Sideshow: Beyonce will perform in Malaysia
Beyonce Knowles says she will perform in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's biggest city, Oct. 25, two years after canceling a show in this Muslim-majority country after protesters threatened to disrupt the concert because of her sexy image and clothing. The R&B superstar's planned show had already drawn the ire of conservatives in the country, where female performers are required to cover up from shoulders to knees with no cleavage showing.
Beyonce Knowles
says she will perform in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's biggest city, Oct. 25, two years after canceling a show in this Muslim-majority country after protesters threatened to disrupt the concert because of her sexy image and clothing. The R&B superstar's planned show had already drawn the ire of conservatives in the country, where female performers are required to cover up from shoulders to knees with no cleavage showing.
Sabki Yusof, youth vice head of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, said yesterday that they would send a protest note to the government over the concert. "We are against Western sexy performances," Sabki said.
Travolta to testify
Actor
John Travolta
is among the potential witnesses at a Bahamas trial beginning Monday for two people accused of trying to extort $25 million from the movie star, court officials say.
An ambulance driver and a former Bahamas senator allegedly targeted Travolta after his chronically ill son died in the Bahamas. They are accused of demanding money in exchange for not publicizing a document related to 16-year-old Jett Travolta's treatment.
The Travolta case began when the actor filed an extortion complaint with Bahamas police in January, days after his son died from a seizure at a family vacation home on Grand Bahama Island.
Box office
The forecast was bright at the box office for
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
, which earned $30.1 million to lead weekend films.
Sony's 3-D animated family comedy was adapted from the popular 1978 children's book by Judi and Ron Barrett.
Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! came in second with $10.5 million, according to studio estimates yesterday. That was slightly better than expected for the Warner Bros. comedy, which stars Matt Damon as a bipolar whistle-blower.
Last week's box-office topper, Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself, saw a 57 percent drop for Lionsgate.
It still earned $10 million, good enough for third place. That brought its cumulative total to $37.9 million.
Jennifer Aniston's Love Happens (Universal) came in fourth with $8.5 million, suggesting that audiences may be tiring of the actress in romantic comedies. It's her third film this year.
Coming in a distant fifth was Jennifer's Body, the R-rated horror film written by Diablo Cody, the scribe of Juno fame. It earned just $6.8 million for 20th Century Fox.
The weekend's total box-office gross was approximately $100 million, which compares favorably with $88 million on the corresponding weekend last year.