FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, July 18, 2004
WILL POWER: I, Robot dominated the weekend box office, ratcheting up an estimated $52.2 million, the best ever debut for a movie starring Will Smith.
STILL AMAZING: Although dropping to second place, Spider-Man 2 topped the $300 million mark in just 19 days, spinning $24.2 million over the weekend for a total $301.7 million.
NOT A GOOD THING: Martha Stewart sentenced on Friday to five months in jail, five months of house arrest, two years of probation and a $30,000 fine for her conviction of lying to federal investigators about a 2001 stock sale. The sentence was stayed pending an appeal from her lawyers.
DELAYED: Robert Blake's murder trial getting pushed back to Nov. 1 after actor's latest lawyer says he needs more time to prepare for the case.
LOVE WANTED OUT WEST: Bicoastal bad girl Courtney Love has been ordered to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom on Aug. 6--within 24 hours after she is released from an East Coast hospital--for sentencing on an under-the-influence charge.
CSI BUH-BYE: CBS has fired George Eads and Jorja Fox from ratings powerhouse CSI, Variety reports. Both actors were in heated salary negotiations, with two years left on their seven-year contracts. Search for replacement actors is reportedly under way.
SUING MAD: Britney Spears threatening to sue the New York Post for running a photo of her supposedly chugging a mini bottle of whisky. The singer says she was actually drinking ginseng, an herbal supplement.
PREPARE FOR THE BOOTLEG: An unfinished copy of U2's upcoming CD disappearing Tuesday from a photo shoot with the band in the South of France. The album isn't expected in stores until November.
ROOM FOR THE OLDIES: American Idol raising the age limit for contestants from 26 to 28. Auditions for the next season begin Aug. 4 in Cleveland and continue around the country through Oct. 5.
COMIC COMBAT: Marvel suing Disney for allegedly failing to promote cartoons featuring its superheroes and lying about their lack of profit.
STAMPED: Austria announcing that native son and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will get his own stamp on July 30, the Terminator's 57th birthday.
CODA: A posthumous album from singer-songwriter Elliott Smith will be released Oct. 19--a year after his death. Smith died last Oct. 21 of knife wounds, but police couldn't determine whether it was suicide or murder. He was 34.
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING. NOT: Sci Fi Channel says it fabricated a story last month claiming M. Night Shyamalan was at odds with the network over an unauthorized biography. Cable net says the hoax was part of a guerrilla marketing campaign that went too far.





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