So how are the bevy of movie releases doing at the theaters? Vantage Point takes, the well, vantage point, grossing at $22,874,936. This is followed by Spiderwick Chronicles (a far second at $13,100,192) and Jumper ($12,708,768). Step up 2 The Streets and Fools Gold take the fourth and fifth place.

Michael Bay pokes fun at himself with a commercial for Fios that has him blowing up items the way only, well, Michael Bay can.

The famous director is known for his fast-paced, blow-up-$5-million-worth-of-cars-in-5-seconds action.

The list of Oscar winners reveals an interesting trend towards foreigners beating Hollywood at its own game.

However, many studios are becoming more confident in foreign directors, including Timur Bekmambetov, a Russian-born and Russian-language filmmaker whose previous hits — “Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozor” — aren’t exactly what you’d call household names.

This foreign invasion reflects how global the movie industry has become.

Any serious Hollywood fan or student of film should watch this interview of pioneer internet author Don Wrege and Robert Carl Cohen. Cohen is the writer, producer, director, cameraman, and editor of MONDO HOLLYWOOD.

It’s official. The writer’s strike is over!

“The strike has been extraordinarily difficult for all of us, but the hardest hit of all have been the many thousands of businesses, workers and families that are economically dependent on our industry. We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best — writers, directors, actors, production crews, and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences,” said union honchos in a joint statement.

Insiders say that there are signs that the Hollywood strike is over.

The Writers Guild of America has a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but will still vote on the new terms (which will take place over the next 48 hours).

The 25th annual William S. Paley Television Festival will be honoring writer-producer
Judd Apatow, the genius behind cult classics like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.”

The event will also be inviting producer director Steve Binder to talk about Elvis Presley’s 1968
comeback special on NBC, and honoring the cast and producers of hit series like “Pushing Daisies,” “Gossip Girl,” “Chuck,” “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Mad Men.”

“Jerry Bruckheimer has crashed more cars, saved more planets and blown up more airplanes than any man alive,” says one magazine article.

Jerry Bruckheimer is the great producer behind muscle blockbusters like Armageddon, The Rock, and Pirates of the Carribean. TV hits include CSI and Amazing Race.

He came from a poor, Jewish immigrant family. His parents would bring them to the matinee every weekend, and the films became his escape from his meager childhood.

No wonder he described Hollywood like this: “We are in the transport business. We transport audiences from one place to another.”

One of Hollywood’s richest and most talented producer / managers is Brad Grey. A veteran in the biz (he’s been there for 23 years) he was responsible for the Sopranos and Just Shoot Me (he earned net profits of $262 million on that show — and an additional $50,000 fee per episode). He also handled A-list clients like Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.

One industry insider said, “There are 20 people who basically run this town. Brad can get any of them on the phone immediately. They answer his call because they never know what he might say that will be vital for them to hear.”

Who are the smartest people in the entertainment world? EW magazine attempts to make a list, naming the showbiz industry’s brightest minds. The criteria? They had to be at the top of their game, consistently cited by their peers as the best in their line of work. It also looked at all aspects of entertainment, going behind the scenes to the technical team who put the movie together, and management team who make those important decisions based on sheer “instinct.” Of its 50 names, here are the top 10.

1. Judd Apatow, director/writer/producer
2. Steven Spielberg, director/producer
3. James Cameron, director/producer
4. Ari Emanuel, partner of the Endeavor Agency
5. Will Smith, actor/producer
6. Meryl Streep, actress
7. Peter Rice, president of Fox Searchlight
8. Tyler Perry, actor/director/writer/producer
9. David Heyman, producer
10. John Knoll, visual-effects supervisor of Industrial Light & Magic

People who benefitted others in their line of work were placed higher on the list than the loners. EW claimed that they did 3 months of research, live interviews and consideration before finalizing this list. To read the entire list of the Top 50 Smartest People in Hollywood, please visit the source.