Shane Black

"Iron Man 3" surpassed everything except "The Avengers. " The third Tony Stark movie from Disney's Marvel Studios enjoyed the second-best opening in box-office history, grossing an estimated $175.3 million in its debut weekend, Disney said Sunday. That debut could help start to reverse a very slow year in local theaters, where revenues and admissions are down about 12% from 2012. "Iron Man 3" appeared to benefit from strong family attendance and positive audience recommendations, collecting a CinemaScore of A. PHOTOS: 'Iron Man 3' premiere "We're getting some great word of mouth," said Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice president for worldwide sales and distribution.

"Iron Man 3" surpassed everything except "The Avengers. " The third Tony Stark movie from Disney's Marvel Studios enjoyed the second-best opening in box-office history, grossing an estimated $175.3 million in its debut weekend, Disney said Sunday. That debut could help start to reverse a very slow year in local theaters, where revenues and admissions are down about 12% from 2012. "Iron Man 3" appeared to benefit from strong family attendance and positive audience recommendations, collecting a CinemaScore of A. PHOTOS: 'Iron Man 3' premiere "We're getting some great word of mouth," said Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice president for worldwide sales and distribution.

The dog days of summer were fast approaching. Most of the season's big movies, including "True Lies" and "Forrest Gump," were already out of the box. Within the next few weeks, the Hollywood exodus would begin. All the players would be high-tailing it to the Hamptons, the south of France or their hideaways in the Malibu Colony. But there was still a major piece of business yet to be done before the summer slowdown.

Given that "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is Shane Black's directorial debut after nearly 20 years as a screenwriter, it's not surprising that the film has the exuberant glee of a kid who's just been let out of detention. A little of this kind of glee, however, goes a longer way than you might expect. Black, the screenwriter best known for dreaming up the "Lethal Weapon" franchise, is someone who can't resist showing off, and that eventually becomes a problem.

SHANE BLACK If Shane Black now looks out on an overheated, youth-obsessed screenwriting market where age 37 looks a little long in the tooth, he has partly himself to thank. After selling his "Lethal Weapon" script to Warner Bros.

IT'S AN ORDINARY NIGHT AT THE Pad O' Guys, the West Los Angeles bungalow where screenwriter Shane Black and a dozen or so buddies from his UCLA days hang out discussing the weighty topics of the day, such as how long it's been since any of them had sex. A picket sign from the Writers Guild strike two years ago decorates the wall and a promotional display from the movie "Flipper" and an assortment of toys and movie hype collect dust on the mantle. No Good Housekeeping seal of approval here.

The parties never went away. They are, to many in Hollywood, legendary. They take place in screenwriter Shane Black's Hancock Park home, a mansion set on a well-kept lawn and in a gated community. On this night, it is Black's 43rd birthday party and the cars -- expensive and shiny, like giant jewelry -- come gliding in. Black sips a Grey Goose and soda as he moves from room to room, stopping to flirt with a local weather girl -- "Isn't she beautiful?"

Terry Black's screenwriting credits include "Dead Heat," a 1988 zombie movie starring Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams, and several episodes of HBO's "Tales From the Crypt." So it's somehow not surprising that the Costa Mesa writer and his fiancee, Elizabeth Monica Lockwood of Glendale, have chosen a Halloween motif for their wedding Sunday. They're tying the knot in the chapel at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana. "We like the cemetery," said Black, 43.

Don't look for Warner Bros.' now-filming "Lethal Weapon 2" to be too lethal: The script by Shane Black--who shot to industry notoriety at age 25 by penning the original--was rejected by the producers as too grim. Especially bumming: A climactic battle in which Mel Gibson's character, Martin Riggs, is killed! "I'm always infuriating producers by making people die," Black told us. "I seem to specialize in grim.

With a mixture of horror, elation and awe, Hollywood has watched for the last three days as some of its biggest companies vied for, of all things, a film script. By several reports, 20th Century Fox began the bidding for 28-year-old writer Shane Black's new screenplay, "The Last Boy Scout," at $850,000 on Monday. Universal Pictures quickly entered the fray but dropped out at just over $1 million. Warner Bros.

THERE may come a time when Robert Downey Jr. can have a conversation about something other than his "comeback," but this isn't it. "Such a good actor," people have been saying for years, using a tone of wistful regret normally reserved for a fat girl with a pretty face. Now, watching as Downey nimbly carries the odd and shifting weight of Shane Black's upcoming comic-noir-thriller-romance, "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," it is tempting to heave a sigh of relief and say, "He's back."

The parties never went away. They are, to many in Hollywood, legendary. They take place in screenwriter Shane Black's Hancock Park home, a mansion set on a well-kept lawn and in a gated community. On this night, it is Black's 43rd birthday party and the cars -- expensive and shiny, like giant jewelry -- come gliding in. Black sips a Grey Goose and soda as he moves from room to room, stopping to flirt with a local weather girl -- "Isn't she beautiful?"

SHANE BLACK If Shane Black now looks out on an overheated, youth-obsessed screenwriting market where age 37 looks a little long in the tooth, he has partly himself to thank. After selling his "Lethal Weapon" script to Warner Bros.

Shane Black, who wrote the 1987 blockbuster "Lethal Weapon" and later caught Hollywood's attention when he was paid $4 million for "The Long Kiss Goodnight," has been turned down for membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The academy said Black could be reconsidered sometime in the future "when he has accumulated further credits."

Terry Black's screenwriting credits include "Dead Heat," a 1988 zombie movie starring Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams, and several episodes of HBO's "Tales From the Crypt." So it's somehow not surprising that the Costa Mesa writer and his fiancee, Elizabeth Monica Lockwood of Glendale, have chosen a Halloween motif for their wedding Sunday. They're tying the knot in the chapel at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana. "We like the cemetery," said Black, 43.

The dog days of summer were fast approaching. Most of the season's big movies, including "True Lies" and "Forrest Gump," were already out of the box. Within the next few weeks, the Hollywood exodus would begin. All the players would be high-tailing it to the Hamptons, the south of France or their hideaways in the Malibu Colony. But there was still a major piece of business yet to be done before the summer slowdown.

Shane Black, who wrote the 1987 blockbuster "Lethal Weapon" and later caught Hollywood's attention when he was paid $4 million for "The Long Kiss Goodnight," has been turned down for membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The academy said Black could be reconsidered sometime in the future "when he has accumulated further credits."

THERE may come a time when Robert Downey Jr. can have a conversation about something other than his "comeback," but this isn't it. "Such a good actor," people have been saying for years, using a tone of wistful regret normally reserved for a fat girl with a pretty face. Now, watching as Downey nimbly carries the odd and shifting weight of Shane Black's upcoming comic-noir-thriller-romance, "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," it is tempting to heave a sigh of relief and say, "He's back."

IT'S AN ORDINARY NIGHT AT THE Pad O' Guys, the West Los Angeles bungalow where screenwriter Shane Black and a dozen or so buddies from his UCLA days hang out discussing the weighty topics of the day, such as how long it's been since any of them had sex. A picket sign from the Writers Guild strike two years ago decorates the wall and a promotional display from the movie "Flipper" and an assortment of toys and movie hype collect dust on the mantle. No Good Housekeeping seal of approval here.

With a mixture of horror, elation and awe, Hollywood has watched for the last three days as some of its biggest companies vied for, of all things, a film script. By several reports, 20th Century Fox began the bidding for 28-year-old writer Shane Black's new screenplay, "The Last Boy Scout," at $850,000 on Monday. Universal Pictures quickly entered the fray but dropped out at just over $1 million. Warner Bros.