'Lord of the Rings' clings to top spot at overseas Box Office
Brandon Gray
Zap2it

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) – Though it fell to No. 8 on the domestic front, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" remained firmly entrenched atop the overseas box office for the weekend ending Jan. 27, drawing an estimated $23 million from 6,538 venues across 49 countries. The epic adventure's foreign haul has climbed to $364.3 million, the ninth highest gross of all time.

"Vanilla Sky's" $4.2 million bow in the United Kingdom, though, was enough to unseat the reigning "Rings," which earned $3.4 million in its sixth frame for $71.2 million there thus far.

The Tom Cruise-Penelope Cruz romantic thriller extracted $14.3 million overall from 28 territories, including a $2.6 million No. 1 debut in France, bringing its overseas tally to $50.1 million. Its leading market has been Japan, where it's grossed $23 million through its 6th frame, although it quickly dropped off the chart in Australia thanks to poor word-of-mouth, garnering a modest $3.7 million there.

"Ocean's Eleven" lifted an estimated $10.4 million from 2,139 sites in 17 nations, coasting to $62.3 million so far. George Clooney and company held onto to the top spots in Germany ($15.3 million in the till), Australia ($8.2 million) and Spain ($5.5 million).

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is still attracting crowds, pulling in around $9.7 million from 5,161 theaters and propelling its total to $578.6 million, the second-highest gross of all time.

Though "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" have dominated the world over the past few months, there was one place where they were trumped: Mexico. South of the border, "Monsters, Inc." has roared past the fantasy titans by reaching $18 million through its seventh week, making it the second highest-grossing picture there behind "Titanic." Having grabbed $50.3 million from Asia and Latin America overall, the computer-animated boogeymen will start scaring business out of Europe this weekend as they hit Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Two Towers sneak peeks
The Straits Times, Singapore

Here is a sneak peek at a scne from the second instalment of The Lord Of The Rings, due for release in December. In The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, expect a pivotal action sequence at the battle for Helm's Deep.

Director Peter Jackson as indicated that it will be very bloody, indeed.

On a lighter note, Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, will return. And this time, he will be younger and more dashing, dressed in white samurai clothes, according to the actor.

And expect more hearts and flowers as the love story between Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Arwen (Live Tyler) develops. According to the actress, it will be like "a Romeo and Juliet thing."

There is still no conclusive word yet on how big a part Legolas will play in the upcoming movie. Sorry, Orlando Bloom fans, you will just have to wait.

LOTR nominated for 'Best Cast'
Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Screen Actors Guild on Tuesday picked nominees for its annual awards show with stars from movies ``A Beautiful Mind'' and ``In the Bedroom'' among the actors named as Hollywood's awards season marches toward its top film honors, the Oscars, in March.

The Screen Actors Guild is the union that represents movie and television actors and actresses. The guild hands out awards only for performances, and its top category is considered best performance by a cast in a movie.

In that grouping, joining ``Beautiful Mind'' and ``In the Bedroom'' were drama ``Gosford Park,'' musical ``Moulin Rouge,'' and epic fantasy, ``Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.''

Nominees for best performance by a male actor in a film were Russell Crowe for ``A Beautiful Mind,'' Kevin Kline for ''Life as a House,'' Sean Penn for ``I Am Sam,'' Denzel Washington for ``Training Day'' and Tom Wilkinson for ``In the Bedroom.''

Nominees for best performance by a female actor in a movie were Halle Berry for ``Monster's Ball,'' Jennifer Connelly for ``A Beautiful Mind,'' Judi Dench for ``Iris,'' Sissy Spacek for ``In the Bedroom'' and Renee Zellweger for ``Bridget Jones's Diary.''

Each year the Screen Actors Guild Award show gains prominence as a precursor to the Oscars -- the film industry's highest awards given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in late March. This year's 8th Annual SAG Awards will be broadcast on cable network TNT on March 10.

New names for Oscar race
Empire Online

While the likes of Russell Crowe, Halle Berry and Sissy Spacek have all featured predominantly in other awards ceremonies to date, the actors guild has included a number of interesting choices in the Best Leading and Supporting Performances categories. For Best Actor - both Kevin Kline (Life as a House) and Sean Penn (I am Sam) get the nod, while Renee Zellweger and Cameron Diaz slip into the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories respectively.

The awards, which include categories for both solo and ensemble performances, are chosen initially by a small percentage of the SAG membership which comes up with the shortlist. The shortlisted performances are then voted on by the entire body of SAG members and the results announced on 10 March - just two weeks before the Oscars.

The Nominees in full:

For Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role
Russell Crowe - A Beautiful Mind
Kevin Kline - Life As A House
Sean Penn - I Am Sam
Denzel Washington - Training Day
Tom Wilkinson - In The Bedroom

For Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role
Halle Berry - Monster’s Ball
Jennifer Connelly - A Beautiful Mind
Judi Dench - Iris
Sissy Spacek - In The Bedroom
Renée Zellweger - Bridget Jones’s Diary

For Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role
Jim Broadbent - Iris
Hayden Christensen - Life As A House
Ethan Hawke - Training Day
Ben Kingsley - Sexy Beast
Ian McKellen - The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring

For Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett - Bandits
Judi Dench - The Shipping News
Cameron Diaz - Vanilla Sky
Dakota Fanning - I Am Sam
Helen Mirren - Gosford Park

For Outstanding Performance By The Cast Of A Theatrical Motion Picture
A Beautiful Mind
Gosford Park
In The Bedroom
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Moulin Rouge