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New York's 2010 Summer Jam Lineup

'Gnomeo & Juliet' Tops Weekend Box Office

Nicolas Cage's 'Drive Angry 3D' crashes and burns at #9.
By Ryan J. Downey

"Gnomeo and Juliet"
Photo: Miramax

Some folks thought a 3-D retelling of a Shakespearean classic starring computer-generated garden gnomes in the title roles and backed by the music of Sir Elton John wouldn't work. But the joke is on them.

"Gnomeo & Juliet" was the #1 movie at the box office over the weekend, besting newcomers "Hall Pass" and the underperforming "Drive Angry 3D." Nobody is happier than the film's executive producer.

"We never thought we'd be going to our own Oscar party having a #1 movie," John told MTV News on the red carpet for his 19th annual Academy Awards viewing party at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, which benefits his Elton John AIDS Foundation.

"We are over the moon," added his husband, David Furnish, who is also a producer on the Disney film, which features the voice talents of James McAvoy ("Atonement"), Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada"), Michael Caine ("The Dark Knight"), Jason Statham ("The Transporter"), Ashley Jensen ("Extras") and Ozzy Osbourne, among others.

In its third week of release, "Gnomeo & Juliet" took in $14.2 million for a total haul of $75.1 million, according to studio estimates. "Movies don't usually do 3, 2, 1," John pointed out. "They usually go 1, 8, 12.

"We really fought hard to get this movie made," he continued. "There were a lot of people who fought against us making this movie within the organization that we made it with. And we're so glad to have the last laugh."

"Hall Pass," the new comedy from writer/directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly ("There's Something About Mary"), debuted at #2 with $13.4 million over a weekend down 21 percent overall from the same time last year. Owen Wilson ("Wedding Crashers") and Jason Sudeikis ("Saturday Night Live") play a pair of married men whose wives, played by Jenna Fischer ("The Office") and Christina Applegate ("Anchorman"), give them permission to cheat for one week.

The movie's opening isn't strong, but it's far from the crash and burn of the latest action vehicle for Nicolas Cage. With a production budget estimated between $45 and $50 million, "Drive Angry 3D" was a bomb, taking in just $5.1 million in its first weekend of release to land at #9. That's roughly half the opening weekend of his critically reviled "Season of the Witch," which has earned less than $25 million domestically since it was released in early January.

Last week's #1 movie, "Unknown," starring Liam Neeson ("Taken"), was #3 at the box office with $12.4 million in its second weekend for a total domestic take of $42.8 million. The Adam Sandler/ Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "Just Go With It" was #4 with $11.1 million in its third weekend for a $79.4 million total.

Young-adult-oriented franchise wannabe "I Am Number Four" took in $11 million in its second weekend to land at #5, for a $37.7 million total, which is right around the film's estimated budget. "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" was just behind with $9.2 million for a $62.7 million gross bolstered by special ticket packages when it debuted.

Newly minted Best Picture winner "The King's Speech" was #7 with $7.6 million for a $114.5 million total in 14 weeks of release. The drama earned four statues at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, including Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.

"Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son," which seems unlikely to earn many awards, was #8 with $7.5 million for a two-week total of $28.5 million — far from the success of the Martin Lawrence series' two previous installments.

With a spectacularly low 6 percent critical average on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Roommate" hung in the top ten with another $2 million in box-office receipts. Starring Leighton Meester ("Gossip Girl") and Minka Kelly ("Friday Night Lights"), the movie has earned $35.9 million dollars in four weeks of release.

Check out everything we've got on "Gnomeo & Juliet" and "Hall Pass."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Usher Says New 'Rev Pop' Project Is A 'Movement'

Singer teases his new project by pointing to past hits like 'Yeah!' and 'OMG.'
By James Montgomery

Usher
Photo: MTV News

With the success of songs like "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love," "Hot Tottie" and "OMG," Usher had himself a fairly massive 2010. But rather than rest on his laurels, he's looking to build on his big year, not with an album, but with a "movement."

It's something he's calling "Rev Pop" — or, simply, "Rev" — and though he's already teased his idea in a video with David Guetta (Akon is also involved), he has yet to speak in full about it. So when MTV News caught up with Ush before the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles at the (Belvedere) RED launch party, we asked him about his next musical endeavor. And though he didn't reveal much, he did let it be known that "Rev" isn't exactly something new. In fact, he's been doing it for a while now.

"I'll give it to you this way: At a later date, I'll tell you more about Rev Pop, but if I were to give you a flash: I've done it before, I did it with 'Yeah!' " he said, "taking a cultural experience, and also worldwide recognition of a feeling, and putting the soul in the middle of it. Not allowing it to shift heavily to R&B genre, or pop. I did it again with 'OMG,' once again putting the soul in the middle of it, which was an electric-pop experience, with the soul.

"It's bringing those elements together to tell a story, that was born here," he said, gesturing toward his heart, "And that's what Rev Pop is. There's more, I mean, I could really elaborate, but that's just what I'm going to tell you right now. 'Rev' is what it's called ... the movement is called Rev."

Usher wouldn't say just when his fans would be getting their first taste of Rev, but whenever they do, it sounds like they're going to be impressed ... if not a little shocked.

"Stay alive," he smiled, "Because you're definitely going to be in for a surprise."

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