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The Expendables has remained at the top of the US box office, earning $16 million over the weekend.

In a close race for second place were Vampires Suck, making its debut with $12.2 million, and Julia Roberts’s Eat Pray Love, taking the number three slot with $12 million.

Other debuts include Lottery Ticket at number four, Piranha 3D at number six, Nanny McPhee Returns at seven and Jennifer Aniston’s The Switch at number eight.

Finally, Inception drops to ninth place with $7 million and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World claims the tenth spot with $5 million.

The US box office top ten in full:
1. (-) The Expendables – $16,500,000
2. (-) Vampires Suck – $12,200,000
3. (2) Eat Pray Love – $12,000,000
4. (-) Lottery Ticket – $11,125,000
5. (3) The Other Guys – $10,100,000
6. (-) Piranha 3D – $10,035,000
7. (-) Nanny McPhee Returns – $8,310,000
8. (-) The Switch – $8,100,000
9. (4) Inception – $7,655,000
10. (5) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World – $5,034,000

Tim Burton has signed up to work with the writers of Ed Wood on a forthcoming Addams Family project.

Scott Alexander and Larry Karazewski wrote the screenplay for Burton’s 1994 film, which starred Johnny Depp as cross-dressing B-movie legend Ed Wood.

The Alice In Wonderland director will now work with the duo on a forthcoming adaptation of The Addams Family. The 3D stop-motion film will be based on the drawings published in The New Yorker by celebrated cartoonist Charles Addams.

The deal will also see Alexander and Karazewski work together on Big Eyes, a film based on cult artist Margaret Keane.

Karaszewski told Deadline: “Both of these projects are based on artwork that Tim absolutely loves.

“The retrospective in New York of Tim’s own artwork showed how much of an influence Charles Addams was to him. We want the tone to be as darkly funny and subversive as the Addams drawings, and we’ve come up with an approach that nobody has ever done before.”

Jim Carrey is reported to have signed for the lead role in Mr Popper’s Penguins.

According to Hollywood Insider, Carrey will play New York businessman Mr Popper, whose life is thrown into chaos when he receives six penguins in the post.

The film, adapted from the 1938 children’s book by Richard and Florance Atwater, will be directed by Mean Girls and Spiderwick Chronicles helmer Mark Waters, and will bring together live-action and CGI elements.

Ben Stiller and Jack Black were both linked to the role prior to Carrey’s involvement. Shooting is due to begin this autumn.

Sylvester Stallone has confessed to having difficulty keeping the stars of his new movie The Expendables under control.

The 64-year-old revealed to Virgin Media that directing the action hero ensemble, which included Hollywood hard men Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke, was not an easy task, as many of the performers were reluctant to break out of their comfort zones.

Stallone said: “Was it tough? Yes. You get these strong men who have a certain way of doing things on a film, and you have to get them to give that up.

“Like Jason [Statham] in this film is totally different than in anything he’s ever done. Dolph Lundgren is totally different.”

Directing difficulties aside, the Rambo actor added that he was immensely proud of the all-star cast that he had managed to assemble.

“The thing was to find certain personalities and put them all together like a dream team,” he explained.

“I wanted to do a film a bit like The Magnificent Seven or The Dirty Dozen. One of those that only comes along once in a while.”

Stallone previously revealed that he is planning to expand the lineup for a proposed sequel to the big-budget blockbuster, which topped the US box office upon its release last week.

Syfy has announced the fall premiere dates for a number of its shows.

The network revealed that the second season of Stargate Universe will move to Tuesday nights and will premiere on September 28 at 9pm.

The show’s second season will focus on the group as they fight to regain the ship from the Lucian Alliance.

Stargate Universe will be followed by the third season of Sanctuary at 10pm. The show, which is also new to Tuesday nights, will see the team face new challenges and uncover some secrets about The Sanctuary’s past.

Elsewhere, reality series Ghost Hunters will return on August 25, while Hollywood Treasures, a new documentary about collecting memorabilia, will premiere on November 4.

Beast Legends, a freshman series which uses CGI to examine what mythical creatures would have been like, will begin airing on September 9. It will follow the return of Destination Truth. The fourth season of Scare Tactics will begin on October 4, while November 4 will see the return of Fact Or Faked: Paranormal Files.

Syfy also announced the air dates for three of its Saturday movies, beginning with Mandrake on September 11. Sharktopus will be broadcast on September 25 and Monsterwolf will premiere on October 9.

You can read the full official press release here: On The Mark

James Cameron has revealed that he re-inserted the Na’vi sex scene for this month’s re-release of his sci-fi blockbuster Avatar.

Speaking to MTV, Cameron described the love-making scene between Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as “alien foreplay”, noting that it lasts “all of about 20 seconds”.

Cameron said: “It’s been restored, every last frame of it. Seriously. I would say, just so that we correctly manage people’s expectations, it does not change our rating at all. I would call it more of an alien foreplay scene. It’s not like they’re ripping their clothes off and going at it.”

In a separate interview with Movieline, Cameron explained that he removed the scene for the initial theatrical run after getting a negative reaction from test audiences.

“I always felt that it was a good moment, so I wanted to put it back in,” he said. “I mean, what have I got to lose? The film’s already a big hit. I think it’s actually an illumination of the Na’vi way: There’s a Na’vi way for everything, including making love.

“Of course, I just want to be clear for the record that it’s only an additional 20 seconds. The ‘horizontal bop’ part of it still takes place off camera after the dissolve.”

Avatar: Special Edition will open in cinemas on August 27.

The Expendables has debuted at the top of the US box office.

The Sylvester Stallone-helmed action movie earned $35 million over the weekend.

Also debuting this week are Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts, in second place with $23 million and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World at number five with $10 million.

Despicable Me slips to sixth place with $6 million, followed by Step Up 3D and Salt.

Finally, Dinner For Schmucks falls to number nine with $6 million and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore claims the tenth spot with $4 million.

The US box office top ten in full:

1. (-) The Expendables – $35,030,000
2. (-) Eat Pray Love – $23,700,000
3. (1) The Other Guys – $18,000,000
4. (2) Inception – $11,370,000
5. (-) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World – $10,525,000
6. (6) Despicable Me – $6,767,000
7. (3) Step Up 3D – $6,626,000
8. (4) Salt – $6,350,000
9. (5) Dinner For Schmucks – $6,316,000
10. (7) Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore – $4,075,000

James Cameron has said that he wants to capture his sequel to Avatar underwater.

The second instalment will centre on the exploration of the oceans of Pandora, which the director described as “equally rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative” as the first film’s setting.

“I think what we should do there is – because we’ll have to have characters that are in and under the water – is that we should actually capture them underwater,” he told MTV News.

“It’s not the same as going diving, but I like to keep my diving, which I do for pleasure, separate from work.”

He added: “Diving for shooting a movie is work. Diving for exploration is a gas. I like to keep my peas and carrots separate.”

Cameron recently suggested that he may film the franchise’s second and third films back to back.

Two Doctor Who mini-episodes will be released on the upcoming season five DVD collection.

According to the Los Angeles Times, two newly filmed sequences called ‘Meanwhile, In The Tardis’ will show fans what The Doctor (Matt Smith) and Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) were up to in between episodes.

Both mini-episodes were written by Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat.

The Doctor Who season five boxset will be released in the US and UK in November.