adder stone: Word of the day for January 31, 2016

adder stone , n :
A stone of varying forms and usually glassy with a naturally formed hole, which is often used as amulet or bead.

‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Masters Friday With Est. $11M+; Now Punching $41M+ Opening – Friday PM Update

Word of mouth on Kung Fu Panda 3 is just as strong as its previous installment with the DreamWorks Animation sequel earning an A CinemaScore tonight.  Projecting off of east coast cash registers which recently closed, non-20th Century Fox estimates have KFP3 at an opening day of $11.3M and an opening weekend of $41M at 3,955 theaters. While that’s less than the $47.7M 3-day of KFP2, keep in mind it’s winter and only 4% of all K-12 schools are off per Rentrak. Nonetheless, it’s still too early to call the weekend on KFP3. During this time of year, animated films make their bread off of Saturday and Sunday matinees. One industry calculation projects a 60% hike on Saturday for KFP3 or $18.1M. All of this could spike by late Saturday night. PLF, 3D pricing are also working in KFP3‘s favor this weekend. KFP3 carries an estimated production cost of $120M-$140M.

20th Century Fox also has the spoil of claiming the No. 2 film as its New Regency title The Revenant stays strong with an industry estimated $3.27M Friday and sixth weekend of $11.6M, down just 27%. Cume by Sunday should be $137.4M As the northeastern seaboard thaws, many distributors are expecting decent holds for last weekend’s films as audiences are hunkering to head back to the cinema. This is true especially with last weekend’s crop — The Boy, The 5th Wave and Dirty Grandpa — registering second weekend declines between -38% and -43%.
Disney’s The Finest Hours  is looking to open with $10.5M in third at 3,143 venues after a $3.5M Friday. Not the best of starts for a movie that carries an estimated budget between $70M-$80M. These seafaring films always have the water against them during production, hence their lofty budgets. Despite the fact that it’s a smart ensemble with Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Eric Bana and Ben Foster, none of them individually have the marquee power yet of a Channing Tatum or a Leonardo DiCaprio; stars which could sail this pic to a taller wave. Another obstacle for Finest Hours per RelishMix: None of the stars practice social media. Facebook conversation has been dominated by two things: the red carpet premiere and the Q&A with the cast.  That said #Pinenuts have taken over the Q&A with all kinds of questions for Pine, some about Finest Hours, but most related to his favorites, from wine to vacation spots and Star Trek.  On the upside, Finest Hours is coming in with an A- CinemaScore tonight, so this ship might steer to better grosses.

Richard DeNeut Dies: ‘Our Gang’ Actor, Photographer & Author Was 84

Richard DeNeut, a child actor who notably appeared in Hal Roach’s Our Gang series in the 1930s who became a successful photojournalist covering entertainment as an adult died on Tuesday at 84 after suffering pneumonia, kidney disease and congestive heart failure.

DeNeut was recruited when he was just 4 years old to join the Meglin Kiddies troupe of child actors, and soon after was cast in a minor tole in the Our Gang comedy films, billed as Dickie De Nuet. He appeared in a total of six Our Gang productions, including the sole Our Gang feature, General Spanky. He also appeared in the films City Without Men, The Song of Bernadette, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Boys’ Ranch.
He left acting behind after his teens, but went on to study at Glendale College followed by UCLA, where he became friends with Carol Burnett. He served in the military following his university studies, and was then hired by Globe Photos. He rose to become West Coast bureau chief, overseeing celebrity photography, and retired after 27 years.He also became an author, and among his literary projects he assisted in developing the autobiography of his friend Dolores Hart, who famously abandoned her acting career at 24 to become a Benedictine nun at the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut

'Mad Max' Wins Best Picture & Director At Australian Academy's International Awards

Winners of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts’ International Awards were announced in LA this evening. The 5th annual AACTAs honor big-screen excellence from the last year. While these are international prizes, they did largely go to a film with an Aussie pedigree. George Miller’s hit return to the road warrior, Mad Max: Fury Road, which has 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, scooped Best Film and Director at the AACTAs.


The wins follow Fury Road‘s eight laurels at AACTA’s domestic ceremony n Sydney last month, which also included Best Film and Directing nods.
Carol, which was the nominations leader going into tonight, picked up Best Actress for Cate Blanchett and Best Supporting Actress for Rooney Mara. Those perfs are both nominated at tomorrow night’s SAG Awards, as well as at BAFTA and the Oscars. Blanchett has now won a prize from the Oz academy seven times in 19 years.
Oscar Best Picture nominees Bridge Of Spies, The Revenant and Spotlight also each took an international AACTA tonight.
Australian Film Institute/AACTA CEO, Damian Trewhella, said, “This year marks the first time we’ve seen an Australian film, Mad Max: Fury Road, win at our domestic Awards in Sydney and then again at our International Awards in LA, and we’re delighted to see our U.S. and British counterparts also recognize this excellence with Oscar and BAFTA nominations. Over the past five years we’ve seen AACTA International Award winners go on to win 16 BAFTAs and 14 Oscars, and we look forward with great anticipation to seeing if this trend again continues this year. We congratulate all winners, and wish them every success as we head towards the pointy end of this competitive awards season.”

Here’s the full list of winners:

AACTA International Award for Best Film
Mad Max: Fury Road

AACTA International Award for Best Direction
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, Spotlight

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor
Mark Rylance, Bridge Of Spies

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress
Rooney Mara, Carol

I Want Back on Reality TV ... With Blac Chyna

Rob Kardashian wants back on reality TV ... but this time around, his sisters won't be in the act.
We're told Rob wants a show about his life with Blac Chyna. It will chronicle their day-to-day lives, which reinforces what we've heard ... that they're going to be living together for a long time.
As for why Rob wants back on TV -- especially since he's lived like a hermit for 2 years -- we're told it's simply what he knows and how he makes a living.
Here's the rub ... Rob's in deep with the Kardashian TV franchise, and we're told their contract gives the E! Network first bite at any reality show any of them might do. We're told Kris is none too happy about Rob's new relationship, and she has a lot of power at E!.
Even if the network turns thumbs down, Rob can still shop it elsewhere.
Here's the reality about this reality show ... he can probably sell it.

Angelique Kerber stuns World No 1 Serena Williams to win Australian Open final

World number one, Serena Williams today surprisingly lost the Australian Open final to Angelique Kerber after battling with the world no 6. She later admitted with tears in her eyes that Kerber deserved to win. "You did so well, let me be the first to congratulate you," a teary-eyed Williams said on court. "You truly played so well in the moment."

Angelique Kerber beat Serena 6-4,3-6,6-4 in the final on the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne

After emerging victorious , Kerber couldn't hold back her tears of joy.

 "I was with one leg in the plane for Germany," she said of nearly going out in the first round. "I take my chance to be here in the final and play against Serena. My dream come true tonight, on this night. My whole life I was winning so hard and now I can say that I’m a Grand Slam champion… it sounds so crazy.

“I’m really enjoying this moment right now. This is the best two weeks of my life, my career. I had goosebumps when I was playing on the court," said Kerber, playing in her first major final.

French Montana, Diddy, 2Chainz, Kanye West in the studio

Working on new music...?