Episode II to premiere a day early in North America Twentieth Century Fox announced that “Star Wars Attack of the Clones” will be released Thursday, May 16 in theaters in North America, but in 42 other countries, the film will open the following day.
Harry Potter to open on record number of screens In anticipation of a massive opening weekend for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer”s Stone,” Warner Brothers is showing the film on over 7,000 screens, which means that the film will be running on roughly one out of every six screens in the United States. The Internet Movie Databse reports that the current record is held by John Woo”s “Mission: Impossible 2,” which originally ran on 3,653 screens. In England, the film has already broken box office records based on its weekend sneak previews. On Saturday and Sunday, the film made $9.6 million, passing the record of $3.1 million set in 1999 by “Star Wars The Phantom Menace.”
Ken Kesey dies at the age of 66 Ken Kesey, the author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo”s Nest,” died of complications from cancer surgery at a hospital near his home in Oregon on Sunday. Apart from his career as an author, Kesey was also known as the epitome of the California hippie. He was the founder of an organization called the “Merry Pranksters,” a mischievous group, modeled after Jack Kerouac”s book “On the Road,” that travelled across the country in a brightly colored bus called “the Further” playing pranks. Kesey was also a bizarre performance artist and one of the original promoters of The Grateful Dead. Director Milos Forman made the film version of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo”s Nest,” Kesey”s most famous novel, in 1975 with Jack Nicholson.
George Harrison admitted to Staten Island University Hospital The former Beatle entered the hospital in New York for a cancer treatment called stereotactic radiosurgery, which allows tumors to be targeted without damaging surrounding tissue. The Internet Movie Database reports that Harrison”s condition is serious, and this procedure is seen by doctors as Harrisons best chance for survival.
Keys may clean up at american music awards The American Music Award nominations were announced Tuesday, and popular R&B singer Alicia Keys lead the pack with five nominations, TV Guide reported. Other nominees that garnered multiple awards include the Dave Matthews Band, Destiney”s Child, R Kelly and Shaggy. The three-hour event will be shown on ABC in January.
Did You Know?
In Stanley Kubrick”s “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), the role of Julian, Mr. Alexander”s caretaker/manservant was played by David Prowse, who played Darth Vader”s body (not his voice or his face at the end of “Return of the Jedi”) in the Star Wars Trilogy.