The American, a suspense thriller starring George Clooney, won the weekend box office. It only took $13 million to win the slow weekend in theaters. Takers finished second and made $11.5 million during its second week in theaters. Machete, an ultra bloody revenge thriller starring Danny Trejo, came in third and made $11.3 million. The Last Exorcism made $7.6 million and finished fourth. Drew Barrymore's romantic comedy Going the Distance, with co-star Justin Long, opened in 5th and made just $6.9 million. Going the Distance was followed by The Expendables, The Other Guys and Eat Pray Love.
The Expendables pulled closer to the $100 million mark during its fourth week in theaters. The Other Guys, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, has now passed the $100 million mark. You can see the complete box office chart for the weekend here.
The New York Times Diner's Journal reports that Conde Nast is bringing Gourmet back to newsstands in a limited manner. The publisher will be launching a special edition of Gourmet called Gourmet Quick Kitchen. Gourmetsays the special edition includes 81 of its most memorable simple dishes.
We are delighted to gather 81 of our most memorable simple dishes together for the first time in this special edition of Gourmet Quick Kitchen. It's a collection of some of our best-loved, down-to-earth recipes--dishes for those of us who take pleasure in cooking but also want to eat at a reasonable hour on busy weeknights or host a dinner party without committing to a day at the stove. We've got timesaving strategies (most recipes take only 30 minutes or less!), make-ahead shortcuts, test-kitchen tips and techniques, plus plenty of satisfying vegetarian meals, kid-friendly favorites, light and healthy dinners, and a few dishes requiring no cooking at all. Finally, since we have a hunch that these are recipes you, too, will make over and over again, we've created eight different menus--complete with wine pairings--that make meal planning and low-key entertaining a snap.
The 128-page magazine will launch September 7 and will cost $10.99. If you can't find it at your favorite newsstand, try the Conde Nast Store.
Under Armour is launching its first line of Micro G basketball shoes in October. WWDreports that an Under Armour line of basketball sneakers has been rumored for the past two years. Under Armour's first line will be available only in parts of the Northeast - the "I-95 corridor" between Washington, D.C., and New York. The shoes will be sold at Foot Locker, Finish Line, Modell's, DLTR, Villa and Jimmy Jazz and will cost $80 to $110.
Nice Kicks has some photographs of the Under Armour Micro G Black Ice shoes here.
WWD says Under Armour is planning a much bigger launch of basketball shoes in Fall 2011.
The Globe and Mailreports that officials in West Vancouver have come up with a new type of speed bump that uses an optical illusion to jolt speeding drivers into reality. Motorists will see a 3D image of a little girl chasing a ball into the street.
‘We need to expect the unexpected because anything could happen, whether it is a 3D image on the road ... or whether it’s a live child or a dog running in front of the car, these are all things that we have to be able to control for in a vehicle,” Mr. Dunne said.
We agree that drivers need to be ready for the unexpected, but this sounds crazy. Some drivers are going to slam on the break at the sight of the girl chasing a ball into the street.
The 3D image display costs $15,000 to run and will be placed near an elementary school.
Baby Genius, which began as an edutainment brand of CDs and DVDs for infants and toddlers, is exapnding into shoes. Pacific Entertainment Corporation has signed a new licensing agreement with United Legwear for the manufacture and distribution of infant and toddler soft-soled shoes featuring Baby Genius characters.
This agreement follows on the heels of a deal announced in April 2010 granting United Legwear a license to manufacture and distribute Baby Genius-themed infant and toddler products. United Legwear plans to introduce the first products in Spring 2011.
Gucci has announced the opening of its redesigned online store at Gucci.com. Gucci Creative director Frida Giannini has been working on the site for 18 months to make the online experience more like the experience customers get in Gucci's boutiques. The new online store is easy to navigate. It provides zoom and multiple views for each item. Take a look:
Model Bar Refaeli takes on the subject of scary skinny models as we head into New York Fashion Week. Bar tweeted "I get so sad when I see 15-year-old pale extremely skinny models at the agency looking all shaky and hungry.... when will it end?!?!?" Actresses such as Kristen Bell have also spoken out about the ridiculously thin and unhealthy standard promoted by Hollywood and the fashion industry and how it leads to eating disorders. HLN looks into the issue:
After this story broke, Bar's twitter was taken down and her modeling agency said it wasn't hers. But Hollywood Life
isn't buying it. They say that that Twitter account was full of tweets from Bar, including photos of her on sets and the like. They think that the account was Bar's and that her agency freaked out and took it down, because Bar blew the whistle on what's going on. It's all most mysterious.
CNN's Brooke Anderson takes a look at a growing trend: teens getting Botox. Some plastic surgeons say there is evidence that starting Botox at a young age can help prevent wrinkles. But other plastic surgeons say that's a lot of nonsense. They don't have wrinkles, they don't need it and it's a waste of money. Christina Applegate and Nikki Blonsky are two celebrities who don't think teen Botox is a good idea at all. We think it's really sad that an 18 and 19 year old girl are so influenced by airbrushed photos of Kim Kardashian and Heidi Montage and long to look "perfect" like they do. They seem to have no idea how airbrushed all magazine photos are. Take a look:
Temple St. Clair is a fine jewelry company founded in 1986 in Florence, Italy by designer Temple St. Clair Carr. Temple St. Clair has launched a limited-edition costume jewelry collection exclusively for Target. The Target collection includes bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings that range in price from $29.99 to $49.99. You can view the items here on Target.com. Some of the items can be purchased online, while other pieces can only be purchased at Target stores.
Tyler Perry and Janet Jackson are promoting the DVD of Why Did I Get Married Too and in this clip they chatted with London's ITN about the film. In one scene of the marital drama, Janet takes a golf club and lets fly with some intense rage. She smashes furniture, clocked Tyler by mistake and even injured her own foot.
"That was rage. We had a few cameras going and she knocked the crap out of me and my arm and she hit herself. Her ankle was swollen. She was just going for it," says writer and director Tyler Perry.
When asked if she's a golfer, Janet just laughs, saying "I often listen to it on TV. Golfing is great to fall asleep to, for me."
Why Did I Get Married Too? is Tyler's first movie to be released outside the U.S. Tyler says his movies are pirated quite a bit in England, so he decided to do an European push and see what happens.
is the first of his productions to be released outside America. Up until now, "This is the beginning of an international push and I thought there was no better place to start than London." Take a look:
The Globe and Mail 
Baby Genius, which began as an edutainment brand of CDs and DVDs for infants and toddlers, is exapnding into shoes. Pacific Entertainment Corporation has signed a new licensing agreement with 
