Archive for November, 2010

Nicole Scherzinger – Poison

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

‘Harry Potter’ holds firm at UK box office

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
Hermione and Ron from Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has topped the UK box office for the second consecutive weekend.

Despite five significant new releases, the first instalment in the wizard saga’s finale pulls in £8.3 million to easily see off the competition. Deathly Hallows has now grossed more than £33 million in the UK, putting it in fifth spot ahead of Shrek Forever After in the top grossing films of 2010.

Denzel Washington action movie Unstoppable trails behind Potter in second place with £1.7 million this week, while Colin Farrell’s London Boulevard charts at number three. Due Date and The American round out the top five.

Elsewhere, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest and Machete land in the top ten at numbers seven and ten respectively.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (1) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – £8,344,776
2. (-) Unstoppable – £1,714,871
3. (-) London Boulevard – £577,224
4. (2) Due Date – £560,179
5. (-) The American – £411,707
6. (3) Despicable Me – £241,944
7. (-) The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest – £219,259
8. (5) Jackass 3D – £119,369
9. (4) Skyline – £92,931
10. (-) Machete – £90,423

‘X Factor’ finalists knock JLS off No. 1

Sunday, November 28th, 2010
The X Factor finalists 'Heroes'

The X Factor finalists have gone straight in at number one in the UK singles charts with their charity single ‘Heroes’.

The David Bowie cover, released in aid of Help For Heroes, knocked last week’s chart-toppers JLS down to third position.

One Direction’s Zane told Reggie Yates: “It was pretty crazy when we were told we got to number one. Because it’s for such a good cause and something we’re all really proud about, that makes it so much better.”

Of this week’s top five, three of the singles are X Factor-related, with last year’s runner-up Olly Murs coming in four with his single ‘Thinking of Me’ and 2008’s second-place finishers JLS at three with ‘Love You More’.

Rihanna takes two spots within the top ten, with Drake collaboration ‘What’s My Name’ at ten, and ‘Only Girl in the World’ dropping one place to five.

The Black Eyed Peas, Cee Lo Green and Mike Posner all drop out of the top ten, while The Beatles re-enter the chart with ‘Let It Be’ at 38.

Other new entries are Gorillaz with ‘Doncamatic’ at 37, Usher with ‘More’ at 33, Jessie J with ‘Do It Like a Dude’ at 25 and Brett Domino’s comedy effort ‘Gillian McKeith’ entering the chart at 29.

The top ten in full:
1. (-) X Factor Finalists: ‘Heroes’
2 (3) Ellie Goulding: ‘Your Song’
3 (1) JLS: ‘Love You More’
4 (-) Olly Murs: ‘Thinking of Me’
5 (4) Rihanna: ‘Only Girl in the World’
6 (2) Take That: ‘The Flood’
7 (6) Far East Movement: ‘Like a G6’
8 (5) Katy Perry: ‘Firework’
9 (12) Adele: ‘Make You Feel My Love’
10 (18) Rihanna ft. Drake: ‘What’s My Name’

Source: Official Charts Company

Sega resets ‘Sonic 4’ leaderboards

Sunday, November 28th, 2010
Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I

Sega has reset the online leaderboards for Sonic The Hedgehog 4.

According to a post on the studio’s forum, players’ record times for each level have been wiped due to hacker activity.

Several users posted impossible scores on the game’s Xbox 360 leaderboards, claiming to have beaten stages in 0’00”00 seconds. Sega is yet to announce a fix for the issue, so the problem could recur, leading to a second reset.

Developed by Dimps and Sonic Team, the first episode of Sonic 4 was released as a download-only title in October. A launch date for episode two is expected to be announced soon.

Sega is thought to be working on a permanent solution to the hacker issue.

Gillian McKeith song storms iTunes chart

Saturday, November 27th, 2010
Gillian McKeith from I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! Season 10

A song mocking the antics of Gillian McKeith during the latest series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has risen steadily up the iTunes download chart.

The track – simply titled ‘Gillian McKeith’ – was released as a download on Monday by comedy performer Brett Domino, and has climbed up the rankings ever since, reaching as high as number 10 by Friday.

Writing on his Twitter page, Domino said: “The fact that the Gillian song is no.16 in the iTunes chart is absolutely barmy… Let’s get it top 10 now though, yeah? ‘When in Rome…'”

The song’s lyrics include the line: “So why’d you go and do it, everybody must have told you, don’t go on that programme if you’ve got all kinds of phobias.”

It will be revealed on Sunday whether the track has made the official chart or not.

X Factor Finalists 2010: Help For Heroes

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Horror icon Ingrid Pitt dies, aged 73

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
Ingrid Pitt

Horror icon Ingrid Pitt has died at the age of 73, reports the BBC.

The actress, who shot to fame starring in early-’70s Hammer films The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula, passed away at a South London hospital days after collapsing. Doctors reportedly told her she was suffering from heart failure.

Marcus Hearn, the official historian for Hammer, called Pitt a “talented actress and fine writer”.

“She was partly responsible for ushering in a bold and brazen era of sexually explicitly horror films in the 1970s, but that should not denigrate her abilities as an actress,” he said, adding: “All fans of Hammer and of British horror are going to miss her terribly.”

Pitt, known as the queen of Hammer Horror, was born in Poland in 1937 and survived imprisonment in a concentration camp with her family. After her first marriage to an American soldier ended, Pitt returned to Europe and scored roles in Doctor Zhivago and Where Eagles Dare opposite Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton.

Among her other movie credits were The Wicker Man, Who Dares Wins and Wild Geese II.

She also penned several books, including novels Cuckoo Run and The Perons, and her autobiography Life’s A Scream.

Pitt is survived by her husband Tony Rudlin and daughter Steffanie.

‘Harry Potter’ shatters UK box office records

Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has shattered multiple box office records on its debut weekend in the UK.

The fantasy film, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, scored the biggest three-day opening with £18.3 million in ticket sales. The total smashes the record held by Bond outing Quantum Of Solace, which took in £15.3 million in 2008.

Deathly Hallows also passes UK box office landmarks for biggest single day gross and biggest Friday, Saturday and Sunday totals. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire was the previous single-day record holder.

“The opening of this film has become an extraordinary worldwide event,” said Josh Berger, President and Managing Director of Warner Bros Entertainment UK. “These remarkable box office numbers are a testament to the talents of the filmmakers, cast and to the vision of J.K. Rowling, the creator of this magical world. We congratulate everyone involved in the film, all of whom share in this success.”

Deathly Hallows also sits atop the US and Australian charts, breaking records in both territories.

Elswhere in the UK, Alpha And Omega continues to climb the chart, moving up two places to number seven, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s latest Bollywood movie Guzaarish lands at number seven and Saw 3D plummets out of the top ten completely.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – £18,319,721
2. (1) Due Date – £1,218,115
3. (3) Despicable Me – £648,479
4. (2) Skyline – £513,338
5. (4) Jackass 3D – £349,096
6. (6) RED – £222,059
7. (9) Alpha And Omega – £192,823
8. (-) Guzaarish – £171,027
9. (7) The Social Network – £170,846
10. (10) Another Year – £161,966

JLS take Children In Need track to No. 1

Sunday, November 21st, 2010
JLS 'Love You More'

JLS have secured their fourth UK number single with Children In Need track ‘Love You More’.

The X Factor boyband soared to pole position after outselling album chart dominators Take That by almost 40%, forcing them into the runner-up spot for the second consecutive week.

“We are so proud to be the official number one with the Children In Need single,” JLS member Aston Merrygold declared. “It’s actually incredible what’s happened these past few weeks and what’s really topped it off is that the single has helped to raise loads of money for such a fantastic cause.

“We have to thank Children in Need for letting us get involved in the first place and everyone who has supported the record! Definitely one of our highlights to date and we hope to do a lot more for the charity in the future!”

The biggest climber of the week is Ellie Goulding’s cover of Elton John classic ‘Your Song’, which leaps from 39 to three after being featured in a popular Christmas advertising campaign for department store John Lewis.

Dance anthems also make their mark on the chart as Far East Movement’s ‘Like A G6’ arrives at six, one spot ahead of ‘The Time (Dirty Bit)’ by Black Eyed Peas, which finally cracks the top ten after clambering four places to seven.

As well as the success of JLS and Take That, the boyband connection continues further down the rankings, as McFly’s ‘Shine A Light’ falls five places to nine and Irish group Westlife score their 25th consecutive top ten single with ‘Safe’ at ten.

Elsewhere, fallers occupy eight of the ten positions between 11 and 20, with Mike Posner’s ‘Cooler Than Me’ at 13 and Cheryl Cole’s ‘Promise This’ at 17 making the biggest losses after slipping seven and ten places respectively.

Meanwhile, Rihanna grabs a second track within the top 20 with new Drake collaboration ‘What’s My Name?’, which lands at 18 despite not being due for release as a single until January.

The top ten in full:
1. (-) JLS: ‘Love You More’
2. (2) Take That: ‘The Flood’
3. (39) Ellie Goulding: ‘Your Song’
4. (1) Rihanna: ‘Only Girl (In The World)’
5. (3) Katy Perry: ‘Firework’
6. (-) Far East Movement: ‘Like A G6’
7. (11) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The Time (Dirty Bit)
8. (5) Alexis Jordan: ‘Happiness’
9. (4) McFly: ‘Shine A Light’
10. (-) Westlife: ‘Safe’

Source:Official Charts Company

Katy Perry Orders Cleavage ‘Toned Down’ for Poster

Saturday, November 20th, 2010
Before and after posters

Before and after posters

It seems you’re never too old to learn something from Sesame Street.

Kat Perry created a stir with her cleavage-baring dress in a segment with Elmo on the children’s show.

Now she’s making sure she’s not too sexy for VH1.

Ads for the network’s Divas Salute the Troops special were altered last week to make the “California Gurls” singer’s famous bust noticeably smaller.

Although some reports said it was her “handlers” who demanded the change, Perry, 26, Tweets, “I was the one who asked VH1 to tone down my DIGITALIZED image on the poster, particularly the size of my chest.”

She pointedly adds: “I don’t have handlers.”