NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

While Batman lurks, ‘Ice Age’ tops box office

NEW YORK

With Batman lurking, the prehistoric critters of “Ice Age: Continental Drift” ran off with the box office, earning $46 million in their opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The animated film from 20th Century Fox is the fourth in the “Ice Age” series and the first in 3-D.

In its second week of release, “The Amazing Spider-Man” earned $35 million, pushing it past $200 million domestically.

Seth MacFarlane’s R-rated comedy hit, “Ted,” which stars Mark Wahlberg and a talking teddy bear, added $22.1 million in its third week for a total of $159 million for Universal Pictures.

In fourth place, Pixar Animation’s “Brave” added $10.7 million to its $195.6 million domestic total.

In fifth place was “Magic Mike,” with $9 million.

Celeste Holm dies at 95

NEW YORK

Celeste Holm, a versatile, bright-eyed blonde who soared to Broadway fame in “Oklahoma!” and won an Oscar in “Gentleman’s Agreement” but whose last years were filled with financial difficulty and estrangement from her sons, died early Sunday, a relative said. She was 95.

Holm had been hospitalized about two weeks ago with dehydration. She asked Friday to be brought home, and she spent her final days with her husband, Frank Basile, and other relatives and close friends by her side, said Amy Phillips, a great-niece of Holm’s.

In a career that spanned more than half a century, Holm played everyone from Ado Annie — the girl who just can’t say no in “Oklahoma!”— to a worldly theatrical agent in the 1991 comedy “I Hate Hamlet” to guest star turns on TV shows such as “Fantasy Island” and “Love Boat II” to Bette Davis’ best friend in “All About Eve.”

She won the Academy Award in 1947 for best supporting actress for her performance in “Gentleman’s Agreement” and received Oscar nominations for “Come to the Stable” (1949) and “All About Eve” (1950).

Holm also was known for her untiring charity work — at one time she served on nine boards — and was a board member emeritus of the National Mental Health Association.

London curfew silences The Boss, McCartney

LONDON

Concert organizers pulled the plug on rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney after the pair defied the sound curfew at London’s Hyde Park, silencing their microphones at the tail end of the show.

Springsteen had exceeded the 10:30 p.m. curfew by half an hour Saturday night when he welcomed McCartney on stage and the pair sang The Beatles hits “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Twist and Shout.” But the microphones were turned off before they could thank the crowd, forcing them to leave the stage in silence.

A statement from concert organizer Live Nation said it was unfortunate that Springsteen’s three-hour-plus performance was stopped “right at the very end,” but it said that the curfew had been laid down by the authorities “in the interest of the public’s health and safety.”

Steven Van Zandt, who plays guitar in Springsteen’s E-Street Band, criticized Saturday’s decision as heavy-handed.

French party plans to sue Madonna

PARIS

France’s far-right National Front said Sunday that it plans to sue Madonna after the singer showed a video at a Paris concert that contained an image of the party’s leader with a swastika on her forehead.

The video has been shown at other concerts on the singer’s tour, and the party has expressed its outrage before, warning that it would take action if the video were shown in France. On Saturday night, Madonna played it at the Stade de France.

National Front spokesman Alain Vizier said Sunday that the party would file a complaint in French court next week for “insults.”

Party leader Marine Le Pen is briefly pictured in the video during a montage in which famous faces — or parts of faces — morph one into the next. Soon after Le Pen’s face flashes up, Madonna’s face follows with Hitler’s mustache.

Meanwhile, anti-racism group SOS Racisme expressed its support for Madonna on Sunday, commending her for her “resolutely anti-racist and feminist discourse.”

Associated Press