Entertainment Today: Showbiz news

ROBERT BLAKE

Despite eight months of appearing to hit nothing by brick walls and dead ends, Los Angeles homicide detectives have finally declared that they have been making "significant progress" toward cracking the murder of the wife of actor Robert Blake, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, was shot to death May 4, 2001, shortly after having dinner with Blake at his favorite Studio City restaurant, not far from his home. The 68-year-old actor said he had left her alone for a brief period and returned to the restaurant to retrieve a handgun he had accidentally left behind, returning to the car to find her mortally wounded. He has not been named a suspect.

The case faded from the headlines as the investigation seemingly sputtered. However the head of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division said his officers have continued tracking down leads and examining evidence.

Blake and Bakley married in 2000 only after a paternity suit disclosed that he was the father of their infant daughter, Rose. They generally lived separate lives, which has led some of Bakley's relatives to speculate that Blake had a hand in her death because he wanted her out of his life.

But Blake's lawyer, Harlan Braun, has offered the theory that Bakley was killed by someone from her past whom she may have swindled or otherwise angered.

'STAR WARS: EPISODE 2 -- ATTACKS OF THE CLONES'

George Lucas and his hands at Lucasfilm Ltd. Are playing beat the clock as they get "Star Wars: Episode -- Attack of the Clones" ready to open in the U.S. this May -- a challenge made all the more difficult by the fact that the fifth "Star Wars" movie will also open in most international markets within the same month.

"It's going to be a madhouse for the next six months," said producer Rick McCallum in a message posted at starwars.com.

The decision to open worldwide at more or less the same time puts a lot of pressure on post-production teams to produce mixes tailored for each market. "It means we have to have the finished film done a month ahead of what we did for Episode I," said McCallum. "It means we have to audition and cast 60 to 80 actors to do the parts in each country, and we're in 30 different countries."

McCallum said it's an "intense, complicated and time-consuming period, but awfully fun if we can pull it off."

Talent agents around the world have been pitching local voice talent to Lucasfilm, where producers listen to tapes and decide who will provide the foreign-language voices for Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and the rest of the cast.

(Thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason)

RUSSELL CROWE

Russell Crowe says he used a method of "deduction and intuition" when figuring out how to play schizophrenic, Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr. in his latest drama, "A Beautiful Mind."

Comparing the role of Nash to that of Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, the real-life character he was nominated for an Academy Award for playing in "The Insider," Crowe said: "In retrospect, Wigand was so easy because the situation had only happened a few years before and it had happened in modern times and it had been a media circus, so it was very well-documented on tape and a lot of major TV shows had talked to Wigand and they had footage of him, so I had hour upon hour of stuff to sit down and view ... With Nash it was a different situation."

The Oscar-winning actor ("Gladiator") pointed out that because much of the film is set more than 50 years ago there was a lot less material available about Nash for Crowe to study when he was preparing to play the troubled genius.

"Even though he was noted in academic circles, mainly for his eccentricities, I might add, and (for) his analytical mind, there was no footage of him and not a single piece of film showing him as a young man, showing how he walked. (There was) no audio so I could hear how he talked ... You have to take the facts of his life and look at what you can really use ... I had to take photographs and I had to take really big, broad-stroked facts and say, 'Okay, he was born in West Virginia. No matter what he talks like now at the age of 70-plus, I'm going to make him a West Virginian,'" explained the 38-year-old New Zealander.

"A Beautiful Mind," which co-stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly and Judd Hirsch, is in theaters now.

(Thanks to UPI's Karen Butler in New York)

'SURVIVOR: AFRICA'

For the first time ever, props and memorabilia from "Survivor" are being auctioned on eBay, with proceeds benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The auction began Thursday following the finale of "Survivor: Africa" and will run through early February. Items on the block include all 16 contestant torches, the bar where "cow's blood" shots were served in an early reward challenge, Clarence's infamous spear, African soap and a used wooden toothbrush, water jugs, "Out Wit, Out Play, Out Last" flags, the Tribal Council voting urn, autographed memorabilia, and the "Survivor: Africa" immunity idol.

BOX OFFICE

"Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" edged out "A Beautiful Mind" to win the nation's weekend box office for its fourth consecutive title with an estimated $16.2 million at 3,381 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period.

The New Line release has now totaled an impressive $228.3 million in its first 26 days. It already ranks as the 27th highest domestic grosser, topping "Rush Hour 2" to become the studio's all-time top performer.

Universal's fourth weekend of "A Beautiful Mind" finished a close second with $15.8 million at 2,222 theaters.

Both "Rings" and "Beautiful Mind" received a boost on Thursday when they picked up best picture nominations from the Producers Guild of America along with "Moulin Rouge," "Shrek" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." On Friday, "Mind" also won a best picture trophy from the Broadcast Film Critics Association along with stars Russell Crowe as best actor and Jennifer Connelly at best supporting actress.

Paramount's opening weekend of teen comedy "Orange County," starring Colin Hanks and Jack Black, posted a solid start in third place. Warner's sixth weekend of "Ocean's Eleven" placed fourth, followed by Disney's fifth weekend of Oscar hopeful "The Royal Tenenbaums."

Rounding out the top 10 were "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," "Vanilla Sky," "Kate & Leopold," "Gosford Park" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."