Alice in Wonderland Tops Box Office for Third Straight Week
Alice in Wonderland held on to the #1 box office slot for the third consecutive week. The film made another $34.5 million to bring its U.S. box office total to nearly $266 million. Alice has also made another $300 million overseas. Diary of a Wimpy Kid came in second with a take of $21.8 million. Wimpy Kid was followed closely by the Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler romantic comedy, The Bounty Hunter, which made $21 million. Repo Men was a bomb. It opened in fourth and made just $6.1 million despite being shown in 2,521 theatres. Repo Men was followed by She's Out of My League, Green Zone, Shutter Island and Avatar.
Alice in Wonderland should be dethroned next week by How to Train Your Dragon, which has received a lot of publicity, including a partnership where Walmart is featuring thousands of Viking ships in its stores.
Free Pastry Day at Starbucks on Tuesday, March 23rd
Starbucks is offering a free pastry on Free Pastry Day, March 23. You can get one free pastry to pair with the purchase of a beverage. The coupon says the offer is good from 4 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., or until pastries are gone. You can get the coupon here on Starbucks' website.
Actor and comedian Aziz Ansari has been named the host of the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. Aziz Ansari is a stand-up comedian. He is going on tour this Summer. You can see the tour dates here. Ansari also plays Tom on Parks and Recreation on NBC.
The L.A. Times Show Tracker blog reports that Aziz Ansari has recently been watching Twilight and New Moon nad tweeting his thoughts on the film. One of Ansari's recent tweets reads, "Never thought I'd see a dude pull up in a Subaru Forrester with such authority. ..."
Donatella Versace graces the cover of Post Magazine HK. She will be in Hong Kong to present the Best Costume Design award at the 4th Asian Film Awards on Monday, March 22nd.
Donatella Versace says, "I am deeply honoured to be presenting the Best Costume Designer Award at the 4th Asian Film Awards. Fashion is a state of mind that goes deeper than what you can see with the eye, and the same goes for exquisite films that touch our hearts and minds. This award will highlight the convergence of design and cinema and promote talented designers in Asia across the world stage."
Justin Billboard, a teen singing sensation and Conan O'Brien's Twitter nemesis, covers the latest issue of Billboard magazine. The cover pays homage to John Cusack's stereo scene from Say Anything. The movie was made five years before the Bieber was born. In the interview, the tween heartthrob discusses
Biebermania, his music, his tweets, acting and more.
On Acting: "I don't want to do the Hannah Montana thing."
On Haters: "There's more people that like me than there are who hate me, so I kind of brush it off."
On Twitter: "I still [use Twitter] as much as before. People write to me and say, 'I'm giving up, you're not talking to me.' I just write them a simple message like, 'Never give up,' you know? And it changes their life."
On Filling Madison Square Garden: "I just think that I have enough fans, so I could pull in the people. I don't really get nervous anymore. I've already performed at Madison Square Garden, and I've performed for an hour before. What's the difference?"
The Billboard feature also discusses Bieber's rapid rise to fame, his incredibly busy schedule and the promotional whilrwind behind Bieber's next album release. My World 2.0, Justin Bieber's second album of tunes designed to make tween girls swoon, will drop on March 23rd.
The New York Timesreports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to begin spot testing of organic products. The news is alarming because people have been eating organic food for years now, apparently without spot checking. The Times says spot testing has been required since 1990 but regulators have not been checking to ensure that spot checks are being carried out. Miles McEvoy, the head of the National Organic Program, says unannounced spot checks will also be required.
The head of the National Organic Program, Miles McEvoy, said on Friday that enforcing testing rules was one of several steps the agency was taking to improve oversight of the industry. It will also require unannounced inspections of organic producers and processors and start regular reviews of organic products in stores to make sure they are correctly labeled and meet federal regulations, he said.
"There’s a real commitment from this administration to improve the integrity of this program," Mr. McEvoy said.
The Atlanticreports that the USDA's Office of the Inspector General recently released a report about the state of inspections that was highly critical. The Cornucopia Institute, an organics industry watchdog group, also has an article about the USDA report.
Video: Neil Patrick Harris Talks Glee and Upcoming Directing Gig
Neil Patrick Harris was at ShoWest in Las Vegas and took time out to chat about his upcoming directing gig. Neil will direct Rent at The Hollywood Bowl this August. He says he really wants to move more into directing -- he wants to be Joss Whedon (well, who doesn't?). He says he loved working on Glee, but it was grueling -- they work 15 hour days with no time for fooling around. Neil's next film is Beastly which also stars Vanessa Hudgens. Take a look:
Lady Gaga Countersues Ex-Boyfriend Who Wants Part of Her Fortune
Lady Gaga has responded
to a lawsuit by a former boyfriend who says he helped make her a star and now wants $30 million of her hard earned money. The Wall Street Journal reports that Gaga denies the claims and accuses the ex-boyfriend of unlawful behavior. The ex-boyfriend's name is Rob Fusari and the lawsuit is suing for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
Gaga's suit reportedly claims that the contract she had with Fusari was "an unlawful arrangement," and it calls his actions "predatory and financially abusive."
A Lady Gaga spokesperson said that "We intend to let this play out in the courtroom, not the media."
A lawyer for Fusari didn't immediately return a request for comment. Fusari's suit starts with a quote from The Mourning Bride by William Congreve: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." The suit goes on to say "All business is personal."
Gaga needs to go for a full jury trial. People will be begging to get on jury duty for that one. Think of the outfits she'll wear. Think of the drama. It's a win-win, even if she loses -- which is so not happening in front of a New York jury.
The New York Times has an interesting article
about whether it's a good idea to listen to music, watch a movie or read a book while working out. Some trainers think the distractions can cause accidents and reduce the effectiveness of the workout. Certainly, if you're lifting weights you need to pay close attention to what you're doing. But others -- who really hate doing cardio -- say they wouldn't work out at all if they couldn't distract themselves with a good book or tv show.
Trainers say that just about anything that gets you into the gym and lengthens your workout can be beneficial. And most people do find that listening to music with a good beat is a motivator. But when it comes to other ways to occupy the mind — like watching a movie, listening to a podcast or talking to a friend -- there are dos and don'ts.
"Listening to music you like while exercising has been shown to help release the endorphins that relieve stress and depression," said Dr. Vijay B. Vad, a sports medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Other distractions haven't been studied as much, but creating that pleasurable feeling in other ways is likely to do the same thing."
Yet some activities, like reading or watching a complicated drama, are likely to slow an athlete’s pace because the mind is focused on more than one thing. To minimize that, some trainers advise their clients to watch light comedies rather than complicated mysteries or potentially depressing news programs.
We're firmly in the "distractions are a great thing" camp, especially when we're riding the stationery bike, which has to be the most boring activity on the planet. But listening to an iPod while you're running or biking on city streets is really dangerous and can get you hit by a car you didn't hear coming. But since we tend to pedal madly while going nowhere, it's iPod or Kindle time.
Retailers of Tiger Woods Merchandise Eager for Masters
Tiger Woods return to golf is a very important for Nike and for retailers of golf equipment and Tiger Woods Nike apparel. Nike is one of the few sponsors that has stuck by Tiger Woods and golf stores carry a lot of Tiger Woods Nike products. Martin E. Hanaka, CEO of Golfsmith, told the New York Times, that they are looking forward to the Masters and Tiger's return.
"Selfishly, this is perfect," said Martin E. Hanaka, chairman and chief executive of Golfsmith, a 74-store golf and tennis retail chain. "The season's kicking off. The Masters is the No. 1 event. Spring is blooming. People are itching to get out there."
If Tiger Woods doesn't play well it won't be good for Nike or for golf sports retailers. Tiger Woods increases overall interest in the sport when he is at the top of his game. Some retailers had to discount Tiger Woods' apparel after the scandal broke, but only by 20%, to get products to sell.
Golfsmith and the New York Golf Center say that, at worst, sales of Woods clothing have dipped a bit. "When it happened, we didn't have deep inventories," Hanaka said. "Then we went to 20 percent off, and his stuff moved pretty well."
Gary Lynch, a salesman at the New York Golf Center on West 35th Street near Broadway, said Woods's clothing line was hurt because women were less eager to buy his $100 shirts or $130 pants for their golf-playing husbands. In addition, with Woods not playing, the store's front display table could not lay out his popular Thursday-to-Sunday schedule of shirts.
It probably depends who is purchasing the Tiger Woods products. If women are buying they are still going to be less likely to buy Tiger Woods' merchandise, even if he is winning golf matches, because of the tawdry affairs. If men are buying they will probably be less likely to buy Tiger Woods products if he is not playing well. A poor performance at the Masters, plus the scandal, could weaken the Tiger Woods' brands. The expectation in the world of golf is that Tiger Woods will play well, which is probably why Nike has stuck with the world's top golfer, even though he is a cheater.
This clever tea infuser, called the TeaSub, will have everyone singing the Beatles song. The tea submarine can be purchased here for 7.95 pounds, about $12 U.S.
Star Jones is recovering after cardiac surgery, according to People magazine. Star's rep issued a statement about the surgery:
"On Wednesday, March 17th, a pre-planned cardiac surgery was performed on Star Jones," the statement read. "This recent surgery is a follow-up to the thoracic surgery she had 30 years ago. The procedure was successful and she is recovering well with her family. Star is grateful for everyone's thoughts and prayers."
Star tweeted "Thank you for all the good wishes and prayers...I feel them all. By the way...who knew ice chips could taste like steak! hahahahahaha." We wish her a speedy recovery.
Video: Heather Locklear's Daughter Makes Modeling Debut
Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora's daughter Ava Sambora, who is only 13 years old, made her modeling debut on Friday night at the Los Angeles Fashion Week kickoff. Ava walked in the White Trash Beautiful runway show. The line was created by her father and Nikki Lund, who is a local musician and designer. Heather was in the front row cheering her on. Couldn't they have come up with a better name for the line? Take a look:
Sarah Harding is going to become the third member of the five girl British band Girls Aloud to launch a solo career. Cheryl Cole already has a few hits in the UK from her debut album, Three Words. Singer Nadine Coyle will launch her first solo album this year. Now Sarah Harding is planning to go solo. Take a look:
Jeff Koons, Julianne Moore, Pharrell Williams, and Malia Jones have helped create liited packaging for Kiehl's Acai Damage-Protecting Toning Mist.
The mist is an Ecocert and Cradle to Cradle-certified organic toner. Net proceeds from the limited edition bottles will go to the Rainforest Alliance. The project is expected to raise $200,000 for the Rainforest Alliance. You can find the $26 celebrity toning mist bottles here, here, here and here.
The New York Times 
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