Global 2010: Is Harry Potter Still Number 1?

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LOS ANGELES - A fairy-tale princess gave young wizard Harry Potter a run for his money at the weekend box office.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" remained the No. 1 movie with $50.3 million over Thanksgiving weekend, closely followed by the animated musical "Tangled" with $49.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The next-to-last "Harry Potter" movie raised its domestic total to $220.4 million after just 10 days in theaters, according to distributor Warner Bros. The film also has taken in $389.2 million overseas, giving it a worldwide total of $609.6 million.

"Tangled" is the latest Disney cartoon musical, with Mandy Moore providing the voice of fairy-tale princess Rapunzel. The movie raised its five-day total to $69 million since opening the day before Thanksgiving.

While "Deathly Hallows" continued to work box-office magic, Disney's "Tangled" far exceeded industry expectations, delivering the second-biggest Thanksgiving debut ever behind "Toy Story 2," which had a $57.4 million opening.

Disney head of distribution Chuck Viane said the studio would have been happy if "Tangled" had matched the $34 million debut of its hit "Enchanted" over Thanksgiving 2007. "Tangled" not only shot past that mark but also challenged "Harry Potter" for the No. 1 spot.

"That was the last thing we were thinking of, but it sure is nice to be even thought of in that situation," Viane said. "'Potter' is such a huge hit. To be that close, it was amazing."

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/harry-potter-leads-holiday-weekend-with-503m-ap

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Global 2010: No Tights, No Tuxedo: Eastwood Reveals He Passed on Iconic Roles

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Dirty Harry in tights? How about 'The Man With No Name' in a tux sipping a vodka martini?

That's what could have happened, according to L.A. Times journalist Geoff Boucher. During a three-hour interview with the reporter, Clint Eastwood let it slip that he could have played both Superman and 007, but turned the roles down.

Unlike today, where every third flick seems to have been culled from the pages of comic books, superhero movies were then seen as box-office poison. Eastwood was concerned of being typecast as a caped crime fighter. "I always liked characters that were more grounded in reality," he said.

When "Superman" did eventually hit the silver screen in 1978, starring a then unknown Christopher Reeve, Eastwood found himself starring opposite a smart aleck orangutan in "Every Which Way but Loose."

A few years earlier, Eastwood was approached by a representative of the Broccoli family, who produced the 007 series. Desperate to find a replacement for Sean Connery, they thought that Eastwood might be the person they sought. He disagreed.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-no-tights-no-tuxedo-eastwood-reveals-he-passed-on-iconic-roles.html

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