NEWSMAKERS
NEWSMAKERS
‘Madagascar 3’ stampedes, ‘Rock,’ Sandler flop
LOS ANGELES
Zoo animals remain hot at the box office. Singing stars and Adam Sandler are not.
Ben Stiller and his voice co-stars of “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” held on to the No. 1 spot again, with $35.5 million for the animated sequel’s second weekend in domestic theaters.
Studio estimates Sunday put Ridley Scott’s sci-fi adventure “Prometheus” at No. 2 again with $20.2 million.
“Madagascar 3” and “Prometheus” held off two under-achieving newcomers. The star-studded musical “Rock of Ages,” whose cast includes Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Alec Baldwin, flopped at No. 3 with $15.1 million.
Sandler’s “That’s My Boy” bombed with $13 million, the worst showing for one of his broad comedies since the mid-1990s.
“That’s My Boy” came in at No. 5, behind the $13.8 million for “Snow White & the Huntsman,” a film that’s already been out for three weekends.
Former TV writer fatally punches poodle in face
NEW YORK
Police say a former television screenwriter was arrested after punching his poodle in the face so hard that it died of a brain injury.
The New York Post reported Sunday that 51-year-old Ted Shuttleworth was arrested Saturday at his home in Queens. The Post says Shuttleworth punched his dog May 29 because he was angry with the animal. The dog weighed about 4 pounds.
A spokesman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the dog suffered a traumatic brain injury.
The newspaper reports Shuttleworth is a former TV writer who once worked for “NYPD Blue.” He could face up to a year in prison.
His wife tells the newspaper that the dog’s death was a “horrible accident.”
Radiohead drum technician killed in stage collapse
TORONTO
Investigators combed through the wreckage of a Toronto stage Sunday, trying to determine what caused the structure to come crashing down ahead of a Radiohead concert, killing the band’s drum technician and injuring three other people.
Radiohead representative Laura Eldeiry confirmed the man killed was Scott Johnson, the drum technician for the British band.
Toronto Police spokesman Tony Vella said the British man was in his mid-30s. He was trapped under the rubble and pronounced dead at the scene.
Vella said a 45-year-old man hospitalized with a head injury was improving and his life was not in danger.
The other two were treated at the scene.
Officials from the Ontario Ministry of Labor searched through the wreckage for clues to the cause of the collapse Saturday in Downsview Park. They were also investigating whether safety regulations and standards were followed and if staff were properly trained.
Associated Press