'Twilight' repeats at No. 1 with $17.4M
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" held onto the top spot at the U.S. box office this weekend, taking in an estimated $17.4 million.
The concluding installment of the vampire movie franchise has grossed $254.6 million in three weeks in release.
"Skyfall" remained at No. 2, taking in $17 for a four-week total of $246 million. The latest James Bond film was down 52.1 percent from last week.
Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" was down 47.4 percent from last week, maintaining the third spot with $13.5 million in its fourth week in theaters. "Lincoln" has taken in $83.7 million.
"Rise of the Guardians" was No. 4 with $13.5 million, for a two-week total of $48.9 million and "Life of Pi" was fifth with $12 million, bringing its two-week total to $48.3 million.
All estimates are via Box Office Mojo.
"Wreck-It Ralph" came in at No. 6 with $7 million, bringing its five-week total take to $158.2 million.
The new Brad Pitt crime drama "Killing Them Softly" finished seventh, taking in $7 million in its opening weekend. "Red Dawn" slipped from seventh to eighth place, grossing $65. million in its second weekend, and running its total to $31.3 million.
The Denzel Washington drama "Flight" was No. 9 with $4.5 million and has taken in $81.5 million in five weeks. "The Collection" debuted at No. 10 with $3.4 million.
"Argo" dropped out of the Top 10, taking in $2 million in its eighth week for a cumulative total of $101 million.
Photojournalist Ken Regan dies
NEW YORK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Photojournalist Ken Regan, known for his ability to gain the trust of rock stars and get behind-the-scenes shots has died in New York, his daughter said.
The photographer, who kept his age and other personal details closely guarded secrets, died Nov. 25, The New York Times reported Friday.
Doctors diagnosed Regan with cancer several years ago, but he only shared the news with a select number of close friends and family in his final weeks, longtime friend Suzanne Guard told the Times.
"Privacy was a principle he took very seriously," she said.
It was his emphasis on privacy that allowed Regan to gain entrance to the behind-the-scenes lives of rock stars and celebrities where most journalists were forbidden.
Regan's discretion made him a favorite of the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass..
"We trust him," said James Taylor in an afterword to Regan's book of photography, "All Access," published last year. "We can be ourselves around him. He is one of us."
When asked what makes a photograph special, Regan told online fan magazine "Culture Brats," it's the ability to capture unique images.
"If you're able to capture an image that nobody else has, then that's what makes the image important; that's what people are interested in," he said. "You see hundreds of photographs of rock artists on stage, but do you see them on their plane? Do you see them at home? Do you see them backstage? And those are the things that I always wanted to do."
'Amour' takes top honor at European awards
VALETTA, Malta, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- German director Michael Haneke's elderly-themed drama, "Amour," took home four awards, including best picture, at the European Film Awards.
The European Film Academy's awards ceremony was held Saturday at the Mediterranean Conference Center in Valetta, Malta.
"Amour" picked up the best picture award, best direction for Haneke, best actor for Jean-Louis Trintignant and best actress for Emmanuelle Riva.
The academy's lifetime achievement award this year went to Bernardo Bertolucci, the Oscar-winning Italian director of "The Last Emperor." He was brought onstage in a wheelchair to a standing ovation, The Hollywood Reporter said.
"My mouth is too dry for long speeches," Bertolucci said. "Long life to European cinema and a long life to the European Film Academy awards."
Other winners included best screenwriting for Dutch child-abuse drama "The Hunt;" best animated feature for Czech Republic-German-Slovakian co-production, "Alois Nebel;" and best documentary for the Swiss film, "Winter Nomads."
Protests at Kim Kardashian's Bahrain visit
RIFFA, Bahrain, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Police in Bahrain fired tear gas into a group of more than 50 people protesting U.S. reality TV star Kim Kardashian's visit to the country, Sky News reported.
The crowd of mostly hard-line Islamic demonstrators chanted "God is great" near a shopping complex in Riffa, where Kardashian was scheduled to open a branch of her Millions of Milkshakes shop, Sky News reported Sunday.
Lawmakers in the Persian Gulf kingdom had tried to block Kardashian's visit, submitting a proposal in Parliament referring to her as "an actress with an extremely bad reputation," the Gulf Daily News reported. The motion was dismissed when other members of Parliament left the chamber at the end of the session.
Despite the protesters -- who police cleared before Kardashian's arrival at her milkshake shop -- the star called her visit an "amazing trip."
Kardashian, 32, had previously called Bahrain "the prettiest place on Earth" on her Twitter account, a message Bahrain's foreign minister retweeted.
