'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' Tops $800 Million Worldwide

As theaters gear up for the debut of a special 4-minute preview featuring never-before-seen footage from the sequel, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," the Academy Award-winning "The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" continues its global box office journey, grossing over $800 million worldwide, it was announced today by Rolf Mittweg, president and chief operating officer, marketing and distribution, New Line Cinema.

Directed by Peter Jackson, the epic adventure garnered four Oscars over the weekend -- for Cinematography (Andrew Lesnie), Makeup (Peter Owen, Richard Taylor), Score (Howard Shore), and Visual Effects (Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor and Mark Stetson). The film was nominated for a total of 13 awards.

"We are thrilled that the film has not only garnered Oscars but continues to connect with so many diverse cultures around the world," Mittweg said. "It is a testament to the timelessness of Tolkien's epic, and Peter Jackson's hard work, determination and vision."

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" was released December 19, 2001. The sequel, "The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers," will hit screens on December 18, 2002.

Author Michael Chabon Is Involved In Two Movie Developments.

Sydney Pollack is zeroing in on directing "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" for Paramount and producer Scott Rudin, after Chabon turned in a scripted adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Paramount has not as yet seen the script or budget, which Rudin believes will earn a sure greenlight. Pollack, famously non-committal about future projects, has not directed a film since "Random Hearts" in 1999.

 At the same time, Miramax has paid a six-figure sum in an unusual deal that gives the studio exclusive first-look rights at the contents of "Tales of Mystery and Imagination," a book of eight short stories that Chabon hasn't started writing.

"Tales" has just been set up in a multimillion-dollar two-book deal at the Harper Collins-owned imprint Fourth Estate, which published Chabon's last few books in England. Fourth Estate emerged the victor in a heated auction among five houses for U.S. and Canadian rights to the story collection and his next novel, "Hatzeplatz." The auction came about after Chabon turned down an early lower offer from Random House, which published "Kavalier & Clay" and had an exclusive first window.

Rudin, who produced the Curtis Hanson-directed adaptation of Chabon's novel "Wonder Boys," recently snapped up screen rights to "Hatzeplatz" based on a one-and-a-half page proposal, roughly what Rudin saw before buying "Kavalier & Clay."

On the "Kavalier & Clay" film front, no deal has been made, but sources said Pollack has already begun working on a rewrite with Chabon, and that an early 2003 production start is being eyed. Rudin produced the Pollack-directed films "The Firm" and "Sabrina," and Pollack co-stars with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson in the upcoming Rudin-produced Paramount drama "Changing Lanes."

Rudin and Paramount seem to be flourishing in Pulitzer prose, having just completed production on an adaptation of the prize-winning Michael Cunningham novel "The Hours," which Stephen Daldry directed and David Hare wrote. The picture, which stars Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore, will be released domestically this Christmas by Paramount, with Miramax handling foreign territories. Paramount and Rudin also have Daldry and Hare working on an adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's National Book Award-winning "The Corrections."

Chabon's history of having his prose bought for the screen before he has actually written it moved Miramax to pony up six figures to get first crack at the yet-to-be-written short stories.

Miramax is already developing a film from Chabon's upcoming children's novel "Summerland," which will be published this fall by Talk Miramax Books, and the studio gets first shot at the eight stories whose spirit and subject matter Chabon discussed in his brief missive. In that document, Chabon declared that his objective is to revitalize his own writing by channeling the spirit of his formative literary influences, short story writers like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

He promised thoroughly modern works of literature that are not homages, and there seems to be movie potential given that he will cover so many genres. Chabon will write a horror story, a Sherlock Holmes adventure, a ghost story, an adventure story, a science fiction story, a story of suspense, a costume or period or historical story and a sea story.

If Miramax likes the movie potential for any of them, there is a template for a separate purchase deal for each. If the studio passes on one, Chabon can set it up elsewhere.

New Movie 'Lucky Break' Opens in New York and Los Angeles

"Lucky Break" will open in exclusive runs in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, April 5. From the director of "The Full Monty" comes "Lucky Break," a comedy about a prison escape with a musical twist. Smalltime crook Jimmy Hands botches a bank robbery and lands in prison. Facing twelve years behind bars, Jimmy stages a musical as Act One of his perfect escape plan. But it's Act Two that's got Jimmy stumped. Turns out his leading lady has captured his heart, and with one leg already over the wall, he's got to come up with a new ending ... as the curtain falls fast on his freedom.

Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films and FilmFour present in association with Senator Film a Fragile Films-Lucky Break Production, "Lucky Break." Directed by Peter Cattaneo, the Oscar®-nominated director of the international hit "The Full Monty," "Lucky Break" stars James Nesbitt ("Waking Ned Devine," ITV's "Cold Feet"), Olivia Williams ("The Sixth Sense"), Timothy Spall ("Topsy-Turvy," "Secrets & Lies"), Bill Nighy ("Blow Dry"), Lennie James ("Snatch") and Christopher Plummer ("The Insider," "12 Monkeys"). The screenplay is by Ronan Bennett ("Face," "A Further Gesture") and produced by Barnaby Thompson ("An Ideal Husband," "Spiceworld") and Peter Cattaneo. Paul Webster and Hanno Huth serve as Executive Producers. The Co-Producers are Lesley Stewart and Elinor Day.

This film is MPAA rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references. "Lucky Break" will be released domestically by Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies, and a leader in the production, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, and music.

"Honeymooners" takes bus to big screen

Ralph Kramden, the character immortalized by Jackie Gleason, will be a New York bus driver and his neighbor Norton, the Art Carney character, will still be toiling in the sewers.

Paramount Pictures and Deep River Productions have acquired screen rights to the classic series from CBS, and the studio has set "Mad About You" co-creator Danny Jacobson to write the script.

While it is difficult to imagine actors reprising the roles played indelibly by Gleason, Carney, Audrey Meadows as Alice Kramden and Joyce Randolph as Trixie Norton, Jacobson will create some distance from direct comparisons by crafting a modern story involving the foursome. But David Friendly, who'll produce with his Deep River Productions partner Marc Turtletaub, said the signature lines and themes will be intact.

"You can certainly expect to hear the term 'Bang, Zoom' a few times, and using the phrases and gestures and other staples of the show is critical," Friendly said. "Most important is getting the right mix of heart and comedy that was evident in all 39 episodes."

The show originated in 1951 as a recurring sketch on "DuMont's Cavalcade of Stars," and moved with Gleason to CBS as a running gag in "The Jackie Gleason Show." He turned it into a series when he tired of the variety show grind, but the series only ran from 1955-56. It has played in reruns ever since.

Scribe Jacobson has long been a fan of the show and said that he became head writer for the first two seasons of "Roseanne" because the couple's blue collar dynamic so reminded him of the comedy classic.

"We just don't want to replicate what was on the original episodes, but the one thing they never covered was the actual honeymoon, and that is what we'll concentrate on," said Jacobson, who's in Gotham trying to mount a production of a play he wrote called "Bang, Zoom," an obvious reference to his favorite series.

"The goal here is for the audience to feel like I did after watching those original episodes, which was that you laughed hard and often, but got choked up in the end because at its core was a great love story. It certainly won't be sappy, because, after all, he was a blue collar bus driver from Brooklyn, and there's an element of reality matched with those great characters."

Deep River was formed as an autonomous producer that funds its own development and overhead, and "The Honeymooners" marks its first alignment with a studio so early in the development process. Friendly, Turtletaub and executive producer Hal Ross approached Paramount got involved because the rights were held by its sister company, CBS.

"Sherry Lansing and John Goldwyn sparked to the idea, which was doable because it was all under one roof at Viacom," Friendly said.

Legal; George Lucas Named in Libel Suit

The producer of an animated pornographic movie has filed a $140 million lawsuit accusing "Star Wars" creator George Lucas of libel.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, alleges that a spokeswoman for Lucas accused the producer of "Starballz" of creating pornographic cartoons aimed at children. "Starballz" is an explicit sex parody of outer space adventure movies.

Media Market Group, the movie's producer, says the film is intended for adults only and will not be distributed to children.

The MMG lawsuit follows unsuccessful legal action by Lucas in California in January. A federal judge in Oakland threw out a lawsuit in which Lucas alleged that "Starballz" used intellectual property from "Star Wars" without authorization and in an offensive manner.

The hero of "Starballz" travels the galaxy looking for sex. The movie has characters with risque names that might remind "Star Wars" series fans of characters from the Lucas films.

A statement by Lucas spokeswoman Lynne Hale at the time said in part: "We feel strongly that the law does not allow for parody to be a defense to a pornographic use of someone else's intellectual property, especially when that use is directed to children."

In court papers filed this week, MMG says the company "has never directed pornography to children; the cover of 'Starballz' states 'Adult Only' in three places."

Technology; TI's DLP Digital Cinema Is Gaining Momentum With the release of Star Wars Episode II

With the release of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones on the horizon, the rollout of digital cinema is gaining momentum and receiving attention from the movie industry and movie-goers alike. Lucasfilm's Rick McCallum spoke to theater owners about the advantages of digital cinema at the recent ShoWest conference in Las Vegas, discussing Lucasfilm's vision of digital filmmaking and viewing-- and praising Texas Instruments' enabling DLP Cinema(tm) technology.

"An amazing thing happened in late November 1998 - I got a call from Doug Darrow at Texas Instruments," said McCallum.  "He asked us if we would like to see a first generation demonstration of their new digital projector. We quickly set up a demo at Skywalker Ranch. When we saw the results we went absolutely nuts - George was so enthusiastic that he wanted us to transfer Episode I to show in theaters on a trial basis as soon as the film would be released. This was the final link in the evolutionary chain." Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was shot entirely digitally without the use of a single roll of film and includes digital special-effects imagery in every shot. 

It will be released May 16 to more than 3,000 theaters- including 27 U.S. digital theaters.  This number is expected to grow prior to the release (see list of current digitally-enabled theaters below). Texas Instruments DLP Cinema(tm) technology is the de facto standard that is enabling digital cinema, creating a movie-going experience that matches that of film and offering a life-long high-quality movie. 

DLP Cinema(tm) technology allows viewers to watch movies without the flicker, dust and fade that commonly degrade film prints, and with it, the viewing experience. Movie-goers see the movie exactly how the makers intended it to be viewed- in original pristine condition.  

DLP Cinema(tm) technology is currently installed in 54 theaters worldwide and Texas Instruments expects that number to double by the release of Star Wars Episode II.  DLP Cinema(tm) technology is currently the only digital projector technology commercially available in theaters, through partner digital projector companies Barco and Christie Digital.  In addition to the consumer benefits associated with digital cinema, studios and distributors are expected to benefit from a substantial cost savings by eliminating the costs of producing, distributing and managing film, which, according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), cost $3.7 million per film on average last year.  Digital releases could cut this figure by 25% per feature (approx. $900,000 savings per movie).  We would like to invite you to speak with a DLP Cinema(tm) executive to learn more about the digital cinema industry and the technology enabling it.

Music; 'Now 9' debuts in top position on album chart

A fresh spring breeze hit the upper reaches of the album sales charts as no fewer than four of the top 10 on the Billboard 200 are new releases.

It should come as no surprise that "Now That's What I Call Music! 9" zooms right in at No. 1 with sales of more than 419,000 copies, according to SoundScan figures obtained from industry sources for the week ending March 24. Not only is the Universal Music Enterprises' series always hugely popular, but this volume features 20 hit singles, including the Neptunes-produced Britney Spears song "I'm a Slave 4 U" and U2's Grammy-winning "Stuck in a Moment," with such acts as Aerosmith Pink, Nelly Furtado and Incubus filling the rest of the disc.

Def Jam's much-anticipated Jay-Z/R. Kelly project "Best of Both Worlds" debuts at No. 2. That's a distant second to the "Now" juggernaut with sales of 223,400 but a very credible No. 2 in the face of label fears that the widespread bootlegs of the album would cripple its potential success.

Those two push Lone Highway's "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack to No. 3, but its sales of 132,000 are not much of a drop from last week's 149,000, despite being available for well over a year.

Yet another debut comes in at No. 4, with neo-soul newcomer Glenn Lewis selling more than 85,000 copies of his first album.

Jimmy Buffett repaid the faith his new label (Mailboat) placed in him as his "Far Side of the World" debuts at No. 5 on 78,500 copies sold. Of course, because the famously laid-back artist runs Mailboat, Buffett could have done much worse without fear of getting dropped. Buffett's loyal legion of Parrothead fans should give this one a long life.

The rest of the top 10 shuffles as Alan Jackson's "Drive" (Arista) moves down three to No. 6, Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory" (Warner Bros.) slips one to No. 7, Alanis Morissette's "Under Rug Swept" (Warner Bros.) drops four to No. 8, Ludacris' "Word of Mouf" (Def Jam) moves down two to No. 9, and Pink's "Missundaztood" (LaFace) drops two places to No. 10.

Industry; Berlusconi moves to soothe German fears over Kirch

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tried on Thursday to reassure Germany that a rescue of the debt-laden Kirch group would not result in him becoming involved in the German media market.

Mediaset, the Italian broadcaster controlled by the Berlusconi family, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp are among Kirch investors locked in talks with creditor banks in an effort to agree a rescue package for the German media group.

No agreement was reached on Thursday and sources close to the talks said they were adjourned until next Tuesday. Friday and Monday are public holidays in Germany.

In a sign of how closely the German government is following the Kirch crisis, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder voiced concern on Thursday about Berlusconi's media empire possibly gaining influence in Germany.

"With Berlusconi, I think it is not unproblematic if the prime minister of a friendly country had influence in the German media sector via his private company," Schroeder said.

"I have nothing to say about Mr Murdoch. I think if he did pay-TV with the same success he has had in Britain, we should have no objections. We must also be careful about deterring private foreign investors," Schroeder added.

However, Berlusconi countered by pointing out that he had not been involved in the running of Mediaset for several years.

"I have not been involved (in Mediaset) since 1994," Berlusconi told reporters in Rome when asked about Schroeder's comments. Berlusconi, who has a stake of some 48 percent in Mediaset mainly held by his Fininvest family holding, was elected prime minister for the first time in 1994.

Kirch's sprawling media empire controls Germany's largest commercial broadcaster, the Formula One racing business and the rights to World Cup soccer. It has run up 6.5 billion euros ($5.68 billion) of debt and is bleeding cash through its pay TV arm.

Its woes may lead to the break-up of the company and a redrawing of the media map in Germany, which could provide foreign players such as Murdoch with a major role.

Schroeder faces a general election in September and foreign control of the media is a big issue in a country where core media assets have always been in German hands.

PAY TV BLUES

Kirch's problems in pay television are mirrored in Britain where the ITV Digital venture faces possible closure after overpaying for rights to second-tier English soccer action. NTL Inc, which offers cable TV and telephony services in Britain, is also facing a debt crisis. There was no sign of a breakthrough at Thursday's talks aimed at agreeing a rescue for Kirch as publisher Axel Springer insisted it would pursue its claims against the group.

Springer, publisher of the influential mass-market daily Bild, accelerated Kirch's slide into crisis in January when it exercised an option to sell back a stake in Kirch's free TV broadcaster ProSiebenSat1.

"We're focusing on the fulfillment of our claims against KirchMedia," Springer spokeswoman Edda Fels said. "Waiving them is not an option."

The 767 million euro payment for Springer's ProSieben put option, which Kirch claims is legally void, is due in April.

The option to sell the stake could jeopardize a deal that Kirch's creditors and shareholders -- including Murdoch's News Corp and Mediaset -- are hammering out to save the core television unit KirchMedia and take it over from Kirch.

The banks, which want the shareholders to shoulder part of the 800 million euros capital injection into KirchMedia in exchange for taking control, have asked the investors to propose a sustainable rescue plan, the sources said.

A source close to Springer said banks and investors in Kirch were trying to get Springer on board their bail out plan to give the rescue a more local flavor amid concerns about foreigners taking over German television.

"Springer is a coveted partner at the moment," the source said. "Nobody can get around the put option, and would be the only German media company at the table."

Springer's Fels declined to comment on a report that the publisher was offered a chance to swap its claim against a stake in KirchMedia, ProSieben's parent, as part of the banks' plan.

But the source close to Springer said a swap of the put option against a bigger stake in ProSiebenSat1 would fit into the publisher's strategy to expand its television exposure.

Springer's claim amounts to 40 percent of ProSiebenSat1's 1.9 billion euro market capitalization, based on ProSieben's current share price. Boris Groendahl and Sabine Bub