NEWSMAKERS | ‘Green Hornet’ nets $34M in debut

NEWSMAKERS

‘Green Hornet’ nets $34M in debut

LOS ANGELES

"The Green Hornet” is buzzing away with the top spot at the weekend box office.

The tongue-in-cheek superhero film starring Seth Rogen as a playboy-turned-crimefighter earned $34 million during its opening weekend, according to studio estimates released Sunday. Sony Screen Gems’ “Green Hornet,” which was directed by indie auteur Michel Gondry, shot down Paramount’s “True Grit,” the Western that reigned supreme the previous weekend.

The weekend’s other major new release, Universal’s “The Dilemma,” opened in the No. 2 spot. The comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James earned $17.4 million.

Landlord wants cash from Lennon auction

NEW YORK

A New York City landlord has a message for the collector who recently sold the suit John Lennon wore on the cover of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album: You never give me your money.

The seller’s former landlord has sued the gallery that auctioned the late Beatle’s suit for $46,000, trying to get at the proceeds to satisfy a rent debt.

Braswell Galleries was told before the Jan. 1 sale that a court had determined in 2009 that seller Biond Fury owed more than $21,000 in rent for his former Manhattan apartment, according to landlord Mark Arrow’s lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a Manhattan state court. Arrow’s lawyers say they told the Norwalk, Conn.-based gallery not to go through with the sale and that the gallery should have to fork over at least $21,463.

ABC’s Sawyer lands first Kelly interview

PASADENA, Calif.

ABC’s Diane Sawyer will air the first television interview with astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of shooting victim Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The network said that Kelly spoke to Sawyer on Saturday at the hospital where Giffords continues to recover from being shot in the head Jan. 8.

ABC said Sunday the interview will air in a prime-time special Tuesday night and in various ABC News broadcasts, starting Tuesday with “Good Morning America.”

Associated Press