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Brolin, Hopkins to join new Woody Allen pic

Woody Allen has set Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins to star in the film he wrote and will shoot in London this summer.

Brolin and Hopkins are the first in an ensemble cast. As usual, Allen is keeping title and plot under wraps.

The film will be financed by Spain-based Mediapro, which provided coin for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Letty Aronson and Steve Tenenbaum are producing.

There is no domestic distributor yet on Allen’s upcoming film. He made a recent deal with Sony Pictures Classics for U.S. distribution on “Whatever Works,” a comedy that will likely be distributed this summer.

Brolin, Oscar-nominated for “Milk,” is next booked to star in the title role in “Jonah Hex,” a live-action adaptation of the DC Comics series for Warner Bros. He previously worked with Allen on 2004’s “Melinda and Melinda.”

Hopkins recently completed “The Wolf Man” for Universal.

There’s a ‘Chipmunk’ sequel??

Alvin, Simon, Theodore and … Chuck?

Zachary Levi, star of the NBC action comedy series “Chuck,” has been cast opposite the computer-generated singing rodents of “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.”

Betty Thomas is directing the follow-up to Fox 2000 and Regency’s 2007 hit “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” which grossed $217 million in North America. Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman are producing, Karen Rosenfelt is executive producing, and Erin Siminoff is overseeing for Fox 2000.

Levi will play the cousin of Jason Lee’s character and gets tangled up with the tiny animated threesome. Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney again will provide the chipmunks’ voices.

Also new to the franchise will be the Chipmunks’ rivals, the Chipettes — Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor — who were introduced in the 1980s animated TV series.

Levi, repped by Endeavor and Hyler Management, also has appeared in “Big Momma’s House 2” and “Shades of Ray.”

‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ #1 at the box office!

The star-studded romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You is the early leader at the weekend box office, having grossed $10.6 million on Friday. That’s well ahead of the $6.3 mil taken in by hearty holdover Taken on the weekend’s first day, and it far surpasses the grosses for the frame’s other big new releases — Coraline ($4.5 mil), Push ($3.5 mil), and The Pink Panther 2 (a very disappointing $3.4 mil). Friday’s chart is below, and please check back here tomorrow for a full weekend recap in the Box Office Report.

1. He’s Just Not That Into You — $10.6 mil
2. Taken — $6.3 mil
3. Coraline — $4.5 mil
4. Push — $3.5 mil
5. The Pink Panther 2 — $3.4 mil

‘Wrestler,’ ‘Slumdog’ win big in London!

Helmer Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” body-slammed the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards on Wednesday, winning best film and actor for Mickey Rourke.

However, helmer Danny Boyle’s awards season darling “Slumdog Millionaire” took the most awards on the night. The Mumbai-set thriller won honors for British film, British director and screenwriter (Simon Beaufoy).

Kate Winslet, also a firm favorite on the awards circuit, landed the actress prize for her perfs in “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader.”

Kristin Scott Thomas was feted as best British actress for the Gallic film “I’ve Loved You So Long.” British actor nod went to Michael Fassbender (“Hunger”).

David Fincher took the director prize for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” with that pic’s Tilda Swinton drawing supporting actress kudos.

Eddie Marsan was named supporting actor for his turn as a crazed driving instructor in Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky.”

Fast-rising thesp Thomas Turgoose, who came to the fore in Shane Meadows’ “This Is England,” scooped the inaugural young British performer nod for his roles in “Eden Lake” and “Somers Town.”

In other prizes, artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen won breakthrough British filmmaker for “Hunger,” and “Waltz With Bashir” took foreign-language film.

The Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema was dished out to previously announced recipient Judi Dench.

The London Critics’ Circle, the film section of the Critics’ Circle, has more than 100 members who write for newspapers and magazines published across the U.K.

The awards were held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel as a fund-raiser for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Winners for the 29th Critics’ Circle Film Awards

FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Wrestler” – Darren Aronofsky

ATTENBOROUGH FILM OF THE YEAR
“Slumdog Millionaire” – Danny Boyle

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
David Fincher – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

BRITISH DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Danny Boyle – “Slumdog Millionaire”

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Mickey Rourke – “The Wrestler”

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Kate Winslet – “The Reader” / “Revolutionary Road”

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Michael Fassbender – “Hunger”

BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Kristin Scott-Thomas – “I’ve Loved You So Long”

BRITISH ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Eddie Marsan – “Happy-Go-Lucky”

BRITISH ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tilda Swinton – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Simon Beaufoy – “Slumdog Millionaire”

THE NSPCC AWARD: YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Thomas Turgoose – “Somers Town” / “Eden Lake”

BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER
Steve McQueen – “Hunger

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
“Waltz With Bashir – Ari Folman

THE DILYS POWELL AWARD
Dame Judi Dench

‘Taken’ Takes First Place at the Box Office

What football game?

Fox’s Liam Neeson starrer “Taken” took in an impressive $24.6 million in estimated opening grosses to top domestic rankings over a weekend weakened less than expected by preoccupation with the Super Bowl.

Paramount’s PG-13 thriller “The Uninvited” scared up $10.5 million for a third-place bow, while Lionsgate’s romantic comedy “New in Town,” starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., debuted in eighth with $6.8 million.

The frame’s $129 million in industry coin represented a 1% improvement over last year’s record Super Bowl frame, according to Nielsen.

Essentially, distributors enjoyed big enough boxoffice receipts on Friday and Saturday to compensate for a football-slackened Sunday.

Year-to-date, 2009 is off 10% from a year ago at $824.6 million. But that’s mostly because of seasonal calendar fluctuations.

Meanwhile, two of Oscar’s best-picture nominees staged respectable first-time expansions into wide release during the weekend, despite competition from the pigskin-championship telecast.

The Weinstein Co.’s Nazi-themed drama “The Reader” registered $2.4 million from 1,002 engagements to push its cumulative boxoffice to $12.6 million. Additionally, Focus Features’ Harvey Milk biopic “Milk” grossed $1.4 million from 882 playdates, as the Sean Penn starrer raised its cume to $23.4 million.

Also, Miramax’s drama “Doubt” — whose five Oscar noms include four cast mentions — added 198 locations for a barely wide 602 runs and grossed $801,000. That gave the Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman starrer a $27.9 million tally to date.

A fifth-place weekend haul of $8.6 million by Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” gave the actor-director and his Oscar-snubbed urban drama a career-record cume of $110.5 million. Distributed by Warner Bros., “Torino” cruised past Eastwood’s previous personal best of $102.2 million for 1993’s “In the Line of Fire.”

“He’s an extraordinary director and star whose films hold up over time,” Warners exec vp distribution Jeff Goldstein said.

Fox Searchlight’s Indian drama “Slumdog Millionaire” rang up $7.7 million in sixth place, elevating its cume to $67.2 million over a weekend in which helmer Danny Boyle captured the DGA’s feature-film award.

Sony Screen Gems’ three-quel “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” topped second-session holdovers with $7.2 million in seventh place. The modestly budgeted action fantasy marked a big weekend-over-weekend drop of 65% but still posted a 10-day cume of $32.8 million.

Sony’s irrepressible Kevin James starrer “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” overperformed yet again, grabbing second place on the frame with its $14 million session. The “Blart” cume climbed to $83.4 million over three weeks, with a domestic run of well over $100 million now certain for the Steve Carr-helmed comedy.

“If Paul Blart was in the Super Bowl, he would get called for holding,” Sony spokesman Steve Elzer quipped.

In a limited bow during the weekend, IFC Films unspooled the romantic drama “Medicine for Melancholy” in a single New York location and grossed $14,721.

Sony Pictures Classics brought its French drama “The Class” to six theaters — the first playdates for the Oscar foreign-language nominee since Academy-qualifying runs in December — and grossed $86,514, or an auspicious $14,419 per theater, with a cume of $121,410.

SPC’s other foreign-language candidate — the Israeli animated documentary “Waltz With Bashir” from Israel — added 19 engagements for a total of 44 and grossed $185,687, or a solid $4,220 per site, as the cume reached $1 million.

Searchlight’s Mickey Rourke starrer “The Wrestler” added 151 theaters for a total of 722 and grossed $2.4 million, pushing its cume to $13.9 million.

Helmed by Pierre Morel (“District B13”), “Taken” audiences skewed 52% male, with 60% of patrons 25 or older.

“It was an all-audience film,” Fox senior vp distribution Bert Livingston said. “It’s beyond our expectations.”

“Uninvited” audiences were evenly divided between males and females, with two-thirds of patrons under 25.

“The opening was right where we were expecting,” Par exec vp distribution Don Harris said.

The critically panned “Town” drew audiences that were 65% female, with 56% of patrons 30 or older.

“It opened right in line with our expectations,” Lionsgate distribution president Steve Rothenberg said.

Looking ahead, there will be four wide openers on Friday, all boasting notable casts.

Focus unspools the stop-motion feature “Coraline,” featuring the voice of Dakota Fanning, and Steve Martin reprises his title role in Sony’s comedy “The Pink Panther 2.” Summit also has Fanning toplining its actioner “Push” with Chris Evans, while Warners’ romantic comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You” features an ensemble cast including Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson.