Avatar Movie Poster

“Avatar” holds on to the number 1 spot at the box office despite a big Christmas opening for Robert Downey Jr.’s “Sherlock Holmes” and the box office had it’s highest total in quite some time. 

Over the 3 day weekend, people bought about $278 million in tickets, which was more than the $261 million that the box office made when “The Dark Knight Returns” opened.  It just shows, despite the bad economy, people want to go to the movies and be entertained.

1. Avatar: $75 million

2. Sherlock Holmes $65 million

3.  Alvin & The Chipmunks 2 $50 million

4.  It’s Complicated $22 million

5.  Up In The Air  $11 million

“Nine” only made a little over $5 million.  “Avatar” has taken in $212 million domestically. 

The industry is expecting the business to continue through the next weekend.-Dr.FB

Transformers 2

Transformers 2 made $201 million over the first 5 days despite very lackluster reviews and making more than the studio thought it would. Score one for Michael Bay.

Although due to other reports, it did not eclipse the Dark Knight’s total from last summer of $203 million. It did make $112 million this weekend alone.

We will see how much the movie drops this 4thof July weekend with Johnny Depp’s Public Enemies due out.-Dr.FB

Christopher Nolan / ©Reuters

In what sounds like a plot straight out of a Hollywood movie, Christopher Nolan’s brother Matthew Nolan has been arrested for the kidnap and murder of a man named Robert Cohen. The allegations are as follows:

According to reports, Cohen owed $7 million dollars to an un-named Florida man. In order to recover the money, Matthew Nolan and an accomplice named Daniel Mejia concocted a plot where Nolan posed as a multi-millionaire jewel dealer, and lured Cohen to Costa Rica on the pretense of entering a business deal with the victim. Once Cohen was in Costa Rica, Nolan and Mejia allegedly kidnapped him and held him for ransom, and when their demands weren’t met, they killed Cohen.

The FBI arrested Nolan in Chicago Thursday and he is being held without bail and awaiting extradition to Costa Rica.

Leonardo DiCaprio/©Reuters

Variety is reporting that Leonardo DiCaprio is wrapping up negotiations to star in the Chris Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) directed sci-fi thriller Inception, which Nolan wrote. Filming is set to get underway this year, with a targeted release of summer 2010. 

Nolan and Emma Thomas will produce the film for Warner Bros.

Heath Ledger. File Photo

One year ago today, Heath Ledger was discovered dead in his rented loft in New York.  A truly sad day.

One year later exactly, Heath Ledger is nominated for an Oscar for the role that may have taken his life. 

We miss you Heath, and hope the Acadamy gets it right Feb. 22nd.-Dr.FB

The World Lost A Talented Actor In Heath Ledger. File Photo

January 22nd, 2008 in New York, Heath Ledger died.  He died of an apparent overdose.  The movie industry, movie fans, and fans of the actor were in shock.  His loved ones in disbelief.

You know when you heard his name as the one who had died, your mouth dropped.  You did a double take.  Your first thought after the shock; he was so young.  Sleeping pills did him in. Sleeping pills.

He admitted in interviews that he was having a rough time sleeping after playing the villain Joker in the latest Batman movie, the Dark Knight.  One pill, which should knock you out for 8 hours, would knock him out for 90 minutes.  So he would take several instead of understanding his body became immune to the pills shortly after taking them.

The Dark Knight movie seemed cursed from the get go.  A stuntman died the 1st week of shooting.  Another death happened.  Then Heath’s after filming.  Then Morgan Freeman escaped death in the south.  The weekend of the movie, Christian Balle’s estranged family came after him.  Crazy.  Maybe Johnny Depp may want to rethink that Riddler character.

Heath Ledger jumped on the screen in 1999’s Ten Things I Hate About You.  Having modest success with movies such as A Knight’s Tale, he took on the role of a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain.  Not getting the Oscar and jokes behind his back, Heath stood out in a role that would have been taboo and untouchable years prior, but he took the role which gained him respect.

After agreeing to take the Joker role, some questioned his acting ability to do that and how could a person who played a gay cowboy play that role.  Leaks of Heath dressed in Joker garb dispelled most of that talk and had people going, wow, he is actually going to pull this off.  It is a shame that Heath did not live to see how respected his version of the Joker is.  How respected he is.

I must reiterate; If Heath does not only get nominated for an Oscar, and if he does not win it, the Academy Awards in many industry insiders eyes, will now be deemed as useless.  Think of it as giving Denzel the Oscar for Training Day instead of the countless other movie roles he owned over the years.  Why so serious?  Because Heath Ledger was the Best in movies of 2008.-Dr.FB

Photo Courtesy Hottopic.com

This is one of the most motarded (Something more than retarded) lawsuits of all time…seriously.

The mayor of a southeastern City in Turkey is suing Warner Bros, Christian Bale, and Christopher Nolan for royalties from “The Dark Knight”.  The reason?  The city is named Batman.  Somewhere, the Joker is laughing. 

Huseyin Kalkan, the mayor of Batman, (not the comic, the city, Robin) had this to say:

“There is only one Batman in the world,” Kalkan said. “The American producers used the name of our city without informing us.”

Let’s see… the first Batman big-screen movie blockbuster was made in 1989.  The classic Batman TV series  started in 1966.  The comic by Bob Kane debuted in 1939.  1939!  You guys are only 69 years late.  Could this have something to do with the last movie grossing over a billion dollars world-wide?  I’ll bet my utility belt on it.

He is also trying to place the blame of unsolved murders and a high female suicide rate on the Caped Crusader of Gotham City.  They say they also have trouble doing business abroad because of the city’s name. 

The mayor of Loonytown is attempting to gain evidence that the city’s name predates Bob Kane’s 1939 Batman debut.  Spider-Man and Superman, beware!  The crazy people could be after you next. 

Will Batman & DC win against this Joker of a mayor?

Will Batman have to change his name to Man-Bat or a Bat of a man?

Stay tuned!  Same Funkenberry website.  Same Doctor.-Dr.FB