Los Angeles, (Sept. 30, 2008)  --  The Screen Actors Guild released the following statement from SAG National executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen in response to the AMPTP’s Sept. 29, 2008 statement: “We are disappointed to hear that the employers and their AMPTP representatives are refusing to engage in the process necessary to complete a deal. We do not believe that their rejection of our reasonable request  is in the best interests of our members or the industry.  Our National Negotiating Committee will be meeting later this week to consider management’s response.”

1. AMPTP Rejects Today's SAG Overture
2. SAG Sends Letter To Chernin, Iger, Counter To Restart Formal Negotiations

I'm told that Lorrie Bartlett and Chuck James will be joining ICM as senior agents in the motion picture talent department after working at the Gersh Agency for several years. Their clients include young talent like Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou, Megan Fox, Zoe Saldana, Eliza Dushku, Elisha Cuthbert, Mena Suvari, Dennis Haysbert, Kelly Macdonald, Rodrigo Santoro and Jordana Spiro.  

Now that the new Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince pic has been delayed, this Warner Bros faux flack has some choice words for angry Harry Potter fans.
SPOILER ALERT... SPOILER ALERT... SPOILER ALERT... SPOILER ALERT...  

This email is making the rounds from the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences to Hollywood's name talent criticizing the U.S. Post Office for this stamp issued September 18th. I've X'ed out the names:

From: "XXX" <XXX@oscars.org>
To: <XXX@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:23:26 -0700
Subject: Re: Postal censorship

Have you seen the new Bette Davis postage stamp?  It's a photo from ALL ABOUT EVE, and after staring at it for a while I realized there was something wrong.  She has a gloved hand raised beneath her chin in a very awkward pose.  They removed a cigarette from her fingers!  Censorship from our Uncle Sam.  Didn't they think anyone would notice?  Film historians should revolt!

The Motion Picture Association Of America just released this press statement:

Los Angeles – The nation’s top movie companies filed a lawsuit today asking a federal court to stop RealNetworks Inc. from distributing the company’s RealDVD software which allows movies to be copied illegally.  In their complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order, the studios said that RealNetworks’ RealDVD violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) because its software illegally bypasses the copyright protection built into DVDs that protect movies against theft.
 
“RealNetworks’ RealDVD should be called StealDVD,” explained Greg Goeckner, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).  “RealNetworks knows its product violates the law and undermines the hard-won trust that has been growing between America’s movie makers and the technology community.  The major motion picture studios have been making major investments in technologies that allow people to access entertainment in a variety of new and legal ways. This includes online video-on-demand, download-to-own, as well as legitimate digital copies for storage and use on computers and portable devices that are increasingly being made available on or with DVDs. Our industry will continue on this path because it gives consumers greater choices than ever.  However, we will vigorously defend our right to stop companies from bringing products to market that mislead consumers and clearly violate the law.”
 
The Content Scramble System (CSS) built into DVDs prevents the unauthorized reproduction and distribution of copyrighted material released in DVD format.  The RealDVD software illegally circumvents this copyright protection system. Among other things, the RealDVD software enables users to engage in an illegal practice known as “rent, rip and return,” whereby a person rents a DVD from a legitimate business like Blockbuster or Netflix, uses the RealDVD software to make multiple permanent illegal copies of the movie, and returns the DVD, only to rent another popular title and make permanent copies of it, repeating the cycle of theft over and over again without ever making a purchase. On its own Web site, RealNetworks acknowledges that this behavior is illegal and that its software could be used in that manner.
 
Motion pictures and television programs require substantial investments of money, time, effort and creativity by hundreds or often thousands of people, which must be recouped through many individual exhibitions, sales and broadcasts of the works.  DVD sales are a major source of revenues that enable the studios to invest in and develop the wide range of entertainment options available to consumers.  The RealDVD software would enable massive theft of creative content that would have a direct, negative impact on the delivery of movies, television shows and other entertainment to consumers through the home entertainment and digital distribution markets.
 
The lawsuit, filed today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles asks for damages and injunctive relief against RealNetworks Inc. for violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) circumvention provisions. The DMCA prohibits the manufacturing or trafficking of any technology or product, service or device that is designed for the purpose of circumventing measures that effectively protect copyrighted titles. In manufacturing and selling RealDVD, RealNetworks Inc., a CSS licensee, has attempted to leverage its license improperly by making a product that permits users to circumvent the protections of CSS.  Such a product was never intended to be authorized by the CSS license.
           
The worldwide motion picture industry, including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-per-view operators lose more than $18 billion annually as a result of movie theft.  More than $7 billion in losses are attributed to illegal Internet distributions, while $11 billion is the result of illegal copying and bootlegging.

1:00 AM: Media stocks recovered slightly while the rest of the Dow is regaining nearly 2/3's of what it lost the day before. At first, no one could really give a decent explanation as to why the stock market headed up instead of down today. Because the financial bailout may be approved by Friday? Because the bill may not pass by Friday? Because investors sitting on the sidelines with cash under their mattress may be in the mood for some Dow bargain-shopping? Because the SEC may change the way that the bonds are accounted that back America's banks? Do we care why?

DOW CRASHES: Closes Down 777 Monday 

Scott Rudin confirmed to me Monday night that it is his email describing Harvey Weinstein's alleged callous treatment of the late Anthony Minghella's and the deceased Sydney Pollack's families. Rudin also claimed to me that HW's people all day pestered him "to protect Harvey and deny the email and lie to Page Six" -- so he told me he did "in order to keep peace for the next weeks that the two of us still have to work together on The Reader." See my previous, Harvey Weinstein's Offer I Can't Refuse... and Harvey Weinstein vs The World, Part 1.

It never fails to amaze me how studios convince themselves that up is down, and left is right. Here's an internal MGM memo giddy over the possibility that the new trailer for Tom Cruise's December 26th Nazi pic will translate into big biz:

From: Sandro Bellini [Digital Marketing | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc]
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 4:27 PM

Attached is an updated report on online buzz around the new Valkyrie assets:

OVERVIEW

Favorable Tone Dominates Trailer Buzz – Currently, reactions to the Valkyrie trailer are significantly favorable (approximately 80%) within Entertainment, Fan-Boy, Video Sharing, Social Networks, Social Bookmarks, and Fan communities. Fans deem the trailer “fantastic,” often praising the “stylistic” way that the footage was cut and asserting that it is “way better” than the initial teaser. Enthusiasts also note that the “intriguing” trailer has furthered their anticipation for the film’s release and anticipate that it will feature many great performances from the ensemble cast. Additionally, many viewers share avid excitement to see Bryan Singer’s “distinctive work” in the film and, while others admitted that they “aren’t fans” of Tom Cruise, they stated that the trailer has “sold” them on seeing Valkyrie in December. Neutral reactions (15%) arise from viewers sharing mixed reactions to the trailer, often asserting that while the film has the potential to be “awesome” they still have their doubts based on the initial critical buzz. The limited amount of unfavorable discussion (5%) stems from critics expressing general disinterest in the film, contending that the trailer makes Valkyrie look like “another Hollywood action movie.”

Additional Assets Also Garner Rave Reviews – In addition to the trailer, the Valkyrie one-sheet, featurette, and stills have been generating largely positive user reactions. The poster comprises the majority of discussion, as fans laud the “stylized design” and hope that it represents the “gritty” feel of the film. “I definitely want one of these up on my walls right away.” The stills garnered high profile placement with features including the LA Times – The Envelope and Fan-Boy sites such as Joblo. The Official Website has also had several mentions about its “cool new features.”

Lack of German Accents Still an Issue – While the majority of buzz about the lack of German accents is neutral, the topic is fueling discussion among online audiences. Critics contend that their absence creates a “lack of cohesiveness” while supporters believe that their inclusion would make the film appear “cheesy.” There were also numerous users sharing mixed opinions on the topic, stating that while the lack of accents is “distracting” and anticipate it will “take some getting used to,” the trailer “looks amazing” and they intend on seeing the film upon its release.

Trailer Coverage Widely Spread – The Valkyrie trailer was posted across nine alpha video sites, with the postings on Yahoo! Video, YouTube, Trailer Addict, and Spike generating the greatest number online views.

For an updated screengrab report, click here:
http://server.mammothnyc.com/valkyrie/valkyriereport.pdf

The AMPTP tonight issued its response to today's letter from SAG's Alan Rosenberg & Doug Allen asking Peter Chernin, Bob Iger, and Nick Counter to restart formal negotiations. Disappointing, but not surprising. Obviously, no one has bothered to tell Counter that his Big Media bosses keep telling Wall Street their business isn't being hurt by the economic downturn, and, if anything, New Media revenues are through the roof. Yet Counter still tries to plead poverty to SAG. Hey Nick, you want cheese with that whine?

September 29, 2008

Dear Alan and Doug:

This is in response to your letter dated September 29, 2008 to Peter Chernin, Robert Iger and me.  Your letter indicates that the Screen Actors Guild is not prepared to change its position on any of the threshold issues in our negotiations.  The Guild's position remains unchanged since we last met on July 16, 2008.  Further, in addition to new media, there are a number of significant issues which, in and of themselves, prevent the parties from reaching agreement.

Our Final Offer to the Screen Actors Guild is comparable to our agreements with the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America and AFTRA.  Our Final Offer memorializes a set of compromises, including in the area of new media, worked out with other Guilds and Unions and particularly addresses actor specific issues raised during the Screen Actors Guild negotiations.

We do not believe that it would be productive to resume negotiations at this time given SAG's continued insistence on terms which the Companies have repeatedly rejected.

In light of the unprecedented economic difficulties facing our industry and the nation, the Companies continue to hope that the Guild's leadership will recognize the five major labor agreements that have already been concluded this year and will accept our Final Offer while it remains on the table.

We want to reemphasize that we value greatly our industry's talent - the directors, writers, actors, and below-the-line people who create entertainment products for audiences around the world - and hope that our Final Offer can serve as the basis of an agreement.

Sincerely,
J. Nicholas Counter III

The New York Post's Page Six just called me saying Harvey Weinstein has told them he'll give $1 million to charity if I can produce the Scott Rudin email about HW's alleged callous treatment of Anthony Minghella's and Sydney Pollack's families. Because Harv doesn't think it exists. Question is, do I get to choose the charity? (UPDATE: As for Scott Rudin, he confirmed to me Monday night that it is his email and claimed that Weinstein's people pestered him "to protect Harvey and deny the email and lie to Page Six" -- so he said he did "in order to keep peace for the next weeks that the two of us still have to work together on The Reader.") Here's the email. I've blacked out the recipient of the message as well as SR's email address: 

HARVEY WEINSTEIN VS THE WORLD, PART 1:
Scott Rudin Wins War Of Wills; 'The Reader' Director Is Given More Time

A rare instance of a manager becoming an agent. Then again, UTA can use more people whom Hollywood actually likes. (Just kidding.) Doug Johnson is telling clients right now that he'll be joining UTA's motion picture lit department after 6 years at Management 360. He reps Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend's Girl), Frank Coraci (Click), Michael Gordon (300), Jim Hecht (Ice Age 2), Josh Safran (Gossip Girl), Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), Brett Simon (Assassination Of A High School President), Albert Torres (Henry Poole), and others.

UPDATE: AMPTP Rejects Today's SAG Overture

It was released to the SAG board today and sent to News Corp (Fox) No. 2 Peter Chernin, Walt Disney Co CEO Bob Iger and the Big Media cartel's negotiating clique AMPTP president Nick Counter. Both Chernin and Iger took personal roles in settling the writers strike. Here's the letter:

Dear Gentlemen:
 
We believe it is clear that our members would fail to ratify your proposal of June 30, 2008.  It would serve no productive purpose, therefore, to send our membership a proposal that SAG’s National Negotiating Committee and National Board have rejected and that our membership would not ratify.
 
It is our fervent hope that this news will encourage you and your colleagues to reengage in formal bargaining, with the exchange of proposals and compromise by both sides necessary to reach an agreement.
 
Our discussions with you and many of your colleagues since formal talks ended have educated both of our teams about our respective priorities and flexibilities.  As we have said to SAG members members, if we can reach agreement on three threshold issues, we believe we can finish these negotiations.  One issue you brought to the table: force majeure protection for actors held by contract to a suspended production.  Two issues we have identified as core principles: coverage for all new media productions (including those below $15,000/minute) and residuals for made-for new media productions re-used on new media.  Other issues divide us, certainly, but we believe those other issues can be successfully addressed once we have resolved these three threshold issues.  We have approached these contract negotiations reasonably and with a realistic and informed view of the state of the industry.
 
We are prepared to meet formally and continuously until we reach agreement.  We owe it to our constituencies and the thousands of others in this industry that depend on a productive, stable and uninterrupted relationship between Screen Actors Guild and the networks and studios.
 
The alternative to reaching an agreement as soon as possible is unnecessary and destructive uncertainty.  If your intransigence continues, however, our choices become harder and fewer.  We would prefer the more complicated and productive choices that compromise will make necessary.  But we can’t make those choices that lead to agreement working alone.
 
What do you say; when can our committees meet face-to-face?"

Sincerely,
Alan Rosenberg Doug Allen
National President National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator

1 PM UPDATE: Because it took everyone by surprise that the financial bailout bill failed in the House Of Representatives. This is terrible news for media stocks, Wall Street, and Main Street as the credit markets literally start to shut down. The S&P alone has lost 8% of its value. Today's market plunge was the biggest single day drop, even worse than post-9/11. Though the 1987 crash was worse proportionately. Can the bailout be salvaged?

MONDAY, September 29, 2008
GE (NBC Universal) fell $2.15 (-8.51%) to $23.10
Disney fell $3.02 (-9.22%) to $29.73
News Corp (Fox) fell $1.18 (-8.91%) to $12.07
Time Warner fell $1.31 (-9.22%) to $12.90
Viacom fell $1.85 (-7.25%) to $23.66
Sony Corp fell $1.65 (-5.09%) to $30.76
CBS fell $1.10 (-7.14%) to $14.30
DreamWorks Animation fell $1.34 (-4.18%) to $30.68
Marvel Entertainment fell $1.36 (-3.95%) $33.05

2ND UPDATE: I'm told that Marvel received from Paramount a so-called volume discount with regard to distibution fees under this new deal. For Iron Man, Paramount was paid 10% distribution fees by Marvel. Now that figure goes to down to near the 8% Paramount is paid by DreamWorks Animation.

EXCLUSIVE: I know that Paramount was thrilled with picking up those fat distribution fees during the enormous $574 million global success of Iron Man this past summer. Now it's got a lock on Marvel Studios' coming product which should prove successful at the box office if the publicly traded indie's creative chief Kevin Feige doesn't screw it up. I'm told that Paramount and Marvel have done a big overall deal calling for the movie major to distribute Marvel's next self-produced films on a worldwide basis. The deal includes theatrical distribution in foreign territoies previously serviced by Marvel through local distribution entities (Japan, Germany, France, Spain, and Australia/New Zealand). The pics are Iron Man 2 (May 7, 2010) and 3 (unscheduled), Thor (July 16, 2010), Captain America (May 6, 2011), and The Avengers (July 15, 2011).

10:00 AM UPDATE: The announcement just came out: 

“Coming off of Iron Man’s incredible success this summer, we could not be more excited about extending our relationship with Marvel,” said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures. “Marvel’s iconic brand, its popular characters and its proven ability to create compelling and visually spellbinding films complement Paramount’s great history of filmmaking.  We look forward to a long and successful run together.”

"Paramount is an excellent partner and an outstanding global distributor,” said David Maisel, Chairman of Marvel Studios. “Through our experience on Iron Man, Paramount has demonstrated a passion and ability to release Marvel properties theatrically, allowing us to focus on making great movies for the largest audience possible.”

He was once The Big Macher and now is The Big Loser. This is Part 1 in a series I'm calling Harvey Weinstein vs The World. This post goes behind-the-scenes of Weinstein's desperate attempt to roll over The Reader's director Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot) even though the helmer had final cut approval and other contractually guaranteed rights. And I am in possession of plaintive emails from Daldry, and angry letters from entertainment law pitbulls, all attacking Weinstein's disgusting behavior. 

At issue superficially was whether The Reader could be properly done on time for distribution this fall or even for awards consideration this year by Daldry who had sole discretion to determine when the picture could be released. The film already had been delayed by 8 weeks because of Nicole Kidman's pregnancy. Then the pic had to wait for a a minor to turn 18 so the actor could be old enough to engage in some on-screen sexual activity. So the shoot that was supposed to end in February didn't finish until July. And the $22 million budgeted movie climbed in cost to $30 million.

Despite all that, Weinstein was still pushing Daldry to lock in the film as soon as September, or October 7th at the latest, in order to meet the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's delivery date of November 7th. But Stephen was simultaneously in post-production on The Reader and also preparing the Broadway production of Billy Elliot under a Working Title contract that gave it the director's exclusive services from June 30th through November 13th. (Ironically, The Weinstein Co has a piece of that musical.)

That made for an impossible situation for Daldry, whose August 29th email (which I've seen) to The Weinstein Co explains that plaintively. I've excerpted it below:

"I am unable to deliver the film for release this year...

"I simply cannot -- and will not -- do that work in the very short time that remains. You are asking me to cram months of work into perhaps 24 hours of editing time. It can't happen. It won't happen. I will not be able to work with the composer. I will not be present at the recording of the score. I will not be able to mix the film. This work is my job...

"I cannot be party to a process that strips me of my ability to make my work good. That is not something you can require of me. I am desperately committed to finishing this movie well so that it is worth the pain that this process has been for all of us. Believe me, nothing would make me happier than to fulfill the obligation I made to you -- and done with the anguish that this release date has put us squarely in the middle of. But I cannot work this way. I need time with the movie -- concentrated tome, I need momentum and a clear head. I have neither.

...I have to call a halt to this process, this arguing over a date, and simply say that there is a line I will not cross, and this is it. We have reached it. I am not able to continue in this process this way. I cannot make this date -- and it's not for a lack of desire or a lack of effort. It's for a simple finite, irrefutable lack of hours -- and a dangerous lack of self-possessoom. Nobody but me knows what my personal limits are but I will -- in fact, I must -- tell you that I am perilously close to mine. That's bad for me but it is a disaster for the movie...."

Producer Scott Rudin took the director's side against Weinstein to ensure Daldry could obtain a workable post-production schedule. Rudin by most accounts withstood a tirade of abuse from Weinstein and gave it right back at him. The two men were evenly matched in bad temperament and reputation, that's for sure. One battle broke out at an August 26th preview of Daldry's first pass at The Reader which Harvey arranged but which Scott alleged was rigged to get artificially high scores. When Rudin told Weinstein he had hired litigator Marty Singer to protect his own rights and at the same time stop The Reader from being released before Daldry thought it ready, Weinstein screamed, "You're fired! Get the fuck out of the screening." Weinstein took it back later.   

Weinstein even stooped so low as to publicly invoke the names of the film's deceased producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella by claiming to reporters that his releasing the pic in 2008 was what they would have wanted. But Rudin, as the duo's personal pal and professional partner and surviving producer on the film, told Hollywood this is Weinstein's "blatant attempt to ride the coattails of the deaths of two beloved guys". 

A Rudin email I've seen claimed that:

"HW went to Minghella's widow and tried to insert himself into Mirage's editorial rights so as to insist the film be released this year -- which Sydney stopped just before he died. Harassed Sydney on his deathbed until the family asked him to stop because he wanted Sydney to warrant that we would deliver for release this year." 

Rudin also is telling Hollywood that Weinstein "once said to me [about The Reader], 'If I can't get a movie nominated that has Sydney's and Anthony's name on it this year, I should leave the business.' "

Of course, the ever compliant Hollywood trades were also suckered by Weinstein's other spin that Rudin was fighting The Reader's fall release because Scott already has two Oscar contenders, Doubt and Revolutionary Road, which also stars The Reader's leading lady Kate Winslet (Kidman's replacement), and didn't want his actors or his pictures competing against themselves. But that's a ridiculous argument. Everyone knows Rudin is a volume producer and often has many Academy Awards contenders in a year. The trades also tried to minimize any machinations by Harvey by postulating  this was merely Weinstein vs Rudin Redux -- "two alpha males who have faced off many times before, and in the case of The Hours, it was also over a Stephen Daldry movie." 

Instead, this conflict has everything to do with Weinstein and little to do with Rudin. Many Hollywood bigwigs are making serious allegations about The Weinstein Co's financial troubles, and the U.S. and international business media are increasingly repeating them. I myself have only anecdotal evidence. Like I'm told that when the film's British writer David Hare, who adapted the WWII-era romance from Bernhard Schlink’s novel, was flown across the Atlantic recently, he was startled to see that his ticket was issued using Harvey's personal frequent flyer mileage. "I think we may be in worse trouble than we thought," Hare said to people with the film.

Insiders insist to me that Harvey's desperation to release The Reader this year is because of The Weinstein Co's money woes. One of my sources heard Harvey say that he can't afford to hold The Reader and, if he can't get it out this Christmas, then he'll dump it in February. Yet puzzled insiders tell me three other film companies want to buy the pic and release it properly in 2009.

Today's announcement of an agreement by all the parties to move The Reader's release date all the way to mid-December seems to end what was shaping up as both an Oscar campaign embarrassment and a long legal siege. Insiders have told me that Rudin and Daldry and Winslet were all threatening The Weinstein Co not to support the film. That would have been a TKO for Harvey's Academy Award dreams.

Also, The Weinstein Co was threatened with multiple lawsuits. I have seen letters to Weinstein's superlawyer Bert Fields from legal pitbulls Marty Singer (repping Rudin), Melanie Cook (repping Daldry), and the most serious of all from Reed Smith, the London lawyer repping Working Title which was ready to file a UK lawsuit alleging The Weinstein Co was inducing Daldry to breach his Billy Elliot contract.

I'm told the new deal gives Stephen 5 additional weeks for post production on The Reader and a December 12th release date. But I bet all this bad publicity kills its Oscar chances.

Here's the joint statements that The Weinstein Co released today:

JOINT STATEMENT FROM SCOTT RUDIN AND HARVEY WEINSTEIN: "We are issuing this statement together to emphasize the fact that we are in complete agreement on the date we have chosen to release The Reader.  Working together, we developed a plan to extend the post-production schedule in order to give Stephen Daldry the additional time he needs to successfully complete the film in time to release it on December 12, 2008."

STATEMENT FROM DIRECTOR STEPHEN DALDRY: "On their own, Scott and Harvey spent this weekend working together to find a way to accommodate my needs so that I may fulfill my obligation to the studio without compromising my vision for the film. I am thrilled and relieved that we have all found a way forward to work together to bring The Reader to theaters this year."

Stay tuned for Harvey Weinstein vs The World Part 2 and Part 3. Because the true measure of a man is not how he performs when he's on top, but how he handles himself when he's on the way down.

A big surprise at the box office this weekend was the 4th place opening of Provident/Samuel Goldwyn's Fireproof, the small budget and limited release pic about a firefighter who recommits to his marriage and his faith. The movie is the latest from Sherwood Pictures, a nonprofit ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, that previously put out the popular Facing the Giants and the lesser-known Flywheel. Samuel Goldwyn Films is the theatrical distributor, while Provident Films handled Fireproof's outreach and marketing to Christian audiences. It debuted to a $2.3M Friday and $2.6M Saturday for a $6.5M gross weekend though released into only 839 dates and costing just $500K. The reason why is that the pic used grassroots methods to directly reach churches  on behalf of the PG film starring the grown-up star of TV's Growing Pains, Kirk Cameron. (The evangelical actor claims he donated his pay from Fireproof to a camp for seriously ill kids he runs with his wife.) It had the year’s highest grossing opening weekend return of any film (except 3-D Hannah Montana) released on 1,000 screens or less. Faith-based "Action Squads" bought up blocks of tickets. "Just between you and me, keep your eye on the Fireproof per screen averages this weekend," a source at Grace Hill Media, which markets to the religious community but wasn't involved with this movie, tipped me. "On Sunday, I think there will be some distribution execs around town who will be asking 'What the hell is Fireproof?' " The studios did.

But what's interesting about the pic's success is that not all Christian-themed movies do well: in fact, most don't, especially those made by the majors trying to cash in on Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion Of The Christ. Hollywood still can't figure out what works and what doesn't for faith-based audiences. Today, Fireproof is still going strong with advance ticket sales, accounting for the largest share -- 22% -- of all sold, according to big online ticketseller Fandango.com. "Because of the sold-out screenings and strong word-of-mouth, we expect next weekend’s ticket sales for this movie will be equally healthy," spokesman Harry Medved told me.

His death at age 83 following a long battle with cancer was described as just as private and discreet like the way he had lived -- surrounded by family and friends at his farmhouse home near Westport, Conn. I had the opportunity to interview him for the cover of the old Los Angeles Times magazine during that most elegant of moments when every Oscar contender is bound equally by hope. Back then seven times a contender, never a champion, Paul Newman was still waiting for his Best Actor Oscar. That year, he was being judged not only for his nominated role as "Gramps" Fast Eddie Felson in 1986's The Color of Money but also for four decades of playing anti-heroes. He thought his moment had come and gone when he was earlier awarded an honorary Oscar recognizing his personal integrity and dedication to his craft. He told me it was "for people who are already up to their knees in weeds. But at least I was working at the time on The Color of Money, so I knew something that they didn't know: that the pasture was quite a bit in front of me."

Newman lamented the passing of "the golden age" of Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. It's as if this son of a Jewish sporting-goods store owner from Shaker Heights, Ohio; this Navy Pilot Training Program reject and World War II torpedo-bomber radioman; this stage and screen and television actor who married the understudy (Joanne Woodward); this father, movie director, racecar driver, cook, entrepreneur, humanitarian, philanthropist and political activist wanted to tell the world that no one knew how well they had it back then. "Boy, there was work," he said wistfully. "You got a week off and you could be right back in a film or on television or in a play. But I'm not driven to the extent that I will take up a bad script," he told me. "Although I don't know. I may have to do that if something doesn't show up. After a while, you simply have to keep an instrument oiled. You can't just throw it in the garage and pick it up every four or five years and expect it to work." Yet he still turned down the part of playing Superman's father for the Salkinds even though he would have earned millions for just a few days work.

He was always an anomaly in Hollywood, choosing to live on the East Coast, and refusing to read the trades, and staying married for 50 years. In an industry noted for cost overruns, he prided himself on bringing his pictures in under budget, and once he became famous acting in or helming only important or original films. And how rare for actors and how fortunate for Newman that his advancing age brought him some of his most memorable characters and Best Actor nominations -- Michael Gallagher in Absence of Malice, Frank Galvin in The Verdict, Fast Eddie in The Color of Money, Sully Sullivan in Nobody's Fool. (Newman's other nods were for roles in Cool Hand Luke, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hud and The Hustler. He was not nominated for two of his most famous pics: The Sting and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.) So what if Newman wound up his career playing near-geezers whose spindly legs and watering eyes and sunken cheeks were part of his new screen image. He claimed that he never cared about being a sex symbol anyway. After all, he told me, "if you can get by on your baby blues, then what does it mean to be anything in the profession?"

That year, Newman was right to suspect he was giving an Oscar-quality performance under Marty Scorsese's direction. But anyone who expected Newman to come right out and say, "Yes, I want the Oscar," was going to have to wait until those blue eyes turn brown. Newman darted around the issue with me but also conveyed the absurdity of his winless condition. "Oral Roberts has said that if he doesn't raise [enough] money by the end of March, God is going to call him home. Then whatever will He do to me? So if those guys out there don't tap me for this, I think I'm going to go to that great rehearsal hall in the sky." Now Hollywood can console itself knowing that Paul Newman was much, much more than a Best Actor Oscar winner: he was an interesting and thoughtful and special man.

SUNDAY AM: Even though they're getting a divorce after two dysfunctional years, Steven Spielberg and Paramount have still had a successful marriage with films starring Shia LaBoeuf, including Disturbia, Transformers and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. (I suspect DreamWorks and Paramount will work out joint custody of the 22-year-old action star...) Now Shia is in another of their joint PG-13 thrillers, newcomer Eagle Eye, which wound up the #1 pic in North America this weekend with $9.8 million Friday and $12.3 million Saturday from 3,510 theaters for a $29.2M FSS. It was the 4th best September opening of all time. Even so, studios felt the U.S. presidential debate dampened Friday's box office with young and older males, but numbers bumped up 25% for Saturday. (Paired with the film was the new trailer for Tom Cruise's Nazi Christmas movie Valkyrie, and UA/MGM boasted to me that it "killed".)

After a heavy TV marketing campaign, Warner Bros' mature romantic tearjerker based on the Nicholas Sparks novel Nights In Rodanthe starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere opened surpisingly well. It was No. 2 with $4.7 million Friday and $5.5 million Saturday considering it was only playing in 2,704 venues. Its weekend was $13.5M thanks to the older female quadrant which studios are now starting to recognize and respect. Holdover Lakeview Terrace from Screen Gems/Sony grabbed the #3 spot with a $2.0M Friday and $3.3M Saturday for a $7M weekend and new $25.7M cume. 

A big surprise at the box office this weekend was the 4th place opening of Provident/Samuel Goldwyn's Fireproof, the small budget and limited release pic about a firefighter who recommits to his marriage and his faith. The movie is the latest from Sherwood Pictures, a nonprofit ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, that previously put out the popular Facing the Giants and the lesser-known Flywheel. Samuel Goldwyn Films is the theatrical distributor, while Provident Films handled Fireproof's outreach and marketing to Christian audiences. It debuted to a $2.3M Friday and $2.6M Saturday for a $6.5M gross weekend though released into only 839 dates and costing just $500K. The reason why is that the pic used grassroots methods to directly reach evangelical churches and target Christian audiences to go see the PG film starring the grown-up TV child star of Growing Pains, Kirk Cameron. (The ultra-religious actor claims he donated his pay to a camp for seriously ill kids he runs with his wife.) It had the year’s highest grossing opening weekend return of any film (except 3-D Hannah Montana) released on 1,000 screens or less. Faithbased "Action Squads" bought up blocks of tickets. "Just between you and me, keep your eye on the Fireproof per screen averages this weekend," a source at Grace Hill Media, which markets to the religious community but wasn't involved with this movie, tipped me. "On Sunday, I think there will be some distribution execs around town who will be asking 'What the hell is Fireproof?' " That's exactly what the studios did. But what's interesting about the pic's success is that not all Christian-themed movies do well: in fact, most don't, especially those made by the majors trying to cash in on Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion Of The Christ. Hollywood still can't figure out what works and what doesn't for faith-based audiences. Today, Fireproof is still going strong with advance ticket sales, accounting for the largest share -- 22% -- of all sold, according to big online ticketseller Fandango.com. "Because of the sold-out screenings and strong word-of-mouth, we expect next weekend’s ticket sales for this movie will be equally healthy," spokesman Harry Medved told me.

Burn After Reading from Focus Pictures snuck in at #5 with $1.6M Friday and a $3M Saturday for a $6.1M weekend. No. 6 Igor from Exodus Film Group/MGM experienced a minimal 2nd week drop of only 30%. Three R-rated new movies also opened in limited release, including Spike Lee's drama about black soldiers who fought in World War II, The Miracle Of St. Anne. The director's attempt to repudiate Clint Eastwood came in No. 9 for the weekend with $965K Friday, and $1.5M Saturday, for a $3.5M weekend. Lionsgate's The Lucky Ones about returning Iraq war vets Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena made $142K from 459 theaters this weekend. And Fox Searchlight's dark comedy Choke with Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston took in $1.3M from 434 venues. The weekend will total over $93.7M, which is +10% over last year's. 

1. Eagle Eye  (DreamWorks/Paramount) NEW [3,510 theaters], wkd $29.2M
2. Nights In Rodanthe (Warner Bros) NEW [2,704], wkd $13.5M
3. Lakeview Terrace (Screen Gems/Sony) Friday [2,467], wkd $7M, cume $25.7M
4. Fireproof (Provident/Samuel Goldwyn) NEW [839], wkd $6.5M
5. Burn After Reading (Focus Features) [2,649], wkd $6.1M, cume $45.5M
6. Igor (Exodus/MGM) [2,341], wkd $5.5M, cume $14.3M
7 Righteous Kill (Overture) [3,011], wkd