'The Pacifier' tops U.S. box office
HOLLYWOOD, March 6 (UPI) -- "The Pacifier," distributed by Buena Vista, grossed $30 million in its debut week, topping the U.S. box office, estimated boxofficemojo.com.
In it's premier week, MGM's "Be Cool" grossed $23.5 million.
Sony's "Hitch" made $12.5 million last week for a total box office of $139 million.
"Diary of a Mad Black Woman," distributed by Lions Gate, made $12 million for a total box office of $38 million.
"Million Dollar Baby" made $8.5 million for a total box office of $77 million, while "Constantine" made $6 million for the total box office of $61 million.
"Cursed" made $3.8 million for a total box office of $15 million, while "Man of the House" made $3.5 million for a box office of $14 million.
"Because of Winn-Dixie" made $3.4 million for a total box office of $27 million, while "The Jacket" made $2.7 million.
British actress wants cleaner hospitals
LONDON, March 6 (UPI) -- British actress Leslie Ash is on a crusade for cleaner hospitals after contracting an infection that nearly killed her.
Ash is still unable to walk properly 11 months after becoming infected with MSSA -- methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus -- in a London hospital, reported the Times of London.
"Catching MSSA changed everything for me," she said. "I want to bring this to the public notice and I think having a profile will help."
Ash contracted the infection, which is similar to MRSA but can be treated with antibiotics, when being treated last April with a broken rib and collapsed lung.
The TV star thinks the loss of old-fashioned cleaning might increase the risk of contracting this type of infection.
"We have to get these hospitals clean, and the cleaning has to get back to basics," she said. "When I was in hospital, I looked at a blob of blood that was on the floor for three days. The mop was filthy. It had been in every room down my ward."
'Drum' wins Africa film festival prize
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, March 6 (UPI) -- The film "Drum," directed by South African director Zola Maseko, won the top prize in Africa's premier film festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The film, set in Johannesburg's Sophiatown district amid the jazz clubs and bars of 1950s, centers on magazine reporter Henry Nxumalo as he clashes with the apartheid regime.
"This is an honor for South African people -- their resilience in overcoming one of the most brutal regimes of the last century," Maseko said.
Maseko was awarded the Etalon d'Or de Yennenga or the Golden Stallion of Yennenga and a cash prize of $20,000 at the end of the week-long film festival, the BBC reported.
Second prize went to the Moroccan film, "La Chambre Noire," a film about torture and imprisonment in 1970s Morocco, based on real events.
"Tasuma Le Feu," a comedy by Burkinabe director Kollo Sanou about elderly ex-servicemen waiting for their pensions, won third prize.
Criticism gets to Rather, but not for long
NEW YORK, March 6 (UPI) -- CBS news anchor man Dan Rather says dealing with criticism is part of the job of a hard-nosed, hard-news reporter -- but it sometimes does get to him.
"No rhinoceros has a hide so thick that some well-placed, hard-thrown, pointed spear can't get under it," Rather told the New York Daily News in an interview days before he ends his 24-year stint as anchor man of "CBS Evening News."
"It's also true, it's not very often. And when it does, when I feel it, it's not for very long, he added."
The 73-year-old Rather said he felt good and had none of the emotional jitters others suggested he might get as he prepares to leave the anchor desk.
"I'm not retiring," said Rather, who'll return to full-time reporting for the "60 Minutes" program. "I'm changing jobs -- for better or worse, I'm a big-game hunter. And I'll continue to hunt big game."
