13 Killed in Series of Blasts Across Iraq

BAGHDAD — Twelve explosions, including one that appeared to target a United States military convoy, shook Baghdad over the span of two hours on Sunday morning, killing at least 13 and wounding at least 62, according to an Iraqi security official.

The most deadly attack occurred in north Baghdad when a car bomb was detonated around 9 a.m. near the United States convoy, according to the security official. Shortly after the explosion, Iraqi police arrived at the scene and a suicide bomber detonated explosives, killing seven and injuring ten.

A spokesman for the United States military in Iraq said he had not received any reports that a convoy had been attacked.

The violence appeared to be part of a pattern in Baghdad. Last Sunday, insurgents throughout the city fired rockets and mortars at the heavily fortified Green Zone, detonated several explosives and assassinated government officials, killing six and wounding dozens. Sunday marks the beginning of the Iraqi work week.

The attacks on Sunday occurred in Sunni and Shiite parts of the city, including two in Sadr city, the strong hold of the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr. Although attacks have significantly decreased in Iraq over the past few years, a consistent level of violence that the authorities don’t seem to be able to prevent remains, with deadly attacks occurring on a daily basis.

The first attack occurred around 7 a.m. when four road side bombs and a car bomb were detonated near the federal police headquarters in west Baghdad, killing two and wounding 15.

A bomb was then detonated near the convoy of a high ranking ministry of interior official in east Baghdad, killing one and wounding five. The official was not killed in the attack.

A roadside bomb was then detonated near a police patrol in east Baghdad, wounding six, including a policeman.

Road side bombs were then detonated near a hospital and market in Sadr city, killing two and wounding 14.

Two road side bombs were then detonated in the center of Baghdad, killing one and wounding 12. Among the wounded were six police officers.

View the original article here

Retooled Car Series Revives Summer Box Office Hopes

 

That is what should have happened to “The Fast and the Furious” car-racing series five years ago when a third installment, “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” sputtered, selling about $62 million in tickets in North America, or 50 percent less than its predecessor.

But Universal Pictures didn’t give up, and a souped-up fourth movie, “Fast & Furious,” showed surprising strength in 2009.

Over the weekend, a new entry, “Fast Five,” rocked Hollywood by selling almost $84 million in tickets, by far the biggest opening of the year and — if the prayers of movie moguls are answered — signaling the beginning of a box-office turnaround.

“Relieved” is one word Adam Fogelson, Universal’s chairman, used to describe his state of mind on Sunday morning. “We made a lot of very specific and very strategic choices that were not obvious.”

Studios and theater owners urgently need a big summer. Domestic box-office revenue has fallen 14 percent in 2011, to about $3 billion, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles statistics on ticket sales. Higher prices, particularly for 3-D screenings, have probably kept some people at home. But the likeliest culprit is quality, which many studio executives concede has been lacking in a lot of releases.

The movie industry’s high-stakes summer season traditionally stretches from the first full weekend in May to Labor Day, when studios record about 40 percent of their annual box office revenue. With “Fast Five,” Universal decided to stretch the period, using the marketing slogan “summer starts early.” Ticket sales easily surpassed the record for the weekend, set last year by “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” which took in $33 million.

“Fast Five” is an unusual sequel because of Universal’s fix-on-the-fly approach, but it is as good a marker as any of what the movie capital is counting on in the months ahead: sequels and more sequels. There are 10 this time around, including “Fast Five,” more than there have been in any summer in recent memory.

“They’re stacked one after another after another, which will help give the marketplace momentum,” said Phil Contrino, editor of BoxOffice.com.

Of these films, one in particular is expected to be a multiplex monster — “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” from Warner Brothers. It is the first Potter film to be released in 3-D and finishes out the series.

Expectations are also high for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (Walt Disney Studios), “Kung Fu Panda 2” (DreamWorks Animation) and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Paramount Pictures).

Pixar’s “Cars 2” doesn’t open until June 24 but has already broken one record: the biggest array of related retail merchandise, beating “Star Wars.”

Hollywood is taking some enormous risks in the coming stretch. One of the biggest gambles is “Green Lantern,” a space opera that Warner hopes will put to rest criticisms about the degree to which it has mined its DC Comics library for movie characters. Early buzz has been mixed, with questions about the visual effects and the skin-tight costume and mask worn by its star, Ryan Reynolds.

“There is also the worry of superhero fatigue,” Mr. Contrino said, noting that “Green Lantern” will arrive after Marvel’s “Thor” and 20th Century Fox’s much-anticipated “X-Men: First Class.”

Another question mark is “Cowboys & Aliens,” an expensive genre mash-up starring an aging Harrison Ford. It’s an alien movie set in the Old West, and some industry experts fear it could fall flat. On the positive side, the companies behind this picture, DreamWorks Studios and Universal, recently released new marketing materials to positive response.

Nobody needs hits more than Universal, which, despite a few bright spots like “Hop,” was recently labeled “a bomb factory” by the entertainment news site Deadline.com. The studio has a new corporate parent, Comcast, which is watching to determine whether management changes are needed.

“The Fast and the Furious” franchise, which made its debut in 2001 as a counterculture car movie, underscores how hard Universal executives are trying.