UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News

'Hangover' is No. 1 at box office again

LOS ANGELES, June 14 (UPI) -- "The Hangover" is No. 1 at the U.S. box office for a second weekend, studio estimates showed.

The R-rated comedy about a Las Vegas bachelor party gone horribly awry earned an estimated $33.4 million its second weekend in release, bringing its 10-day total to $105.3 million, Box Office Mojo said.

Coming in at No. 2 is the animated adventure "Up" with

$30.5 million, followed by the thriller "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" at No. 3 with $25 million, the history-themed comedy "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" at No. 4 with $9.6 million and the big-screen re-do of TV's "Land of the Lost" at No. 5 with $5.6 million.

Rounding out the top tier are Eddie Murphy's latest family picture "Imagine That" at No. 6 with $5.7 million, the "Star Trek" franchise re-boot at No. 7 with $5.6 million, the science-fiction action movie "Terminator Salvation" at No. 8 with $4.7 million, the Vatican-set mystery "Angels & Demons" at No. 9 with $4.2 million and the horror flick "Drag Me to Hell" at No. 10 with $3.9 million.

Dropped from the top 10 this weekend are the comedies "My Life in Ruins" and "Dance Flick."

David Carradine buried in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, June 14 (UPI) -- Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral for film and television star David Carradine who was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.

The body of the 72-year-old "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill" actor was discovered June 4 hanging in a hotel closet in Bangkok. The circumstances of his death are still under investigation.

Among the 400 or so mourners at his funeral Saturday were celebrities Tom Selleck, Jane Seymour, Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Stacy Keach and Daryl Hannah, as well as Carradine's children; his actor brothers Keith, Bruce and Robert; and various other friends and relatives, People magazine reported.

"It was touching, but light-hearted," Bruce Carradine

told the magazine. "There weren't a lot of tears, but there was a lot of laughter."

"Michael (Madsen) shared a list of rules to live by that David had given him years ago," Bruce added. "These included advice like, 'Never marry a woman named Candy,' and 'Never buy anything from a man who is out of breath.'"

People.com said a hearse carrying the actor's casket was escorted by Hell's Angels members on motorcycles to a chapel on the cemetery grounds where the two-hour funeral service took place.

Beat poet Harold Norse dead at 92

SAN FRANCISCO, June 14 (UPI) -- Renowned New York-born poet Harold Norse has died in San Francisco, where he resided for decades, said his friend Todd Swindell. Norse was 92.

The Brooklyn College graduate was a ground-breaking Beat poet and contemporary of iconic scribes Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso and Charles Bukowski.

"Harold was one of the pre-eminent rebel poets of our time," San Francisco poet Neeli Cherkovski told The New York Times. "He was someone who smashed conventions, like Ginsberg, and broke through to what he called a new rhythm, writing the way he talked, using the voices of the street. He also gave voice to homosexuality early on."

The Times said Norse died Monday. The cause of his death was not reported.

Eastwood receives honorary AFI degree

LOS ANGELES, June 14 (UPI) -- The American Film Institute said it has conferred an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree upon actor and director Clint Eastwood.

The Oscar-winner was last week presented with the honorary degree for his "contribution of distinction to the art of the moving image" during AFI commencement ceremonies for its 2009 graduating class, the Institute announced in a news release.

Following the presentation by film historian Richard Schickel on the American Film Institute campus, Eastwood warmly quieted the group by telling them to "Knock it off, will ya?"

He then reflected on his early experiences in filmmaking saying: "I never went to a film school because they didn't have them when I started out. But after doing more than 50 films as an actor and 30 as a director I would have thought I could have graduated before this."

Eastwood concluded by reminding the graduates that when they find themselves challenged by difficulties in their careers as filmmakers they should never forget they are artists and they should always believe in their talent.

Blagojevich makes stage comedy appearance

CHICAGO, June 14 (UPI) -- Impeached and indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich made good on his promise to appear at a Chicago staging of the comedy "Rod Blagojevich Superstar."

The Chicago Tribune reported Blagojevich attended Saturday night's performance of the stage satire, which skewers his career, at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

A producer of the show said last week he had contacted the disgraced politician and asked him to participate in the comedy to promote the fact its run had been extended through Aug. 9.

The Tribune said Blagojevich appeared at the beginning of Saturday's show and took part in an improvised set at the end.