• 'Potter' Carves Record On Hearty Thanksgiving
• Potter film moves JK Rowling into billionaire league
• Adam Sandler and Zhang Ziyi to Star In Good Cook, Likes Music
• Cross Dressing Duo Mark Fauser And Brent Briscoe
• Cedric The Entertainer Signs Deal With Fox Searchlight
• Ring Remake for director Gore Verbinski
• Peter Wade From Prison To Wall Street
• Video Game Franchise "Nocturne" To The Big Screen
• Disney sees green with ``Snow White'' video
• Private Signs Exclusive Agreement With Acclaimed Movie Director Michael Ninn

'Potter' Carves Record On Hearty Thanksgiving

Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" easily maintained the top spot at the boxoffice and entranced audiences during the Thanksgiving holiday as the fantasy-adventure kept competitors at bay by conjuring an estimated $58.55 million during the three-day weekend -- and $83.5 million on the five-day frame -- to bring its 10-day cume to a stunning $188.1 million.

"Potter" shot past the $150 million mark Friday in a record eight days -- two days faster than Fox's "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." The Chris Columbus-directed picture tied "Menace" for the speed record to the $100 million mark by doing so in five days and should cross the $200 million mark by late this week.

Buena Vista's "Monsters, Inc." took the second spot as it added 188 theaters and brought in an estimated $24.5 million on the three days, up 8% from the previous weekend. The CG-animated film from Pixar has collected an estimated $192.8 million to date and should vault past the $200 million mark during the coming weekend.

The family audience was out in force during the Thanksgiving holiday as the top two films, both aimed at that coveted demographic, generated 57% of the aggregate for the top 12 titles. The estimated cume for the top 12 films is $145.5 million, down 13% from the comparable 2000 frame. The Hollywood Reporter projects the total for all films during the weekend in the low- to mid-$150 million range, the third-best three-day Thanksgiving weekend gross behind last year's record $176.7 million and 1999's $160 million.

Three wide releases debuted in theaters Wednesday, one more than last year, and the trio met with varying degrees of success.

In a bold counter programming move, Universal released the R-rated "Spy Game" starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt into the traditionally domain of family films. The Tony Scott-helmed "Game," produced by Beacon Communications, rolled into the third spot, taking in an estimated $21.6 million on the three days and $30.5 million since its opening.

"It was a big decision to have an adult, intellectual film released during this time of the year, which is traditionally reserved for family fare, and we were successful," Universal president of distribution Nikki Rocco said. "We wanted to counter program the fabulous family films that were in the market and give adults a choice. The combination of Redford and Pitt caught the attention of adults and drew them to theaters."

Buena Vista's "Unbreakable" debuted in the second spot during last year's Thanksgiving frame, earning $30.3 million on the three days and $46 million on the five days, but was rated PG-13 and was seen largely as a follow-up to 1999's "The Sixth Sense." Both films were helmed by M. Night Shyamalan and star Bruce Willis.

Fox entered the holiday weekend with a period-piece comedy starring Martin Lawrence. "Black Knight" opened in the fourth slot with an estimated $11.7 million from 2,571 theaters. Set in 14th century England, the time-travel tale from New Regency Pictures has lanced an estimated $16.1 million since its Wednesday release.

Buena Vista's "Out Cold" debuted on the bunny slopes at the boxoffice as the broad comedy set in the world of snowboarding arrived in the sixth slot with an estimated $4.7 million. The ensemble feature from Spyglass Entertainment grossed about $6.9 million on the five days.

As it dominated the weekend boxoffice, "Potter" chalked up the biggest first seven days of all time with $129.5 million, besting the $124.7 million accumulated by "Menace." "Potter" also beat Buena Vista's 1999 release "Toy Story 2" to amass the biggest three-day and five-day totals during the Thanksgiving holiday, which stood at $57.3 million and $80.1 million, respectively.

The continued boxoffice strength of "Potter" had Warners executives in good spirits. "It's great, just great," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution. "And exhibitors I have spoken with told me they are already beginning to see repeat business on the film. I expect the Harry Potter phenomenon to continue through the Christmas and New Year's holidays."

Fellman noted that Columbus recently finished his first week of shooting on the second "Potter" feature, scheduled for release next Thanksgiving.

Regarding the estimated $20.2 million gross to date for Warners' "Heist," helmed by David Mamet, Fellman noted that it is Mamet's highest-grossing film, doubling the $10.2 million brought in by 1998's "The Spanish Prisoner."

In the limited-release arena, Miramax's "In the Bedroom" opened in four theaters Friday in New York and Los Angeles and grossed an estimated $95,000. The drama starring Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei and Tom Wilkinson averaged a stellar $23,750 per theater. The film expands to the top 20 markets Christmas Day.

Paramount Classics' "Sidewalks of New York" played in 99 locations and took in an estimated $565,000. The romantic comedy, which was helmed by and stars Edward Burns along with Heather Graham, Stanley Tucci and Rosario Dawson, averaged a promising $5,707 per theater and has grossed about $713,000 after five days.

Sony Pictures Classics' "The Devil's Backbone" grossed an estimated $37,377 from four venues in New York. The Spanish-language supernatural thriller, directed and written by Guillermo del Toro, averaged a strong $9,344 per theater and has taken in about $48,645 since Wednesday.

The sophomore frame of Artisan's "Novocaine" brought in an estimated $365,000 from 120 locales, averaging $3,042 per theater and upping its cume to about $970,000 after 10 days. The dark comedy stars Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern.

Fox's "Moulin Rouge" was reissued in 45 locations and brought in an estimated $61,538, averaging a weak $1,368 per theater. The gross to date for the Nicole Kidman starrer is $56.8 million.

The top-grossing titles during the 2000 Thanksgiving frame were Universal's "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with $52.1 million and "Unbreakable."

During the week ending Nov. 22, national boxoffice rose a scant 1% from the comparable seven-day period a year ago ($254.1 million vs. $251.3 million), while the year-to-date total maintained a 10% advantage ($7.21 billion vs. $6.53 billion), reaching the $7 billion mark five weeks earlier than any other year in boxoffice history. Year-to-date admissions are running 6% ahead of last year's pace.

1. (1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone     $83.5 million
2. (2) Monsters, Inc.                                       $33.1 million
3. (+) Spy Game                                            $30.5 million
4. (+) Black Knight                                         $16.1 million
5. (3) Shallow Hal                                          $12.5 million
6. (+) Out Cold                                              $ 6.9 million
7. (4) Domestic Disturbance                           $ 5.5 million
8. (5) Heist                                                    $ 4.3 million
9. (6) The One                                               $ 3.0 million
10. (9) Life as a House                                     $ 2.8 million

Potter film moves JK Rowling into billionaire league

JK Rowling is on course to become the first billionaire writer, helped by the success of the film of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone which has hung on to the top spot at the US box office and taken an estimated $188m after just 10 days on release in North America.

The British author, who has sold 124m books worldwide, is now earning more royalties through merchandise than book sales. Harry Potter toys are expected to dominate the Christmas market, and demand for a Lego version of Hogwarts Castle is so high that many shops have already sold out.

The film last week broke box-office records in the UK and the US and has now surpassed Toy Story 2's 1999 record to become the biggest grossing film over the American Thanksgiving holiday, Reuters reports.

In the US, the animated film Monsters Inc held on to second place, while new entries Spy Game, starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, and time-travel adventure Black Knight debuted in third and fourth place respectively.

Adam Sandler and Zhang Ziyi to Star In Good Cook, Likes Music

New Line Cinema has purchased the comedy spec "Good Cook, Likes Music" from first-time writer Coleen Ventimilia, with Adam Sandler and Zhang Ziyi attached to star and Sandler to produce through his Happy Madison Prods.

"Cook" came together in a snap as all parties who were the first to see Ventimilia's debut spec immediately jumped on board. The project centers on a slacker and lovable loser (Sandler) who lives with his mother in a trailer park. One drunken night, he sends away for a mail-order bride (Zhang), who ends up being a musical prodigy, and together, they change each other's lives.

New Line's Richard Brenner is credited with bringing the project into the studio, while Happy Madison's Tom McNulty brought the project to his company. New Line has a deal with Sandler to create, produce and star in two films, but this project does not necessarily fall under that deal, sources said. Sandler and Jack Giarraputo's Happy Madison Prods. also has a deal with Revolution Studios.

Sandler, repped by Endeavor and Brillstein-Grey, has three projects set for release next year: Columbia Pictures/New Line's "Deeds," produced by Happy Madison, Columbia's animated "Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights" for holiday release and "The Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project" for New Line/Revolution.

Zhang catapulted to stardom in the United States following her starring turn in Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." She most recently starred onscreen in Brett Ratner's "Rush Hour 2." Zhang is repped by WMA. Ventimilia is repped by ICM.

Cross Dressing Duo Mark Fauser And Brent Briscoe

Screenwriting duo Mark Fauser and Brent Briscoe have been tapped to do a rewrite on the comedy project "Cross Dressing" for Universal Pictures and Tom Shadyac's Universal-based Shady Acres Entertainment.

The story centers on the twin brother of a recently deceased priest who takes the identity of his brother in order to escape charges that he stole an idea from a fellow advertising executive at his company.

The project is based on Bill Fitzhugh's comic novel "Cross Dressing," which Fitzhugh adapted for the screen along with Matthew Scott Hansen. His version, "Alter Ego," was then adapted by writer Gary Tieche.

Fauser and Briscoe, who have been friends since college, wrote and have small roles in the upcoming "Waking Up in Reno" for Miramax Films. They also are rewriting "The Swan Song" at Columbia and have "Hillbilly Heist" in development at Miramax. Fauser and Briscoe are repped by UTA and attorney Todd Stern.

Book Description (Buy This Book) Dan Steele Has It Made.

He's on top of his game as creative director of the The Prescott Agency in L.A., a jaundiced adman who looks at you and sees a narrow demographic-and a very fat paycheck. His identical twin, Michael, a do-gooder Catholic priest, can traipse around the Third World doing all the emergency relief work he wants. For Dan, doing good means having the biggest home entertainment center money can buy. But his life of conspicuous consumption is about to come to a horrible screeching whoa. Cross Dressing

Just returned from Rwanda, Father Michael is ill, so Dan sends him to the hospital on his own insurance coverage; what's a brother for, right? But when Michael's disease turns fatal, Dan is suddenly facing a prison sentence for insurance fraud. Since Dan also needs to hide from an enraged copywriter whose brilliant idea he stole, the best solution is to take up the cloth and masquerade as his brother, the Father. Soon, Dan is thrust into a world even savvier in the wiles of marketing and mass persuasion than his own: the world of organized religion.

What's worse, in addition to the homicidal copywriter and a righteous insurance investigator, a shadowy and dangerous figure from Father Michael's past is also advancing ever closer toward Dan. And then the counterfeit clergyman lands at a run-down mission headed by the good-looking and strangely fascinating Sister Peg, who's determined to help the downtrodden even if she has to pull a gun or two to do it. Try as he might to fight it, Peg is beginning to give Dan impure thoughts about renouncing his vow-not that he ever took one, anyway...

About the Author Bill Fitzhugh has worked in radio, television, and film. He is the author of Pest Control, The Organ Grinders, and Cross Dressing. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where he is at work on his next novel.

Cedric The Entertainer Signs Deal With Fox Searchlight

Cedric the Entertainer has inked a seven-figure deal with Fox Searchlight to star in and produce a family comedy feature.

Cedric (''The Original Kings of Comedy'') pitched the as-yet-untitled project to the studio with sibling writers Todd and Richey Jones (''The Hughleys'').

While the plot is still being finalized, the film will portray the perils of parenting in today's complex world, with Cedric starring as the father of several kids, including a truculent teen daughter. He also will produce the movie with manager Eric Rhone and Paul Hall.

A longtime small-screen regular on ``The Steve Harvey Show'' and more recently a Budweiser pitchman, Cedric is a regular at Fox.

His credits at the studio include ``Big Momma's House,'' ``Dr. Dolittle 2'' and Searchlight's ``Kingdom Come.'' He next appears in Mandalay Pictures' ``Servicing Sara'' and MGM's ``Barbershop'' with Ice Cube.

Ring Remake for director Gore Verbinski

New Zealand actor Martin Henderson (''Windtalkers'') is set to star opposite Naomi Watts in a remake of the popular 1998 Japanese horror film ``Ring'' for director Gore Verbinski and DreamWorks Pictures.

The film is based on a series of novels by Suzuki Koji about a journalist (Watts) who investigates an urban legend about a cursed videotape said to kill anyone who watches it. Henderson will play the photojournalist ex-husband of Watts' character. The two characters a child together and are forced to put their differences aside to fight the evil force together.

Rounding out the cast of ``Ring'' are David Dorfman, Amber Tamblyn, Rachael Bella and Brian Cox.

``Ring'' is slated to go into production at the end of the year. Screenwriters Ehren Kruger (''Scream 3'') and Scott Frank (''Minority Report'') both worked on the script.

Henderson recently starred in the indie film ``A Piece of My Heart'' with Piper Perabo for director Matt Cooper.

Peter Wade From Prison To Wall Street

Peter Wade is living proof that it's possible to transition smoothly from prison to Wall Street to movie directing.

In 1982, Wade was the first juvenile in New Jersey to be tried as an adult for causing a train to derail and killing the conductor. Wade served a two-year prison sentence, then worked on Wall Street for a decade, making a six-figure salary. Now he will direct ``Tracks,'' based on his own script, a recounting of his criminal act.

The film, budgeted at under $1 million, begins shooting at various New York correctional facilities on Nov. 27. The movie will star Ice T, John Heard, Craig Wasson and Chris Gunn.

Wade financed the film with the help of private investors. Sandy Weiser, who produced commercial spots for Fuji Film and GMC trucks, produces along with Wade.

Camilla Toniolo, who edited such films as Tom DiCillo's ``Double Whammy'' and ``Living In Oblivion,'' is on board to edit.

Video Game Franchise "Nocturne" To The Big Screen

As part of its first-look deal with Dimension Films, Collision Entertainment, headed by Paul Rosenberg and Scott Faye, is bringing developer Terminal Reality's adventure-horror PC video game franchise "Nocturne" to the big screen.

Brent Friedman (TV's "Dark Skies") and Steve DeJarnatt (who wrote and directed the feature "Miracle Mile") recently completed a script for Collision. Dimension will distribute the film in the United States. The action-adventure movie, expected to aim for a PG-13 rating, will begin production next year. Abandon Entertainment is co-financing the project.

" 'Nocturne' provides a rich world and interesting characters that has the potential to become the next 'Mummy' franchise," said Faye, who will be a producer on the film. "The film will play like a supernatural 'Untouchables,' retaining the spirit of the game while introducing new characters and a solid, three-act action-adventure story line."

Based on the 1999 PC video game, "Nocturne" introduces players to a secret U.S. government group, the Spookhouse, founded in 1902 by President Theodore Roosevelt to serve as a shadow organization to the newly formed Bureau of Investigation. The group investigates supernatural cases in an effort to defend the United States from monsters and other evil entities. Set during the 1930s, the first game offers four unique cases for the Spookhouse to solve. The Stranger, a mysterious protagonist who speaks through actions, not words, is the central link among the self-contained cases, which feature undead gangsters in Chicago and vampire nobles in a small European town. The Stranger is a throwback to serialized pulp fiction stories like "The Shadow." Svetlana Lupescu, a half-vampire, half-human raised by the Spookhouse, is one of many interesting characters served up in the stories.

A PC spinoff shipped last year as part of a trilogy of "The Blair Witch Project" licensed games. "Blair Witch Volume 1: Rustin Parr" stars Doc Holiday, the Spookhouse's monster expert and gadget guru. The game builds on the Rustin Parr myth from the "Blair Witch" movie (he's the one who murdered seven children in Burkittsville, Md.) and expands the "Nocturne" story line.

"With the 'Nocturne' games, our goal was to take standard Hollywood monsters like werewolves, zombies and vampires and make them scary again," Terminal Reality creative director Drew Haworth said. "When we began developing the game in 1997, the idea was to open up a franchise that blended pure horror with serialized pulp fiction stories."

With a Hollywood film in the works, Terminal Reality plans to take its horror franchise to such next-generation console systems as Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Gamecube.

"The new console games based on 'Nocturne' won't necessarily focus on the movie directly but will incorporate elements and characters from the film," Haworth said. "Since PC and console game players are a different audience, we plan on reinventing the franchise with the console games. We'll create a brand-new game experience with a new 3-D camera perspective for a more action-oriented, Hollywood feel, while remaining true to the elements of the 'Nocturne' universe."

Haworth said the game universe allows the movies and games to span time, going backward to explore the Spookhouse when it started or forward to the present to see how it has evolved. The "Nocturne" console games are expected to ship in conjunction with the film's release.

"Nocturne" marks Collision's third video game-based partnership with Dimension and Abandon. The big-screen version of "Max Payne," a best-selling PC action game shipping for PlayStation 2 and Xbox this fall, has Siavash Farahani writing a script and principal photography targeted to begin in the spring. The film could hit theaters as early as 2003. Abandon will handle international distribution.

"The movie will remain faithful to the game's spirit while taking the story of Max Payne -- an undercover DEA agent in New York City who seeks revenge on the mafia drug syndicate that has killed his wife and child and framed him for the murder of a fellow agent -- and translating it into hard-boiled, Dirty Harry-style, character-driven cop movie," Faye said. "The game offers a very cinematic experience, and our vision is to pay homage to those classic hard-boiled movies that made an impact on our collective conscience."

A "Max Payne" game sequel is in the works. Collision is working closely with game developer 3D Realms to create the film, which has potential for sequels.

Collision also is translating "American McGee's Alice," a PC game published by Electronic Arts, into a feature film for Dimension. The movie, in early development, has Wes Craven attached as a producer and director, and game creator McGee will be a co-producer. It introduces a 17-year-old Alice who needs to save herself and Wonderland. Collision is seeking a writer for the project. Abandon will handle international distribution.

"Whether you're developing a game or a movie, it's all about creating great characters, good storytelling and unveiling interesting environments," McGee said. "In developing my games, I work in a very visual fashion, and this translates well when expanding games to Hollywood properties."

Collision has one-third of its projects coming from video games, but that ratio will vary depending on content.

"Developing a movie based on a video game shouldn't be any different than developing a movie based on a John Grisham novel," Faye said. "The key for our success is to develop relationships with the people who create the games and work with them closely. At the same time, we partner talent who know movies and create a synergy for what we hope will be a movie that's faithful to the source material but also engaging to the audience who never played the game. The end result should please gamers and could possibly bring a broader audience to the film commercially and intrigue that audience to explore the gaming world."

Said Rosenberg: "There's a great opportunity out there to exploit the quality video games that are being released. The video game movies that came out this past summer weren't that great. We're working with fresh young talent in the video game industry like McGee with 'Alice' and 3D Realms with 'Max Payne' and Terminal Reality with 'Nocturne' to make sure that the translation to the big screen makes for a great story and an entertaining film."

Disney sees green with ``Snow White'' video

Disney's ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' has seized the crown as the top-selling video and DVD animated title of all time overseas, notching sales of 8 million units.

Adding in the sales for the original release in 1994, the cumulative total is 26 million units, outstripping ``The Lion King,'' which sold 24 million copies. At an average retail price of $20, the 8 million units represent $160 million in retail revenues.

``Snow White'' also ranks as the second-best-selling home entertainment title of any kind abroad, behind ``Titanic.''

While the company won't know how many unsold copies are returned by retailers until after the coming holiday season, Dennis Maguire, president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment Intl., told Daily Variety he's confident returns as a percentage of numbers shipped will be in the single digits (as was the case for ``Lion King''), offset to an extent by reorders.

CLASSICS REISSUED

The family film was released in 95 percent of foreign markets in October, the first of a series of animated classics that Disney is reissuing on video and DVD before holding back each title for 10 years.

Maguire says the film's rebirth is testimony to the fast-growing DVD business abroad. Nearly 25 percent of total sales were for the digital format, compared with just 16 percent for ``Dinosaur'' (which was released last spring) and 10 percent for ``Toy Story 2'' last year.

The top markets for ``Snow White'' are Japan and Britain, each with more than 1 million units sold.

PROMO SUCCESS

Another factor behind the 1937 cartoon's success is a multipronged promotional effort harnessing other Mouse House divisions, including Disney theme parks and consumer products.

In key markets, the company enlisted the support of popular personalities such as Japanese musician Ayumi Hamasaki, German TV host Kai Pflaume and Spanish star Kevina.

In an innovative promo in Japan, the title was bundled with a specially designed, kid-friendly Disney DVD player, priced together at $155. The picture tied with ''Dinosaur'' as the industry's biggest video and DVD industry ship-in of the year, and on DVD alone, it's a Disney record in that market.

In the U.K., 40 percent of units shipped were sold through in the first week -- an astonishing rate -- hyped by a promo in which the first 500,000 consumers who bought the fairy tale on video or DVD got a plush toy dwarf. DVD accounted for a healthy 20 percent of ``Snow White's'' total sales in the U.K.

DVD HOT IN FRANCE

In France, 20 percent of total ``Snow White'' units sold through to consumers in just four days, with DVD especially strong at more than 30 percent.

BVHE France expects DVD to eventually account for 35 percent of total sales -- an unprecedented figure for a family film in Europe's second-largest territory for DVD penetration.

In the Netherlands, the title broke the all-time first-day sales record set by ``The Lion King'' in 1995, selling 36 percent of shipped units on day one. In Mexico, it broke BVHE's fastest sell-through record, shifting 42 percent of units shipped in three days.

After two weeks in Germany, ``Snow White'' has sold through almost 30 percent of VHS units and 34 percent of DVD units. In Spain, 50 percent of the stock was snapped up in the first 10 days. And in Italy, where DVD penetration is relatively low, 30 percent was sold in the first two weeks, a rate comparable to that of ``Tarzan'' and better than ``A Bug's Life.''

Maguire is confident he'll top ``Snow White's'' peak with next year's classic reissue, ``Beauty and the Beast,'' which goes out in October.

Private Signs Exclusive Agreement With Acclaimed Movie Director Michael Ninn

Private Media Group Inc. a worldwide leader in premium-quality adult entertainment products, services and internet content, today announced that Michael Ninn has signed an exclusive agreement with the company as a movie director. Michael Ninn has already started the development of his first Private feature, which is an animated movie called ``2funky4u,'' to be released during the Cannes Film Festival in France, May 2002.

``Michael Ninn is one of the best selling movie directors in our industry,'' said Berth Milton, CEO of Private Media Group. ``The movies he has directed are entertaining and innovative. We are very pleased that he has decided to work with us.''

Michael Ninn started to direct his own full-length feature adult titles in 1992 after working alongside other leading industry directors. He is known for directing quality movies in a creative and artistic manner and has gained a reputation for enhancing each production with special effects. Michael Ninn is one of the most acclaimed directors in the adult entertainment industry. Over the past few years he has received over fifty awards including ``Best Film,'' ``Best Video,'' ``Best Director,'' ``Best Art Direction,'' ``Best Editing'' and ``Best Special Effects'' from AVN, XRCO and Hot D'or. He began his career in television advertising as a writer of jingles, and later became a director of an American cable show featuring prominent celebrities.

``Private is creating some of the best adult entertainment content,'' said Mr. Ninn. ``I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to Private's movie library. I've admired the work of Private for years and I hope to provide them with many future blockbuster titles.''