Weekend
Box Office
1. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Paramount/DreamWorks Animation) 4,056 $63,500,000
2. Role Models (Universal) 2,792 $19,300,000
3. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney) 3,464 $9,300,000
4. Changeling (Universal) 1,855 $7,300,000
5. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (The Weinstein Co.) 2,735 $6,500,000
6. Soul Men (MGM/Dimension) 2,044 $5,600,000
7. Saw V (Lionsgate) 2,829 $4,200,000
8. The Secret Life Of Bees (Fox Searchlight) 1,481 $3,100,000
9. Haunting of Molly Hartley (Freestyle) 2,576 $3,100,000
10. Eagle Eye (DreamWorks/Paramount) 1,407 $2,600,000
in millions of dollars

Variety

Finally! After a year of waiting due to the writer’s strike, Fox’s hit tv show ‘24′ returns for season 7.  The four hour season premiere, broken into 2 two hour episodes, starts Sunday January 11 and ends Monday January 12 both at 8 p.m.  To wet the appetite of starving fans who have been waiting since May 2007 for the follow up season, Fox will air the first ‘24′ movie on November 23rd.  Set the DVRs!!

“I think it’s just moving on. It’s rediscovering something else,” said Phoenix, 34, said in an interview with Associated Press Television News before Saturday’s American Film Institute festival, which also premiered “Che,” starring Benicio Del Toro.

“Two Lovers” is his last film, he said. His publicist had disclosed Friday that the actor intended to focus on music.

Phoenix first mentioned his decision to “Extra” early last week at a fundraiser in San Francisco. He abruptly ended that interview after the reporter wondered whether he was joking about giving up acting for music.

Phoenix learned to play guitar and did his own singing to play country legend Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line,” which earned him an Academy Award nomination. His publicist also said Phoenix has been directing music videos in recent years.

“It’s like greener pastures, you know what I mean?” Phoenix said Saturday. “And so, I’m just going to try and like, I’ll just be doing the other thing. … Hopefully, I will emotionally impact you with that, as well.”

AP

He can’t be having a midlife crisis at the age of 34 right? The ‘new’ look coupled with his announcement screams INTERVENTION. I know is older brother was lead singer or Nirvana and he learned guitar and sung on the soundtrack to his film “Walk the Line” but I think the phrase actors shouldn’t be singers, and singers shouldn’t be actors apply here. When he doesn’t make it as a musician I guess he’ll get back to acting. Celebrities.

“L.A. Reid and all of us at Island Def Jam Music Group are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Shakir Stewart,” read a statement sent from the label today. “Shakir was an amazing man in every sense of the word. A truly incredible friend and father who was an inspiration to not only our artists and employees, but to his family and the many people that had the privilege of counting him as a friend. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family at this very difficult time.”

Stewart succeeded Jay-Z at the top of the Def Jam ladder in June and also retained his duties as senior VP of A&R at Island Def Jam. The Oakland, Calif., native signed such artists as Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and newcomer Karina Pasian.

Stewart cut his teeth as a music executive at Hitco Music Publishing, where he was creative director and later senior VP of creative/GM and signed Beyonce Knowles.

Even before he gained a rep for promoting rap concerts during his Morehouse College days, Stewart was “the guy who was the head of passing out fliers at seven clubs a night, seven days a week in 20-degree weather,” he told Billboard this summer.

Stewart said at the time it was his goal to help develop “new, young executives … The hot executive who’s 21, 22 years old and has a serious passion for music and the desire to work 27 hours a day. That’s where I was at that time in my life. And that’s who I’m looking to mentor. I don’t see many people like that. Instead, I see a lot of kids who want to live the lifestyle but don’t want to put in the work and do what it takes.”

Billboard

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATE
Oct. 31 - Nov. 2

1. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney) 3,626 $15,000,000
2. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (The Weinstein Co.) 2,735 $10,700,000
3. Saw V (Lionsgate) 3,084 $10,100,000
4. Changeling (Universal) 1,850 $9,400,000
5. Haunting of Molly Hartley (Freestyle) 2,652 $6,000,000
6. Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Disney) 3,004 $4,700,000
7. The Secret Life Of Bees (Fox Searchlight) 1,611 $4,000,000
8. Max Payne (20th Century Fox) 2,564 $3,700,000
9. Eagle Eye (DreamWorks/Paramount) 2,007 $3,400,000
10. Pride and Glory (New Line/Warner Bros.) 2,585 $3,300,000
in millions of dollars

Variety

~Travis Barker who is recovering from surviving a fatal plane crash gives his first interview post trauma to Us Weekly. The other survivor DJ A.M. will have a benefit concert in his name held on October 14th.

~Check out video of Grammy Award winner John Mayer at Berklee College of Music in Boston giving a lecture to attending students. The Berklee alumni will be there the remainder of the week.

COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: “30 Rock” (NBC)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Entourage” (HBO)
“The Office” (NBC)
“Two and a Half Men” (CBS)

DRAMA SERIES
“Boston Legal” (ABC)
“Damages” (FX)
“Dexter” (Showtime)
“House” (Fox)
“Lost” (ABC)
WINNER: “Mad Men” (AMC)

MINISERIES
“The Andromeda Strain” (A&E)
“Cranford” (Masterpiece Theatre)
WINNER: “John Adams” (HBO)
“Tin Man” (Sci Fi Channel)

ACTOR IN A COMEDY
WINNER: Alec Baldwin - “30 Rock” (NBC)
Steve Carell - “The Office” (NBC)
Lee Pace - “Pushing Daisies” (ABC)
Charlie Sheen - “Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
Tony Shalhoub - “Monk” (USA)

ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne - “In Treatment” (HBO)
WINNER: Bryan Cranston - “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
Michael C. Hall - “Dexter” (Showtime)
Jon Hamm - “Mad Men” (AMC)
Hugh Laurie - “House” (Fox)
James Spader - “Boston Legal” (ABC)

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Christina Applegate - “Samantha Who?”(ABC)
America Ferrera - “Ugly Betty” (ABC)
WINNER: Tina Fey - “30 Rock” (NBC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - “New Adventures of Old Christine” (CBS)
Mary-Louise Parker - “Weeds” (Showtime)

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
WINNER: Glenn Close - “Damages” (FX)
Sally Field - “Brothers & Sisters” (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay - “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC)
Holly Hunter - “Saving Grace” (TNT)
Kyra Sedgwick - “The Closer” (TNT)

REALITY HOST
Tom Bergeron - “Dancing With the Stars”
Heidi Klum - “Project Runway”
Howie Mandel - “Deal or No Deal”
WINNER: Jeff Probst - “Survivor”
Ryan Seacrest - “American Idol”

MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
“Bernard And Doris” - (HBO)
“Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale” - (HBO) ”
“The Memory Keeper?s Daughter” - (Lifetime)
“A Raisin In The Sun” - (ABC)
WINNER: “Recount” - (HBO)

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
WINNER: “The Amazing Race” - (CBS)
“American Idol” - (FOX)
“Dancing With The Stars” - (ABC)
“Project Runway” - (Bravo)
“Top Chef” - (Bravo)

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Ralph Fiennes - “Bernard And Doris” (HBO)
Ricky Gervais - “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale” (HBO)
WINNER: Paul Giamatti - “John Adams” (HBO)
Kevin Spacey - “Recount” (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson - “Recount” (HBO)

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Catherine Keener - “An American Crime” (Showtime)
Susan Sarandon - “Bernard And Doris” (HBO)
Dame Judi Dench - “Cranford” (Masterpiece Theatre)
WINNER: Laura Linney - “John Adams” (HBO)
Phylicia Rashad - “A Raisin In The Sun” (ABC)

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Cryer - “Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
Kevin Dillon - “Entourage” (HBO)
Neil Patrick Harris - “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS)
WINNER: Jeremy Piven - “Entourage” (HBO)
Rainn Wilson - “The Office” (NBC)

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Ted Danson - “Damages” (FX)
Michael Emerson - “Lost” (ABC)
WINNER: Zeljko Ivanek - “Damages” (FX)
William Shatner - “Boston Legal” (ABC)
John Slattery - “Mad Men” (AMC)

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
David Morse - “John Adams” (HBO)
Stephen Dillane - “John Adams” (HBO)
WINNER: Tom Wilkinson - “John Adams” (HBO)
Denis Leary - “Recount” (HBO)
Bob Balaban - “Recount” (HBO)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth - “Pushing Daisies” (ABC)
Amy Poehler - “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
WINNER: Jean Smart - “Samantha Who?” (ABC)
Holland Taylor - “Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
Vanessa Williams - “Ugly Betty” (ABC)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Candice Bergen - “Boston Legal” (ABC)
Rachel Griffiths - “Brothers and Sisters” (ABC) )
Sandra Oh - “Grey?s Anatomy” (ABC)
WINNER: Dianne Wiest - “In Treatment” (HBO)
Chandra Wilson - “Grey?s Anatomy” (ABC)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
WINNER: Eileen Atkins - “Cranford” (Masterpiece Theatre)
Ashley Jensen - “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale” (HBO)
Alfre Woodard - “Pictures Of Hollis Woods” (CBS)
Audra McDonald - “A Raisin In The Sun” (ABC)
Laura Dern - “Recount” (HBO)

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM
Jon Stewart - “80th Annual Academy Awards” (ABC)
Stephen Colbert - “The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
David Letterman - “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS)
WINNER: Don Rickles - “Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project” (HBO)
Tina Fey - “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY
Dan Attias, “Entourage” (”No Cannes Do”)
James Bobin, “Flight Of The Conchords” (”Sally Returns”)
Michael Engler, “30 Rock” (”Rosemary?s Baby”)
Paul Feig, “The Office” (”Goodbye, Toby”)
Paul Lieberstein, “The Office” (”Money: Parts 1 & 2″)
WINNER: Barry Sonnenfeld, “Pushing Daisies” (”Pie-Lette”)

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA
Allen Coulter, “Damages” (pilot)
Vince Gilligan, “Breaking Bad” (pilot)
Arlene Sanford, “Boston Legal” (”The Mighty Rogues”)
Alan Taylor, “Mad Men” (”Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”)
WINNER: Greg Yaitanes, “House” (”House?s Head”)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
WINNER: Louis J. Horvitz - “80th Annual Academy Awards” (ABC)
Jim Hoskinson - “The Colbert Report” (#4051) (Comedy Central)
Don Roy King - “Saturday Night Live” (Host: Tina Fey) (NBC)
Lonny Price - “Company” (Great Performances) (PBS)
Chuck O?Neil - “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (#13050) (Comedy Central)

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Bob Balaban - “Bernard And Doris” (HBO)
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant - “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale” (HBO)
Tom Hooper - “John Adams” (HBO)
Mikael Salomon - “The Company” (TNT)
WINNER: Jay Roach - “Recount” (HBO)

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
“The Colbert Report” - (Comedy Central)
WINNER: “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” - (Comedy Central)
“Late Show With David Letterman” - (CBS)
“Real Time With Bill Maher” - (HBO)
“Saturday Night Live” - (NBC)

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - NOT-EXCLUSIVELY-MADE-FOR-TELEVISION VARIETY, MUSIC, COMEDY EVENT PROGRAMS
WINNER: “Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago” (Great Performances) - (PBS)

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM — CLASSICAL MUSIC/DANCE PROGRAMS
WINNER: “New York City Opera: Madama Butterfly” (Live From Lincoln Center) - (PBS)

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT LIVE-ACTION ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS
WINNER: “Battlestar Galactica: Razor Featurette #4″ - (Sci Fi Channel.com)
“Friday Night Lights: Spotlight On Austin” - (NBC.com)
“Lost: Missing Pieces” - (ABC.com)
“Sarah Silverman Program Nugget” - (Comedycentral.com)
“30 Rock: Kenneth The Web Page” - (NBC.com)

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT ANIMATED PROGRAMS
WINNER: “Camp Lazlo” (”Lazlo?s First Crush”) (Cartoon Network)
“Chowder” - (”Burple Nurples”) (Cartoon Network)

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS
“Deadliest Catch: The Real Dutch” (Discovery.com)
WINNER: “Great Moments From The Campaign Trail” (History ChannelVOD)
“Jay Leno?s Garage” (Jaylenosgarage.com)

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - AWARDS PROGRAMS
“80th Annual Academy Awards” (ABC)
WINNER: “The 61st Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)

NONFICTION SPECIAL
“AFI?s 100 Years…100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition” - (CBS)
“Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq” - (HBO)
WINNER: “Autism: The Musical” - (HBO)
“Pioneers Of Television - Late Night: Johnny, Jack, Steve, And Merv” - (PBS)

NONFICTION SERIES
WINNER: “American Masters” - (PBS)
“Biography” - (Biography Channel)
“Deadliest Catch” - (Discovery Channel)
“Inside The Actors Studio” - (Bravo)
WINNER: “This American Life” - (Showtime)

WRITING FOR A COMEDY
James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie - “Flight Of The Conchords” (”Yoko”) (HBO)
Jack Burditt - “30 Rock” (”Rosemary?s Baby”) (NBC)
Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky - “The Office” (”Dinner Party”) (NBC)
WINNER: Tina Fey - “30 Rock”(”Cooter”) (NBC)
Bryan Fuller - “Pushing Daisies” (”Pie-Lette”) (ABC)

WRITING FOR A DRAMA
Michael Angeli - “Battlestar Galactica” - (”Six Of One”) (Sci Fi Channel)
Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman - “Damages” (”Pilot”) (FX Networks)
WINNER: Matthew Weiner - “Mad Men” (”Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” - Pilot) (AMC)
Matthew Weiner, Robin Veith - “Mad Men” (”The Wheel”) (AMC)
David Simon, (teleplay), Ed Burns - “The Wire” (“30″) (HBO)

WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
WINNER: “The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central) - Tom Purcell (head Writer), Stephen Colbert, Allison Silverman, Richard Dahm, Michael Brumm, Rob Dubbin, Eric Drysdale, Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Laura Krafft, Frank Lesser, Glenn Eichler, Peter Grosz, Bryan Adams, Barry Julien
“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (Comedy Central) - Steve Bodow (head Writer), Rory Albanese, Rachel Axler, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Tim Carvell, J.R. Havlan, Scott Jacobson, David Javerbaum, Rob Kutner, Josh Lieb, Sam Means, John Oliver, Jason Ross, Jon Stewart
“Late Night With Conan O?Brien” (NBC) - Mike Sweeney (head Writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Dan Cronin, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Berkley Johnson, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O?Brien, Matt O?Brien, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
“Late Show With David Letterman”(CBS) - Eric Stangel (head Writer), Justin Stangel, (head Writer), Jim Mulholland, Michael Barrie, Steve Young, Tom Ruprecht, Lee Ellenberg, Matt Roberts, Jeremy Weiner, Joe Grossman, Bill Scheft, Bob Borden, Frank Sebastiano, David Letterman
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC) - Seth Meyers (head Writer), Andrew Steele (head Writer), Paula Pell (head Writer), Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, James Downey, Charlie Grandy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Jon Lutz, Lorne Michaels, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, Robert Smigel, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker, Robert Carlock (additional sketch), Lauren Pomerantz (additional sketch)

WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Hugh Costello - “Bernard And Doris” (HBO)
WINNER: Kirk Ellis - “John Adams” (“Independence”) (HBO)
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant - “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale” (HBO)
Heidi Thomas - “Cranford” (Masterpiece Theatre) (PBS)
Danny Strong - “Recount” (HBO)

WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Jeff Grogan - “Intervention” (A&E)
David de Vries - “Life After People” (History Channel)
Ira Glass - “This American Life” (“Escape”) (Showtime)
WINNER: Geoffrey C. Ward - “The War” (”Pride Of Our Nation”) (PBS)
Mark Zwonitzer - “Walt Whitman” (“American Experience”) (PBS)

Weekend
Box Office
1. Lakeview Terrace (SONY) 2,464 $15,600,000
2. Burn After Reading (FOCUS) 2,657 $11,300,000
3. My Best Friend’s Girl (LIONSGATE) 2,604 $8,300,000
4. Igor (MGM/EXODUS FILM GROUP) 2,339 $8,000,000
5. Righteous Kill (OVERTURE FILMS) 3,152 $7,700,000
6. Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys (LIONSGATE) 2,070 $7,500,000
7. The Women (PICTUREHOUSE) 2,995 $5,300,000
8. Ghost Town (DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT) 1,505 $5,200,000
9. The Dark Knight (WARNER BROS.) 1,905 $2,900,000
10. The House Bunny (SONY) 2,675 $2,800,000
in millions of dollars

Variety

Variety