Alec Baldwin explains why he skipped the Emmys

Alec Baldwin says he agreed to host Tony Bennett's 85th birthday gala a year ago.Alec Baldwin hosted Tony Bennett's 85th birthday gala in New YorkBaldwin confirmed Fox cut out his joking reference to the phone hacking scandal Baldwin joked in the skit that Rupert Murdoch was eavesdropping on a phone conversation

(PEOPLE.com) -- It was a birthday party that kept Emmy nominee Alec Baldwin away from TV's biggest night, not the fact that his opening skit got cut, he says.

"I didn't skip the Emmys because of that," the 30 Rock star told reporters Sunday at singing legend Tony Bennett's 85th birthday gala in New York. "I skipped the Emmys because of this -- because I wanted to be here."

Baldwin, 53, says he agreed to host the gala a year ago, long before the awards show was scheduled. "The Emmys have been in August for the last several years, but they moved to this date and I'd already committed to this."

He also said that when it came to winning, "There's no chance." As Baldwin accurately predicted, the Emmy for male lead in a comedy series went to Jim Parsons, of The Big Bang Theory.

"The Emmys are something I'm going to watch on YouTube tomorrow," said Baldwin as he walked the red carpet with girlfriend Hilaria Thomas.

As for removing himself from the opening sketch in which he played the president of television (he was replaced by what many TV critics considered a miscast Leonard Nimoy), Baldwin confirmed it was because Fox, which broadcast the Emmys and is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News America corporation, cut out his joking reference to the phone hacking scandal involving the company.

Earlier in the day, Baldwin Tweeted: "Fox did kill my NewsCorp hacking joke. Which sucks bc I think it would have made them look better. A little."

"[Fox] had asked me to do a sketch for them," Baldwin explained. "I flew out there [to Los Angeles]. I did the sketch, and it was shot. They cut out something that I thought was the funniest part. I guess it was offensive to them."

Baldwin joked in the skit that Rupert Murdoch was eavesdropping on a phone conversation. Fox issued a statement that it did not wish to make light of the hacking scandal.

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Dolores Hope, widow of Bob Hope, dead at 102

Dolores Hope poses with her 100th birthday cake at her 'Ten Decades Of Life' party on May 27, 2009, in Toluca Lake, California.NEW: "She was the First Lady of the USO," Carol Channing saysShe met Bob Hope in 1933 when she was singing at a New York clubDolores Hope put her singing career on hold to raise four adopted childrenBob Hope was 100 when he died in 2003

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Dolores Hope, the widow of actor-comedian Bob Hope, died of natural causes at her Los Angeles home Monday, her family said. She was 102.

"I had such a huge admiration for both of them," actress Julie Newmar said. "The quality it takes to get just one year older, says a lot about that fact that she lived to 102. What a glorious woman and life!"

Although she put her singing career on hold after her marriage to Hope, Dolores Hope was active as a philanthropist, involved in her own causes as well as her husband's.

Military troops entertained by her husband's USO shows knew Dolores Hope because she would usually close the shows with a rendition of "Silent Night," according to a biography provided by her family.

"She was the First Lady of the USO," Carol Channing said. "They didn't come any more patriotic, caring or talented than Dolores."

Her last USO show performance came at age 84, when she sang "White Christmas" to Operation Desert Storm troops from the back of a truck in the Saudi desert.

She restarted her singing career at the age of 83 by recording several albums. She performed with Rosemary Clooney at Rainbow and Stars in New York for several weeks.

Born in Harlem in New York on May 27, 1909, Dolores DeFina was a singer at Manhattan's Vogue Club when she met Bob Hope in 1933. It was "love at first song," the biography quotes Bob Hope as saying.

The couple married the next year and later adopted four children.

The couple moved in the late 1930s from New York to California, where he pursued a movie and radio career.

Bob Hope was 100 when he died July 27, 2003.

"Dolores once said that their longevity could be credited to laughter and they certainly had a lot of that in their lives," said actress Alison Arngrim.

The family will hold a private funeral at burial at the Bob Hope Memorial Garden, San Fernando Mission, California, where her husband was interred.

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'Lion King 3D' wins box office

All told, Simba and company have grossed $357.8 million in theaters domestically over the last two decades."The Lion King 3D" earned an estimated $29.3 million"Contagion" declined just 35 percent to $14.5 million"Drive" raced into third place with $11 million

(EW.com) -- Nostalgia wins again! Disney's "The Lion King 3D," a technologically enhanced re-release of the 1994 animated classic, tore up the competition at the box office this weekend, earning an estimated $29.3 million -- more than the other three newcomers combined.

In "The Lion King's" original theatrical run, it roared up a stunning $312.9 million total, becoming the highest-grossing animated film in box office history at that time. The film earned another $15.7 million during a 2002 IMAX re-release, and now another $29.3 million during the first weekend of its two-week run. All told, Simba and company have grossed $357.8 million in theaters domestically over the last two decades.

And then there's the home market, where Disney is hoping buyers will seek out "The Lion King" on Blu-ray 3D when it debuts on Oct. 4. According to The-Numbers, "The Lion King" has amassed $1.5 billion in home market revenue from video sales and rentals, and after the profitable publicity of this weekend, that number should be moving up shortly. "The Mouse House" converted "The Lion King" into 3-D for a very low cost (a rep for the studio said "the low single digits"), so even if the film completely bombs on DVD -- which it won't -- it's already proving to be a big success.

An impressive 92 percent of "The Lion King 3D's" gross came from 3-D screens, and it earned a terrific $12,575 per theater average by playing to a very wide range of moviegoers. People under the age of 25 made up 59 percent of the audience, as families (who made up 74 percent of the audience) took their kids to see the film. Still, many couples and young people without children saw the film simply for nostalgic reasons. Women slightly edged out men in rewatching the popular musical -- females made up 56 percent of the crowd.

But enough about lions -- let's get to the rest of the chart! Last weekend's champ, "Contagion," came in second place, declining just 35 percent to $14.5 million and lifting its total to $44.2 million. The well-reviewed illness thriller remained a top choice for adult audiences on a weekend when "Straw Dogs," "Drive," and "I Don't Know How She Does It" were all targeting them as well. If the Warner Brothers picture can maintain soft week-to-week drops, it will have no trouble earning back its $60 million budget.

Ryan Gosling's artsy thriller "Drive" raced into third place with $11 million. The R-rated FilmDistrict production, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, played mostly to an older crowd, as 75 percent of the audience was 25 or older.

Unfortunately, not everyone who saw the film liked it — despite strong critical reviews, audiences issued "Drive" a harsh "C--" CinemaScore grade, which does not bode well for its box-office longevity. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come to Gosling/Refn collaborations. The film earned a fair $3,818 per theater average.

In fourth place was Disney's stalwart August release "The Help," which continued to work up solid numbers in its sixth weekend. The Kathryn Stockett adaptation fell by 28 percent to $6.4 million, and it has now earned $147.4 million against its $25 million budget. If only the films in fifth and sixth place were so lucky...

"Straw Dogs" debuted in fifth place with a very weak $5 million. The Sony remake (of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film with Dustin Hoffman), which played mostly to males (60 percent) and older audiences (61 percent at least 25 years-old) has already exhibited major frontloadedness, earning $2 million on Friday but only 2.5 times that over the full frame.

With a "C" CinemaScore grade, "Straw Dogs" will be lucky to break $10 million total.

Next up was Sarah Jessica Parker's rom-com "I Don't Know How She Does It," which I can only imagine is a two-hour clip of Parker wondering how she (obviously, Nala), actually does it (makes money at the box office). The Weinstein production, produced for about $20-25 million, earned just $4.5 million over the Friday-to-Sunday period, failing even to live up to Parker's 2009 box-office bomb "Did You Hear About The Morgans?," which debuted to $6.6 million.

The film was viewed by 74 percent females, and it received a "B--" CinemaScore grade.

Other notable box-office happenings this weekend: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" crossed the $170 million plateau, "Crazy Stupid Love" surpassed $80 million total, and "Kevin Hart: Laugh At My Pain" earned another $1.2 million out of only 230 theaters, lifting its 10-day total to a remarkable $3.6 million.

1. The Lion King 3D -- $29.3 mil

2. Contagion -- $14.5 mil

3. Drive -- $11.0 mil

4. The Help -- $6.4 mil

5. Straw Dogs -- $5.0 mil

6. I Don't Know Who She Does It -- $4.5 mil

7. The Debt -- $2.9 mil

8. Warrior -- $2.8 mil

9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- $2.6 mil

10. Colombiana -- $2.3 mil

See the full story at EW.com.

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© 2010 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.

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Brooke Burke is taking hubby David Charvet's name

"It was a very selfish, but meaningful moment," Brooke Burke said of her secret nuptials."I'm happy about being Brooke Charvet," Brooke Burke saidThe former Ms. Burke is excited about the changeThe mother of four is still basking in the joy of being a newlywed

(PEOPLE.com) -- Brooke Burke waited five years before marrying her hubby David Charvet, but she's wasting no time taking his last name.

"Tomorrow on Dancing with the Stars will be the first time I go by my new name [on TV]," the ABC show's host, 39, told PEOPLE at Sunday's Emmy Awards. "I'm happy about being Brooke Charvet."

Although the former Ms. Burke is excited about the change, not all people agree with her decision.

"It's been 50-50 from everybody, but I'm doing it!" she says.

The mother of four is still basking in the joy of being a newlywed.

"The timing just felt right," she says of her secret nuptials. "It was a very selfish, but meaningful moment. It was really spontaneous and romantic and really about us and not about what everyone else wanted or thought."

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© 2010 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.

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Salahi disturbed by wife's 'adulterous affair'

"Real Housewives of D.C." star Michaele Salahi left her husband to join Journey guitarist Neal Schon on tour.Michaele Salahi "abandoned the marriage," Tareq Salahi's divorce petition saysHis wife's affair causes him "great harm, humiliation, and embarrassment," Salahi saysAn e-mail from her paramour's email address includes a penis photo, the divorce filing saysThe band Journey is paying for Michaele Salahi's travel, her husband alleges

(CNN) -- Tareq Salahi is "greatly hurt and disturbed" by wife's "adulterous affair" with a rock musician and he wants a divorce, according to court documents.

"Real Housewives of D.C." star Michaele Salahi left her husband last week to join Journey guitarist Neal Schon on tour, which Tareq Salahi said "caused me to suffer great harm, humiliation, and embarrassment."

She "was engaged in an adulterous relationship with one Neal Schon, her paramour," the divorce petition said. "I also understand that his rock band Journey paid for her travel, accommodations and other expenses."

The Salahis' split became public last Wednesday when Tareq Salahi told reporters that he thought his wife had been kidnapped when she disappeared on Tuesday.

She told a sheriff's deputy that she was "with a good friend and was where she wanted to be," Warren County, Virginia, Sheriff Danny McEathron said in a statement to CNN Wednesday afternoon.

The reality show personality traveled last Tuesday to Memphis, Tennessee, where Journey was performing, to be with Schon, a representative with Scoop Marketing confirmed to CNN Wednesday. Scoop Marketing represents Schon.

"She stated that she was not returning home and had thus abandoned the marriage and marital home," his divorce petition said.

But what really hurts about his wife's "adulterous friendship" is that she "has flaunted the same throughout the community, the nation and indeed the world, and thus caused me to suffer great harm, humiliation, and embarrassment," his court filing said.

An e-mail Salahi said was sent to him from Schon's e-mail address was included in the filing. It contained a photo of an unidentified penis, he said.

"At no time whatsoever have I condoned or acquiesced to the adulterous affair," Tareq Salahi said.

"There is no hope or possibility of reconciliation," he said.

The couple, married for nearly eight years, has no children.

They gained notoriety when they were photographed with President Barack Obama at a White House state dinner, to which they were not invited, in November 2009.

The "Real Housewives of D.C." TV series was canceled by Bravo earlier this year.

CNN's Rachel Wells contributed to this report.

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A critics' notebook from TIFF

"Melancholia" boasts the best female performance in years in Kirsten Dunst's portrayal of Justine.The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the 2 or 3 most important film industry events"Melancholia" is nothing short of a masterpiece"Moneyball" turns out to be a well-written, exceptionally acted and stylishly directed film

(CNN) -- The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is massive. Hundreds of members of the global film industry descend on Canada's "Queen City" each September to partake in the city's premiere cultural event. This year, more than 330 shorts and features from 65 countries were screened, and directors, actors and crew members from many of them were in town to promote their films.

Not only that, many actors had more than one film screening at TIFF, including Clive Owen ("Killer Elite," "Intruders"), Michael Fassbender ("Shame," "A Dangerous Method"), George Clooney ("The Ides of March," "The Descendants"), Rachel Weisz ("Page Eight," "360," "The Deep Blue Sea"), Ryan Gosling ("Drive," "The Ides of March"), Gerard Butler ("Machine Gun Preacher", "Coriolanus"), Carey Mulligan ("Shame," "Drive"), Seth Rogen ("50/50," "Take This Waltz") and others. Mark Duplass even starred in one film (Lynn Shelton's magnificent "Your Sister's Sister") and co-wrote/co-directed another ("Jeff, Who Lives At Home") with his brother Jay.

The fest typically contains a mix of films with U.S./Canadian distribution (many U.S. distributors use TIFF as a junket for their fall releases) along with those hoping to be acquired, films with major stars and those without, and of course films in dozens of languages.

Toronto is also one of the 2 or 3 (depending on who you talk to) most important film industry events on the calendar (along with Cannes and Sundance) and is a frenzy of virtually every aspect of the international film business.

TIFF is also the first large North American festival for audiences and industry to catch up on some of the big hits from Cannes. (The Telluride Film Festival screens many just before TIFF but is a much smaller, more rarefied event.) Many of these films will open before year's end, and many are highly touted Oscar contenders.

Right out of the gate: a masterpiece

One of these films was the subject of much (unnecessary, in my opinion) ballyhoo in Cannes earlier this year: Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" (Magnolia Pictures; on-demand October 7, in theaters, November 11). You might remember that back in May, von Trier got in a spot of trouble when he appeared to sympathize with Adolf Hitler in a news conference and was subsequently declared "persona non grata" by the Cannes Film Festival. The thing is, anyone with any sense knew that he was not being serious, and while it may have been a joke in bad taste, it was clearly not a statement of loyalty to the Third Reich. If you want to read everything in context, Google it; but to quote the Bard, it really was much ado about nothing.

As for "Melancholia," it is nothing short of a masterpiece. I say that as a wishy-washy fan of von Trier's work. Much of what I have seen of his is very difficult to watch and can't decide whether they're masterpieces or pieces of ... another kind. OK, I'm being a little hyperbolic, but really, I don't think I can watch "Breaking the Waves" or "Dancer in the Dark" ever again. While I concede that they may well be works of genius, I won't subject myself to such emotional abuse again.

I don't feel even remotely like that about "Melancholia," however, and I can't wait to see it again. It is, in every way, an astonishing achievement. Quite likely the first disaster art house film, it is about as visually stunning a film as you're likely to see and boasts the best female performance in years in Kirsten Dunst's portrayal of Justine, a young newlywed who is slowly cycling through crippling depression while the world around her is literally ending.

In the (e-mailed) words of her co-star Stellan Skarsgård ("Thor," "Breaking the Waves"): "Kirsten's performance is not only brave it's a very subtle description of depression's travel through a mind, and all only in her eyes. One of the best performances I have ever seen." I can't agree more. This film is not for everyone (those who liked "Transformers 3" need not apply), but if you're a true lover of film, you owe it to yourself to give it a look. I hope to write more about this work of art closer to the film's release.

When is a studio film not a studio film?

I've been going to film festivals since before I made my living in the industry and suspect that should I ever choose a different career path, I will continue to go to them. One reason is the wide variety of films offered. Don't feel up for a studio comedy? Well, there's a sexy French mystery playing in 15 minutes across the hall. Feeling a little overwhelmed with life and need a break from it all? There's a heartfelt indie romantic comedy-drama starting in an hour. Documentaries, comedies, erotic thrillers, slapstick ... even silent movies. TIFF has them all.

One of the studio films doing a lot of its prerelease press in Toronto was "Capote" director Bennett Miller's outstanding "Moneyball," (Columbia Pictures, September 23). Boasting a cast of Brad Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") and Jonah Hill, as well as writers Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, "Moneyball" has been tipped as a best picture contender for months, and I'd say it's got a pretty good shot. Of course, it's early to be tossing nominations around, but I'm not going out on a limb by saying that this one's on the short list.

On the surface, "Moneyball" doesn't sound like a winner. It's a film about baseball that focuses on the general manager of the Oakland A's, a small market team that has just had its star players leave via free agency. It's also based on a true story, so baseball nerds (like me) already know what happens at the end, and there's no romance.

If I haven't already scared you off, then good, you're in for a treat because "Moneyball" turns out to be a well-written, exceptionally acted and stylishly directed film. Pitt is Billy Beane, a failed former player and the general manager of the A's who is stuck with a team that has just lost its superstars to the Yankees and Red Sox and who doesn't have enough money to replace them. While discussing possible trades with the general manager of another team, Beane meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) an overweight, nonathletic Yale graduate who crunches numbers to identify the best players, rather than using the time-tested method of, you know, watching them play.

Brand has identified on-base percentage as the key statistic that determines whether or not a player helps his club, and that, combined with other stats and formulas that I don't even pretend to understand, is the best way to evaluate talent, especially if you don't have a gazillion dollars to spend like, say, the Yankees or the Red Sox. Basically he's distilled the game down to an obvious truism: If you score more than the other guy does, you win; and to score runs, you need men on base.

Like any story about someone trying to change the way things are done in an "old boys' network" (and you don't get much older, tradition-steeped, and male than professional baseball), "Moneyball" is full of Beane and Brand pushing a metaphorical rock up a hill, trying to convince the establishment that they're right.

There's an "us against the world" feeling in this film and, believe it or not, an atmosphere of those classic indie-minded 1970s films that studios used to make. In fact, Miller told EW that "All The President's Men" was a particular inspiration, and as odd as that may seem on the surface, it's really not that strange. After all, that was also a true story, but it still had all the suspense, excitement and sense of seeing someone buck the system to make it a great film. "Moneyball" is a great film.

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Hearing about missing witness in Michael Jackson case

If convicted of an involuntary manslaughter charge, Dr. Conrad Murray could face up to four years in prison.NEW: Prosecutors say they found the pharmacist who sold the propofol that killed Jackson NEW: Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers drop plans to call a Texas medical examinerOpening statements in Murray's trial are set for next weekJoy Behar will interview Jermaine Jackson, who will talk about his new book, "You Are Not Alone," and more Monday night at 10 ET on HLN.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The missing witness in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor was found over the weekend and will be available to testify, the prosecutor told the court Monday.

Pharmacist Tim Lopez testified at Dr. Conrad Murray's preliminary hearing in January that he shipped more than 15 liters of the surgical anesthetic propofol to the apartment of Murray's girlfriend over the three months before Jackson's death.

The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Jackson died on June 25, 2009, as the result of an overdose of propofol combined with other drugs.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the court last week that it is believed Lopez, the owner of a wholesale pharmacy in Las Vegas, has moved to Thailand.

A hearing had been set for Monday so Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor could decide if prosecutors could rely on the transcript of his previous testimony. The resolution of that and several other issues made for a short hearing.

"Well, I'd like to believe that I was responsible in some measure, but we have excellent counsel," Pastor said Monday.

The defense announced it was dropping from its witness list a Texas medical examiner who toured the Los Angeles county coroner's lab. Prosecutors had objected to his testimony, calling it irrelevant.

Pastor delayed consideration of the prosecution's request to exclude the testimony of Jackson's makeup artist. The defense wants Karen Faye to repeat statements given in interviews about what she described as Jackson's ill health in the weeks before his death, as he was rehearsing for his comeback concerts.

The prosecution told the judge in a hearing Thursday that much of what Faye has said in the past was based on what she heard others say, not her own recollections.

If convicted on the involuntary manslaughter charge, Murray could face up to four years in prison.

The next hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon, when lawyers for each side will offer their "for cause" challenges of prospective jurors, based on their answers to written questions.

Lawyers will conduct face-to-face questioning of potential jurors on Friday as they choose 18 Los Angeles citizens to hear the case.

Opening statements for the trial, which will be televised, are scheduled for September 27. The judge told members of the jury pool he expects their service will be over on or about October 28.

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