NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Contraband’ swipes No. 1 spot at box office

LOS ANGELES

“Contraband” managed to steal the top slot away from competitors at the weekend box office.

The Universal action drama film starring Mark Wahlberg as a reformed smuggler debuted at No. 1 with $24 million, while Disney’s 3-D rerelease of “Beauty and the Beast” waltzed into the No. 2 position with $18.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Rounding out the top five were “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” $11.5 million, at No. 3; “Joyful Noise,” $11.3 million, at No. 4; and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” $8.4 million, at No. 5.

FX network takes big risk with Sheen

pasadena, calif.

The head of FX network said Sunday he still hasn’t seen a script for Charlie Sheen’s new sitcom “Anger Management,” which is due to premiere in June.

That’s a little late, conceded John Landgraf, FX president and general manager. It illustrates the grand gamble made by the cable network, one with a potentially big payoff.

FX usually produces its own series, and Landgraf said he’s never ordered one without seeing a pilot episode, much less a script. “Anger Management,” loosely based on the 2003 movie about a troubled therapist who disrupts his patients’ lives, is produced by Debmar-Mercury.

Landgraf said he has faith in Bruce Helford, former producer of “The Drew Carey Show” and the creative force behind the new series.

The executive said he’s met with Sheen, and is confident the actor is trying to pull his life together after the drug-fueled meltdown that led to his firing from CBS’ “Two and a Half Men.”

Associated Press