January 2001

Barrymore, Hopkins to get awards
Drew Barrymore and Sir Anthony Hopkins are this year's recipients of woman and man of the year awards from Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

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Spielberg becomes honorary knight
Without most of the trappings of medieval chivalry, Steven Spielberg became the newest honorary knight of the British Empire Monday.

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'Wedding Planner' Catches U.S. Box Office Bouquet
"The Wedding Planner," a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, replaced "Save the Last Dance" as the most popular movie in the United States and Canada.

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Hewitt to play grifter in next film
Jennifer Love Hewitt, star of "I Know What You Did Last Summer," wants to put her bouncy girl next door image behind her with a sexy role as a grifter in the upcoming comedy "Breakers."

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Director's Guild nods for Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh received two nominations Monday for the Directors Guild of America Award for his films "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich."

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Miramax putting film on Internet
A major Hollywood studio will begin an experiment next week making full-length feature films available for download over the Internet. On Monday, Miramax will allow its 1999 release "Guinevere," starring Sarah Polley and Stephen Rea, to be downloaded for $3.49 for a 24-hour viewing license.

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L.A. critics salute Soderbergh, Dafoe
Directors Steven Soderbergh and Ang Lee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts and Willem Dafoe are among those expected to attend Wednesday's Los Angeles Film Critics' 26th Annual Achievement Awards in West Hollywood.

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Dench to be honored in Las Vegas
Dame Judi Dench will be honored as supporting actress of the year at the ShoWest 2001 convention. Dench is nominated for a Golden Globe as best supporting actress for her role in "Chocolat."

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Kim Basinger Seeks Divorce From Alec Baldwin
One of Hollywood's most celebrated couples, Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger and actor Alec Baldwin, have filed for divorce.

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Trailer for 'Lord of the Rings' coming
Movie fans this weekend will get their first glimpse of one of 2001's most anticipated films, the first installment of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

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Producers Guild nominates Y2K work
The Producers Guild of America has nominated "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Erin Brockovich" among the best movie productions of 2000.

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Soderbergh puts pair on AFI Top 10
The American Film Institute honored two of director Steven Soderbergh's films - "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich" - in its first-ever list of the 10 best movies of the year 2000.

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Chan may get 'Knight'-ed
Jackie Chan announced his next project will be "Shanghai Knight," a follow-up to the $56.9 million domestic grosser "Shanghai Noon."

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Oscar ballots are in the mail
Oscar season is here and though it might seem there are only a few choices for best picture nominees, the reality is that 242 feature-length films are eligible for the top Oscar prize.

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Disney eyes 'Tron' sequel
Almost 20 years after the release of the original, the Walt Disney Co. is in the early stages of developing a sequel to its 1982 sci-fi cult classic "Tron."

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'Hannibal' heads lively film lineup
The early months of the year, normally a quiet time for Hollywood, take on more bite in 2001 with the February release of "Hannibal," sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs."

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Critics laud 'Almost Famous'
"Almost Famous," Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical tale of a teen-age rock writer in the 1970s, received best picture honors from the Online Film Critics Society.

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Hollywood Posts Record 9th Year of Box Office Gains
Hollywood ended the year 2000 with a record $7.7 billion in North American ticket sales, up nearly 3 percent from 1999.

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Wahlberg Not Married
Mark Wahlberg has quashed rumours he is married - after apparently introducing his girlfriend as his wife.

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