'Wall Street' sequel No. 1 for weekend
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" with Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf and Josh Brolin was No. 1 at the U.S. box office during the weekend with $19 million.
The computer-animated "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" was second with more than $16.33 million.
Ben Affleck's "The Town" was a close third with $16.03 million.
All studio gross estimated receipts are via Box Office Mojo.
"Easy A" raked in $10.7 million for fourth; "You Again" was fifth with $8.3 million; "Devil" sixth with more than $6.47 million; "Resident Evil: Afterlife" seventh with $4.9 million; "Alpha and Omega" eighth with $4.7 million; "Takers" ninth with $1.65 million.
"Inception" was 10th with more than $1.24 million.
Lohan said now serious about rehab
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A source close to Lindsay Lohan tells TMZ she is now serious about her recovery, though she relapsed weeks after checking out of a UCLA inpatient clinic.
"She will step up her treatment and do more than what she was previously ordered to do," the source told TMZ. The source said Lohan plans to voluntarily check herself back into rehab in the coming days.
Lohan, 24, was released from a Lynwood, Calif., jail late Friday night after winning an appeal to be granted bail following a failed drug test.
The actress has been ordered to wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet and avoid places "where alcohol is the chief item of sale," TMZ said. She has a probation violation hearing Oct. 22 where she could face more jail time for failing a drug test in her drunk driving case.
Other sources close to Lohan told TMZ the actress knows during her next trip to rehab she'll be in for some "intense" treatment.
The sources and her family tell TMZ they were shocked Lindsay was put in jail for a few hours Friday. One close friend said Lindsay called the treatment "completely unfair."
Unions put 'Hobbit' on no-hire list
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Actors guilds and several international unions told workers not to accept jobs on "The Hobbit," to be directed by Peter Jackson in New Zealand.
The unions included the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, The Hollywood Reporter said.
The guilds say the blockbuster planned by MGM/New Line has rejected efforts by the New Zealand unit of an Australian actors union to unionize the picture.
The Reporter said "The Hobbit" has not officially been green-lighted, but Jackson has been preparing the adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Jackson, also the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy director, has been casting two "Ring" prequels for an expected 2011 shoot, the Reporter said.
A New Line spokesperson declined comment. Representatives for MGM, SAG and the producers were not immediately available, the Reporter said.
LONDON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A senior Microsoft executive says Blu-ray is being passed over by people going straight from DVDs to digital movie downloads.
The executive, Stephen McGill, director of Microsoft's Xbox and entertainment division in the United Kingdom, told the fan site Xbox360Achievements that consumers don't need Blu-ray, The Daily Telegraph reported.
He said adding a Blu-ray drive to the Xbox 360 would not help to extend the shelf life of the game console, the report said.
McGill told the fan site, "Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format. People have moved through DVDs to digital downloads and digital streaming, so we offer full high-definition 1080p Blu-ray streaming instantly (through the Xbox 360), no download, no delay. So who needs Blu-ray?"
Microsoft once sold an optional HD-DVD drive that could be connected to the Xbox 360 so that it could double as a DVD player. The 360's main rival console, Sony's PlayStation 3, has an integrated Blu-ray player.
The Daily Telegraph said many experts believe there is still a role for high-definition DVDs such as Blu-ray since few homes have the Internet connections needed for high-quality movie streaming.
