MTV VMAs full of political moments; Lamar wins 6 awards

August 28, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

NEW YORK

Kendrick Lamar was the king of the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, winning six awards on a night full of emotional performances, political moments and a new, eye-popping Taylor Swift music video.

Lamar’s “Humble” won video of the year, best hip-hop video, direction, cinematography, art direction and visual effects on Sunday at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

He gave an explosive performance of “Humble” and “DNA,” backed by ninjas dancing near fire.

Tobe Hooper, ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ director, dies at 74

LOS ANGELES

Tobe Hooper, the horror-movie pioneer whose low-budget sensation “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” took a buzz saw to audiences with its brutally frightful vision, has died. He was 74.

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office says Hooper died Saturday in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. It was reported as a natural death.

Hooper and contemporaries like George Romero crafted some of the scariest nightmares that ever haunted moviegoers. He directed 1982’s “Poltergeist” from a script by Steven Spielberg and was behind the 1979 miniseries “Salem’s Lot,” from Stephen King’s novel.

But Hooper was best known for 1974’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” Made for less than $300,000, the tale of the Texas cannibal Leatherface inspired an entire genre of horror films.

Box-office eclipse: Hollywood has worst weekend in years

NEW YORK

Hollywood effectively took the weekend off, resulting in one of the most dismal box-office results in 16 years.

An already slow August came to a screeching halt at the multiplex, where no major new releases were unveiled. That left the Samuel Jackson-Ryan Reynolds action-comedy “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” to top all films for the second week with an estimated $10.1 million in ticket sales.

But the entire slate of films grossed only about $65 million in North America, and the top 12 films generated just $49.6 million. Not since September 2001 have the numbers been quite so dreadful.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released today.

1. “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” $10 million ($9.1 million international).

2. “Annabelle: Creation,” $7.4 million ($22 million international).

3. “Leap!” $5 million.

4. “Wind River,” $4.4 million.

5. “Logan Lucky,” $4.4 million ($1.6 million international).

Associated Press