Steller "Journey" continues abroad

It absolutely was apparent sailing for your second-straight weekend for "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," which again sailed up overseas box office. Pic designed a resilient $27.5 million inside the Feb. 17-19 weekend, pushing its worldwide cume to $130 million. The Warner Bros.-New Line family film got an early on overseas push, bowing in areas like Australia and Columbia four days while watching U.S. After which key areas, for instance China and Russia, are adding topnotch grosses. In China, the follow-up made $9.5 million within the second outing, throughout Russia, the pic totalled a soph-sesh take of $4.millions of -- an impressive 176% while watching original "Journey" within the similar local frame. Within The U . s . States, "Journey 2" held best among the domestic top, lower only a general 27%. Pic shown a lot more stickiness in Canada, falling 3%, due to the country's across the nation recognized family day Feb. 20. Toplining franchise newcomer Dwayne Manley, and allotted inside a reported $79 million, the follow-up already has greater than retrieved its production cost, grossing $183 million worldwide by Feb. 19. Warners and New Line have dedicated to a "Journey 3," using the sequel's success. Elsewhere round the family front, Disney's holiday holdover "The Muppets" shown resilient inside the U.K., rising a amazing 60% on Friday and Saturday within the second weekend over its opening a couple of days (Feb. 10-11). The film's three-day second-weekend total of $5.8 million in Blighty rang in 36% before its opening weekend. In just 10 days inside the U.K., the Disney pic, with $17.4 million, has outpaced Sony's "The Smurfs" by 36% and Warners' "Yogi Bear" by 193%. Pic has hit $59.millions of worldwide through Feb. 19, getting a worldwide cume of $147.3 million. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Pilot Season: Bill Pullman to see the best choice in NBC's 1600 Penn

Jessica Simpson Jessica Simpson might be moving pregnancy weight, but audiences will uncover a slimmer version in the singer when her reality competition show Fashion Star premieres in March. "I wasn't pregnant once we shot it. It'll be amazing to find out myself getting a waistline," she mentioned around the call Thursday, according to US Weekly. "I am likely to be as being a large blob searching in the couch watching myself thin." PHOTOS: Dramatic celebrity fat loss Like a blob doesn't appear everything stylish, which explains why Simpson thinks about the problem about creating a maternity line for your Jessica Simpson Collection. Does meaning ignore mother jeans? "The objective of beginning a maternity line, personally, would be to behave different," Simpson mentioned. "I'm not buying any maternity clothes. I'm wearing all clothes that can come in bigger dimensions. I really are thinking about creating a maternity line that's comfortable, but stylish for people, because For me that individuals all should feel happy and appearance good." Possibly she's been inspired by Fashion Star, which premieres Tuesday, March 13 at 9:30/8:30c on NBC. Round the program, Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos mentor 14 designers that are competing to be the following fashion icon. Top American retailers invested within the designs that will then be provided in stores the following day from the show airs each week. Model Elle Macpherson hosts and executive-produces. Simpson is expecting her first child with fiance Eric Manley.

Grey's Anatomy Scoop: Adele's Alzheimer's disease Requires a Turn for that Worse

Once The Vampire Diaries' Elijah has been around since Season 2, he wasn't designed to hang in there lengthy. At least a year after his arrival the smoothness remains probably the most popular within the show's history. "At first I had been a really old vampire who would live like two episodes," Daniel Gillies describes to TVGuide.com. "They did not know I would be considered a brother, I [just] would be a henchman." But Elijah has changed from being terrifyingly effective in the understanding and abilities, to some still effective vampire, only one having a distinct moral compass and empathy for Elena who Gillies calls enthusiast. Find Out More > Other Links From TVGuide.com Daniel GilliesIan SomerhalderThe Vampire Journals

Pilot Season: Law & Order's Alana P La Garza Scrubs Straight into NBC's Don' Harm

Alana P La Garza Law & Order alum Alana P La Garza is returning to NBC inside the medical drama pilot Don' Harm, Deadline reviews.The Jekyll and Hyde-designed project follows Jeffrey Kohn, a great neurosurgeon who wrestles along with his dangerous alter-ego. P La Garza may have Dr. Lena Steck, a great neurosurgeon which has chemistry with Kohn. Have the latest news on all the pilot pick-ups hereAlso cast is British actress Ruta Gedmintas (The Borgias), who'll play Kohn's ex-fiancée Olivia Situation.David Schulner written the pilot, that is directed by Smash helmer Michael Mayer.

Lionsgate reports small loss in Q4

Falling short of Wall Street estimates, Lionsgate has reported a narrowed quarterly loss of $1.7 million, or a penny a share, for its third quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a $6 million loss for the year-ago period. The analyst consensus had been for a profit of 9 cents a share. Lionsgate released the earnings report -- its first since its $412.5 million leveraged buyout of Summit Entertainment -- after the markets closed Thursday. Shares fell 21 cents to $10.80 in afterhours trading. Shares remain up more than 20% since the Summit deal was announced Jan. 13. Revenues were $323 million, down 24% due to Lionsgate releasing no films during the quarter compared with three in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected revenues to come in at $359 million. "We had no wide theatrical releases in the quarter, but we received solid contributions from our other operating divisions and another strong performance by Epix," said CEO Jon Feltheimer. The combo of Lionsgate-Summit combo brings together Hollywood's biggest independent film studios, highlighted by Summit's "Twilight" franchise and Lionsgate's upcoming "The Hunger Games." The deal prompted several analysts to boost their ratings and price targets. Feltheimer said the company was "very excited" about the opportunities created by the Summit deal. "The February 11 home entertainment release of 'Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn 1,' the March 23 theatrical release of 'Hunger Games' and the November 16 theatrical release of 'Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn 2' lead a strong combined slate that we believe will enable us to deliver increased consistency, profitability and value to our shareholders," he added. Motion picture revenue fell 29% to $233.3 million and home entertainment revenue from both motion pictures and TV revenues declined to $162.9 million with Lionsgate noting that the decrease was attributable primarily to the strength of year-ago titles. Lionsgate's filmed entertainment backlog reached a record $607.5 million on Dec. 31, the fifth consecutive quarter of increased backlog. The figure represents the amount of future revenue not yet recorded from contracts for the licensing of films and TV product General and administrative expenses totalled $35.8 million, essentially unchanged from the prior year. Lionsgate said transaction costs associated with the Summit acquisition and increases in share-based compensation associated with the increased stock price offset reductions in costs related to ending its long battle with Carl Icahn and an 8% decline in other expenses. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Machete Kills Starts In April

Danny Trejo Acquiring The Knife AgainWhile Robert Rodriguez' Grindhouse-produced, blood stream-splattered exploit-o-thon Machete did less than deliver after we wanted, it did adequate given its poor to activate the guaranteed follow-up, Machete Kills. Now Rodriguez features that it is going to start shooting in April."The fan response to the Machete character remains obsessed since his first appearance," Rodriguez mentioned in the statement scooped up by Deadline. "Machete can be a hero and Machete Kills will probably be bigger plus much more ambitious than the first time.InchThis time around around, the script is actually Kyle Ward, having a couple of development beautifying by Rodriguez and brother Marcel Rodriguez. The plot will uncover Machete (DannyTrejo, hopefully) utilized by the us government to locate a crazed cartel leader in Mexico who's hatching plans by getting an eccentric billionaire arms dealer to create global anarchy utilizing a space-based weapon. So, just an regular day at work for your knife-transporting former Federale, then...Trejo is at predicts return, though given his close working relationship with Rodriguez cheap Machete is his signature character, we doubt there'll substantially settling before a deal is signed. And anyone who managed to get the initial film will most likely get requested back.There's not sure yet on whether Rodriguez will tackle that certain alone, or whether he'll recruit a co-director while he did with Ethan Maniquis round the original.

Sue Dwiggins Worsley dies at 97

Sue Dwiggins Worsley, a writer, production coordinator and production secretary, died at her home in Studio City, Calif., on Dec. 31. She was 97. In the 1950s, she broke into the fledgling television market by writing scripts for "The Gene Autry Show." Later she worked in the production offices of Gene Autry Prods. and, in the 1960s, for Four Star Television and 20th Century Fox.While working on the Warner Bros. production of "Deliverance" in Georgia in 1971, she met and married her third husband, production manager Wallace Worsley Jr., and subsequently joined him in production offices for location shooting on films including "Coal Miner's Daughter," "Whose Life Is It Anyway?," "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial" and " 'night, Mother," as well as on the Paramount miniseries for NBC "Shogun." She was production coordinator on "ET."Long active in industry politics, Sue Dwiggins Worsley was one of the backers of union representation for production coordinators, who joined IATSE as Production Office Coordinators in 1978. Worsley was born Miriam Gretchen Sues in Los Angeles. Her father Simmons Albert Sues was a cameraman on silent series "The Hazards of Helen," among many other early "flickers." Her mother Muriel Sues (nee McCoy) was a sound editor at MGM. She was married in 1938 to Don Dwiggins, a newspaper and book writer, and in 1952 to William Bradford, a cameraman at Republic Pictures. Both marriages ended in divorce.She retired from the industry in 1991 upon the death of husband Wallace Worsley Jr. She is survived by a son and a daughter; seven grandchildren; and a number of great-grandchildren.Donations may be made to the Lily La Cava Scholarship Fund, IATSE Local 871, 11519 Chandler Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601. Phone: 818-509-7871 Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com