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'Twilight' remains on top of box office

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" remained at the top of the box office, grossing an estimated $43 million in U.S. theaters over the weekend.

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The James Bond film, "Skyfall," held onto its No. 2 spot, taking in $36 million in its third weekend in U.S. theaters.

Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" finished third, taking in $25 million at 2,018 theaters.

DreamWorks Animation's "Rise of the Guardians" debuted at No. 4 with $24 million. Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" was No. 5 with $22 million.

The animated "Wreck-It Ralph" fell to No. 6, taking in $16.7 million, for a three-week total of $149 million.

All studio estimates of gross U.S. receipts are via Box Office Mojo.

"Red Dawn" ($14.6 million) debuted at No. 7, while "Flight" ($8.6 million) dropped three spots to come in eighth. The David O. Russell film, "Silver Linings Playbook," starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro, took the No. 9 spot with $4.6 million from 367 theaters. "Argo" ($3.8 million) was No. 10.

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'Gangnam' passes Bieber on YouTube views

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The long-lived "Gangnam Style" has passed the Justin Bieber hit "Baby" as most-viewed YouTube music videos, YouTube's U.S. trends blog said.

YouTube reported South Korean pop star Psy and his dance hit reached 805 million views this weekend while Biebers' blockbuster totaled 803 million.

The blog noted that while "Baby" has held up very well since it was posted in 2010, "Gangnam Style" has been red hot since coming out in late July.

"It has been a massive hit at a global level unlike anything we've ever seen before," YouTube said. "Each day, 'Gangnam Style' is still being watched between 7 and 10 million times."

The viewing statistics based on YouTube searches showed "Gangnam Style" broke from the gate quickly with a surge from Psy's hometown South Korean fans. It quickly caught on in the United States and other English-speaking nations and gained momentum in India and Europe this fall.


Report: Sheen slashes Lohan's IRS bill

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Charlie Sheen rode to the rescue of Lindsay Lohan with a $100,000 check to help pay off the Internal Revenue Service, sources told TMZ.com

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The celebrity website said Sunday Lohan was recently handed a bill for $233,904 for back taxes owed from 2009 and 2010 -- a tab Sheen's contribution cut nearly in half.

Sources told TMZ Lohan and Sheen became friends this fall while filming "Scary Movie 5." Their camaraderie turned into commiseration over Lohan's situation with the IRS.

Sheen reportedly offered to help out and Lohan at first declined; however, the actor cut a check anyway and sent it to Lohan's manager. The funds were quickly relayed to Uncle Sam.

TMZ said Lohan will earn about $2 million this year, which should help whittle down her tax debt.


Biel: It's hard to balance fame, privacy

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Actress Jessica Biel says she understands why Vera Miles didn't want to speak to her as she prepared to play the retired Hollywood film icon in "Hitchcock."

Directed by Sacha Gervasi, the movie chronicles the late director Alfred Hitchcock's complicated relationship with his wife, Alma Reville, during the making of "Psycho," his classic 1960 thriller, starring Miles, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.

The big-screen adaptation of Stephen Rebello's 1990 book "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho,'" casts Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock, Helen Mirren as Reville, James D'Arcy as Perkins and Scarlett Johansson as Leigh.

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Talking about how she prepared to play Miles, Biel told reporters in New York recently she understands why the now 83-year-old actress and mother of four wasn't willing to let her pick her brain years after she left the spotlight.

"She wasn't interested in being a star. The way I got into the character was I spoke to her grandson. Vera is alive and she doesn't have a public life -- at all. She's not interested in having a public life and just wasn't interested in speaking to me at all. I didn't think that was an insult in any way," Biel said. "But her grandson was interested."

When the gathered journalists laughed at the notion of the man eagerly agreeing to meet with the beautiful Biel, the actress insisted: "No, no, it wasn't like that! He was very nice and respectful and he's married! He's highly protective of his grandmother and she's someone he loves. And he is probably the best authority on her career and who she is and who she was at that time. But I think in her mind and in his mind, she had a life and her life was exactly what she wanted. She did much theater -- she did lots of parts, lots of interesting characters ... and that was very fulfilling for her."

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Asked if she thinks it is easier to balance a high-profile career and quiet home life now than it was in the 1950s and '60s, the 30-year-old wife of singer Justin Timberlake replied: "Is it easier now? Oh, I don't know. I think it's terribly hard now. ... I think it's very challenging to have a private life. That's just my opinion. It's been very hard for me to have any sort of privacy in my life. I get it. It's a balance you have to try and create, but it's very hard. I really would love the days where there was no TMZ or Internet. Even though Google is great, but it can be quite a challenge."

"Hitchcock" is now playing in theaters.

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