'End of Watch' Wins by Tying 'House at the End of the Street'

WINNER OF THE WEEK: End of Watch. At this writing, End of Watch is actually tied with House at the End of the Street, with both movies claiming $13 million debuts in early Sunday estimates, while Trouble With the Curve is just a nose behind with an estimated $12.7 million opening. By the time final numbers are in on Monday, any one of these three could be the box office champ. Still, just for finishing in such rarefied company, End of Watch deserves the most credit. The found-footage cop drama has a restrictive R rating, limited star power (sorry, Jake Gyllenhaal, but you're no Clint Eastwood or even Jennifer Lawrence) and a distributor (Open Road Films) that's only put out one previous $10-million-plus opener (January's The Grey). As a result, Watch was expected to open only at around $9 to $11 million. So it's this week's winner just for outperforming its modest expectations.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Cinema bookers. Pity the poor booker at your local multiplex, who had to cope this weekend with an overcrowded slate of four wide-release movies, all of them with a strike or two against them, and most competing for the same audience. Besides Watch, there was horror flick House, which distributor Relativity declined to screen for critics (not a good sign) and which marked the first test of whether Jennifer Lawrence can draw viewers to a non-Hunger Games movie. (Verdict: Jury's still out.) At least it was aiming for a young female demographic, unlike the rest of this weekend's new movies, which sought adults and young men. The trouble with Trouble was that Clint Eastwood's baseball drama, marking the first time in 19 years that he's acted for a director other than himself, earned mixed reviews, something grownup moviegoers actually pay attention to.

And then there was comic book/sci-fi epic Dredd, which actually earned decent reviews, thanks largely to a script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later). Unfortunately, its drawbacks were a lack of star power, an R rating, competition for its target audience (not just against Watch and Trouble, but also last week's winner, Resident Evil: Retribution), and the fact that it was a reboot of Sylvester Stallone's still-acrid 1995 stinkbomb Judge Dredd. It had to settle for a sixth-place opening, with an estimated $6.3 million, which suggests that the movie won't recoup its reported $50 million budget. Retribution fell a steep 68 percent from last week's victory, for an estimated $6.7 million and fifth place, and still outearned Dredd. (Rounding out the top five was the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo, at Number Four with an estimated $9.4 million.)

THE PERKS OF BEING EMMA WATSON: Not long ago, Emma Watson was, believe it or not, the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. At age 20, she was earning $30 million a year from the Harry Potter movies and endorsement contracts. Now 22, she's acting for a sliver of her old salary in indie movies like the new The Perks of Being a Wallflowerin order to prove that she's not just Hermione Granger. Well, so far, so good. In Perks, the British actress plays a confident, attractive Pittsburgh high school senior. The film has earned generally good reviews, and though Watson isn't the protagonist, it's being sold largely on her name. And she's proving herself a box office draw; though the movie opened this weekend on just four screens, it earned a smashing $61,000 on each of them, for a total of $244,000. Watch for Watson to continue to prove herself as the movie opens wide and as more non-Hogwarts opportunities come her way.

Kanye West Sex Tape Bidding Reaches $1 Million

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KANYE WEST SEX TAPE WORTH MILLION SAYS ADULT FILM COMPANY

The release of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music compilation Cruel Summer is taking a back seat to reports that a sex tape starring the hip-hop all-star and a Kim Kardashian look-alike is being shopped around.

The news sounds almost too good to be true, taking into account Kardashian, who is West's current girlfriend, infamously made a name for herself going down the same route in 2003. Headlines this morning read that West is "in tears" and "nervous" about the sex tape rumors. His Twitter page remains silent on the matter. Whether it's bad luck or underground PR to promote his new album, a Kanye West sextape could fetch millions say adult film industry professionals.

Photos of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian on Vacation in Hawaii

Vivid Entertainment, the company who released the Kardashian sex tape, remains skeptical on the authenticity of the footage. (RadarOnline.com claims to have seen the tape in full and says it can verify without a doubt that it is Kanye in the footage.) In an interview with CBS Local, Vivid said it had not been approached yet, despite being the adult film industry leader when it comes to celebrity sex tapes. Their roster also includes the Tommy Lee and Pamala Anderson tape, as well as the Montana Fishburne footage.

“It depends on the quality of the tape, the length, the lighting, the sex,” Vivid founder Steven Hirsch says, ”but something like this could go for a couple of million dollars. I don’t think there has ever been a sex tape with a star of this magnitude. Tommy Lee was big, but this is a different world and Kanye is a special guy. He’s everywhere."

While West seems to be distraught over the news of the footage, Hirsch says he could ultimately benefit from it.

“I think if you look at all the celebrity tapes that have come out, not a single career has been hurt,” Hirsch emphasizes. “In fact, it has been enhanced. Especially with Kim. We made a big deal with her and that has been the most successful celebrity sex tape yet. And she has had a great career after it.”

Hirsch adds: “If it’s real, we will hear something fairly soon. Until then, it remains to be seen.”

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Seeking Substance Abuse Treatment After iHeartRadio Meltdown

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong is headed to treatment for substance abuse. Sunday's announcement by the band's rep comes after the 40-year-old frontman had a meltdown onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Friday. As Green Day was wrapping up its performance during the all-star, two-day concert, Armstrong profanely complained that the band's time was being cut short. 

Green Day Smashes Guitars, Storms Off Stage at IHeartRadio 

"One minute left, one minute (expletive) left. You're gonna give me (expletive) one minute? ... I'm not (expletive) Justin Bieber, you (expletives)!" he yelled (although Bieber was not part of the night's festivities). 

Armstrong smashed his guitar before leaving the stage. 

In a statement, Green Day apologized "to those they offended at the iHeartRadio Festival" and said its set was not cut short by Clear Channel, the host of the two-day festival. 

The Grammy winning band also is canceling some of its promotional appearances. It is due to release the album "Uno" on Tuesday, the follow-up to "21st Century Breakdown," released three years ago. "Uno" is the first in a trilogy of albums; the second is to be out in November, and the last in January. The band is due to kick off a nationwide tour Nov. 26 in Seattle. 

Armstrong was hospitalized in early September in Bologna, Italy, for an undisclosed ailment, but recovered well enough to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 6. Since then, the band has made a series of performances, including a "Good Morning America" performance and a New York City concert for the launch of Nokia Music on Sept. 15. No interviews of the band were allowed that evening, but the band chatted with fans and Nokia and AT&T executives before performing for about two hours. 

It's unclear what Armstrong is receiving treatment for; in 2003, he was arrested for DUI, and has acknowledged in the past taking various drugs but has said he now eschews them. 

Green Day is one of rock's top acts and had huge success with its 2004 politically charged album "American Idiot," which went on to become a Broadway musical. Armstrong performed for a stretch in the musical. 
Most recently, he was a mentor on the NBC talent competition "The Voice."

Unique Opportunity For Songwriters

Category:	Publishing - Libraries
Type:	Publishing
Genres:	All Genres Accepted
Details:	Unique new publishing company based out of Nashville is currently seeking new songs from amazing songwriters to pair up with talented new record artists who are looking for songs. Every time a writer's song is selected to be recorded by a vocalist, that songwriter receives $150. The writer gets paid from their song without having to give the song away or tie it up in a publishing contract. It's non-exclusive, and the songwriter can opt out at any time if they end up with a publishing deal. A Song Paradise is ran by a team of professional songwriters, artists, publishers and producers in Nashville, TN who all have worked with some of the industry's top acts from Lady Antebellum, to Loretta Lynn as well as been involved with musical productions for everything from American Idol, to Avon commercials! From Grand Ole Opry legends to modern Rock major label players. Their team of professionals have worked with all genres including R&B, Rock, and Country chart-toppers! As a producer in Nashville, Stacy Hogan, got approached by singers all the time looking for good songs. Then on the flip-side, she would get songwriters with great songs asking what to do with them and how to get a fresh voice on them. That's when in 2004, Stacy Hogan started offering this service as part of A Song Paradise. A company dedicated fully to the connection of vocalist and writer. A Song Paradise will not respond to direct messages regarding this opportunity; submissions will be considered only through Music Clout.
Deadline	October 10, 2012

Steve Stoute Talks Collaborating With Jay-Z For The Brooklyn Nets [Video]

Stoute explains how he helped his good friend Hov with work on the Nets…

Translation founder/CEO Steve Stoute reflects on his early days in the music industry, his relationship with Jay-Z and the pair's involvement in the look and feel of the new Brooklyn Nets.

No Doubt, Rihanna, Usher, Rock IHeartRadio Fest In Las Vegas on Day One

"Go ahead and stare / and take a picture please / if you need," Gwen Stefani pleaded several songs into No Doubt's opening set at iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas Friday night at the MGM Grand. The lyric was from the band's upcoming single "Looking Hot," from "Push and Shove" -- the band's first studio album in 11 years, out Tuesday -- but could just as easily served as a mission statement for the entire evening.



Those acts shared the stage with veterans like Bon Jovi, who played a hits heavy 30-minute set that included faves like "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and "Bed Of Roses," as well as Green Day, who also have an album out Tuesday, whose set was cut short due to a teleprompter informing the band they had one minute left in what was barely a 20-minute set. It did not end well.

Watch Green Day Smash Their Guitars, Storm Off at IHeartRadio

Further proof of this mix of nostalgia and now-ness arrived later on in No Doubt's performance when P!nk, who happens to open Day 2 on Saturday, appeared to perform a surprise duet of the band's breakthrough hit "Just A Girl." Though the moment was a years-in-the-making opportunity for two of the 2000s' leading radio divas to finally share a stage, it had a uniquely 2012 feel to it. At one point, P!nk dropped to the floor in push-ups -- a seeming bid to compete with the impressively fit Stefani, who at 42 still looked and sounded like the 25-year-old holding an orange on the cover of the "Tragic Kingdom" CD booklet wedged into tens of millions of Jewel Case sleeves these days.
 
Elsewhere, country fans got a healthy dose of three chart-topping acts -- Aldean, Miranda Lambert and the latter's side project the Pistol Annies, who joined the singer halfway through her early, energetic set. Having just kicked off their first headlining tour last week in New York, the gig was only the band's third on this tour -- a refreshing sign that Lambert was happy to share the spotlight with her collaborators despite a white-hot solo career that currently includes "Fastest Girl In Town," which re-entered the Country Songs chart this week at No. 11 following the singer's performance on the Canadian Country Music Awards.
 


EDM fans got a taste of a weekend lineup that also includes Calvin Harris and Deadmau5 when Swedish House Mafia showed up toward the night's fourth hour to spin a couple tracks from the back of the arena -- before dimming the lights to make a special announcement. "We're about to play a song live for the first time," the DJ trio announced, as blue lasers shone upon the main stage. Within seconds, the opening keyboard lines started to play from "Euphoria," one of two collaborations from Usher's "Looking 4 Myself" -- which sure enough summoned the singer himself to take the lead on the throbbing house-pop track while the DJ booth slowly dimmed its lights.
 
Usher arguably took home the night's hardest-working performer award -- dancing, belting and sweating his way through a dance-intensive, ballad-light set that had the crowd on its feet for nearly its entirety, from "Yeah" to "DJ Got Us Fallin In Love Again" to current single "Scream" and David Guetta collab "Without You." He could only raise a high bar for the night's closer, Rihanna, who nevertheless performed virtually all of her hits from "Umbrella" onward and reprised the Egyptian set from her MTV Video Music Awards performance earlier this month. Just as she put choreography before vocals at times at the VMAs, Rihanna's set was heavy on spectacle where it was light on live vocals -- though, to the singer's credit, she picked up the slack during the set's second half as she sang a medley of hooks she's performed on hip-hop hits (T.I.'s "Live Your Life," Jay-Z's "Run This Town," Kanye West's "All Of The Lights") and her own "Don't Stop The Music," where she forgot a few words but at least won the crowd over with her energetic attempts.
 
It's worth noting, however, that Rihanna did not debut or hint at any new material coming this year -- despite reports last week that the singer was preparing a seventh (!) studio album for release in November, which would be her fourth in the last four years alone. Instead, the singer appeared to be previewing her upcoming Diamonds tour, by sticking to six of her Talk That Talk album's seven singles -- including a medley of "Cockiness (Persuasion)" and "Birthday Cake" that was tellingly filmed by Clear Channel's cameras from the waist up for the venue.