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emails me how "it's been a rough week for us" and responds to Alec Baldwin's weekend explanation of his decision to run away from the film. "I knew we'd get resistance to a film about the most prominent Republican in California. We're all just a bit shocked that it's coming from a supporter of the film and arguably the most outspoken Democrat. The [Third Reich] images that Mr. Baldwin mentioned were used to make points about Waldheim and Arnold's father. Alec's legal action has caused delays in our distribution strategy including our turning down the Hamptons Film Festival to premiere the film. We are currently scrambling to rectify the situation. The film is complete with Mr. Baldwin's narration and will remain as such. 
We tried several times to screen the film for Mr. Baldwin who, for the record, didn't see the rough cut of the film until weeks after he recorded. He was offered to record the narration to picture and he refused. We also provided him with the script four weeks in advance of our recording which was delayed a month to accommodate Mr. Baldwin's television schedule. What's also surprising about Mr. Baldwin's about-face is that while the film is edgy it is also, in our opinion, a balanced and well-rounded profile of Mr. Schwarzenegger that highlights his myriad accomplishments while criticizing some of his political policies and the unbridled ambition that drives him."
Previous: UPDATE: Alec Baldwin Explains Why He's Running From Documentary On Arnold, Is Alec Running From Arnold?
How interesting that Warner Bros. has just moved up the release of Leo DiCaprio's Blood Diamond from December 15th to December 8th. Usually, these dates are carefully calculated based on what else is opening, so making a last-minute change like this is unusual. Especially when director Ed Zwick, producer Paula Weinstein and others are huddled in London trying to put the finishing touches like music on the film. The studio, which has started showing it around, claims it made the move "in response to strong reactions from early screening audiences" and "building positive buzz." Actually, I think it's a risky move for box office but a smart play for Oscar chatter. One thing is for sure: it'll have a lot more rivalry on its new opening day. On the 15th, Blood Diamond's main competition was only The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith in an Oscar-touted dramatic turn (Sony's gonna be thrillled their pic now has that date almost to itself). Small movies like Venus and Painted Veil also were opening. Now, on the 8th, Blood Diamond goes up against some big guns: Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, and George Clooney's The Good German from Steve Soderbergh (in limited run), and Cameron Diaz's The Holiday from Nancy Meyers, as well as smaller pic Breaking and Entering. One box office guru explained: "I think it was praise of Pursuit of Happyness 12/15 . Trouble is, The Holiday on 12/8 is good, too. They think they can beat Apocalypto in the drama department." 
I couldn't believe what I was watching: there was Dave Letterman bitchslapping Fox News Channel blowhard Bill O'Reilly on The Late Show Friday night. It did my liberal soul proud. 
Dave begins to answer, but then says, “Well, see here you got me, because I’ve never seen . . . .”
SUNDAY AM: It turned out to be a big $100+ million weekend at the movies, up 10% over last year. Brad Pitt's opener, Oscar contender Babel, had the best per screen average ($21,037 on Saturday, which sounds like people were sitting on laps!). But I hate when this happens: yet another horror movie made No. 1 at the box office this weekend as the studios knew it would (which is why it had no big rivals). I'm told that Lionsgate's Saw III cut through the competition by opening huge with $14 million Friday and $11.3 million Saturday (down 19% from the previous night) from 3,167 theaters for what was a $33.4 weekend. That massive debut was better than Saw II (which earned $12.1 mil its first day out for a $31.7 mil weekend). Disney's holdover from last week The Prestige, dropped from #2 Friday ($2.9 mil, -43% from last) to #3 after Saturday ($4.1 mil) for what was a $9.4 mil weekend and a new cume of $28.6 mil. Instead, 2nd best went to Warner Bros. holdover The Departed, stretching its legs for its fourth weekend and increasing its Best Picture/Best Director Oscar chances (because Academy voters always take note of how popular possible contenders are with the public). 
Down only 33%, the Marty Scorsese-directed drama starring Jack Nicholson /Leo DiCaprio /Matt Damon /Mark Wahlberg, raked in $2.8 million Friday and a powerful $4.8 mil Saturday for what turned out to be $10.5 million weekend added to its cume now at $91.7 mil. (As I said last week, Departed should go $125+ mil domestically.) In 4th place was Paramount /Dreamworks' holdover Flags Of Our Fathers with $1.9 mil on Friday (down 46%), and $2.8 mil Saturday. Though critically lauded, the Clint Eastwood-directed war movie with no stars continues to be a box office disappointment; it had only a $6.3 mil weekend and a new cume of just $19.9 mil. Even after five weeks out, Sony's first homegrown animated pic Open Season continues to outperform expectations for No. 5, earning $1.4 mil Friday and $2.3 mil Saturday (that kiddie bounce) for a strong $5.5 mil weekend and a cume around $76.7 mil. Fox's family friendly holdover Flicka made $1.4 million Friday (down 44%) and $2 mil Saturday for #6. That was a $4.9 mil weekend and ... 
I don't see how Republicans, through their radio pit bull Rush Limbaugh, thought they could win with the electorate by impugning the integrity of one of the most beloved TV and movie actors, Michael J. Fox, now afflicted from Parkinson's Disease. Have they forgotten that this little guy played a rabid right-winger on his megahit TV series, Family Ties? Of course, by now, everyone knows that Fox appeared in a political ad for Democrat candidate Claire McCaskill in her tight race for Missouri's U.S. Senate seat because allowing stem cell research is an issue close to the ailing actor's heart. But then Limbaugh questioned whether Fox was truly shaking or just acting in the 30-second TV spot. UPDATE: *Michael J. Fox responded today on CBS: "The notion that you could calculate for effect ... People out there with Parkinson's are going, 'Would that we could.'"* Meanwhile, I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out why the GOP and its loudmouth surrogate would slander Fox (much less think this was a reasonable strategy). I may have a clue. The actor starred as Marty McFly in Back to the Future II where, in one version of 1985, a newspaper reports: "Nixon to Seek Fifth Term". But when the real year was restored, the Nixon article changed to "Reagan to Seek Second Term; No Republican Challengers Expected". The Great Communicator, a one-time Democrat, then Republican, and changed back to a DEMOCRAT? Unthinkable. 
Here's yet another reason why the FCC needs to crack down on Big Media so it can't become Monstrous Media. First it was Fox, CNN and NPR refusing to run ads for the Newmarket film Death of a President (opens this weekend) showing the fictional assassination of Dubya. Now, it's NBC refusing to air ads for a Dixie Chicks' documentary on, irony of ironies, freedom of speech. The cynical among us might see this as a novel promotional campaign in that today's news helps the film get publicity before it opens this weekend. But this political vetting of movie ads by the Big Media who decide what we see on TV is also rapidly becoming a new and alarming trend. The Weinstein Group told the media today that "NBC claims that the network 'cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush.” The new documentary is a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible 2003 political and media fallout after Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines said she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." The film opens in theaters in NY and Los Angeles on Friday, and in theaters nationwide on November 10th, from The Weinstein Company. Co-chairman Harvey Weinstein issued this statement to the Drudge Report: “It’s a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America. The idea that anyone should be penalized for criticizing the president is sad and profoundly un-American.” The Drudge Report says The Weinstein Company is "exploring taking legal action." The rejected commercials for “Shut Up & Post” can be viewed at 
I find it fascinating that, in all this incredible and incredulous publicity being generated by Madonna and her attempt to adopt that 13-month-old Malawian boy, almost no media outlets have mentioned this happens to coincide with the publication of her latest kids' book, The English Roses: Too Good To Be True. With a publishing date of October 24th -- two days ago -- it just happened that the Queen of Self-Promotion fighting back tears on 
The older-by-the-minute pop diva's first children's story, The English Roses, was published simultaneously around the world Sept. 15, 2003, and topped The New York Times' children's list for the Oct. 5 edition. "It demonstrates once again that Madonna has an extraordinary gift for communicating with children of all ages," Nicholas Callaway, CEO of Callaway Arts & Entertainment, the book's U.S. publisher, said at the time. According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks sales in the United States, Madonna's first kids' book sold 57,369 copies in its first full week and ranked No. 5 overall. (Previous to that, her best known literary work was entitled Sex.) That kiddie book was kept under wraps: no early review copies were released, and no books were provided to guests at a launch party in London. The gimmick worked. But leading up to its publishing, Madonna grabbed headlines doing wacky stuff in the weeks leading up to its publishing. First, she smooched then
Then, just days before the book was published, she told
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