• ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Last Update on January 05, 2009 03:06 EST

JOHN TRAVOLTA'S SON DIES

FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) -- John Travolta says he and his wife Kelly Preston are "heartbroken" over the death of their chronically ill teenage son.

Sixteen-year-old Jett Travolta collapsed last week at the family's vacation home in the Bahamas.

In their first public statement since Jett's death, Travolta and Preston say they are "heartbroken" that their time with him was so brief, but say they will cherish the time they had with him for the rest of their lives.

The couple describe Jett as "the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for" and say he "lit up the lives of everyone he encountered."

Police say Jett was found unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning and he was later pronounced dead at a Freeport hospital. Police say the youth was last seen entering the bathroom on Thursday.

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BOX OFFICE

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The top five movie draws this past weekend are identical to the weekend before.

"Marley and Me," starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, remained at the top with more than $24 million dollars at the box office. Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories" was number-2 at $20.3 million.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," starring Brad Pitt, was number-3 at $18.4 million, followed by "Valkyrie" and "Yes Man."

The rest of the top 10 were "Seven Pounds," "The Tale of Despereaux," "Doubt," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and "Slumdog Millionaire."

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"BEDTIME STORIES" - KERI RUSSELL

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Keri Russell did her own roller blading in "Bedtime Stories" and that really was her riding the horse, but the more surreal stunts were done by computer. Russell says she and Adam Sandler spent a lot of time wearing "crazy helmets" and hearing the director tell them "get on the back and just scream a lot." Russell says she and Sandler would often look at each other and say "what are we doing? I don't know! Ahhhh!"

"MARLEY AND ME" - ERIC DANE

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Eric Dane adopted an injured stray while filming "Marley and Me." He says he was walking down the street when he saw a chihuahua with a broken leg. He was told someone threw the dog out of a moving car. So he took the dog and nursed her back to health while on vacation. He says the dog's name is Nellie and is doing fine now.

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THEATER OWNERS SAY WILL SMITH IS BOX-OFFICE KING

NEW YORK (AP) -- "Hancock," may not care. But the star of that blockbuster, Will Smith, has to be proud that theater owners think he's the star who brought in the most money in ticket sales during 2008. Robert Downey Jr., in both "Iron Man" and "Tropic Thunder," comes in second. In third is the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale. Shia LaBeouf and Harrison Ford are fourth and fifth in the survey. They starred together in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Others on the annual Quigley Publishing list of stars who were box-office gold last year: Adam Sandler, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and James Bond: Daniel Craig.

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INTERNATIONAL BOX OFFICE

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It was a great year for Hollywood movies in other parts of the world. Hollywood's six major studios say they broke overseas box office records last year. They sold an estimated $9.9 billion in tickets. The Hollywood Reporter says that's a four percent increase from a year ago. Each of the studios, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Sony and Disney, brought in more than $1 billion for the second year in a row. Of all the studios, Paramount did the best with international releases grossing $2 billion. That's up a whopping 28 percent.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR - NO DUI

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) -- Heather Locklear will not have a DUI on her record from her arrest last September. She originally was charged with driving under the influence of prescription drugs. But she's pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of misdemeanor reckless driving. As part of her sentence, she's now under three years of informal probation. She has to pay a fine and go to a driver's education program.

OBIT-PAT HINGLE

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (AP) -- Veteran actor Pat Hingle died over the weekend in Carolina Beach, N.C.

Hingle had a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in several Batman movies in the 1990s. He was 84, and died after a battle with blood cancer.

Hingle's career in movies and TV spanned six decades. He was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1958. His last movie, released two years ago, was "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."