FILM/ BULLOCK MAKES HISTORY WITH "BLIND SIDE": Sandra Bullock rang in the new year making box office history. Some time over the weekend, Bullock starrer "The Blind Side" became the 1st film in history driven solely by a top female star to jump the $200 million mark at the domestic box office. To be precise, the film finished the frame with a cume of $208.5 million in its 7th week in release. Over the weekend, it rose a remarkable 10% over the previous week, and it's still got plenty of life left, according to Warner Bros. It's hard to believe, but none of the previous films in which Bullock had top solo billing had reached $200 million, nor have any of the solo starring efforts of the likes of Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie or Reese Witherspoon. Roberts' "Erin Brockovich," the film most often compared with "Blind Side," grossed $125.6 million domestically. Streep's "The Devil Wears Prada" fashioned $124.7 million at the domestic B.O. In all, Bullock's films have grossed north of $1.72 billion domestically. That compares with $2.31 billion for Roberts, $1.54 billion for Streep and $1.44 billion for Jolie.
FILM/ PGA NOMS ANNOUNCED: The Producers Guild of America has tapped "Avatar," "An Education," "District 9," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Invictus," "Precious," "Star Trek," "Up" and "Up in the Air" as nominees for its best picture award. The PGA, which made the announcement this morning, will announce the winner January 24 in ceremonies at the Hollywood Palladium based on voting by its 4200 members. As with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the PGA's expanded the category this year to 10 nominees. The PGA's trophy has matched the Oscar Best Picture in 13 of its 20 years, including last year when "Slumdog Millionaire" took both. "Up" also received a nomination in the PGA's animated category along with "9," "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "The Princess and the Frog." The PGA announced a quartet of nominees for its documentary award -- "Bruma VJ," "The Cove," Sergio" and "Soundtrack for a Revolution." It also tapped half a dozen finalists for its longform TV award with nods to the producers of "Georgia O'Keefe," "Grey Gardens," "Little Dorit," "Prayers for Bobby," "The Prisoner" and "Taking Chance."
MUSIC/ TONY BELLAMY DIES AT 69: Tony Bellamy, guitarist and singer for the 1970s band Redbone, best known for its 1974 Top 5 smash "Come and Get Your Love," died on Christmas morning in a Las Vegas hospital. The 69-year-old musician, born Anthony Avila, succumbed to liver failure. Pioneers in the Native American rock movement, the L.A.-based band formed in 1969 with the encouragement of Jimi Hendrix, who suggested that a rock band with their ancestry might do well in the marketplace. Naming themselves after the Cajun term for a mixed-race person, the group, which also featured Pete DePoe and brothers Patrick and Lolly Vasquez, signed with Epic Records and landed chart hits with "Maggie" and "The Witch Queen of New Orleans," in 1970 and 1971 respectively. Bellamy, a Mexican-American Yaqui Indian, was inducted into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2008 and was an ardent supporter of the organization. Prior to his work with Redbone, which he left in 1977, Bellamy performed with San Francisco acts Dobie Gray and Peter and the Wolves, who became Moby Grape.
MUSIC/ MUSE WINS BEST ALBUM COVER AWARD: The eye-catching sleeve for the latest album by British rockers Muse has been named the best record cover of 2009. The artwork for "The Resistance" won the Best Art Vinyl prize, with Manic Street Preachers' "Journal For Plague Lovers" coming 2nd in the UK online poll. 3rd place went to Fever Ray's self-titled album, with Massive Attack and Green Day rounding out the top 5. A mixture of 50 obscure and well-known vinyl record sleeves from 2009 were shortlisted for the prize. The winning sleeves will be featured in an exhibition at the Art Vinyl gallery in the Selfridges department store in central London.
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