Hollywood – Page 17 – 4VF News

‘Fast & Furious’ shatters box office records

In the first truly shocking box office result of the year, "Fast & Furious" sped away from expectations to gross a humongous $72.5 million, according to early estimates from Media by Numbers. That result is effectively double what most industry observers had predicted for the debut of the fourth feature in Vin Diesel’s car franchise, and it left in the dust a number of notable records: – Best April opening ever, beating “Anger Management’s” $42.2 million. – Best Universal Pictures opening ever (three-day), beating “The Lost World: Jurassic Park’s” $72.1 million

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ leaked to Web

Someone stole an "incomplete and early version" of the next installment in the blockbuster "X-Men" movie series and posted it on the Internet this week, according to the studio that owns the billion-dollar film franchise.

Oscar-winning movie legend Maurice Jarre dies

Academy Award-winning composer Maurice Jarre, who scored movies including "Doctor Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia" among others, died Sunday from cancer in Los Angeles, according to French media. French news Web site France 24 said that news of the 84-year-old’s death had been broken by the manager of his son Jean-Michel, himself a composer of electronic music

Prehistoric ‘monster snake’ remains discovered

Scientists in Colombia have unearthed the remains of a true prehistoric monster believed to be the biggest snake ever to have lived on Earth. Named Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the snake would have weighed 1,140 kilograms (2,500 pounds) and measured 13 meters (42.7 feet) nose to tail tip — dwarfing the largest modern pythons and anacondas which can grow to 6 meters (19.5 feet).

DA: Who buys shoes, then commits suicide?

Music producer Phil Spector, on trial for the second time in connection with the 2003 death of an actress at his home, is "a very dangerous man," a prosecutor told jurors Monday.

Natasha Richardson part of legendary acting family

Natasha Richardson, who is hospitalized in New York following a Quebec ski accident Monday, comes from an illustrious British acting family — one whose name she’s often found a challenge. Richardson, the daughter of Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson (“Look Back in Anger,” “Tom Jones”), has said, more than once, that she found it difficult to live up to the family reputation. “The names Richardson or Redgrave didn’t help,” she told About.com’s Rebecca Murray in 2007.

Spain’s Bullfighters Turn on One Another

Outsiders may debate whether bullfighting is sport or art, but within the normally close circle of Spanish aficionados, there is only one correct answer, and it has nothing to do with basketball. Yet if bullfighting is an art, does that make all its practitioners artists

You talkin’ to me? Film quotes stir passion

Sometimes, when you need just the right thing to say, it’s good to let the movies do the talking. Whether it’s daring someone to “Show me the money!” before sealing a deal, proclaiming “Houston, we have a problem” when something goes wrong or shouting “I’m the king of the world” on a particularly good day, there’s a simple pleasure in using those instantly recognizable nuggets of dialogue.

Political party sees winner in ‘Slumdog’ song

India’s ruling party is trying to acquire the soundtrack rights to the "Slumdog Millionaire" song "Jai Ho," meaning "Be Victorious," for its campaign ahead of next month’s general elections.

The ‘Watchmen’ Review: Moments (a Few) of Greatness

The book is always better. Seeing a movie made from a favorite novel, or even an ordinary one, the reader-viewer invariably finds something missing, lacking, overstressed or just plain wrong, because it was changed. When we read the book, we make the movie: we cast it, visualize it, control its pacing.