NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Shrek Forever After’ leads slow weekend

LOS ANGELES

Hollywood is in a June swoon as a rush of new movies fails to grab audiences.

DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek Forever After” remained the No. 1 movie for a third-straight weekend with $25.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. It raised its three-week domestic total to $183 million.

The overall box office tumbled, coming in at $125 million, down 24 percent compared to the same weekend last year, when “The Hangover” opened with $45 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

The best of the newcomers was Universal’s rock ’n’ roll comedy “Get Him to the Greek,” which debuted at No. 2 with $17.4 million. The movie stars Jonah Hill as a record executive escorting an unruly rocker (Russell Brand) from London to LA for a concert.

Opening at No. 3 with $16.1 million was Lionsgate’s action comedy “Killers,” starring Katherine Heigl as a woman who marries her dream man (Ashton Kutcher) only to learn he’s an assassin.

Bullock makes surprise appearance

CULVER CITY, CALIF.

Spike TV says Sandra Bullock made a surprise appearance at its “Guys Choice” event.

Spike says Bullock received a standing ovation from the audience Saturday night at Sony Pictures Studios when she accepted the “Troops Choice” Award for Entertainer of The Year, from presenter Robert Downey, Jr. The award was voted on by members of the military.

The 45-year-old actress has kept a low profile since her public split from husband Jesse James after she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “The Blind Side” earlier this year.

Bullock was also set to appear Sunday at the MTV Movie Awards where she is to receive the Generation Award.

Spike’s “Guys Choice” will air June 20.

Actor Don Cheadle is goodwill ambassador

KIGALI, RWANDA

Actor Don Cheadle has become a spokesman for the United Nations environment program.

He was appointed Saturday in Rwanda’s capital as a U.N. Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador and vowed to fight climate change and promote environment conservation.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner announced the appointment, saying that Cheadle would help raise green awareness among millions of people around the globe.

Cheadle also named a baby gorilla Zoya, a name chosen by internet users as part of a UNEP awareness program.

In 2004, Cheadle starred in the film “Hotel Rwanda” which told the world about the Rwandan genocide in 1994 that claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Rwandan government, however, was critical of the film.