Lindsay Lohan Remembers 9/11

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are paying tribute to those who perished in the 9/11 NYC attacks seven years ago today.

“I am in New York and I would like to remind everybody to take a moment today for those lost in tragedy that occurred on 9/11/01," Lohan blogs.

Ronson adds that "waking up in NYC this morning, seven years later ... feels like just yesterday this city and our worlds were turned upside down."

Ronson recalls what it was like witnessing the attacks.

"Never in my lifetime had I ever believed that I would see such horror - the kind that you see in documentaries set in far off places and read about in text books," she writes.

"Never in my life had I ever thought that I would wake up and fall asleep afraid, watching things on television that felt like a film, walking through a city that felt like a war zone," she goes on.

Adds Ronson, "There were army vehicles on Houston Street, barricades dividing neighborhoods and lines around the block of people waiting to donate blood -- set in front of a backdrop of smoke, filling a space where two of the largest buildings once stood.

"Two buildings that shaped one of the most famous skylines in this country, or in the world... seven years later, and I will never forget," she writes.

"I don’t really know what to say," she says. "To all those we lost, we will never forget, and never take for granted, the sacrifices that you made."

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Metallica album hits shops early

Metallica's new album Death Magnetic has gone on sale in the UK ahead of its planned release.

The metal band's hotly anticipated 12th album was due out on Friday.

But their record label Vertigo is believed to have told shops to go ahead and sell it early after some retailers broke the sales embargo.

Zavvi's flagship store on London's Oxford Street started selling it on Wednesday, while HMV also said it was now available in its stores.

An HMV spokesman said: "We were advised yesterday by the label that because it's been leaked quite heavily, they should bring forward its physical release and allow retailers to merchandise it.

"That was the communication we received and we've responded to that. I'd imagine it's a similar picture across the whole of retail."

There is no suggestion that HMV or Zavvi broke the sales embargo.

Music Week magazine reported that more than 2,500 copies of the album had been sold on CD by the end of Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the band said Friday was still the official release date. Representatives for Vertigo were unavailable to comment.

Death Magnetic may now have the edge in the battle for the number one spot this Sunday.

Its main rival is the self-titled debut album by Glaswegian rockers Glasvegas.

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Kanye West arrested at LAX

The rapper is accused of confronting a photographer and smashing a camera. His road manager is also in custody.

Rapper Kanye West was arrested this morning at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of vandalism and his road manager was arrested on suspicion of vandalism and battery after the two men reportedly confronted a photographer and smashed the man's camera, authorities said.

The incident took place about 7:50 a.m. outside the passenger security screening area in Terminal 4, said LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles.

Initial reports said the incident involved "a commercial photographer, 'paparazzi' " and a camera worth more than $10,000, according to Castles.

Castles said authorities were interviewing several witnesses. West was taken by police to the LAPD's Pacific Division jail, where Castles said he was expected to be booked.

At least part of the incident was apparently filmed by a TMZ cameraman who was at the airport, the celebrity gossip website said this morning.

The incident caused delays of about 15 to 20 minutes for passengers waiting to get through security. People waiting in line could see West, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, standing at the top of the stairs with about 10 police officers nearby.

A security guard told those waiting that there had been a loud argument between West and photographers.

West, 31, rose to fame on the success of his 2004 debut album, "The College Dropout," a Grammy nominee for album of the year.

Even in rap, which is dominated by brash stars, West is a notorious firebrand. He stormed out of the American Music Awards in 2004 when he did not win the trophy for best new artist and later went on a rant to reporters about a conspiracy against him.

During a telethon to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, West said: "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

In 2006, West barged onstage at the MTV Europe Awards during the acceptance speech by another act and again protested that he had been wronged by voters. He has also gone after music critics and publications that have, in his opinion, undervalued his work.

Last year, for instance, he published an R-rated rant on his blog taking "Entertainment Weekly" to task for daring to give his concert tour a B+ rating in its review.

The temperamental West has said he enjoys the role of provocative artist, telling Rolling Stone -- when he appeared on that magazine's cover wearing a crown of thorns -- "If I was more complacent and I let things slide, my life would be easier, but you all wouldn't be as entertained. My misery is your pleasure."

His mother Donda West, 58, died late last year after undergoing cosmetic surgery, in a case that drew scrutiny of the surgeon who performed the procedures.

West, who has said little publicly about her death, gave a moving performance of his song "Hey Mama" during this year's Grammy ceremony in February.

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Harry Potter and the Delayed Launching of the Game

It’s not magic, it’s just the way business works. As a result of the film “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” release being pushed back from November to summer 2009, Electronic Arts is delaying the release of the video game bearing the same name.

The two were considered to work more effectively together, so they will be found on the same shelf almost a year from now. "We are creating an immersive game experience that Potter fans around the world will really enjoying as they fly and duel their way through the story of the film," said Robert Sashak, vice president of EA Casual Studios.

The reason for tormenting millions of children of all ages from all over the world is the after-effect of the writer's strike earlier this year, which already had an effect upon hundreds of other productions. As a result to the postponement, EA shares fell 1.2% to $45.94 on a day when the major stock indexes surged. The company was expecting to gain $120 million in revenue and 13 cents per share in profit if the release woulnd’t have been put off.

But true Harry Potter fans know pleasure-delay when they see it. Another year of waiting means so much more pleasure in brewing magical potions, engaging in air duels and sorting out the identity of the mysterious Half Prince.

Until then, they’re stuck doing that tedious annoying thing: reading the book for a change, instead of waiting for the movie and game to come out.

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'Bangkok Dangerous' edges out 'Tropic Thunder'

Rain and wind may have been whipping the Southeast, but "Tropic Thunder" was muted this weekend as moviegoers stayed home, leading to the slowest weekend for theaters in five years.

The Nicolas Cage film "Bangkok Dangerous" pulled in a measly $7.8 million for Lionsgate in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates, but that was enough to grab the top spot at the box office. It narrowly edged out DreamWorks/Paramount's "Tropic Thunder," which made an estimated $7.5 million, bringing the movie's total gross to $96.8 million after four weekends in theaters.

This weekend's top 12 films made an estimated $51.6 million, according to box-office tracker Media by Numbers -- low for even the notoriously slow weekend after Labor Day.

The last weekend to post such poor results was the weekend after Labor Day in 2003, when the highest-grossing film was the David Spade flick "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star." The top 12 films that weekend pulled in only slightly less than this weekend's top 12.

"It's like clockwork. We always see a pretty heavy slowdown," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers. "But this year was really significantly slow -- people were distracted by [political] conventions, the weather and the fall television season."

This year's post-Labor Day was particularly slow, he said, because there was no holiday blockbuster to continue to bring people to the theaters. Last year's "Halloween," for instance, made $30.6 million over Labor Day and continued to draw crowds the following weekend, along with Lionsgate's "3:10 to Yuma," starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Last weekend's top film, "Tropic Thunder," starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, grossed $14.3 million over the holiday weekend.

"Bangkok Dangerous" was produced by Blue Star Entertainment and Cage's Saturn Films. It was financed by Initial Entertainment Group for a reported $45 million. Directed by the Pang brothers, it is an English-language remake of their 1999 film from Thailand, the breakthrough that helped them build a following among fans of stylized action fare. Cage plays a coldblooded assassin who travels to Thailand to wipe out a series of targets.

But Lionsgate, which bought the film's North American distribution rights, wasn't disappointed.

"It performed within our range of expectations," said Steve Rothenberg, the studio's president of domestic distribution. "We'll make a nice profit with the movie."

Chip Sullivan, head of publicity for DreamWorks, said things looked sunny for "Tropic Thunder," which came close to besting "Bangkok Dangerous" for the No. 1 spot. The movie grossed $3.4 million Saturday, which beat out the $3 million "Bangkok" made Saturday, but was probably edged out by the Cage film Friday and Sunday.

The movie's strength in its fourth week shows that people are recommending it to friends, Sullivan said, and word that Tom Cruise, who wasn't part of the film's marketing campaign, has a cameo in the movie has drawn more crowds.

"We held together better than we were thinking," he said. "The movie's playing really well."

Sony's chick comedy "The House Bunny" edged out Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight" for the third spot, grossing $5.9 million in its third week in theaters.

"The Dark Knight" has now made $512 million in eight weeks.

All films this weekend will gross $66 million, a 17% drop from the same weekend last year.

"This was not a pretty weekend at the box office," Dergarabedian said.

Things should pick up at the box office in the next few weeks, analysts say.

Next weekend will see the premiere of Overture Films' "Righteous Kill," a crime thriller reteaming "Heat" stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The following week Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division will release "Lakeview Terrace," starring Samuel L. Jackson as a tightly wound cop who harasses the interracial couple next door.

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David Duchovny Sex Scandal: No Affair

X Files" star David Duchovny’s announcement that was he was in rehab for sex addiction sparked a lot of rumors. One of them was that he’d been caught having an affair with his tennis instructor (a woman) and that he was undergoing rehab to save his marriage.

Alas, it isn’t so, says a close friend. Duchovny did not check in because of an extramarital fling. That much the friend is certain of. Even more so: Duchovny’s problem has been longstanding. His wife, Tea Leoni, was aware of it for some time. It had just reached a point where it had to be treated.

I have inferred from my conversation with Duchovny’s friend that this has something to do with an addiction to pornography, probably on the internet. It’s the sex equivalent of a gambling addiction, where the person is just hopelessly trapped in chat rooms.

Interestingly: didn’t we already hear a similar tale this summer with Christie Brinkley’s ex, Peter Cook? He testified in his divorce trial that he sat naked in front of his children’s computers and pleasured himself online with strangers. Cook didn’t seek treatment, however. He boasted about his activities in court, and then went sailing.

Of course, the strange thing here is that Duchovny’s Showtime series, "Californication," is almost a celebration of sex addiction. His character, Hank Moody, is a male slut who can’t stop himself from destroying his own life.

"Californication" has certainly had its share of woes this year. The 42-year-old husband of Duchovny’s elegant (and pregnant) co-star, Natascha McElhone, dropped dead of heart attack in May.

By the way, I’m told that David issued that press statement about his rehab because the tabloids were about to issue their own story. What happened: A fellow patient "dropped a dime" on David to make some extra coin. Nice confidentiality!

Duchovny is not having the greatest summer. His "X Files: I Want to Believe" has been a bust, with just $20 million in the till after a month in release. Waiting ten years for a sequel has proved to be a mistake. The audience simply moved on.

When Duchovny is done with the rehab, I’m also told that he and Tea and their kids will complete their move to Manhattan’s Upper East Side from Hollywood. They will be very welcome here, as Tea is much in demand work-wise. Duchovny will have more "Californication" and plenty of offers. New York doesn’t solve all your problems, but it’s a much more realistic place to live than Los Angeles.

The truth is here, not out there.

source : www.foxnews.com