Reuters Entertainment Summary

"Museum," "Dreamgirls" stars of box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Night at the Museum" was the No. 1 exhibit at the Christmas box office in North America, earning $42.2 million during the four days beginning Friday, distributor 20th Century Fox said Tuesday. But "Dreamgirls" also was a star performer, with a melodic one-day gross of $8.7 million Monday as it entered its first day of national release, good enough for a No. 7 weekend rank.

Jackson back in court to sue accountants

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A month after his musical comeback hit a sour note, pop star Michael Jackson has sued his former accountants for breach of duty, claiming they withdrew huge sums of money from his bank accounts but neglected to pay his bills. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last Thursday and obtained on Tuesday by Reuters, says the accounting firm Bernstein, Fox, Whitman, Goldman & Sloan withdrew $2.5 million a year from Jackson's accounts but failed to properly pay the bills for which the money was earmarked.

Hollywood executives maintain holiday presence

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood is dead, or at least in a coma. The talent agencies and virtually every studio are officially closed between Christmas and New Year's. It's a time when the industry gets to catch its breath during awards season and right before Sundance. Theoretically. In New York, not so much. "People don't take time off as religiously in New York as they do in L.A.," says Jason Kliot, co-founder of indie producer HDNet Films. An informal sampling of other East Coast film execs reveals that the city that never sleeps supports an industry that never really stops working.

Jolie, Pitt spend Christmas with Colombia refugees

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Hollywood golden couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt handed out presents on Christmas Day to Colombian war refugees in Costa Rica, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and Pitt -- one of Hollywood's most high-profile couples -- were without their three children as they visited refugees who fled armed conflict in Colombia.

"Godfather of Soul" James Brown dies at 73

ATLANTA (Reuters) - James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," whose voice, showmanship and bold rhythms brought funk into the mainstream and influenced a generation of black music, died on Christmas morning at age 73. Brown died of congestive heart failure at 1:45 a.m. (0645 GMT) on Monday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, his lawyer Joel Katz told a news conference.

"Deal or No Deal" wins Christmas night ratings

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC's Christmas wish was granted Monday night as the network led the broadcast primetime ratings race with a strong "Deal or No Deal." NBC was the only network to carry original programming on Christmas night, and it showed. The two-hour "Deal or No Deal" and fellow game show "1 vs. 100" far outpaced their rivals with an average 14.9 million viewers and a 4.9 rating/14 share among adults 18-49, according to preliminary estimates released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

Elijah Wood joins suspects in "Murders"

MADRID (Hollywood Reporter) - Elijah Wood will head the international cast of the English-language whodunit "Oxford Murders," the film's Spanish producer said Tuesday. Wood joins previously announced British veteran John Hurt in cult director Alex de la Iglesia's much-anticipated film, set to start shooting January 22 for nine weeks in England.

Mary J. Blige the queen of R&B charts in 2006

NEW YORK (Billboard) - It was a year marked by head-scratching sales downturns as well as a revolving door for the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart. While R&B and hip-hop's command of the chart's top 10 wasn't as healthy as in the recent past, the two genres still generated some good news. If 2005 was Mariah Carey's year, 2006 definitely belongs to Mary J. Blige.

R&B newcomer Chris Brown top pop artist of 2006

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - A little more than a year after his debut on the charts, Chris Brown finishes 2006 as Billboard's top pop artist. Thanks to his self-titled top 10 album on Jive/Zomba -- as well as multiple hit singles -- the rookie R&B singer rose to the top, beating out formidable challenges from such established acts as rock band Nickelback, country combo Rascal Flatts and reggae star Sean Paul.

Rocker Thorogood leads blues chart for 2nd year

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - When it came to the blues, shoppers gravitated toward the classic rock stylings of George Thorogood & the Destroyers. The evergreen act's career retrospective "30 Years of Rock" logged a second consecutive year on the Top Blues Albums tally. The album has spent more than 50 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1. For those looking ahead to 2007, it's worth noting that "30 Years of Rock" will not rule the tally again. Its reign will end in 2006, as the album's two-year anniversary was in May 2006, and "30 Years of Rock" was moved to the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart.