Movie News & Gossip

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood is crossing a new milestone as domestic revenues top $10 billion for the first time.

Box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com projected that 2009 receipts would pass that mark Tuesday.

- Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" — a movie that offers exactly two big laughs for its kiddo audience — one involving passing gas, the other a shot to the crotch. In the considerable gap between these two bits of comic invention, you have plenty of time to ponder why the movie turns on the idea of Dave (Jason Lee) sending Alvin, Simon and Theodore to high school. Do chipmunks, particularly world-famous rock star chipmunks, really need a diploma? Aren't they already smarter than Dave? While there's no story, the movie does double the number of rodents, introducing the girl group, The Chipettes. Alvin and the boys compete against The Chipettes in a talent show, while that darned Ian (David Cross) tries to kidnap the ... oh, why bother going into detail? Just know there's twice the chipmunks and about half the laughs of the 2007 holiday hit. 89 minutes. One star out of four.

LOS ANGELES - Coroner's officials are looking into how the celebrity Web site TMZ obtained details on prescription drugs contained in an investigator's report on the death of Brittany Murphy.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said Tuesday he didn't know how TMZ obtained the confidential report, and that he was concerned other aspects of the investigation could be leaked.

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles coroner's officials are looking into how details of an investigator's report on Brittany Murphy's death were leaked to TMZ.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter says he doesn't know how the Web site apparently obtained the confidential report. TMZ's report stated the investigator, who is only identified by last name, noted numerous bottles of prescription medications were found in Murphy's name at the Hollywood Hills home where she collapsed Sunday.

CLEVELAND - A reality TV star gets to spend a couple of nights living like Ralphie in the house used for the movie "A Christmas Story."

The experience is a "major award" for Billy Jeffrey, who says he's obsessed with the 1983 film. He bid $4,200 in an online charity auction and was scheduled to make his sleepovers Monday and Tuesday nights.

- Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is more than a peculiar coda for Heath Ledger. It's not just a trivia answer — though that may well be its fate.

"Parnassus" goes down in the books as another entry in Gilliam's history of remarkable production misfortunes, including the shuttering of his "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" and the tragic loss of his star, Ledger, while filming this movie.

TORONTO - Terry Gilliam has endured so many obstacles on his films, his life story could be the stuff of some cosmic filmmaker's wild fable about a hamstrung artist, titled "The Curse of Gilliam."

He fought epic battles with studio bosses on "Brazil" and "The Brothers Grimm." His "Don Quixote" fantasy with Johnny Depp shut down just days into shooting.

SALT LAKE CITY - The man who inspired the title character in the Oscar-winning movie "Rain Man" has died.

Kim Peek was 58. His father, Fran, says Peek had a major heart attack Saturday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray.