, $5.6 mil Saturday and $3.5 mil Sunday and an estimated $4.5 mil Monday. The Motown musical took in $18.6 mil for the 4-day holiday ($20.3 mil according to the studio). Before you think that's $$$ lite, remember the small theater count, and that musicals rarely make $20 mil in their opening week.

The Good Shepherd took 4th place with $3.6 mil Friday and $4.2 mil Saturday and $3 mil Sunday and an est $3.9 mil Monday. That made for a $15 mil four-day holiday. Paramount's Charlotte's Web spun into 5th from 3,745 venues. The live action book adaptation earned $4.6 mil Friday and $4.2 mil Saturday and $2.8 mil Sunday and an estimated $3.2 mil Monday for what was a $14.9 mil long weekend and new cume of $55.7 mil. Falling to 6th place, MGM's Rocky Balboa, in 3,019 playdates, made $3.8 mil Friday, and $4.2 mil Saturday and $2.4 mil Sunday and an est. $2.9 mil Monday. Sly ended with a $13.5 mil four-day holiday and new cume of $50.7 mil. Best News? This well-received sequel will not only pass the non-inflated gross of the dreadful Rocky V but the inflated gross as well. In 7th place was Fox's Eragon, eking out $3 mil from 2,985 venues Friday and $3.2 mil Saturday and $2 mil Sunday and an est. 3.1 mil Monday for what was an $11.4 mil four-day wkd. Thanks to a heavy TV marketing campaign, Warner's We Are Marshall, playing in 2,606 theaters, jumped up to No. 9 with $2.9 mil Friday and $3 mil Saturday and $2.1 mil Sunday and an est. $3 mil Monday for a #9 finish and a $11.1 mil four-day holiday. Nothing can keep #9 Warner's Happy Feet outta the Top 10 even after seven weeks out; it took in $2.9 mil from 2,606 playdates Friday and $2.8 mil Saturday and $2 mil Sunday for a whopping new cume around $178.3 mil. It made $10 mil for the 4-day holiday. And in 10th place, Sony's The Holiday finally grabbed those tired women shoppers to make $2.3 mil from 2,698 theaters Friday and $2.5 mil Saturday and $1.6 mil Sunday and an est. $2.2 mil Monday. That's an $8.5 mil long weekend and new cume of $51.8 mil. I'm pleased to note that Dimension / MGM's Black Christmas, disgustingly released on Christmas Day, is not performing, making only $4.7 mil this long weekend for a new cume of $11.9 mil. 

This week's newcomers include several critic favorites with Oscar buzz playing in just a few venues to qualify for Academy consideration: Picturehouse's Pan's Labyrinth ($199K from 17 theaters Fri, $224K Sat and $136K Sun and an est. $201K Mon for a $770K four-day weekend), Universal's The Children of Men ($171K from 16 theaters Fri, $196K Sat and $124K Sun and est. $174K Mon for a $678K long weekend), Fox Searchlight's Notes On A Scandal ($138K from 22 theaters Fri, $166K Sat and $119K Sun and an est. $146K Mon for a $570K four-day weekend), and Dreamworks / Paramount's Perfume ($14K from 3 screens Fri, $15K Sat and $8K Sun and an est. $13K Mon for a $50K long weekend). Plus, four from Weinstein / MGM: Miss Potter ($3K from 2 theaters Fri, $4K Sat and $3K Sun and an est. $4K Mon for a $14K long weekend), Arthur And The Invisibles, Factory Girl, and Fast Track. Per screen champs among all movies were Pan's Labyrinth ($11,712 Fri and $13,176 Sat) and Children of Men ($10,688 Fri and $12,250 Sat). Finally, Oscar contender Letters From Iwo Jima, directed by Clint Eastwood, earned $121K from 5 theaters this four-day holiday for a new cume of $349K.

Sorry that posting has been light this past week due to computer problems. Site will return to normal after January 1st. DHD is closing in on 6 million page views!

Oh, by the way, MGM/Dimension's slasher pic Black Christmas did $3.3 mil in 1,278 theaters. You may remember I was apoplectic when I saw the Christmas Day release date, and the promos making fun of "people who express outrage." I urged investors in The Weinstein Company, and MGM, to protest this deplorable decision.

Previous: Weinsteins & MGM To Release Xmas Crap

Here are the 4-day Christmas weekend totals, since you've been asking:
#1  Fox's Night At The Museum $43.4 million)
(12.8 mil Monday)
#2  Sony's Pursuit Of Happyness $23.1 mil)
($8.1 mil Monday)
#3  MGM's Rocky Balboa $17.6 mil)
($5.3 mil Monday)
#4  Universal's The Good Shepherd $14.3 mil)
($4.3 mil Monday)
#5  Paramount's Charlotte's Web $9.8 mil)
($2.1 mil Monday)
#6  Fox's Eragon $9.4 mil)
($2.4 mil Monday)
#7  Paramount/Dreamworks' Dreamgirls $9.0 mil)
($8.7 mil Monday)
#8  Warner's We Are Marshall $8.7 mil)
($2.5 mil Monday)
#9  Sony's The Holiday $7.0 mil)
($2.1 mil Monday)
#10 Warner's Happy Feet $6.5 mil)
($1.4 mil Monday)

TUESDAY AM UPDATE: Well, the answer to whether Dreamgirls could do crossover biz has been answered now that it did a whopping $8.7 million from only 852 theaters on Christmas Day. The movie scored 2nd place among the holiday's top films (even though many were playing in 3,000+ and 2,500+ venues). Its new cume is $9.6 mil. On Monday, it made over $10K per screen average. Paramount is telling me this is the 3rd best Christmas Day box office on record ever. (Catch Me If You Can did $9.8 in 3,156 theaters, and Ali $10.2 mil in 2,446 theaters.) Pic won't widen more until January 12th.

MONDAY: I'm hearing anecdotes of packed theaters, long lines and standing ovations from cities around the country now that Dreamgirls has widened to 852 playdates. (That's 1/4 of the usual big-opening number of venues.) Turns out the Motown musical is scoring a Christmas surprise about both the size and make-up of the pic's audience. Paramount and Dreamworks had anticipated this story inspired by The Supremes starring Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson doing in the neighborhood of $4.5 mil on Christmas Day. Based on matinees, I'm hearing it could score $5 mil and possibly even $6 mil today. Many theaters sold out 24 hours before December 25th screenings and added a midnight extra to accomodate moviegoers. (Click here for all the weekend box office.) The target audience had been African-Americans, gays and upscale whites. But now the movie is playing bigger than expected with white audiences in general. Anecdotes are starting to come in of audiences cheering and clapping and crying. Typical was San Diego on Christmas Day: after Jennifer Hudson sang "And I Am Telling You...", the audience applauded, and, at the end credits, about 1/3 of the audience stayed and gave a standing ovation when Hudson's name appeared on the screen. That's been happening nightly since December 15th when Dreamgirls opened in only Hollywood's Cinerama Dome, New York's Zeigfield, and San Francisco's Metreon. These roadshow screenings -- at $25 a pop featured reserve seating, themed lobby displays and merchandise booths and a limited edition program -- broke a box-office record. The thing to remember is that this 1981 Broadway musical produced by David Geffen (he held the film rights, too) took 25 years to make it to the screen. Before Paramount acquired DreamWorks, Geffen called Paramount chairman/CEO Brad Grey and asked him to come in on the film. But, for a long time before that, Geffen had been reluctant to make the musical into a movie and then one previous effort (with director Joel Schumacher attached) collapsed. It took both director Bill Condon and, even more so, producer Larry Mark to both talk Geffen into it. (Here's a good wrap-up about the musical to movie's origins...) Meanwhile, the marketing of this film has been state-of-the-art, from the terrific trailer to the tie-ins all over network and cable TV and elsewhere. So far, it's been nominated for five Golden Globes, which is meaningless because these awards from the so-called Hollywood Foreign Press Association are meaningless. But the question remains: What is Dreamgirls' Oscar chances? It has not made the top of many of the various film critics' Best Picture lists. As for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, they skew older and therefore have an affinity for big Broadway musicals made into films. That said, though, anecdotes seem to indicate that the initial Hollywood mega-enthusiasm for the pic has waned, with voter chatter of "it's not that good" starting to make the rounds. (Though certainly Hudson, the American Idol contestant, and probably Eddie Murphy, too, are shoo-ins for Best Supporting Actress/Actor noms.) On the other hand, that could just be the usual Academy jealousy and resentment -- something Clint Eastwood may encounter as well with his critic-lauded Letters of Iwo Jima. But don't count out either The Departed or The Queen: both have been early Oscar favorites.

Previous: Top 10 Xmas 4-Day Wkd Films, Ben's 'Museum' Holds #1 Holiday Wkd

TUESDAY AM UPDATE: Dreamgirls Scores $8.7 Million Surprise, 3rd Best Xmas Day Box Office Ever

Top 10 Xmas 4-Day Wkd Films

Ben Stiller's comic hit Night At The Museum gave Fox a Christmas gift by opening as the No. 1 movie this weekend with $12.1 million Fri / $12.5 mil Sat / $6 mil Sun to top the box office. Its 3-day pre-Christmas weekend take was $30.6 million. This four-quadrant comedy in 3,685 theaters tracked as the movie to beat for weeks, despite only so-so reviews and poor per screen averages. But the leader board could change dramatically today when DreamWorks / Paramount's Dreamgirls widens into 852 theaters on Christmas Day. (I'll have the 4-day holiday figures tomorrow -- Museum's est. is $38.5 mil.) Still in 2nd place today, Will Smith's The Pursuit Of Happyness made $5.3 mil Fri / $6.3 mil Sat / $3.2 mil Sun in 2,863 playdates for Sony and what was a $15 mil weekend and a new cume of $53.2 mil. Rocky Balboa's 6th time in the ring came in 3rd for MGM after opening No. 1 on Wednesday. After expanding into 3,017 venues, it made $5 mil Fri / $5.2 mil Sat / $2 mil Sun to rake in $12.3 mil this weekend for a new cume of $21.9 mil. Universal's life of a spy pic, The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon and directed by Robert DeNiro, opened 4th in 2,218 theaters and took in $3.5 mil Fri / $4.2 mil Sat / $2.1 mil Sun. Its debut weekend total is $10 mil. Paramount's live action holdover Charlotte's Web was #5 by making $3.1 mil Fri / $3.1 mil Sat / $1.3 mil Sun although its theater count was the biggest at 3,728. But its Saturday kiddie bump was way less than expected, so its weekend total was only $7.7 mil with a new cume of $26.5 mil. In 6th place was Fox's Lord of the Ring clone, Eragon, which fell 69% from its debut last week, earning only $2.7 mil Fri / $2.9 mil Sat / $1.3 mil Sun, for a 3-day total of $7 mil and new cume of $37.4 mil. Warner's feel good flick starring Matthew McConaughey, We Are Marshall, disappointed by debuting only 7th in 2,606 venues; it eked out $2.7 mil Fri / $2.6 mil / $934K Sun for only a $6.2 mil weekend. Huge surprise was New Line's The Nativity which jumped from 10th to 8th place with $1.6 mil Fri / $2.1 mil Sat / $1.6 mil Sun for a $5.4 mil weekend and new cume of almost $32 mil. Warner's Happy Feet, stayed in 9th place even after six weeks in theaters, adding another $1.8 mil Fri / $2.2 mil Sat /$1.1 mil Sun to score a $5.2 mil weekend and new cume of $159 mil. Rounding out the Top 10, Sony's three-weeks-out chick flick, The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, pulled in $1.8 mil Fri / $2.1 mil Sat / $951K for a $4.9 mil weekend and new cume of $34.9 mil. Bond (Casino Royale), Leo (Blood Diamond) and Mel (Apocalypto) all fell out of the Top 10. Among this weekend's newcomers, Clint Eastwood's Oscar-buzzed Letters From Iwo Jima playing in 5 venues earned $26K Fri / $34K Sat / $29K Sun for an $89K weekend for Warner Bros. Warner Independent's The Painted Veil, in 4 theaters, made $14K Fri / $20K Sat / $16K Sun for a $51K weekend. And Miramax's Venus in 3 playdates took in $9K Fri / $15K Sat / $11K Sun for a $36K weekend. Stay tuned to see how Dreamgirls does! Right now, its cume from 3 theaters after two weeks out (some moviegoers spending $25 per ticket for a value-added experience) is $846K -- $67K Fri / $91K Sat / $64K Sun.

Previous: Previous: 'Museum' Matinees 'Very Good', 'Rocky' Opens With Knock-Out

The FCC late today defended its decision to fine 20 CBS owned and operated television stations $550,000 for airing that Janet Jackson boob shot. According to Reuters, the agency said in a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit it rejected CBS's argument that her role in the 2004 Superbowl halftime show didn't violate decency standards. I, for one, still can't believe CBS' lawyers are trying to claim it didn't know about this in advance when MTV's website was promo-ing the "shocking" nature of the Justin/Janet duet. It seems a long time ago that the FCC ruled CBS broke its b'cast indecency rules "willfully" and justified the huge fine. U.S. TV network and radio b'casters are supposed to keep it clean between 6 AM and 10 PM, when children are likely to be watching. CBS apologized and paid the fine, $27,500 for each of the 20 stations it owns, but said it was not clued in ahead of time about the stunt and in July appealed the decision. The network contended that, in the past, the FCC had not taken action against fleeting instances of nudity and profanity. The agency denied that its standards for such incidents was subjective.

So David Carr, Oscar blogger in The New York Times, today accuses his Left Coast rival, the Los Angeles Times and its awards sycophantic The Envelope, of cozying up to Dreamgirls to curry favor with David Geffen because he's bid to buy the paper. First, you've got to know that Carr was complaining in the newsroom the other day that his attempts to stir up controversy haven't been picked up by other websites, so this appears to be yet another, even bolder, try. So I wouldn't take his salvo very seriously since not even Carr takes his own blog seriously. (Or so he's also told the newsroom. Which is a pity, given the prominence of his forum.) That said, everyone knows The Envelope sucks up to every film and filmmaker and studio, so where's the out-of-the-ordinary in that? But, c'mon, Carr himself already bestowed (to my bewilderment) the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars on Dreamgirls in his own blog posting on November 16th. True, he tries to make light of that today, but he predicted back then "that Dreamgirls will become the film that ate the 79th Annual Academy awards. Best Picture? Settled. Directing? Done." And so on. I, for one, was embarrassed for Carr when he wrote that the morning after he saw the movie, since I knew he'd wind up ruing those words in just a matter of weeks. The fact is no one right now has a clue about the Best Picture or Best Director winner, especially since Academy voters have yet to screen some of the top contenders. So all this prognosticating nonsense on the blogosphere -- Carr's and others' -- is just so much artifice for the purpose of a) filling up space 2) getting attention and 3) attracting advertising. Far be it from me to criticize media bomb-throwers re Hollywood, but, before you dislocate that shoulder, at least make sure you've got accurate aim.

FRIDAY AM: Fox's new Night At The Museum starring Ben Stiller is scoring "very good" matinees today playing in 3,685 theaters, I'm told. It's certain to be the No. 1 movie at the box office this weekend since it's a four-quadrant pic (meaning it's aimed at everyone). MGM's Rocky Balboa made $3.4 mil for Thursday, a drop of -45% the day after its $6.2 mil Wed opening. Cume now is $9.6 mil. This weekend, Sly may need a lucky punch to finish #3 even though the film expands by 265 additional venues for a new theatre count of 3,017. The expected #2 is Sony holdover The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and his real-life son in 2,863 venues. Those pics will be ahead of the newcomers: Universal's The Good Shepherd (2,218 theaters), Warner's We Are Marshall (2,606 theaters) and Fox holdover, Eragon (3,030 theaters). Also opening this weekend is Clint Eastwood's Oscar-buzzed Letters from Iwo Jima (Warner Bros., 5 theaters), The Painted Veil (Warner Independent, 4 theaters), No Restraint (IFC, 5 theaters) and Words Of My Perfect Teacher (Intl Film Circuit, 3 theaters).

Previous: 'Rocky' Opens With Knock-Out; Tracking Giant 'Museum', Great 'D-Girls'

As if the series starring Seventeen magazine aspirants verbally abusing one another wasn't embarrassing enough, here's the video promo for the new MTV reality show that kicks off January 7th and promises some actual violence: "I'm From Rolling Stone". Oh, and just look at this photo from the icky gee-whiz Rolling Stone website about the show, complete with video interviews. Could these kids be any more stereotyped? One is "self-sabotaging"; another wants to "shed his image as a partier;" still another is "star-struck." Oh yeah, you definitely want these attributes in a reporter/writer. Immortal words from Executive Editor Joe Levy: "If you don't take this more seriously, you're not going to last a summer at Rolling Stone." My prediction? The tough chick who promises to "slap" people for "disrespecting" her gets the gig because all the wimpy mag editors are scared shitless of her. (As I've written in my LA Weekly columns, now that Reality TV has turned into Savage TV to get ratings, only the psychos survive. Yet another reason to hate your mutated MTV.) Here's the PR poop: Six aspiring writers who "dreamed" of being a writer for the music magazine -- Krishtine, Russell, Peter, Tika, Colin and Krystal -- compete to become the new Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone. The contestants were chosen last summer from a (cess)pool of 2,000 applicants for a summer associate position, then thrown into a bunch of writing assignments, including artist and entertainment profiles and coverage of national affairs, politics and pop culture. Some of the musical acts featured in the series include Band of Horses, Ghostface Killah, We Are Scientists, The Roots, Lupe Fiasco, and more. The writers also covered music events of the year like Roskilde Music Festival and Lollapalooza. "MTV cameras documented the young journalists' entire experience working, for the first time, in a high-pressured journalistic environment. They compete with one another for story assignments, stress about hitting deadlines and face no-holds-barred critiques from Rolling Stone editors, all while dealing with their own personal challenges." All I wanna know is: Do they win extra suck-up points for Stephen Glass-like fabricating?

Previous: Finke/LA Weekly: Savage TV, Finke/LA Weekly: Who Hates Their MTV

According to Reuters, a U.S. federal judge in Boston has thrown out a lawsuit by an Iraq war veteran who claimed filmmaker Michael Moore used the veteran's image without permission in Fahrenheit 9/11. Judge Douglas Woodlock of U.S. District Court in Massachusetts dismissed the suit on Wednesday. It had sought $35 million in damages from Moore, as well as Miramax. The film showed Iraq war veteran Sgt. Peter Damon, who had lost his right arm near the shoulder and much of his left arm, lying in a hospital gurney at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland, saying that he feels pain but that pain-killers given him "take a lot of the edge" off of it. The video clip was originally used by NBC Nightly News for a story about medical treatment for veterans. In Moore's film, it followed a statement by Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington that "they're leaving all kinds of veterans behind."

I knew him in Texas when he was just plain John Bloom. But there was a time when Bloom, as alter ego Joe Bob Briggs, was the god of B (as in bad, blood and boobs) movies as the first drive-in film critic. Now Bloom is telling people he's working to start up a new cable TV network called "Redrum" that'll be the first 24-hour cable network devoted to horror, suspense and thrillers. (He claims to be "the acting head of programming.") I can't find any info on this start-up anywhere. Problem is, someone already thought of it. Comcast, Sony and Lionsgate launched FearNet on October 31st -- targeting 18- to 34-year-olds with films and other attractions on a multimedia platform (on-demand TV channel, website and cellphones). FearNet will offer Comcast digital customers horro shorts and trailers and about 70 hours of movies a month from the studios' combined libraries. (Sony and Lionsgate together have more than 1,000 horror titles, about half from major studios.) Comcast, which won't charge for the films -- they'll be supported by ads -- will offer FearNet to other cable operators, for a fee. Joe Bob Briggs is still reviewing low-budget movies, still writing a column, still doing books (Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies That Changed History is the latest) and still trying his hand at acting. Most recently, he's been in and around Palm Beach County in Florida playing a crazed mountain man vs feral hogs in Hogzilla. Still, Bloom should bring back his once coveted Hubcap Awards, or "Hubbys," which included categories from Best Kung Fu to Breast Actress before they were discontinued in 1995. After all, if Dick Clark and NBC can lend respectability to the long discredited Hollywood Foreign Press Association, then anything's possible.

UPDATE FRIDAY AM: Rocky Balboa made $3.4 mil for Thursday, a respectable drop of -45% the day after its opening. Cume now is $9.6 mil.

Thursday AM: I'm told MGM's Rocky Balboa started fast with a $6.2 million mid-week opening Wednesday from 2,752 theaters. Early word had been that the matinees were "looking good" since the movie is better than anyone ever expected. Amazing that the franchise still had life in it, especially when the Hollywood studios were telling Sylvester Stallone not to embarrass himself by bringing the character out of retirement for a 6th bout (Although I wish Sly had kept his mouth shut since he made a fool of himself every time he's been interviewed in recent weeks... especially by dissing Richard Gere.) Stallone knocked out the competition, so Sony's The Pursuit of Happyness was #2, Paramount's Charlotte's Web #3 and Fox's Eragon #4. But, my box office gurus tell me that, by this weekend, Rocky may only be #3 even though the film expands to 265 additional venues for a new theatre count of 3,017. The expected #1 is Fox's Night At The Museum, which will be the giant Christmas movie this year, and #2, Sony's The Pursuit of Happyness. Those pics will be ahead of Universal's The Good Shepherd, Warner's We Are Marshall and the holdover from Fox, Eragon. Dreamworks / Paramount's Dreamgirls is looking great, I'm told, definitely Top 3 during Xmas week even with only 800 theaters. So, by December 26th, it should be #1 Museum, #2 Pursuit, #3 Dreamgirls, #4 Rocky, and, believe it or not, #5 Sony's holdover The Holiday.

Everyone's talking today about A.O. "Tony" Scott's rave review in The New York Times (published in tomorrow's edition) of Clint's Letters From Iwo Jima. "Utterly original... strikingly intimate... close to perfect." It's also, in part, a re-review of Flags Of Our Father as seen within the context of both pics simultaneously. This will have a huge impact on Academy members. But, even though it's still way too early to prognosticate accurately (despite all the useless Oscar punditry out in the blogosphere already), I don't believe the review seals the deal for Iwo Jima's Best Picture -- yet. There is no doubt that this movie firmly establishes Clint as Hollywood's greatest living filmmaker right now, head and shoulders above everyone else. As to whether anyone needs to give him a statuette yet again to prove that -- well, understandably, he may run up against some share-the-wealth and let-someone-else-have-a-shot sentiment. The Academy is just jealous like that.

My latest  column, Orgy Of Sequels Climaxing In 2007, takes a snarky look at next year's knock-offs. Will the public get off? Or is it just studio masturbation? (Yes, I saw today's Los Angeles Times' marathon piece about 2006's sequel fever. Great minds may think alike, but at least I think ahead.)

Here are excerpts from mine:

"It’s official: Hollywood has run out of original ideas. If you thought 2006 was bad, just wait. In 2007, the studios will give up on birthing blockbusters and concentrate instead on cloning them to knock off lame sequel after lamer sequel after lamest sequel. Familiar titles (see Spidey 3 trailer here) will be followed by so many numbers that filmgoers looking for a Friday-night flick will need a calculator just to figure out which of the threequels (Shrek 3 trailer here) and fourquels they want to see — if any at all. Oh, and if the year of living sequentially doesn’t destroy the movie biz, then the expected labor strike (also a sequel) will. Yes, in 2007, the very idea of original screenplays will become increasingly quaint, like real butter poured on popcorn. (Good timing, because the writers will be camped out on picket lines anyway.) There will be a few nonsequel movies, but those are mostly remakes, biopics or book adaptations. (At least we can all be thankful that, unlike previous years, there’ll be almost no TV spinoffs. The complete tanking of Sony’s Bewitched in 2005 saw to that.) But don’t blame the studio moguls; blame their bosses, those hedge-fund-loopy tools who find it easier to schmooze Wall Street about another low-concept, comic-book film like Fantastic Four than to debate going into production on a potentially challenging film like Charlie Wilson’s War, the Tom Hanks–Julia Roberts biopic about a boozin’, hot-tubbin’ U.S. congressman that is scheduled to debut in December 2007... And did I mention that sequels are virtually critic-proof? Reviewers who flipped the bird to Pirates 2 didn’t affect box office at all. The sequel was beyond huge, and Pirates 3 will be too, even if Johnny spends the entire two hours channeling Lance Bass instead of Keith Richards (who’s playing Depp’s daddy in the threequel). It’s not only the studios who are to blame, but also the actors and directors who used to bail on franchises as soon as contractually possible, but are now addicted to sequel cash... Continued