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In a slow weekend at the U. S.

Con-artist comedy Focus starring Will Smith finally managed to unseat Fifty Shades of Grey, though its $19. 2 opening is less then stellar for a film led by a star of Smith’s caliber.

A natural drop in last weekend’s spectacular numbers for Fifty Shades of Grey wasn’t unexpected, but the fall-off was steeper than expected: minus 73%.  Commentators are claiming that the film based on the erotic thriller by E.

Neil Patrick Harris hosted the 87th Annual Academy Awards live from Hollywood California January 22 where the best films of 2014 battled for Oscar gold.   “Birdman” won for Best Picture, beating out main rival “Boyhood.

It may be just an award show in the middle of the day held in a big circus tent as co-host Kristen Bell joked in the opening montage of the Film Independent Spirit Awards, but this casual star-studded affair is the premier awards show for the independent film community. Arriving at the big top on Santa Monica Beach, stars were happy to take selfies and sign autographs to the cluster of fans lined up before making their way down the magenta carpet.

The surprisingly strong sounds of a gospel song sung acappella washed over a small group of luminaries gathered at SoHo House Friday, at the invitation of Jaka Bizilj, Chairman of the Board of Cinema for Peace. The scene was fitting for an event organized to promote peace and human rights through socially conscious cinema – a welcome counterpoint to the frivolity that can permeate awards season.

The suave French actor Luis Jourdan, who appeared in movies both in Hollywood and in his native France, passed away February 14, 2015, aged 93. His most notable and popular role was in the musical comedy Gigi, (1958) the last major musical out of MGM.

To say that Fifty Shades of Grey won the St. Valentine’s and President’s weekend box office contest would be a major understatement.

The Light & Noir exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center traces the history of some of Hollywood’s most prolific immigrants and the contributions they made to American cinema. "Chased from my country,now I have to see if there's some shop or bar that I can find where I can sell the products of my mind" So wrote playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht, who was chased from Germany by the rising Nazi regime.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) last night (Feb. 15) announced the winners of the 2015 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, games, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories at simultaneous ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles and the Edison Ballroom in New York City.