Pop Culture Checklist

“Where the Wild Things Are” easily won the box office race with a $32.5 million debut.

The movie, directed by Spike Jonze, had a $80 million budget so it will be interesting to see how it does next weekend.

The other debut, “Law Abiding Citizen,” placed second with $21.3 million. The thriller stars Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler.

And with only 760 theaters, “Paranormal Activity” earned $20.2 million thanks to a brilliant marketing strategy. The horror flick was produced on a budget of $11,000 and is expected to reach 1,800 theaters next weekend.

TOP 10 BOX OFFICE

1. Where the Wild Things Are, $32.5 million

2. Law Abiding Citizen, $21.3 million

3. Paranormal Activity, $20.2 million 

4. Couples Retreat, $17.9 million

5. The Stepfather, $12.3 million

6. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, $8.1 million

7. Zombieland, $7.8 million

8. Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3D, $3.0 million

9. Surrogates, $1.9 million

10. The Invention of Lying, $1.9 million

Check out this list of what TV series are “endangered” of getting canceled.

There are some surprises! Which shows are you hoping get saved?

Latest Pop Culture News

-Watch out Kanye: Taylor Swift will host Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7

-A good marketing strategy has helped “Paranormal Activity” go nationwide. It received 1 million demands.

-NBC canceled the cop drama “Southland” before its second season return, which was set for Oct. 23. The lower-cost “Dateline” will remain in its 9 p.m. Friday timeslot.

-For the upcoming Nov. 3 release of its new album, “Raditude,” Weezer unveiled the “Weezer iTunes Pass.” It’s a special package that offers fans access to new music and exclusives. Cost is $19.99 and subscribers will receive special downloads to their iTunes libraries now until Nov. 24.

-The new “Bachelor” is…drum roll please…Jake Pavelka, 31, the pilot who was rejected by The Bachelorette’s Jillian Harris last season. The new season kicks off in January on ABC.

-Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement to perform a show at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas. He had been officially retired since 2000.

-Fox will air an extra “So You Think You Can Dance” episode at 8 p.m. Oct. 26. The one-hour special will showcase the top 20 finalists in a non-elimination format. The following night, ‘Dance’ begins its two-hour performance shows. The Oct. 26 special will replace “House” but “Lie To Me” will air as schedule at 9 p.m.

-ABC made full season pickup orders for FlashForward, The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town.

-Fox picked up the last nine episodes of “The Cleveland Show” of its second season.

-Fox Reality Channel has been shut down. The 4-year-old channel will end its run March 31.

-Seth MacFarlane will air a variety special called “Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show” at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 8 on Fox. Rather than commercials, the show will run for a full 30 minutes but with marketing messages throughout the program for Microsoft’s new Windows 7.

-Legacy Recordings will release a 100-song box set called “Elvis 75: Good Rockin’ Tonight” in honor of the King’s 75th birthday in January. The four-disc set arrives Dec. 8. Check out the entire track list.

-Carrie Underwood will perform a 2-hour variety special Dec. 7 on Fox called “Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special.” It will feature David Cook, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton and others. Underwood will perform songs from her next album and her earlier hits and holiday classics.

-Nickelodeon is celebrating the 10th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants with “Truth or Square,” a one-hour primetime speical at 8 p.m. Nov. 6. Celebrity guest stars include Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, Pink and others who will appear as themselves in live-action sequences. The episode will follow SpongeBob and friends as they reminisce through a series of original and never-before-seen flashbacks.

-An MMA Fight Card will air at 9 p.m. live on CBS on Nov. 7. Four matchups are confirmed.

-A&E will air two original “paranormal” specials. ”Extreme Paranormal: New Mexico State Penitentiary” premieres at 10 p.m. Oct. 19. “Extreme Paranormal: Pennhurst Insane Asylum & Manchac Swamp” premieres at 10 p.m. Oct. 26.  

TV PREMIERES

Tonight – 30 Rock (NBC)

Friday – Supernanny (ABC); Lobstermen (Discovery)

Saturday – Head Games (Science)

Wednesday – Lock ‘n Load (Showtime)

TV FINALES

Tonight – Speeders Fight Back (TruTV)

Friday – Psych (USA)

Tuesday – Shark Tank (ABC); Flipping Out (Bravo)

MOVIES arriving Friday, Oct. 16

-Law Abiding Citizen

-Where the Wild Things Are

-The Stepfather

DVDs arriving Tuesday, Oct. 20

-Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

-Land of the Lost

-Blood: The Last Vampire

-Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead

-Cheri

-The Crew

-Saturday Night Live: Best of Amy Poehler

-It’s Garry Shandling’s Show: The Complete Series

-Vegas: First Season

-Numbers: Fifth Season

-The L Word: Final Season

-Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Those Aren’t Pillows Edition)

-Hawaii Five-O: Seventh Season

ALBUMS arriving Tuesday, Oct. 20

-Soundtrack, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (arrives Friday)

-Tim McGraw, “Southern Voice”

-Michael Jackson, “The Remix Suite”

-Flight of the Conchords, “I Told You I Was Freaky”

-Soundtrack, “Astro Boy”

-Various Artists, “Yo Gabba Gabba: Music Is Awesome”

-Tina Turner, “Tina Live” (DVD Audio)

-Lyle Lovett, “Natural Forces”

-Leonard Cohen, “Live from the Isle of Wight” (CD/DVD)

-Sam Bush, “Circles Around Me”

-Kutless, ”It Is Well”

-Bombshel, “Fight Like a Girl”

Today is Blog Action Day ‘09 with the theme of “Climate Change.”

This may not sound like Pop Culture news, but I did find some movies featuring climate change disaster situations as well as some documentaries.

I think the most well-known documentary is “An Inconvenient Truth” from 2006 that followed Al Gore’s campaign to educate us about global warming.

A good Sci-Fi movie on the topic is “The Day After Tomorrow” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid. The 2004 flick is about a climate catastrophe that plunges the world into an ice age.

A recent movie is part Sci-Fi and part documentary, and is called “The Age of Stupid.” Set in 2055 on a flooded and damaged earth, a lone man guards a historical archive and is bitter that earlier generations did not prevent climate change.

For other movies with this topic, check out this list.

In honor of the climate change theme, go watch one of these movies today!!

The ‘Topless Robot’ blog ranks the top cult movie characters who deserve their own action figures.

I totally agree with numbers 5, 7 and 9.

Number one is an interesting choice! What do you think?

Have you heard Michael Jackson’s new song yet?

“This Is It” was released at midnight. Take a listen and let me know what you think.

“Couples Retreat,” a Vince Vaughn comedy, took home $35 million in its weekend debut to win the box office race.

Despite bad reviews, it was an easy winner with little competition. It was the only premiere to open.

“Zombieland” dropped to second place with $15 million. Small-budget horror film “Paranormal Activity” earned $7.1 million to make it in the top 10 for the first time.

TOP 10 BOX OFFICE

1. Couples Retreat, $35 million

2. Zombieland, $15 million

3. Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs, $12 million

4. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D, $7.7 million

5. Paranormal Activity, $7.1 million

6. Surrogates, $4.1 million

7. Invention of Lying, $3.4 million

8. Whip It, $2.8 million

9. Capitalism: A Love Story, $2.7 million

10. Fame, $2.6 million

Latest Pop Culture News

-Rachel Bilson and Tim Gunn will guest star in the 100th episode of “How I Met Your Mother.” Also, Kenny Rogers will make a guest appearance in the Oct. 19 episode. Could Bilson be Ted’s future wife? Stay tuned!

-If 1 million fans want to see “Paranormal Activity,” Paramount will show the movie nationwide.

-This is devastating news for me and fellow “Young & The Restless” fans: Eric Braeden, who’s been playing Victor Newman since 1980, has quit the show after nasty negotiations with Sony. His last episode will air Nov. 2. I’ve watched the show religiously for nearly 20 years, but I’m not sure if I can continue watching without Victor. He’s that improtant to the show!! This totally bums me out. If you’re a Y&R fan, let me know your thoughts.

-Adrien Brody will star in the reinvention of “Predator.” Brody will play a character close to the one that Arnold Schwarzenegger played in the 1987 original. He will play a mercenary who tries to keep his team members alive when hunted by aliens.

-Showtime picked up a fourth season of “Californication.” Twelve new episodes will premiere in 2010.

-CBS has renewed “Flashpoint” for a third season.

-HBO picked up “Bored to Death” for a second season.

-Kanye West and Lady Gaga canceled their “Fame Kills” tour but Lady Gaga announced that she will tour solo, beginning in November. Her new single is called “Bad Romance.”

-Mark Burnett and Sony Pictures TV are turning ”Fantasy Island” into a reality series. The 1970s/1980s show starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke who made people’s dreams come true. The new reality show will follow 12 contestants as they compete to become the real life Mr. or Ms. Roarke.

-AMC will premiere the mini-series “The Prisoner” at 8 p.m. Nov. 15. The six-part series is a remake of the 1960s cult classic “The Prisoner.” It will air over three consecutive nights, with two episodes running each evening, from 8 to 10 p.m.

TV PREMIERES

Friday – Sanctuary (Syfy); Ghost Adventures (Travel); Ugly Betty (ABC); I’m Alive (Animal Planet)

Saturday – Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team (CMT); The Graham Norton Show (BBCA)

Sunday – The Girls Next Door (E!); The Lamas Family (E!)

Monday – Little People,  Big World (TLC); 100 Miles Challenge (Planet Green); Million Dollar Listing (Bravo)

Tuesday – Chopped (Food); Nature, Inc. (Planet Green)

Wednesday – Nip/Tuck (FX); Mary Queen of Shops (BBCA)

TV FINALES

Tonight - Police Women of Broward County (TLC); Skins (BBCA)

Sunday – Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime); Army Wives (Lifetime)

Monday – Durham County (ION); The Rachel Zoe Project (Bravo); Ultimate Cake Off (TLC)

Tuesday - Hell’s Kitchen (Fox); Behind the Music (VH1)

Wednesday – Full Color Football (Showtime)

MOVIES arriving Friday, Oct. 9

-Couples Retreat

DVDs arriving Tuesday, Oct. 13

-The Proposal

-Drag Me To Hell

-Land of the Lost

-iMurders

-Adoration

-American Violet

-Infestation

-Assassination of a High School President

-Wuthering Heights

-Hardware

-The Killing Room

-Natural Born Killers: Director’s Cut

-South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

-Married…With Children: 11th Season

-Jackass: The Lost Tapes

-Flashpoint: First Season

-Legend of the Seeker: First Season

-Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases

-Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 7

-Futurama: The Complete Collection

ALBUMS arriving on Tuesday, Oct. 13

-Five For Fighting, “Slice”

-Shakira, “She Wolf”

-Michael Buble, “Crazy Love”

-Mario, “D.N.A.”

-Bob Dylan, “Christmas in the Heart”

-The Flaming Lips, “Embryonic”

-Kings of Leon, “Live at the Oz”

-The  Roots, “How I Got Over”

-David Archuleta, “Christmas From The Heart”

-Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Do What You Want, Be Who You Are (Box Set)

-Brian Setzer Orchestra, “Songs From Lonely Avenue”

As all of you “The Office” fans know, wedding bells will be ringing in this week’s show.

For their upcoming nuptials, Jim and Pam have a wedding website. Be sure to leave a message for the couple in the Guest Book!

For the wedding, “The Office” will be a one-hour special beginning at 9 p.m. Thursday. Don’t miss it!