Sideshow: Brokaw to handle Russert job for now

Tom Brokaw

will temporarily take the

Meet the Press

moderator's chair left vacant by the untimely death of

Tim Russert

.

Brokaw has agreed to preside over the venerable Sunday morning interview show through the November election. He will start next week, NBC announced yesterday. Network news anchor

Brian Williams

, who sat in as moderator yesterday, made the announcement at the end of the broadcast.

"I'm just thrilled that Tom has agreed to do this," NBC News president

Steve Capus

told the Associated Press.

Brokaw said he volunteered for the job in part as a tribute to Russert, who died of a heart attack on June 13. However, Brokaw has made it clear the move is temporary, Capus said.

Would you believe $39.2? That's how many millions the big-screen version of the 1960s TV sitcom

Get Smart

took in at the box office to make it the top hit of its debut weekend.

Steve Carell

and

Anne Hathaway

star in the roles of Smart and Agent 99 that

Don Adams

and

Barbara Feldon

made popular in the Sixties.

Kung Fu Panda

and

The Incredible Hulk

fought to a virtual draw for the No. 2 spot, with

Panda

, in its third weekend, taking in $21.7 million and

Hulk

, looking very green in its second weekend, nailing down $21.6 mil.

The Love Guru

, starring

Mike Myers

, failed to spark a whole lot of love in audiences, coming in fourth on its debut weekend with $14 million.

The Happening

,

M. Night Shyamalan's

retro horror film, took fifth, with a gate of $10 million.

Soprano

Angela Meade

, a resident artist at Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts, was the top prize winner in voice at the Jose Iturbi International Music Competition in Los Angeles yesterday.

The weeklong contest, held at UCLA, drew performers from around the world.

Meade, 30, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut in March, won $50,000 for her first-place finish.

Mariya Kim

, 26, of Ukraine and Germany, took the $50,000 prize as the top pianist.