Sully soars over Blair Witch, Bridget releases at box office
It was a big weekend at the box office for new releases but Blair Witch, Bridget Jones's Baby and Snowden were not able to stop Sully from taking flight. The dramatisation of the Miracle on the Hudson, which was directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, who plays Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, remained at No. 1 for the second week in a row with $22 million in takings. A trio of newcomers failed to fly close to the haul of Sully. The horror revival Blair Witch nabbed $9.7 million and the No. 2 spot, while highly-anticipated comedy Bridget Jones's Baby starring Renee Zellweger as the lead crawled away with $8.2 million. Snowden, the story of NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, opened at No. 4 and netted $8 million. The debut marks the lowest opening weekend in filmmaker Oliver Stone's career. — AP
Kanye West finally joins Instagram
You either love him or you hate him but Kanye West has proved once again he is a man with a following. The 39-year-old rapper and fashion designer has just opened an Instagram account and within just a few hours managed to amass 234,000 followers. Until now, Twitter has been the musician's preferred social media platform. E! News reports that West first toyed with the idea of trying another medium in March, when he Tweeted: "I was thinking about getting an Instagram but only on one condition ... no one can ask me or try to tell me what to Instagram ... It's my art ..." At the time, he also called his Tweets "a form of contemporary art only compromised by people trying to tell me what to tweet and not to tweet ... on artist trying to grab the paint brush ..." Over the years, posers have pretended to be West on Instagram, much to his chagrin. He often set the record straight however. In 2013 he Tweeted: "I DO NOT HAVE AN INSTAGRAM". Things change. — The National staff
Sound of Music star Charmian Carr dies at age 73
Charmian Carr, who was love by her fans the world over for her role as rebellious daughter Liesl Von Trapp in the Academy Award-winning film The Sound of Music, has died at the age of 73, it was reported on Sunday. Carr died on Saturday from complications associated with a rare form of dementia. She passed away in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, her family said in a statement. Carr was in her early-20s when she played Liesl, the eldest of the seven children of stern widower Captain Von Trapp, played by Christopher Plummer, in the 1965 musical starring Julie Andrews. Her romantic dance scene with on-screen boyfriend, Rolfe, in a gazebo during a thunderstorm while singing Sixteen Going On Seventeen was considered one of the movie's most charming scenes. Carr also wrote two books — Forever Liesl, in 2000, in which she detailed the making of the movie, and Letters to Liesl in 2001, which was inspired by the fan mail she received from around the world. She is survived by two children and four grandchildren. — Reuters
Guy Ritchie may direct the next Bond movie
English filmmaker Guy Ritchie is in talks to direct the next 007 movie, Bond 25, according to reports. The mirror.co.uk says the 48-year-old star is currently in Los Angeles where he is set to hold talks with producer Michael G. Wilson about taking over the franchise from Sam Mendes. A source said that Ritchie has moved up the shortlist and is now the front-runner for Bond 25. Mendes has directed Skyfall and Spectre in the James Bond spy franchise, but revealed in May he would not return for another movie as he wanted to work on something new. — IANS
Anil Kapoor ready for ‘24’ season 3
Actor-producer Anil Kapoor, who is receiving rave reviews for 24: Season 2, says he's open to doing more work on the television drama series. During a question-answer chat with his Twitter fans on Sunday, Kapoor was asked whether he would like to do more seasons of the show. Anil replied: "Yes, I will be doing '24' three for sure, but will be doing something as exciting or more soon". The second season of 24, an Indian adaptation of the popular American TV show 24, features the actor as Jai Singh Rathod. The espionage thriller also features Sikandar Kher, Surveen Chawla, Sakshi Tanwar and Ashish Vidyarthi. — IANS
