U.S. Box Office:
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Down - Part 1 continued its reign at the top of the box office charts, adding an estimated $16.9 million to its take, which now exceeds $247 million domestically.
The Muppets remained in second place, earning $11.2 million, followed by
Hugo ($7.6 million, after expanding into nearly 600 more theaters) and
Arthur Christmas, with an estimated $7.35 million. (
Box Office Mojo)
‘Hobbit’ Director in New Doc Clash: Filmmaker
Peter Jackson’s production company announced the completion of a new documentary on the notorious case of the
West Memphis 3, who were imprisoned for the murder of children, and recently released. Behind the scenes, the filmmakers have reportedly “butted heads” with other filmmakers on the case. Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens talk at length about the doc over at
AICN. (
New York Times)
Grandma to the Rescue! Born deaf, 14-year-old Danny Glazer loves movies, but was limited in his choices to the very few theaters in Omaha, Nebraska that offered closed captioning. Phyllis Glazer,
his grandmother, began a campaign in 2007 -- contributing her personal savings and money from a family endowment -- that has finally resulted in
more theaters offering the technology allowing the hearing-impaired to enjoy movies. (
KETV)
Awards Watch, European Edition: Lars Von Trier’s
Melancholia, starring Kirsten Dunst, won the top prize at the
European Film Awards. Acting prizes were presented to Tilda Swinton, for
We Need to Talk About Kevin, and Colin Firth, for
The King’s Speech. (
The Daily Mubi)
Awards Watch, British Sub-Division: The top prize at the 14th
British Independent Film Awards went to
Tyrannosaur, an unflinching drama directed by Paddy Considine that played in extremely limited release in the U.S. after debuting at Sundance. Olivia Colman took home Best Actress honors for the film. (
The Guardian)