Not to be scoffed at, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained cashed in with the third biggest Christmas launch, grossing $15 million.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which bowed in mid-December domestically, grossed $11.3 million Tuesday, while Fox's family comedy Parental Guidance with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler came in fourth with $6.5 million.

Tom Cruise starrer Jack Reacher took in $5.3 million Tuesday, brining its five-day total to $23.3 million.

Overall, Christmas Day generated $73 million at the box office, another solid showing for a 2012 that has proved a generally good one for Hollywood.

The Top five Christmas Day openings:

1. Sherlock Holmes, Warner Bros. - $24,608,941
Christmas 2009

2. Les Miserables, Universal - $18 million (estimated)
Christmas 2012

3.  Django Unchained, The Weinstein Company - $15 million (estimated)
Christmas 2012

4. Marley and Me, Fox - $14,380,980
Christmas 2008

5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Paramount - $11,871,831
Christmas 2008

[Source: Hollywood.com]

Last week, Boston's CBS affiliate reported that Massachusetts Democrats were wooing Affleck to run for the seat that will be vacated by John Kerry after his likely confirmation as Secretary of State, replacing Hillary Rodham Clinton. The low probability that he'd run did get a bit of a boost when his publicist didn't directly deny he was considering a run and he didn't completely say 'no' when asked about running during an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation Sunday.

But, Affleck took to Facebook to give final confirmation of his Senate bow out. He will continue to work for the Eastern Congo Initiative, a non-profit group that gives humanitarian aid in the war-torn African region and other causes. Affleck has gone to Congress to testify on behalf of his work for the group. In his Facebook message, he also gives a shout-out to the presumed new Secretary of State.

Affleck's Facebook statement follows:

I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office. Right now it's a privilege to spend my time working with Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), supporting our veterans, drawing attention to the great many who go hungry in the U.S. everyday and using filmmaking to entertain and foster discussion about issues like our relationship to Iran.

We are about to get a great Secretary of State and there are some phenomenal candidates in Massachusetts for his Senate seat. I look forward to an amazing campaign.

Happy Holidays to All.

[Source: A.P.]

Ben Affleck's Argo Crosses $100 Million Mark in N. America
The Oscar hopeful directed and starring Ben Affleck crossed the $100 million mark, a notable feat for a historical drama. The title took in $2 million over the weekend. Internationally it has grossed $56 million, THR reports.

Rick McCallum Bolts from Lucasfilm
The Star Wars producer said Saturday via Lucasfilm's StarWars.com that he is leaving the company to produce a slate of smaller independent films including a Russian pic about the Babi Yar Massacre that Sergei Loznitsa will direct; a film by Laurence Bowen about the boy soldiers of Sierra Leone; and an action drama with Tomas Masin about two brothers who escaped Czechoslovakia during the Cold War while being pursued by thousands of Soviet soldiers, Variety reports.

Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman and Led Zeppelin Honored at Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center welcomed eight performing artists to its wall of fame Sunday at a festival Kennedy Center Honors event. Actor Dustin Hoffman, TV host David Letterman, blues singer Buddy Guy, ballerina Natalia Makarova and the rock group Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) were saluted during the affair's 35th annual installment attended by the President and Mrs. Obama, Variety reports.

Holdovers Solid As Newcomers Bow Tepid in Specialty Box Office
Oscar contenders Silver Linings Playbook and Rust and Bone held solid in the specialty realm as they expanded. The overall box office had dreadful debuts from TWC’s Killing Me Softly and LD Entertainment’s The Collection. But Weinstein’s David O. Russell-directed Silver Linings held nicely with a per-theater average of just over $9K as the movie added four cinemas in its third weekend, Deadline reports.

Helen Mirren 'Unsure' Over Reprising Queen Role
Helen Mirren has admitted she felt "very unsure" about reprising her Oscar-winning role as The Queen in an upcoming London play. "I don't like going back to things," the 67-year-old said. "I like to go forward." But she was won over, she went on, by the "extraordinary team of artists who are putting the play together". The actress was speaking at the European Film Awards in Malta, where she received an honorary award, BBC reports.

Based on author Deborah Moggach's novel The Foolish Things, the box office triumphant was seen by some as evidence that a gap exists in the market for films serving an older demographic.

Maggie Smith recently criticized Hollywood for youth obsession, saying that films that portray older people have historically performed well at the box office.

"It seems to me there is a change in what audiences want to see," she said. "I can only hope that's correct, because there's an awful lot of people of my age around now and we outnumber the others," she said. "I don't think films about elderly people have been made very much. But I think of [films like] Cocoon and Driving Miss Daisy and they always seem to be fairly successful, so it's a bit baffling as to why everybody has to be treated as if they were five years old."

Smith is currently starring in the third season of the hit British television series Downton Abbey, which will be released in the U.S. in January. Dench is starring as 007's boss M in the latest Bond pic Skyfall, which opens in the U.S. next month.

[Moviescope, The Guardian]

At this month's New York Comic Con, Richard LaGravenese and his cast were eager to point out that their February flick Beautiful Creatures, adapted from the bestselling young adult fantasy book, might be about a human falling in love with a supernatural being, but that's where the comparison ends.  So, how is Beautiful Creatures different?

Check out the video below to find out as LaGravenese, Alden Ehrenreich, Thomas Mann and Zoey Deutch all dish on their southern gothic romance — plus, I ask Ehrenreich a question he has yet to be asked!

Beautiful Creatures is set to hit theaters February 13, 2013.

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This is not the first time Knowles took her leave from A Star is Born. She actually came back on board when Eastwood was named director in January last year after departing over production delays prior to the announcement. Eastwood hopes to pattern the latest Star in the vein of the 1976 version, which starred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, which moved the story from the film biz to the music industry.

The original version filmed in 1937 starred Fredric March and Janet Gaynor as an aging Hollywood actor who takes the young budding star under his tutelage. James Mason and Judy Garland took on A Star is Born in 1954.

Speculation has now turned to jazz musician Esperanza Spalding as a replacement, but Warner Bros. wants to lock down a male lead before moving on with finding Beyoncé's replacement. Bradley Cooper was the latest in the long line of male contenders to surface as the eventual choice.

One of music's most recognizable stars, Beyoncé made a box office splash with 2006's Dreamgirls, which took in almost $155 million worldwide. Her starring role in thriller Obsessed took in a cool $73.83 million domestically in 2009, but not all has been box office gold. Cadillac Records bombed with only $8.1 million domestically.

[Sources: Variety, The Guardian, Box Office Mojo]

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire Urge Voter Expression
DiCaprio and Maguire lead a cast of stars in a new public service announcement urging young voters to use social media to talk about which issues they think matter most in the upcoming election. Zac Efron, Selena Gomez, Ellen DeGeneres, Jonah Hill and Joseph Gordon Levitt also appear in the Vote 4 Stuff video unveiled Monday, A.P. reports.

Specialty Box Office: The Other Dream Team Scores on Slow Weekend; Perks of Being a Wallflower Strong in Expansion
There were a few weeks there when the specialties shined compared to their studio brethren — overall box office slumped, but newcomers like The Master and Arbitrage impressed. Well, the final weekend of September saw limited-release titles lack the star-power of those earlier releases, and this frame as a result can best be described as ho-hum for the indies. The documentary The Other Dream Team scored the best overall numbers with a solid $11K-plus screen average," Deadline reports.

Foreign Box Office: Looper Opens No. 1 Overseas with $36 Million
The sci-fi pic opened strong in only a handful of markets, opening number one in China with an estimated $24 million, several million more than its U.S. start at $21.2 million. It opened in Russia with $4.5 million and $3.6 million in the U.K., THR reports.

French Filmmaker Francois Ozon Wins San Sebastian's Golden Shell
French film In The House (Dans La Maison) won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Film Festival, while Blancanieves won a Special Jury Prize and The Attack received a special mention, Screen reports.

In the release (in stores today) the 69-year-old Marshall writes her life story, from her childhood growing up in the Bronx alongside sister Ronny and brother Garry, to her introduction to Hollywood and famous friends, colleagues, and lovers including John Belushi, Carrie Fisher, Rob Reiner, Art Garfunkel, Joe Pesci, Steven Spielberg, and many of the brightest talents of New Hollywood, to her successful second career directing films like Big, Awakenings, and A League Of Their Own.

Stay tuned for Movieline's exclusive interview with Marshall.

=====

Jim Brooks and I both had offices on the Fox lot and one day while I was in post-production on Jumpin’ Jack Flash he came into my office and put a script on my desk. “This is your next movie,” he said.

It was Big.

What he didn’t tell me was that everyone in the world had turned it down. From Chuck Shyer to Steven Spielberg. Because I didn’t read the trades or follow the business, I had no idea. Nor did I know there were three similar movies in the works: Like Father, Like Son; Vice Versa; and an Italian version.

But Jim was a mentor and friend. He knew that I had liked directing and making things up. He also knew that I wanted to do it again. I was grateful for his help because I probably wouldn’t have known how to look for a project on my own. Luckily I didn’t have to.

I read the draft and liked the story. Twelve-year-old Josh Baskin can’t get the girl he likes; she’s interested in an older boy who can drive. He wishes he were bigger and wakes up the next morning as a thirty-year-old. He gets a job at FAO Schwarz, rises up the corporate ladder, and becomes the object of affection of a beautiful executive. It was a theme that everyone could identify with: When I’m big I’m gonna . . .

To make the high concept work, I wanted it to be real and believable. The biggest challenge would be casting the lead. I went straight to the three big box-office stars at the time: Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, and Dennis Quaid. All of them passed. Everyone passed.

I tried a different approach. I looked for the kid who would be Josh’s best friend, and I picked Jared Rushton. He had the most spunk of those I saw. He worked well as I brought in actors, including Sean Penn, who was terrific but too young, and Andy Garcia, who was also great, though one of the studio executives said, “We don’t want to spend eighteen million on a kid who grows up to be Puerto Rican.”

That was how they talked.

“He’s Cuban,” I said.

I also read Gary Busey, who had the energy of a child, but I didn’t think he could pull off playing an adult. John Travolta was dying to do it, but at the time he was box office poison and the studio didn’t want him. I started to get worried. Despite not having a lead actor, we were in pre-production in New York. I met with Robert Greenhut, one of our executive producers. This was our first film together. He was a slick line producer who had come up through the ranks and done all of Woody Allen’s films. He had excellent ideas, and he turned into an ally and confidant when I decided to take my search for a lead actor in a different direction.

I went to Robert De Niro. Bobby — or Bobby D. as I called him — was in the middle of making The Untouchables, playing Al Capone. Although I knew he didn’t ordinarily read other material when he was in the middle of a project, I called him anyway. That’s where I’m not at all shy or hesitant. I will call anyone. What’s the worst they can say?
“Bobby, there’s a script,” I said. “I want you to read it, see if you like it.”

I got him the material and called him back.

“Did you read it?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think?

“I like it.”

It turned out that he wanted to make a commercial film. He had done all of Marty Scorsese’s movies, but hadn’t broken out in a film the whole family could watch. I told Jim and Scott Rudin, who was running production at the studio, that De Niro was interested. They were surprised and somewhat intrigued. They were also skeptical. Besides having a hard time envisioning him in the role, they’d heard stories about him. They told me to get him to commit. The way they said it was like a challenge.

I called Bobby.

“What do I tell them when they ask me?” I asked. “Do you want to do it or not? I’ve got to give them an answer.”

“Yeah, tell them I’ll do it,” he said.

I hung up.

I had Bobby.

I told Jim and Scott, and I guess word spread. The next day I flew to Los Angeles to go to an event celebrating Paramount’s seventy-fifth anniversary and posed for a photo with everyone who ever worked at the studio. Word had spread about Bobby D. and a handful of actors who had turned me down, including Kevin Costner, now asked about Big. Bobby had given me validity.

As work began on the script, Bobby told me to look at his movies and tell him what I wanted and didn’t want. What I wanted was the energy he had in Mean Streets in the scene when he was first in the bar and coming out around the car. That’s exactly what I got when he came to my house one day. I got him on tape with Jared. They skateboarded, shot baskets, and rode bicycles in my driveway. Bobby doesn’t give you much until the cameras are on. Jared yelled, “Come on, De Niro. Move it!”

It was exciting. I didn’t know exactly where the process was leading, in terms of the script, but it was moving in a good direction. I would have paid to see Bobby dance on piano keys.

Barry didn’t want Bobby, though. I said, “Counter me.” He said, “How about Warren Beatty?” To me, Warren was the same as De Niro, but different. He had already done something similar in Heaven Can Wait. But the two of us had dinner in New York and then we went up to my apartment. I asked if he would listen to me if I directed him. In the nicest way, he said no.

Well, that was thrilling. Why bother?

At least Warren was being honest. That’s all I ever ask. Just tell me the truth. I’ll deal with it. But I can’t deal unless I know the truth.

Bobby was taken aback when I told him the studio had wanted me to meet with Warren. It’s never easy to hear that you aren’t someone’s top choice, even at his level. But that was only a small part of what became an even bigger problem. An article came out in the papers about how much money Chevy Chase, John Candy, and other people were paid for movies, and all were getting a hell of a lot more than Fox was going to pay Bobby.

To be blunt, they were going to pay him shit and they weren’t budging.

They just didn’t want him. Jim Brooks suggested I give Bobby my salary. I offered. Bobby didn’t want it.

“We’re working together,” he said. “You and me, you know? I’ll take Jim’s.”

However, he had second thoughts and called the next day. Apologetic, he explained he couldn’t do the movie anymore.

He’d be too angry. I understood. But now I was back to square one. Sort of.

Excerpted from “My Mother Was Nuts” by Penny Marshall.
©2012 by Penny Marshall.
To be published by Amazon Publishing/New Harvest September 2012.
All Rights Reserved.

My Mother Was Nuts is available today in stores and on Amazon.

Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.

In the release (in stores today) the 69-year-old Marshall writes her life story, from her childhood growing up in the Bronx alongside sister Ronny and brother Garry, to her introduction to Hollywood and famous friends, colleagues, and lovers including John Belushi, Carrie Fisher, Rob Reiner, Art Garfunkel, Joe Pesci, Steven Spielberg, and many of the brightest talents of New Hollywood, to her successful second career directing films like Big, Awakenings, and A League Of Their Own.

Stay tuned for Movieline's exclusive interview with Marshall.

=====

Jim Brooks and I both had offices on the Fox lot and one day while I was in post-production on Jumpin’ Jack Flash he came into my office and put a script on my desk. “This is your next movie,” he said.

It was Big.

What he didn’t tell me was that everyone in the world had turned it down. From Chuck Shyer to Steven Spielberg. Because I didn’t read the trades or follow the business, I had no idea. Nor did I know there were three similar movies in the works: Like Father, Like Son; Vice Versa; and an Italian version.

But Jim was a mentor and friend. He knew that I had liked directing and making things up. He also knew that I wanted to do it again. I was grateful for his help because I probably wouldn’t have known how to look for a project on my own. Luckily I didn’t have to.

I read the draft and liked the story. Twelve-year-old Josh Baskin can’t get the girl he likes; she’s interested in an older boy who can drive. He wishes he were bigger and wakes up the next morning as a thirty-year-old. He gets a job at FAO Schwarz, rises up the corporate ladder, and becomes the object of affection of a beautiful executive. It was a theme that everyone could identify with: When I’m big I’m gonna . . .

To make the high concept work, I wanted it to be real and believable. The biggest challenge would be casting the lead. I went straight to the three big box-office stars at the time: Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, and Dennis Quaid. All of them passed. Everyone passed.

I tried a different approach. I looked for the kid who would be Josh’s best friend, and I picked Jared Rushton. He had the most spunk of those I saw. He worked well as I brought in actors, including Sean Penn, who was terrific but too young, and Andy Garcia, who was also great, though one of the studio executives said, “We don’t want to spend eighteen million on a kid who grows up to be Puerto Rican.”

That was how they talked.

“He’s Cuban,” I said.

I also read Gary Busey, who had the energy of a child, but I didn’t think he could pull off playing an adult. John Travolta was dying to do it, but at the time he was box office poison and the studio didn’t want him. I started to get worried. Despite not having a lead actor, we were in pre-production in New York. I met with Robert Greenhut, one of our executive producers. This was our first film together. He was a slick line producer who had come up through the ranks and done all of Woody Allen’s films. He had excellent ideas, and he turned into an ally and confidant when I decided to take my search for a lead actor in a different direction.

I went to Robert De Niro. Bobby — or Bobby D. as I called him — was in the middle of making The Untouchables, playing Al Capone. Although I knew he didn’t ordinarily read other material when he was in the middle of a project, I called him anyway. That’s where I’m not at all shy or hesitant. I will call anyone. What’s the worst they can say?
“Bobby, there’s a script,” I said. “I want you to read it, see if you like it.”

I got him the material and called him back.

“Did you read it?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think?

“I like it.”

It turned out that he wanted to make a commercial film. He had done all of Marty Scorsese’s movies, but hadn’t broken out in a film the whole family could watch. I told Jim and Scott Rudin, who was running production at the studio, that De Niro was interested. They were surprised and somewhat intrigued. They were also skeptical. Besides having a hard time envisioning him in the role, they’d heard stories about him. They told me to get him to commit. The way they said it was like a challenge.

I called Bobby.

“What do I tell them when they ask me?” I asked. “Do you want to do it or not? I’ve got to give them an answer.”

“Yeah, tell them I’ll do it,” he said.

I hung up.

I had Bobby.

I told Jim and Scott, and I guess word spread. The next day I flew to Los Angeles to go to an event celebrating Paramount’s seventy-fifth anniversary and posed for a photo with everyone who ever worked at the studio. Word had spread about Bobby D. and a handful of actors who had turned me down, including Kevin Costner, now asked about Big. Bobby had given me validity.

As work began on the script, Bobby told me to look at his movies and tell him what I wanted and didn’t want. What I wanted was the energy he had in Mean Streets in the scene when he was first in the bar and coming out around the car. That’s exactly what I got when he came to my house one day. I got him on tape with Jared. They skateboarded, shot baskets, and rode bicycles in my driveway. Bobby doesn’t give you much until the cameras are on. Jared yelled, “Come on, De Niro. Move it!”

It was exciting. I didn’t know exactly where the process was leading, in terms of the script, but it was moving in a good direction. I would have paid to see Bobby dance on piano keys.

Barry didn’t want Bobby, though. I said, “Counter me.” He said, “How about Warren Beatty?” To me, Warren was the same as De Niro, but different. He had already done something similar in Heaven Can Wait. But the two of us had dinner in New York and then we went up to my apartment. I asked if he would listen to me if I directed him. In the nicest way, he said no.

Well, that was thrilling. Why bother?

At least Warren was being honest. That’s all I ever ask. Just tell me the truth. I’ll deal with it. But I can’t deal unless I know the truth.

Bobby was taken aback when I told him the studio had wanted me to meet with Warren. It’s never easy to hear that you aren’t someone’s top choice, even at his level. But that was only a small part of what became an even bigger problem. An article came out in the papers about how much money Chevy Chase, John Candy, and other people were paid for movies, and all were getting a hell of a lot more than Fox was going to pay Bobby.

To be blunt, they were going to pay him shit and they weren’t budging.

They just didn’t want him. Jim Brooks suggested I give Bobby my salary. I offered. Bobby didn’t want it.

“We’re working together,” he said. “You and me, you know? I’ll take Jim’s.”

However, he had second thoughts and called the next day. Apologetic, he explained he couldn’t do the movie anymore.

He’d be too angry. I understood. But now I was back to square one. Sort of.

Excerpted from “My Mother Was Nuts” by Penny Marshall.
©2012 by Penny Marshall.
To be published by Amazon Publishing/New Harvest September 2012.
All Rights Reserved.

My Mother Was Nuts is available today in stores and on Amazon.

Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.