NAIROBI (AFP) - For the love of her mother who couldnt make it big in athletics in the early 1970s, Kenyas Pamela Jelimo wants to reward her by striking gold in Beijing.
The 18-year-old, 800 metres athlete has taken the world by storm with her fleet-footed running in only her first year on the international track scene.
But it is her burning desire to appease her mother, Rodah Jeptoo Keter, whose own budding athletics career was to cut short by early marriage, that is propelling the teenager to greater heights.
"During her time there was no motivation in sports," she told AFP in an interview.
"Even then, when she was running well, people were tying her down. They were telling her: Dont go out there -- people are going to kidnap you."
Jelimo said her mother, who went on to give birth to nine children, with herself being the fourth born, would be happy to see her succeed in the sport which she failed.
"I am going to do my best in Beijing and improve where my mother did not reach. I want to make her proud," she added of her widowed mum.
Like her, Jelimo started as a 400m runner at Koyio primary school in Kenyas Rift Valley region, but only started running the 800m in April this year after, ironically being motivated to do so by her friend and training partner Janeth Jepkosgei.
She has now overshadowed her mentor Jepkosgei, who became the first Kenyan woman to win the world 800m title in Osaka last August.
Jelimo is quick to brush aside talk of rivalry saying Jepkosgei, who comes from the same village, is her best friend.
"Janet is actually my motivator. She is like my big sister because when I was training for the 400m and Janet was training for 800m. When we came together, she would urge me to train seriously saying: Pamela leave this sprinting and come and we can improve our performance in 800m."
Jelimo has beaten Jepkosgei in all the five meetings they have raced together since May but she remains philosophical about the likelihood of extending her winning streak over the Commonwealth champion in Beijing.
"In sports there must be a winner and a loser," Jelimo said. "There must be a number two and number one."
She is also full of praise of Maria Mutola, the retiring Mozambique legend whose African record she smashed on her way to winning the Berlin Golden League 800m on June 1.
With her awesome power, she has bettered that record with a new mark of 1:54.97 and remains unbeaten over the distance and is on line for sharing the Golden League million dollars jackpot with just two meetings in Zurich and Brussels.
Jelimo said the secret of her winning success is in her strict training programme where she is paced by a male compatriot and credits her Kenyan coach Said Aziz for instilling her with confidence on her first European Grand Prix season.
"My coach told me to go there to ascertain where I stand against the rest of the world. I found myself doing very well in my first race and this even motivated me to continue doing well," Jelimo said.
Aziz is equally upbeat.
"Pamela is a very disciplined girl. She is always willing to learn and to do her best," said Aziz, her trainer of three years, who decided to switch the runner from 400m to 800m because she stood a big chance of dominating the distance for many years to come.
Minggu, 27 Juli 2008
"Dark Knight" overshadows box office rivals again (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Batman buried his rivals at the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday, racing past 300 million in a record 10 days.
The Caped Crusaders blockbuster outing, "The Dark Knight," sold an estimated 75.6 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its total to 314.2 million, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.
A week after it scored a record-breaking 158 million opening, "The Dark Knight" added a new title to its impressive list of superlatives: the best second weekend, surpassing the holiday-boosted 72 million haul of 2004s "Shrek 2."
The 180 million movie, which stars Christian Bale as Batman and late actor Heath Ledger as the anarchic Joker, has reportedly been drawing strong repeat business, and also has piqued the interest of people who avoid superhero flicks or rarely go to the movies at all.
"The Dark Knight" now ranks as the second-biggest movie of the year, just behind the 315 million haul of "Iron Man," and the 23rd-biggest of all time.
The previous speed record for a 300 million film was 16 days set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest" in 2006. The next target is 400 million, which took "Shrek 2" 43 days to reach. Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman predicted "The Dark Knight" would take just 18 days to reach that milestone.
"Where we go from there, its uncharted waters," Fellman said.
The last movie to break 400 million was the 2006 "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, which ranks No. 6 on the all-time list with 423 million. The 1997 epic "Titanic" leads the field with 601 million.
"STEP BROTHERS" STRONG
Elsewhere, the Columbia Pictures comedy "Step Brothers," starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as perpetual adolescents, opened surprisingly strongly at No. 2 with 30 million. The 20th Century Fox sci-fi sequel "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" came in at No. 4 with 10.2 million, a figure at the lower end of expectations.
In between, Universal Pictures ABBA-inspired musical romance "Mamma Mia!" slipped one place to No. 3 with 17.8 million while its 10-day total rose to 62.7 million.
"Step Brothers" represents a strong rebound for Ferrell and Reilly, following their recent respective bombs "Semi-Pro" and "Walk Hard." The actors, along with director Adam McKay, previously worked together in the hit 2006 comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."
Industry pundits had forecast a 25 million opening for the 65 million film, which received mixed reviews from critics. Ferrell and Reillys emotionally stunted characters are forced to live together when their single parents marry. Two-thirds of the male-skewing audience was aged under 25, Columbia said.
"The X-Files: I Want to Believe" also marks a reunion, this time between former FBI agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). But it failed to spark much enthusiasm among fans or critics. Fox said it had targeted an opening in the 10 million to 15 million range.
"We made it for the fans and they have come out," said Chris Aronson, senior VP of distribution at the News Corp-owned studio.
The sci-fi mystery comes to screens six years after the underlying TV series "The X-Files" ended its run, and a decade after the first big-screen spinoff. That film, also called "The X-Files" opened to 30 million on its way to 84 million domestically.
The 30 million sequel marks the third consecutive disappointment in as many weeks for Fox, following the Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave" and then the animated "Space Chimps." The studio, noted for keeping costs down and sharing the risk with outside partners, has had a quiet year highlighted by the early-spring release "Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who," which grossed 154 million domestically. Next up is the August 15 horror film "Mirrors" starring Kiefer Sutherland.
Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp while Universal Pictures is a unit of General Electric Co.
Reuters
The Caped Crusaders blockbuster outing, "The Dark Knight," sold an estimated 75.6 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its total to 314.2 million, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.
A week after it scored a record-breaking 158 million opening, "The Dark Knight" added a new title to its impressive list of superlatives: the best second weekend, surpassing the holiday-boosted 72 million haul of 2004s "Shrek 2."
The 180 million movie, which stars Christian Bale as Batman and late actor Heath Ledger as the anarchic Joker, has reportedly been drawing strong repeat business, and also has piqued the interest of people who avoid superhero flicks or rarely go to the movies at all.
"The Dark Knight" now ranks as the second-biggest movie of the year, just behind the 315 million haul of "Iron Man," and the 23rd-biggest of all time.
The previous speed record for a 300 million film was 16 days set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest" in 2006. The next target is 400 million, which took "Shrek 2" 43 days to reach. Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman predicted "The Dark Knight" would take just 18 days to reach that milestone.
"Where we go from there, its uncharted waters," Fellman said.
The last movie to break 400 million was the 2006 "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, which ranks No. 6 on the all-time list with 423 million. The 1997 epic "Titanic" leads the field with 601 million.
"STEP BROTHERS" STRONG
Elsewhere, the Columbia Pictures comedy "Step Brothers," starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as perpetual adolescents, opened surprisingly strongly at No. 2 with 30 million. The 20th Century Fox sci-fi sequel "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" came in at No. 4 with 10.2 million, a figure at the lower end of expectations.
In between, Universal Pictures ABBA-inspired musical romance "Mamma Mia!" slipped one place to No. 3 with 17.8 million while its 10-day total rose to 62.7 million.
"Step Brothers" represents a strong rebound for Ferrell and Reilly, following their recent respective bombs "Semi-Pro" and "Walk Hard." The actors, along with director Adam McKay, previously worked together in the hit 2006 comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."
Industry pundits had forecast a 25 million opening for the 65 million film, which received mixed reviews from critics. Ferrell and Reillys emotionally stunted characters are forced to live together when their single parents marry. Two-thirds of the male-skewing audience was aged under 25, Columbia said.
"The X-Files: I Want to Believe" also marks a reunion, this time between former FBI agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). But it failed to spark much enthusiasm among fans or critics. Fox said it had targeted an opening in the 10 million to 15 million range.
"We made it for the fans and they have come out," said Chris Aronson, senior VP of distribution at the News Corp-owned studio.
The sci-fi mystery comes to screens six years after the underlying TV series "The X-Files" ended its run, and a decade after the first big-screen spinoff. That film, also called "The X-Files" opened to 30 million on its way to 84 million domestically.
The 30 million sequel marks the third consecutive disappointment in as many weeks for Fox, following the Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave" and then the animated "Space Chimps." The studio, noted for keeping costs down and sharing the risk with outside partners, has had a quiet year highlighted by the early-spring release "Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who," which grossed 154 million domestically. Next up is the August 15 horror film "Mirrors" starring Kiefer Sutherland.
Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp while Universal Pictures is a unit of General Electric Co.
Reuters
Session's over for HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me" (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - HBO has canceled its sexually explicit drama "Tell Me You Love Me" after one season.
"Tell Me," a look at marriage through the stories of couples in therapy, drew plenty of attention with its graphic content. The decision not to bring it back was made almost a year after the series premiered on the pay cable channel.
"Given the considerable amount of time that has passed and despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we were unable to find the direction of the show for the second season," creator/executive producer Cynthia Mort said.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
"Tell Me," a look at marriage through the stories of couples in therapy, drew plenty of attention with its graphic content. The decision not to bring it back was made almost a year after the series premiered on the pay cable channel.
"Given the considerable amount of time that has passed and despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we were unable to find the direction of the show for the second season," creator/executive producer Cynthia Mort said.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Taylor Swift Celebrates Grad With Top 2 Albums (E! Online)
Los Angeles (E! Online) - Country music sweetheart Taylor Swift had a good reason for missing her high school graduation--shes on tour with Rascal Flatts.
The 18-year-old Our Song singer just received her diploma via snail mail and blogs on MySpace about the joys of being a high school graduate:
Another thing Im excited about is that Ive officially graduated from high school!! CLASS OF 2008. YESSSSSSS. Even if Ive been home schooled for the past 2 years, it still means a lot to me that I have my diploma.
Swift attended public school before her career took off, then switched to Aaron Academy, a private Christian school that offers homeschooling.
Last week, Swift became the first artist since LeAnn Rimes in 1997 to hold the two top positions on the Top Country Albums chart, with her new Wal-Mart-exclusive EP release, Beautiful Eyes, at No. 1 and her triple-platinum, self-titled debut album at No. 2.
Im having the most amazing week! Thanks to you guys, Ive got the 1 AND 2 country album this week, she writes. Thank you to everybody who went out to Wal-Mart this week and bought Beautiful Eyes. Im so thankful for you. Wow. Its pretty unbelievable.
She gets our vote for Most Likely to Succeed.
The 18-year-old Our Song singer just received her diploma via snail mail and blogs on MySpace about the joys of being a high school graduate:
Another thing Im excited about is that Ive officially graduated from high school!! CLASS OF 2008. YESSSSSSS. Even if Ive been home schooled for the past 2 years, it still means a lot to me that I have my diploma.
Swift attended public school before her career took off, then switched to Aaron Academy, a private Christian school that offers homeschooling.
Last week, Swift became the first artist since LeAnn Rimes in 1997 to hold the two top positions on the Top Country Albums chart, with her new Wal-Mart-exclusive EP release, Beautiful Eyes, at No. 1 and her triple-platinum, self-titled debut album at No. 2.
Im having the most amazing week! Thanks to you guys, Ive got the 1 AND 2 country album this week, she writes. Thank you to everybody who went out to Wal-Mart this week and bought Beautiful Eyes. Im so thankful for you. Wow. Its pretty unbelievable.
She gets our vote for Most Likely to Succeed.
Russell Crowe's Robin Hood movie hits delay (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Sheriff of Nottingham will not be chasing Robin Hood into Sherwood Forest this fall.
Production on "Nottingham," a revisionist film set to star Russell Crowe as a sympathetic sheriff, has been indefinitely postponed because of script concerns, location logistics and the current labor unrest.
Director Ridley Scotts Universal Pictures project had been aiming for a mid-August start date, one of a handful of high-profile productions pushing ahead despite the stand-off in contract talks between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild.
In explaining the production shutdown, Universal cited the "cloud of the SAG strike" as one of three factors that led to the postponement.
It also said that "the films forest locations need to be green," which suggests even if other factors were to be resolved later this year, the production could not now resume until next spring.
The third key factor was the projects script by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, with a rewrite by Brian Helgeland. "The current version of the screenplay," the studio said, "is not yet where the studio and the filmmakers want it to be in terms of realizing the full value of the story.
"Universal could have moved forward with one of these challenges, but the confluence of the three caused the studio to reconsider and take the time for all conditions to be optimal."
The statement said that Universal, Imagine, Scott and Crowe all remain committed to the project. "Nottingham" had been on track to be released November 6, 2009.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Production on "Nottingham," a revisionist film set to star Russell Crowe as a sympathetic sheriff, has been indefinitely postponed because of script concerns, location logistics and the current labor unrest.
Director Ridley Scotts Universal Pictures project had been aiming for a mid-August start date, one of a handful of high-profile productions pushing ahead despite the stand-off in contract talks between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild.
In explaining the production shutdown, Universal cited the "cloud of the SAG strike" as one of three factors that led to the postponement.
It also said that "the films forest locations need to be green," which suggests even if other factors were to be resolved later this year, the production could not now resume until next spring.
The third key factor was the projects script by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, with a rewrite by Brian Helgeland. "The current version of the screenplay," the studio said, "is not yet where the studio and the filmmakers want it to be in terms of realizing the full value of the story.
"Universal could have moved forward with one of these challenges, but the confluence of the three caused the studio to reconsider and take the time for all conditions to be optimal."
The statement said that Universal, Imagine, Scott and Crowe all remain committed to the project. "Nottingham" had been on track to be released November 6, 2009.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Bennifer's Battle of the Celebrity Blabbermouths (E! Online)
Los Angeles (E! Online) - While Jennifer Garners Alias costar Victor Garber recently did back handsprings of denial about Jen and hubby Ben Afflecks rumored second rug rat, Bens pal Kevin Smith...well, not so much.
The loose-lipped director spilled the beans to People in a typical flurry of self-promotion: I saw him last week. Ben came over to watch my movie (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) at the house, and he told me, Were having another baby.
Very smooth, Kev. Were guessing you wont be invited to the next barbecue.
The loose-lipped director spilled the beans to People in a typical flurry of self-promotion: I saw him last week. Ben came over to watch my movie (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) at the house, and he told me, Were having another baby.
Very smooth, Kev. Were guessing you wont be invited to the next barbecue.
Another Titanic Weekend for Dark Knight (E! Online)
Los Angeles (E! Online) - Next up: $400 million.
The Dark Knight was primed to enter a stratosphere reached by only seven films in Hollywood history after grossing an estimated $75.6 million this weekend, and surpassing $300 million domestically in record time.
Among the box office also-rans, Will Ferrell got his mojo back, while Scully and Mulder had theirs abducted.
More than anyone, Batman was again the man. Where once a $400 million overall take for the latest Caped Crusader adventure was considered a possibility, now its considered a lock.
Certainly, $400 million, boom, thats going to happen, Media by Numbers box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian said today.
The trajectory its on has never before been seen. This is absolutely unprecedented.
The Dark Knights second-weekend gross was, per studio estimates, the biggest ever, despite the usual 50 percent or so drop in business.
Dergarabedian forecasts that The Dark Knight will bash the $400 million mark in about a week from now, or 18 days after its release. In 2004, it took Shrek 2 a comparatively pokey 43 days to reach $400 million, a mark that was--and, as of today, still is--the Hollywood benchmark.
The Dark Knight has demonstrated quite the talent for setting land-speed records. According to the stats at Box Office Mojo, its the fastest movie to reach $100 million (two days), $200 million (five days) and, as of today, $300 million (10 days).
If the movie really wants to show off, itll set its sights on a record that, unlike the opening-weekend mark, hasnt been broken--or even seriously challenged--this decade: Titanics all-time domestic gross of $601 million.
The reason Titanic hit that number is because it became a cultural phenomenon, Dergarabedian said. And The Dark Knight has become a kind of cultural phenomenon.
Batman as Jack Dawson? A tall order even for a supersize superhero.
Heres a look at other storylines from the weekend box office, per studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co.:
* Ferrells Step Brothers took second with a solid $30 million debut. The comedy, which costars John C. Reilly, was a big step up from Ferrells last opener, this past winters disappointing Semi-Pro, and was his third-biggest debut behind Talladega Nights ($47 million) and Blades of Glory ($33 million). * Almost unbelievably, The X-Files: I Want to Believe failed to meet extremely modest expectations, bowing in fourth, with just $10.2 million. With that kind of start, the movie will have to dig in to make back its extremely modest budget of $35 million. * Step Brothers was more vintage X-Files than the X-Files. Its numbers ($30 million debut, $65 million budget) neatly matched those of the 1998s X-Files movie ($30.1 million debut, $66 million budget). * One reason X-Files: I Want to Believe finished fourth is that Mamma Mia! (third place, $17.9 million) failed to give much ground. Ticket sales for the Meryl Streep musical were down only 36 percent from last weekend. Overall, the movie has now grossed $62.7 million. * Journey to the Center of the Earth (fifth place, $9.4 million) just might be the quietest, kinda-big movie of the summer. After three weekends, its cumulative take stands at $60.2 million. The figures not a stunner, but neither was its budget, which was as little as $45 million or as much as $60 million, per various sources. * In its fourth weekend, Hancock (sixth place, $8.2 million) finally looked cooked, but managed to push past $200 million overall--star Will Smiths second straight movie to pile up such a gross. * Get Smart ($2.3 million; $124.2 million overall) leaves the Top 10 after a five-weekend stay, and goes down as Steve Carells top-grossing live-action comedy.
* Kung Fu Panda ($1 million; $209 million) leaves the Top 10 after a seven-weekend stay, and probably will go down as the 11th biggest animated movie of all time. * The new big-screen version of Brideshead Revisited ($332,000 from 33 theaters), the documentary Man on Wire ($46,000 from two theaters) and the high-school-set American Teen ($42,827 from five theaters) led a strong weekend at the art house. Heres a recap of the top-grossing weekend films based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
* The Dark Knight, $75.6 million * Step Brothers, $30 million * Mamma Mia!, $17.9 million * The X-Files: I Want to Believe, $10.2 million * Journey to the Center of the Earth, $9.4 million * Hancock, $8.2 million * WALL-E, $6.3 million * Hellboy II: The Golden Army, $4.9 million * Space Chimps, $4.4 million * Wanted, $2.7 million
The Dark Knight was primed to enter a stratosphere reached by only seven films in Hollywood history after grossing an estimated $75.6 million this weekend, and surpassing $300 million domestically in record time.
Among the box office also-rans, Will Ferrell got his mojo back, while Scully and Mulder had theirs abducted.
More than anyone, Batman was again the man. Where once a $400 million overall take for the latest Caped Crusader adventure was considered a possibility, now its considered a lock.
Certainly, $400 million, boom, thats going to happen, Media by Numbers box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian said today.
The trajectory its on has never before been seen. This is absolutely unprecedented.
The Dark Knights second-weekend gross was, per studio estimates, the biggest ever, despite the usual 50 percent or so drop in business.
Dergarabedian forecasts that The Dark Knight will bash the $400 million mark in about a week from now, or 18 days after its release. In 2004, it took Shrek 2 a comparatively pokey 43 days to reach $400 million, a mark that was--and, as of today, still is--the Hollywood benchmark.
The Dark Knight has demonstrated quite the talent for setting land-speed records. According to the stats at Box Office Mojo, its the fastest movie to reach $100 million (two days), $200 million (five days) and, as of today, $300 million (10 days).
If the movie really wants to show off, itll set its sights on a record that, unlike the opening-weekend mark, hasnt been broken--or even seriously challenged--this decade: Titanics all-time domestic gross of $601 million.
The reason Titanic hit that number is because it became a cultural phenomenon, Dergarabedian said. And The Dark Knight has become a kind of cultural phenomenon.
Batman as Jack Dawson? A tall order even for a supersize superhero.
Heres a look at other storylines from the weekend box office, per studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co.:
* Ferrells Step Brothers took second with a solid $30 million debut. The comedy, which costars John C. Reilly, was a big step up from Ferrells last opener, this past winters disappointing Semi-Pro, and was his third-biggest debut behind Talladega Nights ($47 million) and Blades of Glory ($33 million). * Almost unbelievably, The X-Files: I Want to Believe failed to meet extremely modest expectations, bowing in fourth, with just $10.2 million. With that kind of start, the movie will have to dig in to make back its extremely modest budget of $35 million. * Step Brothers was more vintage X-Files than the X-Files. Its numbers ($30 million debut, $65 million budget) neatly matched those of the 1998s X-Files movie ($30.1 million debut, $66 million budget). * One reason X-Files: I Want to Believe finished fourth is that Mamma Mia! (third place, $17.9 million) failed to give much ground. Ticket sales for the Meryl Streep musical were down only 36 percent from last weekend. Overall, the movie has now grossed $62.7 million. * Journey to the Center of the Earth (fifth place, $9.4 million) just might be the quietest, kinda-big movie of the summer. After three weekends, its cumulative take stands at $60.2 million. The figures not a stunner, but neither was its budget, which was as little as $45 million or as much as $60 million, per various sources. * In its fourth weekend, Hancock (sixth place, $8.2 million) finally looked cooked, but managed to push past $200 million overall--star Will Smiths second straight movie to pile up such a gross. * Get Smart ($2.3 million; $124.2 million overall) leaves the Top 10 after a five-weekend stay, and goes down as Steve Carells top-grossing live-action comedy.
* Kung Fu Panda ($1 million; $209 million) leaves the Top 10 after a seven-weekend stay, and probably will go down as the 11th biggest animated movie of all time. * The new big-screen version of Brideshead Revisited ($332,000 from 33 theaters), the documentary Man on Wire ($46,000 from two theaters) and the high-school-set American Teen ($42,827 from five theaters) led a strong weekend at the art house. Heres a recap of the top-grossing weekend films based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
* The Dark Knight, $75.6 million * Step Brothers, $30 million * Mamma Mia!, $17.9 million * The X-Files: I Want to Believe, $10.2 million * Journey to the Center of the Earth, $9.4 million * Hancock, $8.2 million * WALL-E, $6.3 million * Hellboy II: The Golden Army, $4.9 million * Space Chimps, $4.4 million * Wanted, $2.7 million
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