Hope that video camera fires bullets, Mr. Secret Service! | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Mediocre political thriller Vantage Point topped the box office this weekend, grossing a solid $24M in its opening frame. It was the only new film to do significant business as hold-overs held the next five spots. Jumper dropped precipitously in its second weekend (-54%) but still managed to make $12.65M ($56.2M). Family picture The Spiderwick Chronicles showed considerably more......

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Hollywood's latest exercise in Rashômon-style storytelling is Vantage Point. As most of you no doubt realize because you've seen the trailer a quarter of a million times, Vantage Point deals with the attempted assassination of the President from a multitude of perspectives. As the movie's tagline says, "8 Strangers. 8 Points of View. 1 Truth." Critics have been flaming it with Variety's Justin Chang providing some choice barbs. I......

Writers Guild members picket in front of Sony Pictures in Culver City, California, November 2007 At nearly 3am last night, WGA members received an email announcing that "we have a tentative deal." I'm told that the language of the deal could have been done earlier, but that the AMPTP attempted some last minute shenanigans - most reprehensible in the fact that it made me use the word "shenanigans." The WGA East will be holding......

If you're not mall-ward bound, frantically baking fruitcake, cleaning house for arriving relatives, or headed to LAX, there are still plenty of things to do tonight in LA. FILM "Yippee Ki-yay, mother..." You get the idea. The Aero Theatre is showing a badass Christmastime double feature tonight. On the bill is the original Die Hard and 2003's Bad Santa, starring Billy Bob Thornton. Ah, the familiar holiday cinema classics. 7:30 p.m. // Aero Theatre......

Though his recent output has been sparse and not particularly memorable, there can be no argument that Francis Ford Coppola has left one of the larger imprints on the history of film. This is a man who once directed, consecutively--consecutively--The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather: Part II and Apocalypse Now. Tonight, he'll be at the 7:40 screening of his latest, Youth Without Youth at the Landmark Theater at Pico and Westwood. Incidentally, if you......

Spider-Man 3 would have been an immeasurably better movie if it had just stuck to one villain. Seriously, Venom should not be sharing the screen with anyone else. No End in Sight received ecstatic reviews when it was released in theaters so, naturally, no one saw it. Correct that mistake when it lands on DVD shelves. Talk to Me was better than I expected; Wendell Baker was worse; Day Watch was unwatchable nonsense. The......

To no one’s surprise, the awful Resident Evil: Extinction claimed the weekend box office crown, debuting with a surprisingly robust 24 million dollars and spanking the equally vapid Good Luck Chuck ($14M). While discerning patriots were sad to see Paul W.S. Anderson’s “vision” further validated, they were somewhat cheered by the continued deterioration of "comedian" Dane Cook’s film career. Also, failed starlet Jessica Alba is one flop closer to what now seems an inevitable,......

Superbad became the first movie since late May to win back-to-back weekends, owing as much to a weak slate of openers as to its own relative strength. The Judd Apatow-produced dick montage hauled in 18 million bucks and helped push the summer box office to a record 4.003 billion dollars. It's the first 4 billion dollar summer ever, though higher ticket prices (and not increased admissions) account for that big, shiny number. The Bourne......

I interviewed Jamie Denenberg, International Marketing Exec for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Democratic Fundraiser (currently for Senator Obama's Presidential Campaign) to find out how she got started in fundraising, her political influences and what she thought were the best things about the LA political arena. What's your background in Los Angeles politics, how'd you get started fundraising? I first came out to LA in 1999 where I got my master's degree in journalism......

Last night, about 15 miles west of the Kodak Theatre -- a veritable light year -- Taylor Dayne and Doogie Howser starred in film awards gala skits of their own. Little Miss Sunshine took Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Male honors at Film Independent's Spirit Awards. Half Nelson took consolation for losing Best Picture by capturing Best Male (Ryan Gosling) and Best Female Lead (Shareeka Epps) awards. And America Ferrera set the bar for Oscar......

Chirac sez that Turkey shouldn't be allowed in the EU unless it admits to killing 1.5 million Armenians back in the day. - LA Daily News Dude who got mugged for $20,000 after leaving Washington Mutual in Palmdale blames new bank design. - LAT UCLA scientist gets $3.8 million to study a radical new approach to pinpoint schizophrenia. For $380 we would have just given them our Little Black Book. - CBS2 "Open Season"......

We've got a date night for you: Try winning tickets here to the February 6th red carpet premiere of London, a movie set in (surprise!) New York, about a girl moving to LA and the man who stocks up on coke and tries to win her back. After you've dodged the paparazzi and seen the premiere at the Arclight, whisk your good selves off to Basque, where The Crystal Method will be spinning. Fine......

Saving Face, a romantic comedy about a daughter struggling to understand her mother's heart is set to make its Los Angeles premiere this Friday and we've got a pair of tickets to give away to send you and a guest to a screening next week. The film is from Sony Pictures Classics and received critical acclaim from our Northern Cali friends and was the opening night film of this year's Los Angeles Asian Pacific......

We thought we were just going to a screening but ended up at the domestic premiere of Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle (originally titled Gong Fu) at the Arclight. Sony Pictures Classics treated us to Chinese dragon dancers and a kung fu display before we waited for 10 minutes while the overbooked cineramadome tried to clear the aisleways so the movie could start. What a film. We really enjoyed last year's Shaolin Soccer but......