Movie City Indie by Ray Pride Ken Russell: there was a naked lady running round the garden (April 4, 6:47p) "Russell starred in a real-life drama [Tuesday] when he plunged into his blazing thatched cottage to rescue his wife."

Digital Drezka by Gary Dretzka Regarding The Alleged Controversy Over The Dargis Pulitzer Nomination (April 4, 6:32p) Dear Mr. Dretzka, A small matter: Where was it "reported" that either I or Ben Brantley "have a beef" with the Times's nomination of Manohla Dargis for the Pulitzer?

The Hot Blog by David Poland New Study Indicates Film Critics Bad For Business (April 4, 7:05p) The big question for those of us who make a living off of our opinions on movies is whether studios are helping themselves when they do schedule advance screenings.

The Reeler by S.T. Vanairsdale Cindy Adams Subject of Annual NYT Old-Gossip Lament (April 4, 9:36a) Andrew Jacobs's tongue hyperactively coating Adams with sycophantic slobber, delineating the tricks of her trade for anybody who cannot divine them from one of the gossip goddess's six columns per week.

The Weekend Report
by Leonard Klady

There's nothing quite like a hot movie to reinvigorate movie going and Ice Age: The Meltdown needn't have worried about a chilly reception. The very animated sequel arrived with an estimated $69.3 million that sent revenues and attendance airborne. The film also added $43 million from international bows. The competition was pallid using the Ice Age 2 yardstick but the urban drama ATL had a very good $12.2 million debut to rank third while the horror yarn Slither eked by with $3.8 million and Basic Instinct 2 undressed a flimsy $3.2 million. There was also an impressive two-screen opening for the American indie Brick.
Weekend Estimates (Full List)
Canadian Top Grosses
Domestic Market Share
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The Ultimate DVD Geek
Welcome To The Monkey House
by Doug Pratt

A good hour of King Kong, and maybe even more, does not belong in the theatrical release of what should have been a brisk, spectacular romp. Even some of the elaborate special effects sequences, such as the dinosaur stampede, could go and not be missed, and there are entire subplots involving secondary characters that could easily be excised. But that was the theatrical release. The King Kong DVD, on the other hand, is a thrilling achievement, and with the ability to hit the 'Pause' button whenever you wish, in order to take an intermission or move from the couch to the recliner, the 2005 production is a gripping, pulse-pounding way to lose an afternoon.

Gross Behavior
The Audience Is Listning...
by Leonard Klady

In theory at least there's an ideal, hip crowd out there that shares the same cinematic sensibility that have informed your likes and peeves on the big screen.

Of course the reality is generally quite different. Though composed of a not necessarily homogeneous quilt of individuals, the crowd experience can turn us into a single voice. It can also be an entirely surreal experience as the peripheral sounds of hysterical laughter or a sea of sobs leaves you with the somewhat perplexing question about why you aren't sharing the prevailing emotions in the theater.

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Digital Drezka
If The Seat Fits ...
by Gary Dretzka

Apparently, the shift toward larger seats began at approximately the same time that exhibitors finally acknowledged – duh — that their shoebox-sized auditoriums, with small screens, paper-thin walls, sticky floors, pre-fab popcorn and crappy sightlines, actually were a major factor in the abandonment of multiplexes by discerning viewers. By the late-’80s and early-’90s, the downturn had reached crisis proportions. Something drastic had to be done.

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MCN DVD Wrap-Up
Chicken Little

This time, the world's most famous alarmist is joined by pals Ugly Duckling (Joan Cusack), Runt of the Litter (Steve Zahn) and Fish Out of Water. The CGI feature isn't up to usual Disney standards, but younger children should find it enjoyable, as will the interactive bonus features.

The Chicken Rap
The Trading Cards

Plus: The Busby Berkeley Collection, Buster Keaton: 65th Anniversary Collection, Bukowski: Born Into This, Capote, Chicken Little, David and Bathsheba, A History of Violence, Huff, A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, Loggerheads,Over There, Paul Mooney's Analyzing White America, Remember the Titans, Show Me, South Park, Stalag 17, The Ten Commandments, The Thing Called Love, Through the Fire, Townes Van Zandt, The White Shadow, The Year of the Yao, The Young Riders

Updated throughout the day
Updated: 7:54 pm

AOL's Daily Pulse Suggests That At Least Webheads Are Ready For U93

Jack Black Is Not Hairy Enough For His Chest & Belly Waxing To Be Virgin Funny...Or Really, Very Funny At All... But Seeing Him This Uncomfortable On Camera Is Unique

Fox News Bumps American Dreamz... Too Much Bush Bashing Or Simon Says "No?"

"But can anybody be certain of anything but life and death?"
Redstone & Freston Back Their Grey In Black & White Via Claudia Eller

Patrick Goldstein's The Big Picture Column... On Sunday And On Books

Mel "There's No Such Thing As A Dead Language" Gibson On Apocalypto
""The fearmongering we depict in this film reminds me a little of President Bush and his guys."

Meirelles & Lund's Brazilian Series, City Of Men Premieres On Sundance Channel Tuesday Night

Awards That Matter... "Justin Timberlake beat Hugh Jackman in the burping contest."

The Pellicano Case Drags In John McTiernan

Via GreenCine - Relaxing From Grind House, Robert Rodriguez Paints Salma Hayek As An Aztec Goddess

Extra! Extra!! Universal Does Business As Usual!
The Paper Of Wreckord Hypes One Incident Of A Compaint About The United 93 Trailer in NYC Into A Serious Corporate Dilemma

Mo'Nique Gets Phat In Philly

The Paper Of Record Finally Reduced To Writing About Old Films With Topless Scenes

A New Site For The Film & Faith Critics Circle

David Thomson Does Ava Gardner And Neil Norman Does Timothy Spall

Didn't They See The Squid & The Whale?
Brokeback Mania Lives On As Dave Cullen & His Merry Men Start A DVD-To-Library Drive

35 And You're Flippin' "Ass To Mouth" Jokes And Featuring Rosario Bouncin' In A Tank Top?
Clerks 2 Has A No Band Trailer Up On The Web

Ebert On The Great Night Moves

Which Is Least Likely?
A. A 900-Word USA Today Story On A Short Film
B. A $100,000 Budget For A Short Film
C. A Short Film Being Pulled From Its Premiere At The Philadelphia Film Fest Because It Isn't Factually Accurate
D. All Of The Above

Variety On Simpsons Movie Teaser Trailer Launch... And Unlike This Web Wonks, They Would Rather Credit Ain't It Cool News For Breaking News Of The Teaser Being On Ice Age 2 Instead Of Sheigh Crabtree At The Competitor, Hollywood Reporter
Earlier - Our Ms Crabtree May Be Pulling Our Legs A Day Early With This The Simpsons: The Movie Trailer Report, Dated April 1

The Studios Announce An Insanely Overpriced Experiment In Below-DVD Standard Movie Downloading Which Already Has Proven to Be Of Little, If Any, Interest To Consumers
Here Too (Free)

Last Century's Story Of Studios Investing In Overseas Films And Infrastructure Finally Reaches The Paper Of Record

Emily Yoffe Tries To Shoot Celebs

The Woz Surveys CGnamation

Patrick Dollard Goes To Iraq

You've Got Your Natalie Portman In My Video Game... You've Got Your First Person Shooter In My Jedi Council Meeting!
Lucas Companies Integrates Movies & Games

Ron Grover Joins The Crowd Wondering How The DreamWorks Library, Minus Animation & Various Rights, Is Worth $900 Million

The Da Vinci Code Already A Big Preseller Down Under

Budget Battle Bumps Baz But Beautiful Battler Blows Bugle

"I wanted to take the blond out of my career, kill the direction it was going... I got to the point where it worked: nobody wanted to work with me. I'd finally - whether consciously or unconsciously - perfectly sabotaged any studio interest in working with me."

Bettie Page, Mary Harron & El(le) Durbin

The Ligher Side Of Denzel Washington

Jane, Lily And Dolly Reminisce About Working 9 To 5

A Breakthrough For Getting Endless Publicity For A Movie That Wouldn't Have Gotten A New York Times Review Six Months Ago And Will Likely Be Forgotten Six Minutes From... Now!

Do Not Ask For Whom The Bong Tolls...
Playboy Mansion Benefit For Pot Legalization Warns That Pot Smoking Won't Be Tolerated In The Grotto Or Any Other Orifice

Don't They Have Enough Cells For Holding People Uncharged For Free Speech?
Chinese Government Releases AIDS Activist Who Was Held Without Charges, Jails Filmmaker Who Was Held Without Charges

Slither Director James Gunn Offers A Top Five On Why His Movie Is Different Than Sharon Stone
5) SLITHER is well-groomed “down there.”

Peter Howell On The Mounting Difficulties Of Being A Film Snob

Timothy Spall Gives Life To Britain's Most Prolific Executioner

The Lioness (Vanessa Redgrave) In Winter

Queer As Clownfolks?
South Korea's Brokeback Mountain

An Interesting DVR Development As Cable Providers Offer Remote DVR, Which Would Allow The Cable Subscriber A Virtually Unlimited DVR Capacity On The Cable Co's Server... The Question Is, Might A Remote DVR Lead To More Control Instead Of Less?