Academy award winner Paul Newman, one of American cinema's most iconic actors, died Friday at his home in Westport, Conn. after a long battle with cancer. He was 83.

One of Hollywood's coolest customers, Newman shot to fame in the 1960s, with his classic good looks and a propensity for roles that required a streak of hip anti-authority. He starred in a number of classic films, including Cool Hand Luke (100 percent on the Tomatometer), Harper (100 percent), The Hustler (97 percent), The Verdict (96 percent), The Sting (93 percent), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (92 percent), and The Color of Money, for which he won an Oscar for Best Actor.

Born in Shaker Heights, OH, Newman served in World War II in the Pacific. After the war, he turned to acting, attending Yale and studying under Lee Stasbourg in the Actor's Studio in New York. He made his big screen debut in The Silver Chalice (20 percent), a forgettable Biblical epic, but soon made his name in Somebody Up There Likes Me (78 percent) and the Tennessee Williams adaptation Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (100 percent), which co-starred Elizabeth Taylor.

Newman continued to give excellent performances into his August years; he starred alongside Tom Hanks in 2002's The Road to Perdition (82 percent) and the made-for-cable series Empire Falls, for which he was honored with an Emmy and a Golden Globe. In his last credits, Newman provided the voice of an aging motor sports champion in Pixar's Cars (75 percent) and narrated The Price of Sugar (75 percent), a documentary on poverty in the Dominican Republic.

In addition to his work in film, Newman was known for his philanthropy. Newman's Own, a company he co-founded in 1982, produced lemonade, pasta sauces, salad dressings, and salsas, among other products, donates 100 percent of its profits to charitable causes.

Newman is survived by his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, as well as five children and eight grandchildren.

In a gala adorned with Hollywood stars, The Walt Disney Co. wowed an industry crowd Wednesday in a showcase of its upcoming films that included a sequel to its 1982 sci-fi flick "Tron" and a "Lone Ranger" remake with Johnny Depp as Tonto.

The daylong presentation at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars, delivered repeated surprises as actors emerged onstage to tout animated 3-D movies, live-action thrillers and comedies _ with animal co-stars ranging from guinea pigs and chihuahuas to humpback whales.

Jim Carrey, starring in his first Disney film, a 3-D motion capture remake of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," summed up the chaos of his performance, in which he plays seven characters including Ebenezer Scrooge.

"It's pretty much just a party and everyone's invited," he said.

Commenting on Disney's lengthy rollout, which included a full screening of the animated dog-hero movie "Bolt," Carrey told out-of-town guests, "You can go back home and say these saddle sores came from Hollywood."

Disney made a similar presentation of its animated films to investors in April in New York, but held its last live-action movie showcase three years ago.

The 17 films presented then grossed over $5 billion at the box office, said Dick Cook, the chairman of Disney studios. He called the upcoming film slate the "most creative" in Disney history.

Among other casting announcements, Disney said Oprah Winfrey will be the voice of the character of Eudora in the hand-drawn animated movie set in New Orleans, "The Princess and the Frog."

The film features an African American heroine, Tiana, played by Anika Noni Rose. Winfrey plays Tiana's mother in the movie set for release on Christmas in 2009.

Depp, who received top billing for the role of Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, will also play the Mad Hatter in a Tim Burton remake of "Alice in Wonderland."

"Believe me, any time this guy wears a funny hat, it's good news for Disney," Cook said.

A brief snippet from "Tron 2" featured a louder, crisper and more thrilling bike race and a cameo of an older Jeff Bridges, who starred in the original version.

Miley Cyrus, star of an eponymous movie and television show, performed a live song from "Hannah Montana: The Movie"; Robin Williams and John Travolta, stars of the upcoming "Old Dogs," yucked it up on stage; George Lopez appeared to promote "Beverly Hills Chihuahua"; and Dwayne Johnson was on hand to tout "Race to Witch Mountain."

The University of Southern California marching band even made an appearance.

The Pixar and Disney animation studios' chief creative officer, John Lasseter, also broke the news that "Cars 2," the sequel to the blockbuster he directed for Pixar Animation Studios, would be released in the summer of 2011, a year earlier than once planned.

Along with a wide-ranging slate of films starring Sandra Bullock ("The Proposal"), Tim Allen ("Wild Hogs 2"), and Zac Efron ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year"), Cook boasted Disney would release five 3-D movies next year, more than any other studio.

Cook fired a barb at former Disney studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, now chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., ribbing: "I read that even Jeffrey Katzenberg may release his first 3-D movie next year," in reference to "Monsters vs. Aliens."

The company also previewed films from its labels Touchstone and Miramax, the latter of which produced the 2007 Oscar winners "No Country for Old Men," and "There Will Be Blood."

The most promising Miramax release, set for release in December, was "Doubt," starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in a dark tale about a nun's fight against a priest who she suspects of sexually abusing a black student.

A gritty and emotional portrait of the New York City Police Department, the film follows a multi-generational police family whose moral code is tested when one of two sons on the force investigates an incendiary case involving his older brother and brother-in-law. The case forces the family to choose between their loyalties to one another and their loyalties to the department.

Director Gavin O'Connor collaborates with Narc director/screenwriter Joe Carnahan on this family-focused police drama concerning an honest homicide detective (Edward Norton) assigned to investigate the precinct run by his potentially crooked older brother (Noah Emmerich). As the investigation begins to reveal some troubling facts about the precinct, it gradually becomes apparent that the policeman who is also the older brother's best friend (Colin Farrell) may be the man orchestrating many of the suspected crimes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide


Cast: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Genres: Drama, Family Drama, Police Drama

Pixar, the animation company, is known for making some truly exceptional animated movies. From the classic Toy Story to the ‘not quite up to Pixar standards, but still leaps and bounds over the rest’ Cars, the studio has built for itself a strong, solid reputation for movies that can be watched both by children and adults. If nothing else, the studio’s most recently released effort, Wall-E, is a testament to just how good they are at what they do. Still, there are times when, after reading the summary of their idea, you start wondering just what they’re thinking and if they might – just might – have gone off the deep end. Take, for example, their upcoming movie Up. 


The story is a little odd for a Pixar film. Basically, the story is about an old man named Carl Fredricksen, who happens to be 78 years old. His story, though, really begins when he was a kid. At the time, he’d met a girl named Ellie, who was raised somewhere in the American Midwest. Ellie had dreamt of exploring the mountains, but she sadly died before she had a chance to. Fast forward back to the movie’s present time, and Carl is being threatened with moving to an assisted living home because real estate developers want his land. Carl, in the midst of this situation, decides to fulfill his promise to Ellie and explore the mountains. To do this, he gets the help of a chubby Wilderness Explorer named Russell. The pair team up and engage in an adventure to fulfill Carl’s promise to Ellie, encountering wild terrain, unexpected villainy, and terrifying creatures that wait in the areas they visit. 


I’ll admit, I have some misgivings about this. The concept seems like a good idea, and it might be one of the better ideas they’ve come up with since they first came onto the scene. Though I admit, Wall-E is going to be a tough act to follow in terms of depth. However, this is clearly a Pixar work and from what I’ve heard, this is being marketed as a kid’s movie. Still, they might be able to pull it off.

Fresh off of their success with director Martin Scorsese's The Departed, star Leonardo DiCaprio and screenwriter William Monahan team with director Ridley Scott for this screen adaptation of David Ignatius' novel Body of Lies. When CIA operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) uncovers evidence indicating that a major terrorist leader may be operating out of Jordan, he enlists the aid of CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) in infiltrating the elusive saboteur's vast underground network. During the course of his dangerous mission, Ferris gradually comes to question how much he can trust his presumed allies -- who include not just Hoffman, but the outwardly helpful head of Jordanian intelligence as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide


Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe
Director: Ridley Scott
Genres: Political Drama, Drama

It all started?with a video game.

The game known as Max Payne was famous in its time for the excessive violence, over-the-top action, and the sadistic glee that the game was to play. With guns blazing, time-altering effects similar to those used in the over-hyped piece of garbage known as The Matrix series, and some of the most entertaining gunfights to appear in a video game in recent history, Max Payne was a violent action video game player's fanciest dream. Sure, the story is a little too close to the background of the Marvel Comics character Frank Castle (the Punisher, for those of you who are unaware), but that doesn't take away the fact that the game was incredibly fun.

Now there's a movie of it that's coming out.

Starring Mark Wahlberg, the movie is slated to follow the basic premise of the games. Which means that this ought to be a violent, action-packed story of a man seeking revenge for the death of his loved ones, right? However, I don't exactly recall there being an assassin involved in the plot of the first game, even if there was a prominent female protagonist in the story of the second game. Since no word was given on which game the story of the movie followed  or if they were basing it on a game at all  then I suppose it isn't that big of a problem to see a character that wasn?t from the original plot. So long as the adaptation is violent and does the name justice, then I don't think anyone but the purists would complain.

However, I will admit I'm worried. Wahlberg's been in one crap movie this year, and video games have generally not translated well when turned into movies. I seriously doubt this will be anything Oscar worthy, but I do hope it will be fun in the same way that the game was. We?ll just have to wait and see, won?t we?

Less than a year after starring in the biggest movie of his volatile career, Nicolas Cage led the North American box office to its worst weekend in five years on Sunday with one of his weakest.

"Bangkok Dangerous," a thriller in which the 44-year-old actor plays a jaded assassin, opened at No. 1 with estimated three-day earnings of just $7.8 million, distributor Lionsgate said. While no one was expecting it to be a hit, industry observers had predicted it would earn more than $10 million.

The last box office champ to open lower was the David Spade comedy "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," which kicked off with $6.7 million during the weekend of September 5-7, 2003.

Overall ticket sales also fell to their lowest level since then, said tracking firm Media By Numbers. The top 12 films earned $51.6 million, up from $50.5 million that weekend.

Early September is traditionally a quiet time at the box office since the summer blockbuster season is over. The studios spend the early fall quietly dumping their underperforming movies on the market. "Bangkok Dangerous" was the only new wide release this weekend.

Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, said it was happy with the film's opening and expected it to be profitable. Although the movie reportedly cost $45 million to make, Lionsgate acquired U.S. and Canadian rights for a modest sum from "The Departed" producer Graham King's Initial Entertainment Group.

The film is a remake of the 1999 Thai film of the same name, with both being directed by Hong Kong-born twin brothers Danny and Oxide Pang. The remake was not screened in advance for critics, which is rarely a good sign.

Cage has actually done a lot worse at the box office: His terrorism thriller "Next" opened to $7.1 million in April 2007 and the family drama "The Weather Man" to $4.2 million in 2005. But he was last in theaters with the biggest movie of his career, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," The action sequel opened to $45 million in December on its way to $220 million.

After three weeks at No. 1, DreamWorks/Paramount's Hollywood satire "Tropic Thunder" slipped to No. 2 with $7.5 million, while Columbia Pictures' comedy "The House Bunny" rose one to No. 3 with $5.9 million in its third week. Their respective tallies stand at $97 million and $37 million.

DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures are units of Viacom Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp.

Rated: PG-13

Theatrical Release: Sep 26, 2008 Wide

Synopsis: After the success of DISTURBIA, director D.J. Caruso and star Shia LaBeouf reunite for this thriller costarring Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie, and Billy Bob Thornton. In EAGLE EYE, an elaborate murder plot and its evil conspirator ensnare a pair of innocent people.... After the success of DISTURBIA, director D.J. Caruso and star Shia LaBeouf reunite for this thriller costarring Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie, and Billy Bob Thornton. In EAGLE EYE, an elaborate murder plot and its evil conspirator ensnare a pair of innocent people.

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie

Director: D.J. Caruso
Screenwriter: Dan McDermott, Travis Wright, John Glenn, Hillary Seitz
Story: Dan McDermott
Producer: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Patrick Crowley