Sandler's 'Funny People' is No. 1
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- "Funny People" took over the No. 1 spot in its opening weekend in U.S. movie theaters, Box Office Mojo said Sunday.
The Adam Sandler comedy took in an estimated $23.44 million in ticket sales.
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" held on at No. 2 with $17.7 million, while last week's top movie, "G-Force," slipped to No. 3 with $17.06 million in estimated gate receipts. "The Ugly Truth" was pushed down one spot to No. 4 at $13 million.
Another new movie, "Aliens in the Attic," a kids' adventure flick starring Carter Jenkins, Ashley Tisdale and Tim Meadows, debuted at No. 5 at $7.8 million.
Filling out the top 10 were "Orphan" at $7.25 million, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" at $5.3 million, "The Hangover" at $5.08 million (in its ninth week), "The Proposal" at $4.85 million and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" at $4.6 million.
Another new movie, "The Collector," a thriller starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, failed to crack the top tier, coming in at No. 11 with $3.63 million.
Gone from the top 10 were "Public Enemies" and "Bruno."
Auction items hint at Madonna love affair
NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Faxes allegedly sent by U.S. pop star Madonna to a nightclub worker outline a reputed romantic affair the pair had in the 1990s, an auction official says.
Ed Kosinski, co-owner of the Gotta Have It! auction house, said former nightclub security guard Jim Albright is selling the Madonna memorabilia and faxes sent during his alleged affair with the "Material Girl" singer in 1993 and 1994, the New York Post reported Sunday.
"Albright said to me, 'I have no relationship with Madonna anymore,'" said Kosinski, whose house will sell the items via the Rock & Roll Pop Art Auction Web site.
"I guess it was time for him to sell."
Included in the online auction will be 21 faxes and a VHS tape allegedly showing Madonna snorting cocaine on the set of the 1993 film "Dangerous Game," along with two answering-machine tapes featuring messages from the pop star.
Kosinski told the Post the online auction, which opened Monday and concludes Wednesday, should draw bids of $25,000 for the answering-machine tapes and at least $10,000 for the VHS tape.
No comment from Madonna regarding the auction sale was reported.
Foundation has two unknown Mozart pieces
SALZBURG, Austria, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The International Mozarteum Foundation in Austria says it is now attributing two pieces of music it possesses to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, not his father.
Ulrich Leisinger, who heads up the foundation's research department, said the musical works recently attributed to the classical composer, who died in 1791, had previously been thought to be the work of Mozart's father Leopold, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The incomplete works were found on the back of a music book once used by Mozart's sister Maria Anna. They include 35 measures of a piano prelude and 75 measures of a solo section of a complete movement of a keyboard concerto, Leisinger said.
The suspected Mozart works, which have yet to be fully authenticated, would likely have been created by the famed composer when he was only 7 or 8 years old.
The foundation publicly announced its findings Sunday, but the site has had the music book in its possession since 1864.
Mozart expert Neal Zaslaw, who did not take part in the discovery of the pieces, told the Times it was very plausible the works were, indeed, created by Mozart. Still, Zaslaw added it was unlikely the foundation's claim could be verified with certainty.
Festival stage collapse kills one
CAMROSE, Alberta, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- One person was killed and 15 others hurt when a stage collapsed at the Big Valley Jamboree festival in Camrose, Alberta, emergency officials said.
The stage buckled Saturday as a strong storm swept through area, the Edmonton (Alberta) Journal reported Sunday.
Camrose Police Chief Darrel Kambietz told CNN the collapse left two people critically injured and several others trapped.
"We did have emergency services on site at the time and were able to move into action quickly and free those individuals and transport quickly," said Kambietz, who did not offer details regarding the status of the other 13 injured people.
CNN said actor Kevin Costner was backstage at the time of the collapse. The "Waterworld" star was preparing to perform with his band Modern West, CNN said.
Severe weather Saturday also prompted the evacuation of the Heritage Festival in Edmonton.
Meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau told the Journal a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Edmonton area as strong winds, heavy rains and hail were reported.
"Trees were bent sideways and hail was the size of marbles," resident Andrew Rain told the newspaper.
