Carell Clocks In for More Office
Michael Scott can look forward to putting in more long, hard, late nights at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton.
At least, that’s what he said.
The “he” in this case being cocreator, executive producer and star of the original British version of The Office, Ricky Gervais, who revealed in a posting on his official website that Steve Carell has renewed his contract for the NBC hit.
“Had some great news today about the American version of The Office,” Gervais wrote. “Steve Carell (now one of the most bankable film stars in the world) has just signed up for another three years with us.
“He is the hardest working man in Hollywood and the harder he works the better it is for me. I mean…well done Steve you are wonderful…He is a very nice man and deserves all his success. I am just as dedicated to my art without compromise but only between the hours of 9 and 3 p.m.”
In addition to revealing the contract coup, Gervais also confirmed another of NBC’s badly kept and somewhat fan-derided scoops: that a satellite Office is already in the works.
Earlier this month, word spread that Rashida Jones, who played Jim’s pre-Pam hookup, Karen, on the show and who currently has a talent holding deal with the network, would be heading up the new cast, though Gervais kept mum on any casting or potential story points.
“We are also working on a spinoff series of the American Office,” he wrote, “but I can’t tell you anything about that yet.”
Jam it anyway.
Patrick Swayze Speaks Out
Here are some happy thoughts:
Patrick Swayze, who revealed in March he’s battling pancreatic cancer, is happy to report he’s continuing to respond to treatment.
The Dirty Dancing star tells People he and wife Lisa Niemiboth of whom were spotted taking in the L.A. Lakers’ playoff victory Friday at Staples Centerhave been keeping busy jetting back and forth between L.A. and their ranch in New Mexico and they just returned home from a weekend trip to Reno to celebrate Lisa’s birthday.
“I took her jewelry shopping at Kenny G & Company and [we] were able to find her something really special and much deserved!”
But most importantly…
“In the meantime, I am continuing treatment at Stanford [University Medical Center] and the great news is I continue to respond well.”
Joey Lawrence Masters a Hosting Gig
For those of you looking to cram your TiVo with dance competitions, this is some pretty great news!
TLC has tapped Joey Lawrence, fresh from either shore leave or the third season of Dancing With the Stars, to host Master of Dance, the latest edition to the show-us-your-moves canon.
Only this time, a contestant will be halfway through a dance when the powers that be switch the music, forcing the hoofer to prove he or she can really go with the flow. The person who can do that most proficiently will win $50,000 at the end of the six-part series, which premieres June 8.
"The winner of this show will be that person at the wedding or party who always has the right moves and knows every popular dance," said executive producer Craig Piligian.
Well, better that person than the guy who throws up on the bride or spills his drink on the stereo.
The $100 Million Iron Man
Take that, Batman, Superman and just about every other kind of costume-wearing man.
Iron Man grossed $100.8 million, per studio estimates compiled Sunday by Exhibitor Relations Co., a number that makes the Robert Downey Jr. film second only to Spider-Man for comic book movie debuts.
The estimate does not include the movie's Thursday night sneaks. If it did, it'd be $3.5 million higher.
The estimate also doesn't include overseas ticket sales. If it did, it'd be nearly $100 million higher.
In all, by the close of business tonight, Iron Man is predicted to have taken in $104.3 million domestically and $201 million worldwide, or more than the entire global runs of Daredevil and Catwoman. Give it a few days or so, and it'll move past Batman & Robin and Ghost Rider on the all-time comic book movie list, as compiled by Box Office Mojo.
Already, Iron Man is in heavyweight company. Its opening was bigger than those of Batman Begins ($48.7 million), Superman Returns ($52.5 million), the first two X-Men movies and Spider-Man 2 ($88.2 million).
Not bad for a character that's considered B-list to the Spider-Man-, Batman-, Superman-populated A-list.
Among non-comic-book movie sequels, only the original Spider-Man topped $90 million in its opening weekend. (The 2002 film grossed a phenomenal $114.8 million.)
Among any kind of movie, Iron Man posted the 10th biggest opening ever.
The best news of all for Marvel, the comics giant that footed the bill for the film: The $186 million it reputedly sank into the production has already been covered.
According to Box Office Mojo, the movie opened up with $35.1 million on Friday, moved up to $37.5 million on Saturday, and is projected to make $28.1 million today.
Among the weekend's top 12 movies, it accounted for more than 65 percent of all business, which was not exactly great news for Patrick Dempsey and Made of Honor (second place, $15.5 million).
Also, it now seems clear Iron Man will be the biggest opener, by about $80 million, of Jeff Bridges' career. In the movie, Bridges plays the evil-doing Iron Monger to Downey's good-doing Iron Man.
Actually, given the movie's performance, better make that Downey's solid-gold Iron Man.
Elsewhere:
- Iron Man or no, overall business was still down15 percentfrom the same weekend last year. That's because as big as the armored movie was, Spider-Man 3, which opened on the first weekend in May 2007, was even bigger, grossing $151.1 million.
- Iron Man, by the way, is now only the second movie of 2008 to break the $100 million mark.
- The spin on Made of Honor is that it did what its studio thought it was going to do, and that for a $40 million movie, its debut was pretty good. The stats tend to agree. Among recent romantic comedies, Made of Honor opened bigger than Leatherheads but smaller, although not hugely smaller, than 27 Dresses and Fool's Gold.
- All things considered, last weekend's champ, Baby Mama (third place, $10.3 million; $32.3 million overall), had a decent weekend, with ticket revenue down "only" 41 percent.
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall (fourth place, $6.1 million; $44.8 million) is hanging in there.
- Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! ($1.4 million; $149.8 million overall), the year's reigning box-office champ, at least until Iron Man and the other summer movies pass it, fell out of the Top 10 after a seven-weekend run.
- Deception ($865,000; $4 million overall) was bounced from the Top 10 after just one weekend.
- Filmmaker Harmony Korine's first feature in nearly 10 years, the celebrity-impersonator-inhabited Mister Lonely, was the star of the art-house circuit, grossing $19,100 at one theater.
- Other limited-release standouts: The British coming-of-age comedy Son of Rambow and Redbelt ($68,600 at six theaters, per Box Office Mojo).
- One last Iron Man thing: Sometimes the smaller movies actually outdo the big movies when it comes to filling their respective theaters. Not this time. No movie did more business per screen$24,543than the biggest movie of the weekend.
Here's a recap of the top-grossing weekend films based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
- Iron Man, $100.8 million
- Made of Honor, $15.5 million
- Baby Mama, $10.3 million
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $6.1 million
- Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, $6 million
- The Forbidden Kingdom, $4.2 million
- Nim's Island, $2.8 million
- Prom Night, $2.5 million
- 21, $2.1 million
- 88 Minutes, $1.6 million