Kung Fu Panda

The Academy Awards air this Sunday past your lil one's bedtime, but that doesn't mean your family has to miss out on the fun! The Best Animated Feature Film nominees, Wall-E, Kung-Fu Panda and Bolt have all been released on DVD, so why not curl up on the couch with your family for a screening or two (or three!)? You may not have the time to replicate all of PartySugar's amazing Oscar Party suggestions and recipes, but consider infusing your celebratory cinema time with extra special effort.

• Turn Decorating Into an Art Project: Print out small pictures from the three movies (just do a Google image search and pick your favorites), and set up an art station with your printouts, construction paper, ribbons, glitter, and crayons. After your children decorate the pictures, turn them into a festive banner.
• Make Traditional Movie Snacks: PartySugar is serving up popcorn with truffle oil, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. If your tots have finicky taste buds, make a few bowls of popcorn and sprinkle in a handful of chocolate covered raisins. More truffle oil for the adults!
• Theme Your Main Course: If you are watching Kung-Fu Panda order Chinese takeout or make stir-fry, if you are watching Bolt, which takes place in the US, cook up some burgers or comfort food, and if Wall-E is your game, make futuristic food using food coloring and creative shapes (time to whip out those cookie cutters!).
• Make a Kiddie Ballot: You can cast your vote for the winners on BuzzSugar for a chance to win a year of movies, but online voting may be a bit advanced for your tots. Print out a simple homemade ballot for your children and let them pick their favorite of the three films before the award show.

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• Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro, and Gael Garcia Bernal are reportedly circling Martin Scorsese's next drama Silence, based on the Shusaku Endo novel. — Variety
• TNT has renewed Leverage for a second 15-episode season, which should air later this year. — TV.com
• Kung Fu Panda swept the Intnl. Animated Film Society's Annie Awards this year, while Wall-E went home empty-handed. — Variety
• Meanwhile, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle won the top award from the Directors Guild of America this year. — AP
• And speaking of Slumdog Millionaire, star Dev Patel is joining the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's live-action film The Last Airbender. — ComingSoon
• Kristen Johnston is "99.9 percent" going to play Patsy in Fox's Absolutely Fabulous remake pilot, while Kathryn Hahn is on board as Edina. — Entertainment Weekly
• Both Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson recorded their Super Bowl performances in advance. — New York Times
• ABC Family has renewed Greek, cut Kyle XY, and picked up three new shows, including the series based on 10 Things I Hate About You. — TV Guide

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Angelina Jolie looked amazingly leggy in her short black dress at yesterday's Kung Fu Panda DVD release celebration at Grauman's Chinese Theater in LA. The youthful looking actress posed with her costars in the movie Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman and chatted about her smiley twins. While she always has a big smile when promoting the animated film, she is still doing the rounds talking about Changeling. Unsurprisingly, her openness is her blessing and her curse in the latest interview. Here are highlights:

• On talking about adoption: “We talk about orphanages, we talk about their countries and differences, and it’s a source of excitement and pride. I’ve heard Maddox explain to Zahara when they are talking about pregnancy, ‘No, Zee, remember, you were in that nice African woman’s belly. I was in that nice Cambodian woman’.”
• On life: “I’m one of those people who believes you just can’t regret things in life. You have to feel confident that it was all part of the journey . . . If you start to regret, start to hesitate and question every move to make, then you live in some different way,” she says. “And for all the craziness I’ve done, I’ve never hurt anybody.”
• On the W Photo shoot: “I’d just had the kids six weeks before and felt so private, it didn’t feel right having a photographer fly across the world with a rack of stylish clothes for me to wear. . . It became this one-week project in our house,” Jolie says. The way she tells it, matters quickly got out of hand, and some of the photographs proved far too sexual to be released on an unsuspecting American audience. “Yeah, we thought about it, we’d look at the pictures as art and say this is a really interesting photograph, but then we’d know better and we’d think about how it was going to be received. So we made it a little more tame than it was originally.”

To see lots more photos and read what she has to say about their family just read more

• ABC Family has ordered 13 more episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
• According to Variety, Don Cheadle will get to star in and produce a movie he has long wanted to make: a drama based on the memoir Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine and South America's Strangest Jail.
• Will Ferrell and friends will be poking fun at both racism and split personalities in the movie 2-Face, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
• The LA Times wonders if the Emmys are out of touch with what viewers are watching.
• AdWeek has the story of how the Project Runway legal battle went down in court this week (short story: no decision yet).
• A Chinese artist is suing DreamWorks over what he says is an "insulting" depiction of China's national symbol in Kung Fu Panda, Variety reports.
• According to Pitchfork, Jarvis Cocker is working on music for The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson's forthcoming film.
• Billboard has the news that Jimi Hendrix will be the next musical artist to be used for Guitar Hero.

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The cutest robot to hit the screen in a long time, Wall-E, proved irresistible to audiences over the weekend, earning the top spot at the box office with an estimated $62.5 million. According to Variety, this is the third best opening for a Pixar film after The Incredibles ($70.5 million) and Finding Nemo ($70.2 million).

The Angelina Jolie-James McAvoy action flick Wanted nabbed the No. 2 spot with a respectable $51 million, and Get Smart stayed strong in the third spot earning $20 million over the weekend.

While most had adorable robots on the brain this weekend, some were still looking for some big panda fun and kept Kung Fu Panda going strong at No. 4, beating The Incredible Hulk which landed in the fifth spot.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

• According to her father, Amy Winehouse has been diagnosed with emphysema connected with her smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine. — PopSugarUK
• Get Smart opened in the number one spot at the box office this weekend, with The Love Guru only coming in at fourth, after second-place Kung Fu Panda and third-place Incredible Hulk. — BuzzSugar
• Tom Brokaw will be hosting Meet the Press through the November elections, filling the vacancy left by Tim Russert's death. — CitizenSugar
• Ellen DeGeneres gave Portia de Rossi a pink diamond engagement ring, and the couple has set a date for their upcoming wedding, part of which will be aired on Ellen's show. — People
• Timbaland and Monique Idlett had their second wedding ceremony Sunday night on a private island in Aruba. — Us Weekly
• A paparazzi photographer is suing Woody Harrelson for $2.5 million, accusing the actor of assaulting him and breaking his camera two years ago. — AP
• Ellen DeGeneres, Rachael Ray, and Tyra Banks won Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday night. Check out the full list of winners. — BuzzSugar
• ICYMI, comedian George Carlin passed away of heart failure yesterday.

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Looks like enough people were craving the silly fun of an updated Maxwell Smart story this weekend, making the Steve Carell-Anne Hathaway comedy No. 1 at the box office. The Mike Meyers comedy The Love Guru was expected to show Get Smart some stiff competition during the opening weekend for both movies. Instead, The Love Guru brought in $14 million to Get Smart's $39 million, and failed to crack the top three.

At No. 2 was Kung Fu Panda, which bumped the more recent Incredible Hulk to third place. The Love Guru came in fourth, followed by M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening.

This weekend the crown will most likely go to Pixar's latest (and much-promoted) project, WALL-E about a little robot with the saddest, most endearing "eyes" ever. The action flick Wanted, however, may entice that coveted young male demographic, and will probably do quite well for itself.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

• The Incredible Hulk had a successful opening weekend, topping the box office at $54.5 million. Kung Fu Panda came in at second place, with M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening opening third. — BuzzSugar
• Kid Rock was rushed to the hospital for dehydration minutes before he was scheduled to perform at the Download Festival in England. — E! Online
• Country singer Sara Evans married Jay Barker on Saturday in a small ceremony only their children attended. — People
• Snoop Dogg's wife, Shante Broadus, was arrested early Saturday morning in Fullerton, CA, for driving under the influence of alcohol. — TMZ
• Kanye West didn't start his Bonnaroo performance until 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning, more than two hours past his scheduled start time, prompting upset fans to throw glow sticks on stage chanting "Kanye sucks." — AP
• Oprah Winfrey delivered the inspirational commencement address at Stanford on Saturday, speaking to the graduates, including her goddaughter, about how to find happiness. — Stanford Report
• Amy Winehouse arrived intoxicated at an art gallery performance in Moscow, where she was being paid $2 million an hour to perform. — Rush & Molloy
• Tim Russert's son, Luke Russert, went on The Today Show this morning to speak about, share memories of, and honor his father. — The Today Show

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