Superman Soars To $21 Million Opening

The Man of Steel returned yesterday to the tune of about $21 million, making Superman Returns the 8th biggest Wednesday opening of all-time, just behind last summer's War Of The Worlds. It's also the 29th largest opening ever for a motion picture.

The $21 million figure includes sneak peaks of the movie that took place on Tuesday night, as well as the (slightly more expensive) IMAX screenings that are taking place across the country.

Superman Returns cost an estimated $260 million to produce, so the jury is still out on just how much the Man of Tomorrow will need to pull in to warrant a sequel.

You're The Man Now, Dog!

Sean Connery became the 34th recipient of the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award in a ceremony that took place on June 8th, and was televised on the USA Network this past week.

The 75-year-old Connery, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in 1987’s The Untouchables, was shaken, but not stirred by the honor – doing a little jig onstage as he accepted the award from his Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade co-star, Harrison Ford.

Connery summed up his career by quipping “Life is great...but isn’t the third act shit?!”

Say What?

Is it just me, or has HBO's Deadwood become one of the hardest to follow shows on TV?

The show's strength has always been its language - from the profanity-laced outbursts by its characters, to the downright eloquence in some of its dialogue. However, starting in Season Two and continuing even moreso in Season Three, it has been harder and harder to figure out just what the heck these people are saying to each other.

Sure, the show has taken on a more Shakespearian tone since Season One, but watching Deadwood this year has been about as exciting (and frustrating) as getting through the King James Bible.

Who knew that the denizens of Deadwood were so literate?

It's Still A Wonderful Life

The American Film Institute named Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life as the "Most Inspirational" movie of all-time, from a list of 100 titles that were voted on by 1,500 filmmakers, actors and critics. The final list was presented in a three-hour television special that aired last night on CBS.

Rounding out the top ten (in order) were To Kill A Mockingbird; Schindler's List; Rocky; Mr. Smith Goes To Washington; E.T.; The Grapes Of Wrath; Breaking Away; Miracle On 34th Street; and Saving Private Ryan.

While the combo of Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart appeared twice in the top ten (It's A Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington), it was Steven Spielberg who was the most-represented director in the top 100 (Schindler's List; E.T.; Saving Private Ryan; The Color Purple; and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind); while Sindey Poitier (In The Heat Of The Night; Guess Who's Coming To Dinner; Lilies Of The Field; The Defiant Ones; and A Raisin In The Sun) and Gary Cooper (Meet John Doe; Mr. Deeds Goes To Town; The Pride Of The Yankees; High Noon; and Sergeant York) were the most-represented actors.

Mission: Impossible III Wins Golden Trailer Award

"I'm going to find her...I'm going to hurt her."

The chilling words of Philip Seymour Hoffman as bad guy Owen Davian helped Mission: Impossible III claim the Golden Trailer Award at the 7th Annual event in New York City on June 1st. It won in the "Best Action" category, as well as in the "Summer 2006 Blockbuster" and "Best Of Show" categories.

The awards were created to give credit to well-made theatrical trailers, which the creators of the annual awards consider to be pieces of art in their own right.

Other winning trailers included Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire in the "Best Family" category; and Wedding Crashers for "Best Comedy".

Happy Ending?

It was not the ending fans had expected or perhaps even hoped for, as The Sopranos wrapped up the first-half of its final season (the last 8 episodes will debut in early 2007) with Tony Soprano and family gathered around the Christmas tree. The final line was delivered by Tony's wife, Carmella, who responded to a comment that she had a great home with an affirmative "We do."

Before the final scene, the episode certainly did seem as if it were building up to something more tragic, as Tony's nemesis, New York rival Phil Leotardo seemingly approved a hit on someone close to Tony. But Phil suffered a heart attack later in the episode, and was paid a visit by Tony (who himself was in the hospital early in the season - victim of a gunshot wound) who tried to tell Phil he needed to focus on his family.

Meanwhile, viewers discovered Christopher has been having an ongoing affair with real estate agent Juliana - a woman Tony came close to having an affair of his own with only a few weeks back. Christopher told Tony about it, but will Tony be able to live with it? And is Christopher perhaps the one being targeted by Phil? Viewers no doubt thought Chris' life was in grave danger during the majority of the episode...but nothing ever materialized.

Shockingly, it was the FBI - in the form of Special Agent Harris, a man who has been trying to bring down the Soprano family for years - that warned Tony that someone close to him was in danger.

With only 8 episodes remaining, fans will have to wait until January of 2007 to get the final answers...and if last night is any indication, creator David Chase will provide a conclusion that many viewers may not be satisfied with, and most will not see coming.

"They Say You Blade Runner"

Warner Bros. has announced that it has finally cleared up the legal rights to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, and plans two new releases of the 1982 sci-fi classic.

First up in September is an anamorphically enhanced and digitally remastered version of the Director's Cut, which has up until now only been available on a non-anamorphic (and out of print) DVD.

Then in 2007, Warners will mark the 25th Anniversary of Blade Runner with a brand-new "Final Cut" of the movie, overseen by director Ridley Scott himself and theatrically released. The follow-up DVD version of this "Final Cut" will not only include Ridley's new version of the film, but the previously-released Director's Cut and the original 1982 theatrical release as well.