Monday, December 17, 2012
NEWSMAKERS
‘Hobbit’ bests ‘Rings’ with $84.8M opening
NEW YORK
Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” led the box office with a haul of $84.8 million, a record-setting opening better than the three previous “Lord of the Rings” films.
Despite weak reviews, the 3-D adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s first novel in the fantasy series was an even bigger draw than the last “Lord of the Rings” movie, “The Return of the King.” That film opened with $72.6 million. “The Hobbit” is the first of another planned trilogy, with two more films to be squeezed out of Tolkien’s book.
Paramount’s “Rise of the Guardians” continued to draw the family crowd, with $7.4 million, for second place. The Oscar contender “Lincoln” from Walt Disney crossed the $100 million mark, adding another $7.2 million to bring its six-week total to $107.9 million for third place. And Sony’s James Bond film “Skyfall,” with another $7 million domestically, came in fourth.
In fifth place was “Life of Pi,” with $5.4 million.
Children’s choir opens ‘SNL’ with ‘Silent Night’
NEW YORK
“Saturday Night Live” made a rare departure from its comedic opening to pay tribute to the children and adults killed at a Connecticut elementary school.
Not known for treating anything seriously or tenderly, the show made a fitting exception in the first moments of its show Saturday. Rather than the usual comedic sketch, a children’s choir appeared on camera and sang “Silent Night,” with the touching refrain, “Sleep in heavenly peace.”
Then members of the New York City Children’s Chorus shouted the NBC show’s time-honored introduction: “Live from New York, it’s ‘Saturday Night!’”
It was the night’s sole reference to the tragedy. Later, the chorus returned to join musical guest Paul McCartney in a rendition of his “Wonderful Christmas Time.”
Depardieu wants to surrender passport
PARIS
Gerard Depardieu, one of France’s best-known actors, has chastised his country’s Socialist prime minister for insulting remarks over his decision to move to tax-friendly Belgium and said in an open letter published Sunday that he’s turning in his passport.
The letter, which the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche said was penned by Depardieu, propelled him into the spotlight, not for his acclaimed acting skills but for raising the sensitive issue of tax exiles as France looks to fill state coffers with a stiff tax on the rich.
“We no longer have the same country. I’m a true European, a citizen of the world,” Depardieu wrote in the letter. He said his 2012 tax bill — 85 percent of his revenue — is fully paid.
Depardieu, who turns 64 this month, said he’s worked since age 14, and in the last 45 years he has paid $190 million in taxes.
Mraz tops Myanmar anti-trafficking concert
YANGON, MYANMAR
American singer- songwriter Jason Mraz mixed entertainment with education Sunday to become the first world-class entertainer in decades to perform in Myanmar, with a concert to raise awareness of human trafficking.
Mraz’s 2008 hit “I’m Yours” was the finale for the concert before a crowd of about 50,000 people at the base of the famous hilltop Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.
Myanmar is emerging from decades of isolation under a reformist elected government that took office last year after almost five decades of military rule.
Associated Press