Entertainment News

The claustrophobic thriller Panic Room, starring Jodie Foster and Jared Leto, stashed away $18.5 million to remain the top pick at the box office for the second consecutive weekend. The film has grossed a strong $58.8 million in a mere 10 days. Another Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman legal drama, High Crimes, disputed its way to a $15 million settlement, while Tim Allen’s new comedy, Big Trouble, grossed a weak $3.7 million.

The clouds opened wide and beautiful sun rays fell upon Celine Dion’s New Day Has Come. The French-Canadian singer’s new disc sold 527,000 albums and returned her to the chart prominence she gained with the single My Heart Will Go On, which at one time seemed to be looped eternally on every radio station. Americans’ love of disposable music helped the compilations Now 9 and WWF: Forceable Entry take the next two spots, selling 463,000 and 146,00 copies respectively.

In music news, metal act Megadeth has broken up after almost twenty years due to a serious arm injury suffered by their frontman/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Hard rock fans can rejoice however, as the expanding Locobazooka tour featuring Sevendust, Fu Manchu, Filter and Gravity Kills will visit 16 scheduled cities this summer. Producer/rap mogul Dr. Dre has said that his new album Detox will probably drop next summer. He described it as a tightly- knit concept album that focuses on the life of a hit man. An alleged associate of Dr. Dre’s former boss, Suge Knight, was gunned down last Wednesday at a gas station in Compton, Calif. There are no reported suspects.

In television news, the struggling sports cable station CNN/Sports Illustrated will be no more as of May 15. Morning show anchor Bryant Gumbel will soon be leaving CBS’s The Early Show due to a contract dispute. MTV’s The Osbournes is more than just a cult hit, with its last episode pulling in a massive 7.1 million viewers, making it the network’s top show. Ozzy is using the boost of fame to enter the political arena. He has accepted an invitation to next month’s White House Correspondents Dinner and signed a PETA petition against the eating of cats and dogs (but not bats) in South Korea.