SUNDAY AM: Disney / Pixar's Ratatouille cooked up a winning recipe as America's No. 1 movie, opening big with $47.2 mil this weekend from a bountiful 3,940 theaters. Surprisingly, it performed equally well on Friday as it did Saturday featuring the famed kiddie matinees. But Remy The Rat's debut is still well below the last Disney / Pixar toon Cars, which opened in 2006 to $60 mil and earned less than 2003's Finding Nemo ($70 mil) and 2004's The Incredibles ($70 mil). (Plus, Ratatouille can't merchandise itself like the other toons -- not with a rat as the main character.) I hear the incredibly well reviewed film (95% "fresh" reviews at Rotten Tomatoes) played right across the board. And, while Los Angelenos are used to applause as the credits roll, there are anecdotal reports of lotsa clapping across the country. The rodent should have great legs over Fourth Of July week. No. 2 went to Fox's action-packed Live Free Or Die Hard starring Bruce Willis which opened back on Wednesday also to good reviews. It made $33.1 mil this weekend from 3,408 venues. That's more than good considering how the adult action movie marketplace is so jammed with high-profile summer product right now. Exit polls showed the audience was fairly evenly divided between males and females. (In comparison, the previous three Die Hards skewed more towards men.) Fox insiders are calling these exit polls for their stunt-filled fourquel the best since Speed. Its 5-day total is now $48.1 mil for this latest in the John McClane franchise. (Previous: Does Bruce Die Hard Or Get Ratatouille'd?)

The other big opening this weekend was from The Weinstein Co: Michael Moore's documentary Sicko did a bigger than expected $4.4 mil this weekend  from only 441 theaters, good enough for 9th place. That's a healthy start for the controversial but well-reviewed pic (91% fresh reviews). Love him or hate him, the Oscar-winning director stage-managed a PR blitz around his movie starting with the Cannes Film Festival back in May. For instance, on Thursday, Moore was barred from making a scheduled TV interview with CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange where he and a group of nurses intended to call for Wall Street investors and Main Street consumers to divest themselves of HMO, health insurance, and drug company stocks. Free publicity also came from the Bush administration who went after Moore for his filming visit to Cuba: Feds Probe Michael Moore For 'Sicko' Trip.) In contrast to Sicko playing in half as many venues, the new Focus Features chick flick Evening, starring nearly every fine actress, managed only 10th place after opening to $3.4 mil this weekend in 977 theaters.

Back to the Top 10, Universal's disappointing family film Evan Almighty (-50% for the most expensive comedy ever made) placed third, making $15 mil from Friday through Sunday from 3,636 playdates. Its new cume is $60.6 mil after a week in release. The Weinstein Co's horror film 1408 based on a Stephen King novel and starring John Cusack finished the weekend down about 48% for fourth place, taking in $10.9 mil from 2,733 theaters for a new cume of $40.6 mil. Fox's #5 film Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer crossed the $100 million mark this week for a new cume of $114.8 mil after squeezing out another $9 mil in its third weekend in release from 3,424 venues. Celebrating 6th place, Universal keeps making money off its R-rated laugher Knocked Up, which raked in $7.4 mil this weekend even after 5 weeks out for a big new cume of $122.4 mil. (Nice, considering the Judd Apatow pic only cost $30 mil.) Starting its 4th week in release, Warner's Oceans Thirteen crept past the $100 mil mark this weekend (new cume is now $102.1 mil) after making $6.1 mil this weekend. That was good enough for 7th place.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End still has sealegs: it scraped together $5 mil for 8th place and a giant new domestic cume of $295.8 mil. In its six week of release, Pirates 3 has now earned $904.7 million worldwide at the box office, becoming the 9th movie in Hollywood history to make this much money. It's also now the most popular global release of the summer and of 2007, beating out Spider-Man 3 which has $882 worldwide. (Oops, there goes the Sony team's dreams of Malibu beach houses in their year-end bonus packages.) Disney says Johnny Depp and crew did another $14 million internationally this weekend, elevating the pic's cume to $608.9 mil overseas, #6 on the all-time foreign chart. But Spider-Man 3 has still made the most domestic box office with a cume of $333.6 million and is the 2007 U.S. champ. Its foreign is now $548.9 mil.

Meanwhile, Paramount Vantage's A Mighty Heart starring Angelina Jolie collapsed completely, managing only 14th place with a $1.5 mil weekend (with a lousy per screen average) and new cume of $6.9 mil. As I've said previously, what a dumb move by the studio to release it this tentpole summer.

Here's the Top 10 chart:

1. 1. Ratatouille $16.5M Fri, $16.9M Sat, and est $13.9M Sun. (cume $47.2M)
2. 2. Die Hard 4 $10.4M Fri, $12.6M Sat, and est $10M Sun. ($46.5M)
3. 3. Evan Almighty $5M Fri, $5.6M Sat, and est $4.8M Sun. ($60.6M)
4. 4. 1408 $3.6M Fri, $4M Sat, and est $3.2M Sun. ($40.6M)
5. 5. Silver Surfer $2.7M Fri, $3.5M Sat, and est $2.7M Sun. ($114.8M)
6. 6. Knocked Up 3 $2.3M Fri, $2.8M Sat, and est $2.3M Sun. ($122.4M)
7. 7. Ocean's Thirteen $1.9M Fri, $2.4M Sat, and est $1.7M Sun. ($102.1M)
8. 8. Pirates 3 $1.4M Fri, $1.9M Sat, and est $1.5M Sun. ($295.8M)
9. 9. Sicko $1.3K Fri, $1.6M Sat, and est $1.4K Sun. ($4.5M)
10. 10. Evening $1.2M Fri, $1.3M Sat, and est $880K Sun. ($3.4M)

I didn't know Joel Siegel personally until I started Deadline Hollywood Daily. So I was incredibly flattered when he emailed me one day saying he was a huge fan of the website, and loved reading my caustic Oscar commentary. Joel rightfully patted himself on the back for his own best line to describe how interminable the most recent Academy Awards on his ABC network had become: "When the broadcast began, Jack Nicholson had a full head of hair." So sad that this funny and knowledgeable Good Morning America entertainment critic is dead at age 63.   

FRIDAY AM: Yes, it's the start of another nailbiter for gross receipts this summer weekend as blockbusters bust a move in movie theaters. Right now my box office gurus are saying the totals for both films by Sunday look neck-and-neck: between $40 million to $45 million. Naturally, Fox especially is trying to lower 5-day expectations for Live Free Or Die Hard by projecting high $30s (as in millions) since its adult action marketplace is so jammed with high-profile product right now. Disney / Pixar's Ratatouille debuting today also faces a lot of existing family fare yet still managed to score a bountiful 3,940 theaters. And Disney tells me that its toon's tracking has "gotten stronger every day." So ... Will Remy the Rat die hard? Will Bruce Willis get French fried? It's always tough to know what a pic will do from Friday through Sunday when it opens on the Wednesday before. That's the case with Fox's Die Hard 4, which took in $9.1 million Wednesday and $5.9 mil Thursday from 3,408 theaters. While that wasn't anywhere near a record -- only 27th for top single day grosses on a Wednesday -- the studio's exit polls are through the roof for the over the top stunt-filled pic. "Only film that delivers on the hype this summer," is a popular response, and Fox insiders are calling these exit polls the best they've seen since Speed. "These exit polls indicate for the first time this summer that audiences are satisfied and not feeling ripped off," a Fox insider explained to me. The studio knows it won't break daily or weekend records, but could play for a long time. Even the film reviewers have gone ga-ga for the flying cars, huge fireballs, collapsing freeways, and other implausible stunts culminating when a car takes out a helicopter: RottenTomatoes.com is giving Live Free Or Die Hard an overwhelming "fresh" score of 77% from even the snooty critics from major media outlets.

Interestingly, before its debut, the pic had been tracking good but not great, especially doing well with older men and older females who knew the John McClane character well. So I'm told the studio set out to "educate" the under-25 crowd on who was this wise-cracking yippee-ki-yay yelling hero since it had been so long between sequels (back to 1995 when Bruce was still married to Demi). Then again, the Yahoo trailer tested higher than those for any action movie in Fox history. One interesting note: Die Hard 4's premiere at NYC's Radio City Music Hall last Friday was filled with 500 off-duty cops and the audience jumped up and cheered at many moments. Another is that, to make this deal, Willis did not back off his deal which from the start of the franchise has been among the richest. But with a young director, baby-faced co-stars, and little CGI though a lot of analog action, Fox was able to make the film for no more than $125 mil, a veritable bargain this summer of the $300+ mil tentpoles. "We just know how to do that stuff for less," one insider told me. "All our movies are made for less. It's what we do."

In the same vein, Disney / Pixar should have it down to a science by now. But lately this one-two punch of creativity and marketing doesn't pack the box office wallop it once did. Analysts don't expect Ratatouille to equal the $60 mil opening weekend of Cars. But here's another difference between these toons: Cars was a merchandising bonanza while Ratatouille won't be. (What parent wants their kid to hug a plush toy rat?) Still, film reviewers found this toon delicious (an eye-popping 93% fresh reviews on RottenTomatoes.com). No doubt this movie deserves to be seen. Its true financial prospects won't become clear until the Saturday kid matinees. Of course, what appeals to sophisticated film critics may not be accessible to parents or children who can't pronounce the title and don't care about French gourmet repast (unless The Food Network has changed that). Here's hoping the rat doesn't get gout.

Jay Leno tonight speculated that the iPhone for sale Friday comes with "its own cappucino maker and nose hair trimmer". I hear the Hollywood version has an assistant whacker. It's no biggie if you score the Ultimate Hand Job tomorrow. Surest sign of showbiz status? Those who got their iPhones last week, last month...

 ...

According to the webzine produced by New York University's Department of Journalism, DHD was one of the 20 "Blogs We Like" chosen for study by the undergraduate course "Digital Journalism: Blogging". (Spring 2007. Instructor: Patrick Phillips, editor & founder of I Want Media). Here is journalism student Cristina Gonzalez's article, Deadline Hollywood Daily Covers Infotainment Biz.

All I can say is that I sincerely hope the future talk about United Artists is more focused on film profits than on Tom Cruise's Scientology. (See my previous: Germany Bans Tom's Latest UA Film.) According to a translated German newspaper article published today, Germany's widely reported opposition to UA's movie-in-the-works Valkyrie filming at military sites has less to do with its star Cruise's being a "dangerous" Scientologist and more to do with fuss and bother. Turns out the building that is now a memorial to the "July Plot" conspirators who tried to assassinate Hitler also houses part of the German Ministry of Defense. The main hurdle to a film permit, according to the people in charge of German government buildings, is that the lights and cables and camera teams could disrupt Defense Ministry work. But if an arrangement ensures that filming doesn't interfere, a permit should be no problem. So those earlier reports appear wrong that the movie has been barred because Tom is a Scientologist. In fact, the Defense Ministry, which only leases the building, does not have the right to grant or reject filming permits. Nevertheless, the German government doesn't recognize Scientology as a religion but instead criticizes it as a dangerous cult. Articles 4 and 5 of the German constitution protect freedom of faith and creed and expression. The question still remains how cooperative the country will be to Tom and his UA movie. (FYI, to clarify, UA did not issue a press release on this. Today's information was from a translated German newspaper article." 

1. Tom Cruise Is Finally Shown The Money
2. Germany Bans Tom's Latest Film Just As Cruise's UA Starts High-Profile Campaign

If you had trouble reaching a Wall Street Journal reporter this morning, that's because many who belong to the union chose not to show up for work across the country until this afternoon. It's been described to me as a "non walk-in". First, because they feel the paper's long tradition of independence is threatened since its editorial integrity is dependent on an owner committed to journalistic independence. (In other words, that's not Rupert Murdoch.) And second, they want their absence to remind Dow Jones management how uncool it is to award golden parachutes to 135 top executives while seeking to eviscerate employees’ health benefits and impose salary adjustments that amount to a pay cut. Dow Jones is currently in contract negotiations with its primary union, Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, a local of the Newspaper Guild. Even to the point of beseeching other buyers, the union is fighting Murdoch's Dow Jones purchase which sadly seems inevitable now. Wait til the WSJ reporters read Murdoch's new Time magazine interview in which he dismissively rails about the ruling Bancroft family trying to guarantee the WSJ's editorial independence and integrity: "They can't sell their company and still control it — that's not how it works. I'm sorry!" Get those resumes ready now. 

EXCLUSIVE: I just confirmed that Sicko documentary creator Michael Moore was barred from making a scheduled media appearance inside the New York Stock Exchange today. His publicist says it was because he and a group of nurses intended to call for Wall Street investors and Main Street consumers to divest themselves of HMO, health insurance, and drug company stocks. The Oscar-winner and representatives of the California Nurses Association were slated to do a series of interviews with financial media outlets from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange this afternoon. CNBC was featuring Moore's appearance during its closing bell show. Now, Moore is scrambling to talk to reporters on the streets outside the Exchange building. I'm very surprised that the NYSE would interfere like this, especially given that these "on the floor" media interviews are commonplace. A Sicko rep accused the Exchange of trying to "limit or control the flow of information to American investors". Given that his newest project (following Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine) officially opens around the country Friday, this is yet another twist and turn in what has turned into a long PR campaign orchestrated by The Weinstein Co pic. But it's also incredible how everyone from the Bush administration (see my previous Feds Probe Michael Moore For 'Sicko' Trip) to now the NYSE is helping Moore get much-needed free publicity in advance of this documentary's release. I'm also told that, last Thursday, a special non-public screening of Sicko was held for a "Who's Who" of Wall Street investment firms. "They contacted us and asked for it," Sicko's publicist tells me. "They specifically wanted to see it to determine what kind of potential impact it could have on the market if shareholders and consumers see the movie and react against these companies by literally voting with their pocketbook. Or if it serves as a catalyst for legislative change in Washington DC or state capitols." Among the attendees, I'm told, were Credit Suisse First Boston, Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs (which raised TWC's equity).

Screenwriter/director Zak Penn (wrote and helmed Incident at Loch Ness, co-writer of X-Men: The Last Stand) has left Endeavor for CAA.

I know that Ed Limato's negotiations with ICM are very fluid right now since his contract is up this month. But there's an interesting push-pull surrounding this legendary motion picture agent. So consider this Part II to my original Rumor of ICM's Limato To CAA 'Ridiculous' post. I hear that, despite the poker faces of all involved, the talks between ICM and Limato aren't going well. "It's turning into a mess," one insider told me. There are two big sticking points: Will Ed remain part of ICM management? And what will he get paid? One proposal on the table is that Limato stay as an eminence gris and rep as usual his clients (including Denzel Washington, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Steve Martin, Liam Neeson, Billy Crystal) but relinquish his management role as co-president with Chris Silbermann. Relations are still good between Limato and chairman Jeff Berg, but there is indeed tension between Limato and Silbermann who came to ICM as an outsider in the Broder Kurland merger. "Have you seen All About Eve?," an insider explained to me. "Ed isn't getting the respect he's owed. After all, he's made this company millions." Others say this squabble is Sunset Boulevard.

It's always hard to effect generational change inside any company, much less a Hollywood agency. (Remember when William Morris did it in 2004 and all those partners left in a snit?) After the merger, some key agents jumped, or were pushed, from ICM with their clients in tow. Though it was decided early on that Silbermann would eventually run ICM, he told everyone he agreed to be co-president "out of respect" for Limato. But it's also been Chris' job to bang heads together and inject some discipline over Hollywood's most independently minded agents who are now expected to act like team players. He has also been the main architect over the past year of elevating the next wave of ICM leadership. Leaders now in place are: in publishing (Sloan Harris); TV (Ted Chervin);  TV literary (Chris Von Goetz and Kevin Crotty); and motion picture lit (Doug MacLaren and Nick Reed). But ICM doesn't have enough movie stars right now, and something has to be done about it. Motion picture talent, although not the most profitable department in an agency (except for maybe CAA), is certainly the most important division of the agency as far as public image goes -- and in Hollywood, public image is everything. Everyone's feeling the pressure, including Limato even if he's not in the office that much because he sets his own hours. Is it time for him to step down as co-president? Well, there's decorum. Ed doesn't want ICM's motion pic department controlled solely by "a TV guy" out "for a power play". This big screen vs small screen schism exists within every Hollywood agency. But, as Berg's heir apparent, Silbermann has transcended Broder Kurland and is now the leader ICM always needed. Limato, however, is iconic within Hollywood.

On the money front, Ed makes a lot of moolah (supposedly, $5 million for salary and bonuses) and gets a lot of perks (supposedly, another mil at least for his Oscar party, two script readers, three assistants, and own business affairs person. Plus, Ed insists that all of his aides eventually be promoted to agent status.) Limato wants no more and no less than he's made over the past couple of years. ICM wants him to downsize. There's chatter that, if the talks go south, Ed could challenge his non-compete clause in the courts. Meanwhile, those "he's headed to CAA" rumors persist. (A CAA honcho last week told me that's not so.) Limato is telling pals that, as far as he knows, all his options are "open" at the major agencies. Some feel Ed has leverage with ICM because, without him, the tenpercentery will be seen as more out of the movie star business than it already is. Others think, if Limato exits, ICM is ready to bear the PR hit and look to hiring other reps or merging with another agency. But that's not as easy as it sounds. Does Limato want to leave? I say not after he's been at ICM for 30 of his 40 years in showbiz. "It's not because of money. It's because I love this company," he told a pal the other day. "But, sometimes, love sours."

Rumor of ICM's Ed Limato To CAA 'Ridiculous'
The Iceberg Cometh: Inside ICM's Project Beta

Ugh, the lamebrains who ask me for Hollywood info. The latest is the magazine 02138 -- described as "devoted to, but not affiliated with, Harvard" -- that's compiling a supposed list of 100 Influential Harvard Grads including infotainment. But the mag seems totally clueless about Hollywood players, much less which ones were Harvard alums. (Especially when most wear the school crest virtually around their necks.) My advice? Don't read this issue. It'll be laughable. But if you want to be included, contact the mag directly and keep me out of it. I'm a Wellesley woman.

I'm told Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner have completed that $500 million production financing arranged by Merrill Lynch for United Artists. (This had been in the works for months and months.) There should be an announcement before the end of June. As I first reported on Sunday, their new campaign to raise the profile of UA continues. The latest: Cruise and Wagner will make an "unannounced" stop at the European exhibitors confab Cinema Expo in Holland today to unveil a 5½-minute clip of Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs, the company's first release that also stars Tom. Read my Cruise's UA Starts High-Profile Campaign.

When the Universal execs realized that their Evan Almighty wasn't going to do boffo box office, they started thinking up possible headlines that the media would use to report the opening weekend numbers.
First place? "Evan Not So Mighty". 

UPDATE: I thought it sounded familiar. Turns out this latest email skirmish was picked up by the media back in 2002, so read the full exchange here. But the insults traded by these witty wounded egos made another go-round in Hollywood under the banner, "If you enjoyed Saperstein vs Strickler, then you'll adore this..." It's between Judd Apatow -- yes, the writer and director and producer of The 40-year-old Virgin and this summer's comedy hit Knocked Up -- and Mark Brazill, an executive producer of That 70s Show. It took place in 2001 when neither scribbler was famous yet.
Here are my favorite nasty bits:

One email closes with, "Get cancer."

Another ends, "See ya at the upfronts, bitch! Until then, die in a fiery accident and taste your own blood."

To which the response is: "That's a Sam Kinison line, you stupid fuck!!!!" 

I've never seen Hollywood studios so slippery when it comes to box office as they've been this blockbuster crowded summer. Here's the latest example: I was told as late as yesterday -- yesterday -- by Paramount that it was still opening DreamWorks tentpole Transformers next Tuesday July 3rd and would have a "6-day total" over Fourth Of July. But rival studios alerted me tonight that, very quietly, Paramount has slipped in Monday July 2nd showings of the heavily anticipated Michael Bay pic improved by Steven Spielberg. (And, to think, all their movie posters both real and online say July 3rd. And some clueless media outlets like Entertainment Weekly are still reporting Transformers' release date as July 4th.) Nor are these Monday midnight showings, which could count for Tuesday's box office. I've confirmed that the screenings begin at 8 p.m., so they should count towards Monday's box office.  So that would be a "7-day total" if counted separately. UPDATE: *Paramount now acknowledges they miscommunicated with me and regret the error.* But rival studios are grousing to me that Paramount was trying to pull a fast one and planned to put Monday's gross receipts in with Tuesday's to get a bigger number because of the PR value. I'm not shocked games like this go on in Hollywood, but I am surprised Paramount thought we'd play along.  

People know Endeavor agent Tom Strickler has a deliciously arch sense of humor. People also know that Richard Saperstein used to work for Bob Shaye at New Line, and now toils for Harvey and Bob Weinstein as prez of production at Dimension. (What a masochist given those three bosses.) Anyway, Strickler and Saperstein, who are friends, recently had a minor verbal skirmish over a new spec script Endeavor sold to Saperstein's old workplace New Line: it's called The $40,000 Man about an astronaut in a car accident who gets bionically rebuilt by the government -- but on a budget of only $40,000. Does the plot remind you of anything? It turns out Saperstein's new workplace shares the remake rights to The Six Million Dollar Man. I have confirmed that the Weinstein exec sent this warning email to Strickler:

"Tom: Please give me a call about a spec script Elia Infascelli-Smith has gone out with called $40,000 Man. As you know, along with Universal, we control the rights to The Six Million Dollar Man. My understanding is this spec includes characters we own. Best, Richard"

And the agent messaged back this reply:

"Richard: Good news. As you may know, the United States Supreme Court has affirmed the right of parody as an unassailable First Amendment Right. This has enabled you to make movies like Scream and Scary Movie in which you parody many films which Dimension does not own or control. The script is a parody, and if you have any problems, I suggest you hire a constitutional lawyer and file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. This will be an uphill battle -- the court voted 9 to 0 when this last hit the docket, and those stubborn justices all believe in Stare Decisis! And if you succeed at the Supreme Court, you will have to stop making Scream and Scary Movie. This will take about 5 to 7 years, and lawyers are an expensive breed, but I wish you good luck on your journey to deny our First Amendment rights. All the best, Tom"

EXCLUSIVE: I'm told that MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson have made a very aggressive (some would term it rather fanciful) compensation proposal to owner News Corp for when their contract is up in October. They're asking Peter Chernin and Rupert Murdoch for a 2-year deal worth $50 million total. That comes out to $25 million each, or $12.5 million a year. Plus, the pair want a development fund of $15 million to invest in internet companies. Even though MySpace is probably the most integral part of News Corp's overall corporate strategy (and Murdoch's company recently discussed swapping the social-networking site in exchange for a 25% to 30% stake in Yahoo!), no one has obviously told DeWolfe or Anderson that News Corp is also one of the cheapest companies on earth when it comes to executive compensation. One problem is that, if Murdoch/Chernin pays the pair such an outsized sum, it'll make their other moguls insane if they ever found out, including Jim Gianopulos, Tom Rothman, Peter Ligouri, David Hill not to mention Roger Ailes. I understand News Corp has countered with an offer of $15 million each spread over 2 years --- still more than every suit at News Corp except Ailes. I also hear Rupe has given the duo equity in MySpace China, so they already have a deal unlike anyone else's. 

I'm told by News Corp insiders that the chances of DeWolfe and Anderson getting what they want pay-wise is "slim to none" and "highly unlikely". Even though the duo's MySpace is incredibly dominant in the social networking sphere, attracting almost 80% of all U.S. visits. Then again, Friendster was huge until next generation MySpace came along. So I think the duo had better hurry and nail down their deal because, every day, MySpace faces more huge pressure from smaller but increasingly popular Facebook, which now gets 12% of all U.S. social networking business. Analysts think Yahoo! would be better off looking again to buy much cheaper Facebook (after offering $1 billion for it last year) now that Terry Semel is gone (News Corp made the MySpace swap proposal to him when he was still in charge) rather than giving away the store. After all, sometimes it only takes one deal to get big into the Internet business. Remember that News Corp was an Internet also-ran; now its web presence rivals that of the giants after purchasing MySpace along with other Internet properties for $629 million when it acquired Intermix Media in July 2005. But even though MySpace has performed spectacularly since News Corp took control, it's still no where near News Corp's $12 billion valuation to Yahoo!. Though that News Corp overture had been described as informal and the discussions tentative, it's potentially ancient history now that Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang has taken over as CEO. So DeWolfe and Anderson don't have the leverage they did just a few months ago. True, DeWolfe and Anderson keep talking about the "great relationship" they have with their bosses at News Corp. (Some say it's way better with Murdoch than with Chernin.) The pair, who run MySpace from the second floor of Fox Interactive's glass-and-steel complex, also boast about having more money to grow, faster bandwidth and many programmers now while News Corp supposedly writes the checks and leaves them in total control. (Given MySpace's importance in the music world, not only do they attend film screenings at 20th Century Fox, they're asked what bands to put in the movies.) But there's always the chance that News Corp could decide to replace the pair with a big-time CEO. In the past, the duo have predicted that putting a suit atop a hip young business would kill MySpace. Sometimes good things don't come to those who wait.

UPDATE: Valleywag's Nick Denton (aka the Gawker Media empire-builder) comments that my news "helps explain why Rupert Murdoch has gone cool on MySpace". Turns out that, back on May 4th, News Corp management had a dinner up in Monterey and, instead of Chris DeWolfe, it was Mark Zuckenberg, the founder of rival Facebook, who had the seat of honor to the left of Rupert. Denton was there and noted "DeWolfe had to wait till dessert, after the sandal-wearing Facebook founder abandoned his chair for a late-night show of Spider-Man 3, to sidle up to the boss."

Remember when Harvey Weinstein told me, "Now I have to go back to being Harvey" and refocus on the movie biz? That was back in April after Grindhouse bombed. Well, it's not even his choice anymore. Not only is The Weinstein Co board of directors stepping up its oversight and meeting nearly every month -- as it did by teleconference on May 18 during the Cannes film festival -- but it's also searching for a top executive to run day-to-day operations. So says Fortune magazine. Good luck finding, as one board director said, somebody who's both a top-level CEO and would be compatible with the market and investors and the brothers. Even Bob Weinstein had a heart to heart with Harv who seemed more concentrated on Halston than TWC's movie slate. Other news from the article (reported before 1408 did well this weekend):

The Weinstein Co's full eight-member board of directors hadn't convened in six months before April 10th. How is that oversight?

Goldman Sachs, which raised TWC's equity in the summer of 2005 , is only doling it out in relatively small chunks.

Harvey blames his brother and Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez for the decision to release Grindhouse as a double feature rather than two separate pics.

A Weinstein Co. executive said the company is estimating that its revenue will be off about 12% at the end of 2007, compared with the original projections. (This would have been worse if TWC's home distribution arm Genius, which wasn't included in the original projections, hadn't boosted sales.)

The next six months are crucial. If the remainder of the company's 2007 slate of movies does not perform well in theatrical release, the company could be forced back to the debt markets to raise additional capital.

Some investors blame Harvey's hanging with hedgies and honchos rather than filmmakers for the box-office shortfall.  

There are a lot of insufferable pricks in Hollywood. Risa Shapiro isn't one of them. Even agency rivals like and respect the ICM agent who helped take many actors and actresses including Julia Roberts, Jennifer Connelly, Andie MacDowell, Hugh Grant, David Duchovny and Rosie O'Donnell from obscurity to worldwide fame. Nor is she even an ICM partner or a highest paid agent. Her film producer ex-husband isn't a mogul. Neither of them are billionaires whose divorces set legal precedent, like Ron Burkle or Kirk Kerkorian. So with a mixture of shock and dismay I saw the Los Angeles Times lay out embarrassing details of Shapiro's messy divorce from horror pic producer Oren Koules (the Saw franchise). At no point did the couple make a public statement about their divorce or draw attention to themselves. 

[Full Disclosure: Only after Brad Grey announced his separation in Liz Smith's column did I write about it -- even after the studio denied there was marriage trouble, or a work-related link.)

The explanation I get from the newspaper is that the documents were public, and the editors thought it was a "solid story". I say, shame on the LA Times. The article justifies itself because the divorce revealed "some of show business' most guarded secrets: how much a blockbuster movie generates in producer profits, how richly compensated talent agents are, and how lucrative movie favors can be." First of all, there are way more prominent Hollywood couples whose divorces never get covered at all or in this detail because their powerful publicists and lawyers would squeal like stuck pigs to the paper's management. Second, the husband in this case seems like the scumbag, not Risa, but she gets humiliated even so. Third, the newspaper could easily have written individual stories about the lucrative nature of horror film franchises or major agency compensation without focusing on the divorce angle. (Besides, one movie franchise that made money hardly qualifies as news. And an agency opening its books during one divorce is commonplace.) Finally, and most disgustingly, the newspaper posted their home addresses. So I've got to ask: Is the Los Angeles Times so desperate for readers that it's gone Hollywood tabloid? 

Today's Los Angeles Times story finally writes what I've been reporting for the past month about Universal's Evan Almighty, even down to identical language. Theirs: "Saying prayers as Evan Almighty opens to $32 million". Mine: "Moguls at the studio are resorting to just plain prayers." But the LAT didn't even bother to look at the tracking before the pic's release, or the marketing problems, or the exit polling after, as I did, which all tell the story of why the movie opened so weakly. True, Fox's much less expensive, better reviewed, and under the radar Night At The Museum opened to only $30 mil -- but at the end of the Christmas movie season when there was virtually no upcoming competition left for the PG or PG-13 audience. Whereas this crowded summer, blockbuster-branded and critically panned Evan Almighty faces Disney / Pixar's Ratatouille (PG) next week, and future rivalry from Warner's Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (PG-13), New Line's Hairspray (PG) and Fox's The Simpsons (PG-13). As a result, Night At The Museum went on to make $250 mil domestic. Evan Almighty, I'm told, will have trouble making it much past $100 mil.

1. 'Evan Almighty' Debuts Weak
2. 'Evan Almighty': Going To Heaven Or Hell?
3. Shadyac Mayhem Over 'Evan' Marketing

2ND UPDATE: According to United Artists, Germany's reported opposition to UA's movie-in-the-works Valkyrie filming at military sites has less to do with its star Cruise's being a "dangerous" Scientology and more to do with fuss and bother. Yes It's Clear, Tom Cruise, Perfectly Clear

UPDATE: United Artists CEO Paula Wagner responds to Germany nixing the studio's new pic from filming at military sites because its star Tom Cruise is a Scientologist. (The German government has long claimed Scientology is a cult out to make money. Cruise, Travolta and other celeb members have lobbied U.S. leaders to pressure Germany to stop its anti-Scientology campaign.) Although the Defense Ministry has not yet received official requests from United Artists, Valkyrie "will not be allowed to film at German military sites if Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise, who has publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult," a Defense Ministry spokesman said today. The movie is about Stauffenberg's heroic involvement in the real-life 1944 "July Plot" to assassinate Hitler; it was supposed to start filming in Berlin next month. Today, Paula Wagner responded: "Aside from his obvious admiration of the man he is portraying, Mr. Cruise’s personal beliefs have absolutely no bearing on the movie’s plot, themes, or content. And even though we could shoot the movie anywhere in the world, we believe Germany is the only place we can truly do the story justice." 

That reborn studio, United Artists, is showing its first trailer for a movie, choosing to showcase before Fox's Live Free Or Die Hard. It's a teaser for the political drama directed by Robert Redford Lions for Lambs starring Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, and Redford which debuts in November. The pic is about how injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist, and a college professor. This is the first of what appears to be the start of a campaign to raise the profile of UA, basically Tom's giant fuck-you to Sumner Redstone. Both Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner are UA directors and shareholders after striking a deal to run and revive it with parent company MGM. First, they reworked the UA logo (still unveiled). Now Wagner this month gave an interview to the Financial Times. She talked again how the team is closing in on $500 million in production financing being arranged by Merrill Lynch. After months and months of promises about it, I hear it will close before the end of this month. She said the plan is to make only four pics a year. To publicize the studio formed back in 1919 by Hollywood actors, Wagner showed the FT journo a clip reel of classic scenes from some of UA's best-known films complete with stirring music: The African Queen, Some Like it Hot, Dr No, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Great Escape. The other movie on UA's slate is the World War II drama based on the true story of the "July plot" to assassinate Hitler, Valkyrie, which stars Cruise along with Kenneth Branagh. It starts shooting in Berlin on July 19th and reunites the Usual Suspects team: director Bryan Singer and writers Chris McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander. Already, the studio has hired two veterans: ex Paramount exec Don Granger, who also served as production head at Cruise/Wagner Prods, as UA's prez of production, and Disney movie marketer and publicist Dennis Rice as UA's prez of worldwide marketing and publicity.

1. The 411 On Tom's Partner Paula Wagner
2. Anything Happen While I Was Sleeping?
3. Who's Crazier: Viacom or Tom Cruise?

Once again, The New Yorker's Ken Auletta, who invented the journalism genre I've dubbed CEO Porn, wastes valuable trees -- this time, in a lengthy look at the Murdoch-Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal battle for ownership that doesn't lay a glove on the media mogul. The only interesting anecdote Auletta reports is that some members of the Dow Jones board and the Bancroft family were unhappy with the pro-Murdoch role of DJ CEO Richard Zannino, who met with Murdoch on March 29th. “Some members of the family and the board were astonished that Zannino would even meet with Murdoch, and they were furious that he seemed to favor Murdoch’s offer” to pay nearly twice the share price for Dow Jones, Auletta writes. On May 1st, the day the story broke—on CNBC—Zannino presented what he called a 'fact-based' presentation of the pros and cons of selling, which upset some members of the board, and members of the Bancroft family, which controls the company. According to one board participant, 'He gave a terrible presentation. He was talking about what a disaster it would be if we didn’t take this offer.' Zannino rejects this characterization of his presentation but says, 'To be honest, we’re all flattered by Murdoch’s bid.'” Amazing that Auletta's aptly titled piece "Promises, Promises" doesn't dig up one new instance of Murdoch's interference with the journalism he publishes. I hope The New York Times does better with its 3-part Murdoch investigation which debuts on Monday. After all, the Page One story begins, "Murdoch has used his media empire to advance his personal and political agendas..."

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SUNDAY AM: Hollywood's most expensive comedy ever needed divine intervention and didn't get it at the box office this weekend as Universal's Evan Almighty debuted to a disappointing $32.1 million. That's well below the $50 mil which box office gurus initially expected and the studio's own lowered expectations of 40+ mil. The PG faith-based pic made less than half the $68 million that the original PG-13 Bruce Almighty took in its opening weekend at the box office. Neither Saturday night nor Friday date night boosted weak matinees for Universal's terribly reviewed family-targeted Noah's Ark retelling which did $11.4 million on Friday and $11.4 million on Saturday and a projected $9.5 mil Sunday from 3,602 theaters. The Tom Shadyac-directed pic will see at most $100 mil domestic this summer despite its runaway cost of $210 mil. (Universal insists the final budget came in at $175 mil.) The pic's business was strongest in the South and Mid-West, average in the West Coast and Mountain regions, and softest in the East and Canada. But the studio had marketed the movie's religious theme heavily to faith-based sectors whose crowds never translated into multitudes of moviegoers. Exit polls showed 47% of the non-child audience considered themselves frequent attenders of religious services, and ratings were markedly higher among frequent religious service attenders vs. non-frequent attenders. "Suffice to say without 'frequent church attenders, this film might have gone down as one of the biggest bombs in Hollywood history," an insider who helped market the film explained to me. All along, tracking scores for "Unaided Awareness" had been too low. And even with the book and toilet jokes removed, parents didn't want to take their kids to a sequel based on a movie they felt was too mature. According to exit polls, the pic drew a wide range of ages, with 52% over age 25, but family moviegoers comprised only 45% of the audience, with just 24% parents and 21% children under age 13. But the major problem in the end seemed to be that Evan Almighty sacrificed too many laughs at the altar of heartwarming. Exit polls showed that the top reason adults wanted to see the movie was the humor (76%). But Evan's reviews were god awful. According to RottenTomatoes.com, it garnered only 21% positive reviews among the pool of 112 film critics, and only 9% from major media outlets.). For details about what went wrong, including an analysis of the movie's marketing and a meltdown by the director, read my previous: 'Evan Almighty': Going To Heaven Or Hell?.

Internationally, Evan Almighty opened No. 1 in Russia and Ukraine day and date with domestic. Russia grossed an estimated $1.5M at 329 venues, which is 10% bigger than Bruce Almighty. Ukraine grossed an estimated $178K at 64 dates, which is 11% bigger than Bruce.  Evan debuts in Greece July 5th, UK on August 3rd, Germany on August 9th, and France on August 15th during school holidays.

I'm told MGM / The Weinstein Co's Stephen King horror film 1408 starring John Cusack debuted well in 3rd place this weekend earning $20.3 million from 2,678 venues. So fright pics are alive and well -- as logn as their content isn't torture porn. Another movie opening was Paramount Vantage's A Mighty Heart, starring Angelina Jolie in the story of journalist Daniel Pearl's terrorist murder. It finished in 10th place this weekend with only $4 mil from 1,355 playdates. But the real gauge here is its per screen average, which was extremely low, indicating weak interest in this well-reviewed pic despite a ton of publicity featuring tabloid-favorite Jolie. I believe releasing it this blockbuster-crowded summer, even as counter-programming, was a dumb move. September would have been a better time.

The 2nd biggest movie, Fox's Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, suffered a 65% drop-off (and -72% on Friday night alone) at the start of its second week out to make $20.5 mil this weekend from 3,963 theaters for a new cume of $97.9 mil. Warner's sequel Ocean's Thirteen three weeks in release was 4th with a new cume of $91.1 after raking in $11.5 mil from Friday through Sunday from 3,450 venues. Universal has had much better luck with its R-rated Judd Apatow laugher Knocked Up in 5th place at the start of four weeks. Its new cume is $108.9 mil after taking in $10.6 mil this weekend from 2,975 venues. In 6th place starting five week in release, Disney's Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End added another $7.2 mil Friday from 2,802 playdates for a new cume of $287.1 mil. Overseas, the Johnny Depp threequel just reached $585 mil for a whopping new worldwide gross receipts of $872 mil. Sony's toon Surf's Up was 7th, making $6.4 mil this weekend from 3,309 theaters beginning its third week. for a new cume of $47 mil. DreamWorks Animation's Shrek The Third came in 8th at the start of six weeks out after making $5.7 mil from Friday through Sunday from 2,822 theaters for a new cume of $307.9 mil. And, finally, 9th place Nancy Drew from Warner's dropped 34% after one week to make $4.5 mil from 2,612 venues for a new cume of $16.1 mil. Here's the Top 10 chart:

1. 1. Evan Almighty $11.4M Fri, $11.4M Sat, and est $9.5M Sun. (cume $32.1M)
2. 2. Silver Surfer $6.2M Fri, $7.9M Sat, and est $6.4M Sun. ($97.9M)
3. 3. 1408 $7.6M Fri, $7.4M Sat, and est $5.3M Sun. ($20.3M)
4. 4. Ocean's Thirteen $3.5M Fri, $4.6M Sat, and est $3.4M Sun. ($91.1M)
5. 5. Knocked Up $3.3M Fri, $4.3M Sat, and est $3M Sun. ($108.9M)
6. 6. Pirates 3 $2.1M Fri, $2.9M Sat, and est $2.2M Sun. ($287.1M)
7. 7. Surf's Up $2.1M Fri, $2.5M Sat, and est $2.1M Sun. ($47.3M)
8. 8. Shrek The Third $1.7M Fri, $2.2M Sat, and est $1.9M Sun. ($307.9M)
9. 9. Nancy Drew $1.5K Fri, $1.6M Sat, and est $1.2K Sun. ($16.1M)
10. 10. A Mighty Heart $1.1M Fri, $1.6M Sat, and est $1.1M Sun. ($4M)

(more...)

He's passed his drug test. Previous: Ben Silverman Is Breaking All The Rules.