Pop Culture Checklist

A film about a gambling romp was the weekend’s box office winner.

“21″ earned $23.7 million in its debut. It stars Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess as math geniuses who win big in Las Vegas.

It knocked off the previous number one movie, “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” It was runner-up with $17.4 million, raising its total to $117.3 million.

Other new movies did average in its debuts. “Superhero Movie” came in third, while “Stop-Loss” starring Ryan Phillippe opened at number eight with $4.5 million.

David Schwimmer’s directing debut witht he comedy “Run, Fat Boy, Run” tanked. It only took in $2.4 million and did not make the top 10. 

Top 10 box office:

1. 21, $23.7 million

2. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, $17.4 million

3.  Superhero Movie, $9.5 million

4. Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, $7.8 million

5. Drillbit Taylor, $5.8 million

6. Shutter, $5.3 million

7. 10,000 B.C., $4.9 million

8. Stop-Loss, $4.5 million

9. College Road Trip, $3.5 million

10. The Bank Job, $2.8 million

TV Guide recently posted the latest X-Files movie trailer.

It looks really good. It’s going to be hard to wait until July 25 to see this movie in theaters!

Here it is. Enjoy!

Lauren Conrad and producers of MTV’s “The Hills” are in talks to make the show into a movie.

Conrad, the star of the show, said “It would be like a really long episode.”

The show kicked off a new season Monday with 4.7 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the series. Wow!

TV NEWS

–Prison Break has been picked up for its fourth season.

–”Battlestar Galactica: Revisited” and “Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon” will air back-to-back on Friday, beginning at 10 p.m.

–Hal Holbrook will be a guest star on ER on April 24. He will play a terminal cancer patient.

–”Man vs. Wild” starring Bear Grylls is returning for six new episodes starting at 9 p.m. May 2.

–Family Feud is going primetime for the first time in its 30 year history. Airing on NBC, the game show will be a celebrity edition, such as pitting the Baldwin boys vs. the Lohan clan. It also will use casts of TV shows, such as Lost castaways vs. the Heroes gang. Stay tuned! 

–The Starter Wife, starring Debra Messing, is returning to USA Network as weekly series in October.

–A second season of Burn Notice arrives July 10

–New seasons of Monk and Psych begin July 18.

–WrestleMania XXIV is Sunday in Orlando. You can get it through Pay-Per-View

–Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards is Saturday. Jack Black is the host of the show.

SHOW RETURNING THIS WEEK

Sunday — Cold Case (CBS)

Wednesday — Criminal Minds (CBS); CSI:NY (CBS)

TV PREMIERES

Sunday — The Tudors (Showtime)

Tuesday — Hell’s Kitchen (Fox)

Wednesday — The Ultimate Fighter (Spike); DEA (Spike)

TV FINALES

 Tonight — In Treatment (HBO)

Wednesday — The Moment of Truth (Fox); UFO Hunters (History)

LOCAL EVENTS

–Sugar Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Navarre-Anderson Trading Post, located on N. Custer Rd. There will be maple sugar demonstrations and re-enactors portraying people from War of 1812 era.

–Flat Rock Speedway Race Car Show is Saturday and Sunday at Frenchtown Square mall. Meet your favorite drivers from Flat Rock and Toledo Speedway. Cars and drivers can be viewed throughout the mall. Mall hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

–The annual Bock Beer Festival will be at Germania Hall, 23156 King Rd., Brownstown Township. Doors open at 7 p.m. Admission is $6. For details, call 479-4278.

REGIONAL EVENTS

–Hard Rock Cafe Detroit will host a live performance by MINK on Sunday. The event begins at 9 p.m. at the cafe, located at 45 Monroe St., Detroit. Admission is a suggested $5 donation. All ages welcome. For more information, visit www.hardrock.com or call (313) 964-7625.

–The annual Ann Arbor Film Festival continues through Sunday at Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor.

–The Novi Backyard, Pool and Spa Showcase will be held Friday through Sunday at Rock Financial Showplace, 46100 Grand River Blvd., Novi. Hours are 3 to 9:30 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

–Comedian Patrice O’Neal will perform tonight, Friday and Saturday at Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, 314 East Liberty. For tickets or more information, call 996-9080.

MOVIES coming to theaters on Friday, March 28

-21

-Superhero Movie

-Stop-Loss

-Run, Fat Boy, Run

Limited releases: Backseat, Chapter 27, Flawless, Priceless

DVDs arriving Tuesday, April 1

-Sweeney Todd

-Alvin and the Chipmunks

-The Good Night

-What Love Is  

-John From Cincinnati: First Season

-That ’70s Show: Season Eight

ALBUMS arriving Tuesday, April 1

-R.E.M., “Accelerate”

-Moby, “Last Night”

-Josh Gracin, “We Weren’t Crazy”

-Willie Nelson, “One Hell of a Ride”

-George Michael, “Twenty Five”

-Theory of a Dead Man, “Scars & Souvenirs”

-The Proclaimers, ”Life With You”

Chikezie Eze is the latest victim of American Idol. He got voted off in last night’s elimination round.

He was joined in the bottom three with Syesha and Jason. On Tuesday, Chikezie sang Luther Vandross’ “If Only For One Night.” It was boring and the judges didn’t like it so I doubt if anyone’s too surprised about him leaving.

Next week, Dolly Parton will be on the show as the first mentor this season.

South Park Studios, which launched its Web site last week, already has received more than 3 million page views.

It features free full-length episodes and clips of all 12 seasons of the show, including the Britney Spears episode that aired last week.

Check it out at www.southparkstudios.com.

Monica Seles and Penn Jillette were elminated last night from Dancing With the Stars.

I was surprised Adam Corolla stuck around. He’ll be gone next week, for sure!

Maroon 5 and Counting Crows are teaming up for a summer/fall tour.

Maroon 5 is supporting its 2007 album “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long,” while the Counting Crows is promoting “Saturday Night & Sunday Mornings,” that comes out today.

They will perform Aug. 29 at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston.

For the second consecutive week, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! is number one at the box office.

It earned $25.1 million this weekend, bringing its 10-day total to $86.5 million.

Weekend’s top 10 films:

1. Horton Hears a Who, $25.1 million

2. Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, $20 million

3. Shutter, $10.7 million

4. Drillbit Taylor, $10.2 million

5. 10,000 B.C., $8.7 million

6. Never Back Down, $4.9 million

7. College Road Trip, $4.6 million

8. The Bank Job, $4.1 million

9. Vantage Point, $3.8 million

10. Under the Same Moon, $2.6 million  

CBS has decided to cancel “Jericho” despite fans’ efforts to keep it alive.

The season finale will air Tuesday with an ending that will give fans some closure.