Back to Main Page                                                                 Archives

BOTTOMLINES

 Harry Potter loses its box-office magic (Go To Top)

         Washington: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" experienced a frightening adventure over the weekend as its box office plummeted to almost 63 percent, winding up with about 35.1 million dollars. The Potter mania was challenged by three newcomers, each of which raked in over 20 million dollars. Potter's new domestic rivals are "The Chronicles of Riddick", which took in an estimated 24.6 million dollars to be placed on second position and the remake of the "Stepford Wives", which earned 22.2 million dollars and is sitting pretty at No 4. "Shrek 2" continued to hold sway over the box-office, raking in an estimated 24 million dollars to bring its four-week haul to 354 million dollars. "Garfield: The Movie" opened with about 21.7 million dollars and landed in the fifth position. However, the Top 12 films grossed approximately 155.5 million dollars, according to imdb. The top ten films for the weekend, compiled by Exhibitor Relations are as follows: 1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 35.1 million dollars. 2. The Chronicles of Riddick, 24.6 million dollars. 3. Shrek 2, 24 million dollars. 4. The Stepford Wives, 22.2 million dollars. 5. Garfield: The Movie, 21.7 million dollars. 6. The Day After Tomorrow, 14.55 million dollars. 7. Raising Helen, 3.8 million dollars. 8. Troy, 3.5 million dollars. 9. Saved! 2.55 million dollars. 10. Mean Girls, 1.5 million dollars.

Harry Potter was created in a cafe, reveals JK Rowling (Go To Top)

          London: The secret is out. J.K. Rowling, multi- millionaire author of Harry Potter books has confessed that she writes her world famous bestsellers in cosy cafis. According to The Sun, the children's author had penned the first drafts of Harry Potter in a cafe to escape the cold of her dingy flat. Rowling found enormous fame and fortune with Harry Potter books and now owns luxury homes in London, Edinburgh and Perthshire but she wrote on her website, "It is no secret that the best place to write, in my opinion, is a cafi." "You don't have to make your own coffee, you don't feel that you are in solitary confinement while you work and when inspiration fails, you can take a walk to the next cafe while your batteries recharge," added Rowling.

J.Lo's secret wedding's secrets revealed (Go To Top)

         Washington: Pop diva Jennifer Lopez was married to her third husband Marc Anthony by the same man who officiated at her second wedding. The "Waiting For Tonight" singer tied the knot with salsa singer Marc in a simple ceremony at her Beverly Hills mansion and attorney Barry Hirsch was in charge of the proceedings. However, more details about the secret wedding arrangements have come out of the closet now. Marc and Lopez had got a confidential wedding license two days before their wedding ceremony,two days after Marc was officially divorced from Dayanara Torres. The couple reportedly went to the Norwalk County Clerks office in Southern California and asked an employee there to give them the relevant paperwork. The "Maid in Manhattan" star and Marc then requested the deputy sheriff to join them as a witness for the signing of the license. The wedding, which took place on June 5, 2004, had taken the entertainment world and the public by surprise as it took place just months after Lopez had split from actor Ben Affleck.

Paris Hilton's ex-lover gives her shoulder to cry on (Go To Top)

          New York: Paris Hilton was recently seen weeping profusely on the shoulders of her ex-fiance, Jason Shaw, at a Hollywood club shortly after having a rowing with her current boyfriend, Nick Carter. "The Simple Life" star, 23, was reportedly very sad after the scrap with her "Backstreet Boy" boyfriend and shocked people by turning back to Shaw for support. One witness told the Daily Star that Hilton was crying in the corner and people were trying not to look at her. "She cut a very lonely figure," Teen Hollywood quoted the spectator as saying. "But then her ex-fiance Jason Shaw put his arm around her and her bodyguard suggested she should leave'" the person added.

Gwyneth Paltrow rejects Madonna's offer to join Kaballah (Go To Top)

          New York: Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna have allegedly had an argument after the actress refused to join the trendy Kabbalah religion. According to sources, Madonna called Gwyneth shortly after the latter had given birth to her daughter, Apple, and asked her to adopt Kaballah, which has gained popularity among Hollywood stars. But according to Britain's News of the World newspaper, Paltrow and her husband, Chris Martin, refused Madonna's request. "Madonna barely congratulated Gwyneth on Apple before she was going on and on about Kabbalah. She said that now Gwyneth was a mom, the time was right for her to join. But Gwyneth just doesn't want to get involved and told her that in no uncertain terms," Teen Hollywood quoted a friend as saying. Madonna has also converted Britney Spears, Demi Moore and many other celebrities to the Jewish faith.

Beyonce, Zeta-Jones and Angelina Jolie on the Forbes rich list (Go To Top)

          New York: Singer Beyonce Knowles and actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angelina Jolie have finally made it to the Forbes Magazine Celebrity 100 list. According to imdb, Jolie with her 27 million dollar fortune has almost made it to the top 10, while Knowles features at number 19 with 23 million dollars. Catherine Zeta- Jones appears at 56th position with a fortune of 18 million dollars. J.Lo and Ben Affleck, who were fifth and seventh on the 2003 list, have failed to retain their positions this year. Actor Jim Carrey has moved up by five places to number 15, and has been credited as the highest paid actor on the list.

Marc Anthony shells out 13,000 pounds for J Lo's feet (Go To Top)

          London: Singer Marc Anthony recently shelled out a small fortune to buy his new bride Jennifer Lopez flip-flops worth 13,000 pounds. According to The Sun, the soul singer thinks J Lo has the most beautiful feet in the world and wanted her to flaunt them. The sandals have 18-carat gold feathers on them and have been made by a Brazilian designer. When Mark saw them in a shop, he knew they were just the gift for Lopez. "The flip-flops are completely over the top, but that's how Jennifer lives her life. They are very bling bling with thin shavings of real gold shaped like feathers. When Marc saw them in a shop he just had to buy them. He loves Jennifer's feet and she takes good care of them and is always having pricey pedicures," the report quoted a source as saying.

`Shrek 2' becomes top grossing toon of all time (Go To Top)

          Washington: The movie might be about ogres but it's run at the box office has been nothing short of beautiful, as "Shrek 2" has beaten bitter rival "Finding Nemo" to become the top grossing toon of all time. According to E-Online, the DreamWorks movie surpassed Disney- Pixar's "Finding Nemo" which had raked in 339.8 million dollars, last Saturday, with a domestic take of 346.5 million dollars. To make the victory sweeter, the sequel to the 2001 hit "Shrek," accomplished the feat within 25 days of opening on May 19, whereas Nemo had made the money in almost 50 days. "Shrek 2" has now earned a total of 353.3 million dollars. "To say that we are amazed and thrilled would be a huge understatement, we have celebrated every record, but this latest hurdle--to become the top-grossing animated film in history--is something we hardly even imagined," said Jim Tharp, DreamWorks distribution chief.

Cameron Diaz's broken nose makes her unique (Go To Top)

          New York: To make sure that no one looks like her, Cameron Diaz wants to keep the lump on her nose intact. According to Teen Hollywood,she believes that this will stop fans from having plastic surgery to look like her. Diaz, who recently broke her nose in a surfing accident, doesn't agree with cosmetic surgery and says that now people would need to break their nose to look like her. "I feel confident about this nose - they can't recreate it. If they wanted this lump, they would have to break someone's nose four times to achieve it," she was quoted as saying.

Is Jemima Khan having an affair with Hugh Grant? (Go To Top)

           London: Hollywood star Hugh Grant is famous for his reputation as a ladies man. According to The Daily Mail, the 'Notting Hill' actor was recently spotted leaving a high-society club in London with Jemina Khan, wife of Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician, Imran Khan. Jemima and Grant insist that they are just 'good friends' but they went to great lengths to avoid being photographed together. Meanwhile, Jemima and Imran have clarified, amidst speculations, that their marriage is going strong and is not on the verge on collapse. Grant's personal life, however, is in the limelight also because of reports that he seduced his personal trainer, Dana Verbytska. Brazilian barman Augusto Junior has claimed that the 'Love Actually' actor stole his girlfriend Dana from him. "He's a big famous film star, how can I compete with that? He's turned her head with his fame and wealth. I don't know whether he knew she had a boyfriend but Grant's taken the woman I love away from me," the report quoted Junior as saying. Junior said that he became suspicious about Dana after noticing her telephonic chat with Grant at odd hours. "You don't ring a client at midnight," the report quoted him as saying.

Orlando Bloom voted Britain's sexiest man (Go To Top)

           London: Hollywood heartthrob Orlando Bloom has been voted the sexiest man in Britain. The "Troy" star defeated actors like Jude Law, Hugh Grant and Ewan McGregor to make it to the top spot in the survey conducted by skymovies.com. According to The Daily mail, the top ten sexiest men in Britain were: 1) Orlando Bloom 2) Sean Bean 3) Hugh Grant 4) Ewan McGregor 5) Jude Law 6) Christain Bale 7) Ray Winstone 8) Johnny Lee Miller 9) Jason Statham 10) Paul Bettany

Prince Harry wants to join army (Go To Top)

          London: In a bid to prove that he is a mature and a responsible young man, Prince Harry wants to join the Army next year. According to The Sun, the young royal who was earlier known for his wild partying ways, has convinced his father, Prince Charles that he is ready to join the army through his grown-up behaviour in Africa and Australia, where he has been staying for the past year. Harry, 19, who was the top army cadet at Eton now wants to join the Welsh Guards. He will have to undergo a training of 11 months to become a 2nd Lieutenant. "Harry has impressed everyone with his mature attitude during his gap year. He has had discussions with Prince Charles and his military advisors and they agree the time will be right for Harry to go to Sandhurst," the report quoted a royal aide as saying.

Madonna ends long-standing feud with Time Warner (Go To Top)

          Washington: Pop diva Madonna has finally ended her long-time feud with the Warner Music group, by agreeing to sell her recording label Maverick Records to them. According to imdb, the "Like a Virgin" singer had co-founded Maverick Records in 1992 with Warner Music, following which it went on to release hit albums like Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill." However, the partners fell out after Maverick filed a suit against Warner Music and its former parent, Time Warner Inc, claiming breach of contract and alleging that they had misquoted Maverick's profits and mismanaged the company, resulting in Maverick's losing millions of dollars. The dispute has now been solved after Warner Music announced yesterday that it would buy out Madonna and her partner Ronnie Dashev's share in the label. The third partner Guy Oseary will keep his share and stay on as Maverick's CEO. The financial terms of the agreement remain undisclosed. "It was an effective way of settling the lawsuit. It's clean and equitable, and it doesn't have anything to do with her record contract," said Maverick's lawyer Bert Fields.