W Movie

Thandie NEWTON has garnered way more column inches for a movie she didn't make ("Charlie's Angels") than for any of the 21 already under her petite belt. At 35, she has starred as girlfriend, wife and daughter of Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey, respectively, and worked for an international clutch of esteemed directors (Bernardo Bertolucci, John Woo, Jonathan Demme, Neil Jordan, Paul Haggis). But if the universe conspires in her favor, Newton will merit her most expansive and complimentary coverage yet for playing Condoleezza Rice opposite Josh Brolin in “W,” Oliver Stone's George W. Bush biopic out Oct. 17. "I feel a real pull from 'W,' a grief at its having ended," Newton says by phone from her "ramshackle beach house" in Vancouver, Canada, where she is filming the disaster epic "2012" for director Roland Emmerich ("The Patriot")

Thandie NEWTON has garnered way more column inches for a movie she didn't make ("Charlie's Angels") than for any of the 21 already under her petite belt. At 35, she has starred as girlfriend, wife and daughter of Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey, respectively, and worked for an international clutch of esteemed directors (Bernardo Bertolucci, John Woo, Jonathan Demme, Neil Jordan, Paul Haggis). But if the universe conspires in her favor, Newton will merit her most expansive and complimentary coverage yet for playing Condoleezza Rice opposite Josh Brolin in “W,” Oliver Stone's George W. Bush biopic out Oct. 17. "I feel a real pull from 'W,' a grief at its having ended," Newton says by phone from her "ramshackle beach house" in Vancouver, Canada, where she is filming the disaster epic "2012" for director Roland Emmerich ("The Patriot")

J.W. Eaves, whose ranch brought New Mexico into the film industry as the setting for "The Cheyenne Social Club," "Chisum" and other Westerns, has died at an Albuquerque hospital. He was 85. Eaves, who died Wednesday, entered the hospital a few weeks ago with pneumonia, said Al Cantu, a friend of 33 years who manages the Eaves Movie Ranch near Santa Fe.

J.W. Eaves, whose ranch brought New Mexico into the film industry as the setting for "The Cheyenne Social Club," "Chisum" and other Westerns, has died at an Albuquerque hospital. He was 85. Eaves, who died Wednesday, entered the hospital a few weeks ago with pneumonia, said Al Cantu, a friend of 33 years who manages the Eaves Movie Ranch near Santa Fe.

Just when Hollywood thought the summer box-office season was stuck in the doldrums, along comes Jerry Bruckheimer to the rescue. The quintessential action producer had the weekend's top two movies -- "Bad Boys II" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." The weekend's top 12 pictures grossed about 34% more than the films released over the same weekend last year, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Overall, this summer's $2.59 billion in box office is running just 1% short of last year by this date.

Weekend box office Fueled by blockbuster sequels "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," as well as "Catch Me If You Can," the Christmas holiday saw the biggest box office on record. From Thanksgiving to Sunday, the domestic box office generated a record-breaking $939 million in revenue, up from $748.3 million last year, according to the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Among films in limited release, "Chicago" debuted with $2.