ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

FILM/ "PIRATES" PASSES $800M AT BOX OFFICE: Disney and Bruckheimer Films "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" jumped the $800 million mark at the worldwide box office Monday, raising the possibility that it could ultimately near $1 billion in total grosses. The Johnny Depp tentpole, with total grosses of $807 million, is by far the biggest movie of the year, and is on track to become the franchise’s most successful film internationally. In only 3 weeks, "On Stranger Tides" has racked up foreign grosses of $614.9 million. By the end of this weekend, it should surpass the $654 million earned by the 3rd film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End" at the international box office. "On Stranger Tides" has already eclipsed the $348.9 million grossed overseas by the 1st film in the series, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". The sequel "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" grossed $642.9 million internationally. While "On Stranger Tides" is a runaway hit overseas, it’s likely to be the lowest grossing "Pirates" movie domestically, where it has earned $192.1 million to date. Box office observers believe the film will ultimately gross $230 million or $250 million, whereas the previous 3 titles all earned more than $300 million. However, "On Stranger Tides" will soon eclipse Universal’s "Fast Five" as the top grossing film of 2011 in North America. The domestic take for "Fast Five" to date is $202 million.

TV/ BRITS HAS FOOTAGE OF TV'S FIRST MALE TO MALE KISS: Researchers at the British Film Institute (BFI) have revealed they have found footage of what is believed to be the 1st known male to male kiss on UK television. The footage features Sean Connery. The tapes originally belonged to Public Broadcasting Service WNET New York, which broadcast them after they had been shown in the UK on BBC or ITV. In the scene, which appeared in the 1960 BBC drama "Colombe," Connery kisses Richard Pasco, pictured left, who plays his brother. Connery’s character suspects his brother is sleeping with his wife, played by Dorothy Tutin. In an attempt to understand what his brother has that he lacks, he kisses him. The footage, which was found at the US Library of Congress and given to the BFI, has led to questions over how it came to be screened. A TV consultant at the British Film Institute said: “Sadly nobody around here now seems to recall it. But it might have been accepted because of the context and because it was a television version of a classic play by a great French dramatist". The BFI said they believe it is the 1st male to male kiss on TV".

TV/ NBC WINS RIGHTS FOR NEXT 4 OLYMPICS: NBCUniversal/Comcast won the US broadcast rights today for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games and the following 2 Olympics. The network beat out ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports, which had also bid for the rights package in presentations in Lausanne, Switzerland. The amount of the NBC bid was not immediately announced. The outcome of the bidding process means that the Olympics will stay with NBC, which has aired them since the 1984 Summer and 1988 Winter Games. The IOC and U.S. Olympic Committee had more than a dozen representatives on hand to hear pitches, including IOC president Jacques Rogge. After presentations were made yesterday, the suitors submitted sealed bids this mornig, which the International Olympics Committee then opened to make a decision. The IOC had opened the bidding for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics, but also allowed suitors to include the following 2 Olympics in their offers. The IOC was believed to have been looking for offers in the $2.2 billion range, which had won NBC its previous rights deal. However, the company lost  $223 million on the most recent Winter Games in Vancouver, which marked the 1st time that the US network airing the Olympics didn't make money. And observers have predicted more losses for next year's Olympics in London.

MUSIC/ LEBANON BANS GAGA ALBUM: Lady Gaga's 2nd album, "Born This Way," has been banned in Lebanon after the government deemed it to be in "bad taste". According to reports, the government was so incensed by what they deemed to be an insult to Christianity that they are not allowing the record to be sold in any stores. The Lebanese government had already banned Gaga's 2nd single from the album, "Judas" from being played on radio. Thousands of copies of the album were seized and impounded by the country's authorities before it reached shelves. "Judas" had caused complaints from religious groups in the US, with members of the Catholic League protesting against the song's lyrics and video. "This is a stunt. Lady Gaga tries to continue to shock Catholics and Christians in general," the President of the Catholic League said. The single "Born This Way" has also been banned from the radio by the Malaysian government. Gaga responded to that ban saying: "What I would say is for all the young people in Malaysia that want those words to be played on the radio, it is your job and it is your duty as young people to have your voices heard".

THEATRE/ "BUSINESS" RECORDING OUT TODAY: The Broadway revival cast album of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," starring Daniel Radcliffe and Tony Award nominee John Larroquette, arrives in stores today on the Decca Broadway label. Grammy Award-nominated record producer Robert Sher produced the 31 track album of the Frank Loesser score, which is also available for digital download. The packaging includes essays about the making of the 50th anniversary revival by producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and production photos. The 2011 Broadway revival cast album also boasts additional moments of dialogue, as well as musical selections including Hedy La Rue's entrance, company bows, exit music and the extended "Pirate Dance" sequence. Tony Award nominee Rob Ashford ("Parade," "Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Promises, Promises") directed and choreographed the production, which opened on Broadway March 27 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning 1961 musical received 11 2011 Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Featured Actor (Larroquette), Best Featured Actress (Tammy Blanchard), with Ashford earning dual nominations for Best Direction and Best Choreography.

BOOKS/ JENNIFER WORTH DIES AT 75: Best-selling author Jennifer Worth, who wrote the popular "Call the Midwife" trilogy, has died at the age of 75. A spokesperson from her publishers Weidenfeld & Nicolson said the company was "deeply saddeded" to announce the writer's death after a short illness. Worth's books were based on her own experiences of being a nurse in the east end of 1950s London. Each book sold almost a million copies and spawned a new publishing sub-genre of nostalgic true life stories. Worth's midwifery tales are currently being adapted for a BBC TV series with "Cranford" screenwriter Heidi Thomas working on the script. Worth trained as a nurse at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and worked as a midwife, ward sister and night sister from 1953 until 1973. She left nursing to study music and gained the Licentiate of the London College of Music in 1974. Her publishers said Worth passed away on May 31 and is survived by her husband and children.