Here's the Scoop...

What a weekend! The San Diego Comic Con and the Box Office! Dunkirk was the big winner, did you see it?

The World War II picture Dunkirk is the No. 1 movie in North America this weekend with $50.5 million in receipts, BoxOfficeMojo.com announced Sunday.

Coming in at No. 2 is Girls Trip with $30.4 million, followed by Spider-Man: Homecoming at No. 3 with $22 million, War for the Planet of the Apes at No. 4 with $20.4 million and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets at No. 5 with $17 million.

Rounding out the top tier are Despicable Me 3 at No. 6 with $12.7 million, Baby Driver at No. 7 with $6 million, The Big Sick at No. 8 with $5 million, Wonder Woman at No. 9 with $4.6 million and Wish Upon at No. 10 with $2.5 million.

I missed out on both the SDCC and the movies, but I'm seeing 'War for the Planet of the Apes' on Wednesday. I can't wait!

I've got some of the big news from SDCC; and the sad story of the death of character actor John Heard.

Be Well,
Steve

Comments? Questions? Nooz? Email Steve



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'Home Alone,' 'Sopranos' actor John Heard dead at 72
Actor John Heard has been found dead in a hotel in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 72.

TMZ said police and paramedics were called to the hotel Friday, and the actor who portrayed the Home Alone dad and a The Sopranos cop was pronounced dead on the scene.

The cause of his death has not yet been determined. Heard reportedly underwent minor back surgery Wednesday at Stanford Medical Center, and was staying at the hotel while he recovered.

His film credits include Big, Beaches, Gladiator, After Hours, Cutter's Way, Awakenings and The Pelican Brief. He is survived by his sons Max and John, and daughter Annika, Hollywood Life noted.


Ben Affleck on Batman future: 'I'd love to do it as long as they'll have me'
Ben Affleck says he has no intention of surrendering his role of Batman to another actor any time soon.

Affleck attended San Diego Comic Con this weekend where new footage for his superhero ensemble movie Justice League debuted on Saturday.

He and his co-stars also participated in a panel discussion about the film with fans, ABC News reported.

"My status remains what it always is," the actor told EW.com after the event. "I've done the two movies. I've always intended on doing a third if Warners wants to make it. Certainly, if the Batphone rings, I will answer."

He said rumors claiming he won't appear as planned in The Batman stem from his decision not to direct the movie, as well as star in it.

"It's such a big job, in terms of the stunts and the suit and the action and the character. Trying to do that, and direct, would probably be too much. Something would be compromised. I think it came off, optically, to the broader world, like lack of interest or enthusiasm. When, in fact, I love this character."

Affleck will reprise his role of Batman in Justice League after previously playing him in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and dropping by in a cameo in Suicide Squad.

"I'd love to do it as long as they'll have me," he said. "Eventually, it'll be somebody else, and I'm sure they'll get somebody great. But while I'm doing it, I'm going to do the best job I can, and really appreciate how lucky I am."


LOOSE LIPS:
"Sometimes I'm like, why are all those people taking pictures of that wall? And then I realize I am standing in front of it."
--Gabby Douglas, on coming to terms with fame, to Teen Vogue



??? Guess Who ???
Which actress had her home robbed after she posted vacation photos?


Tye Sheridan escapes to virtual-reality OASIS in 'Ready Player One' trailer
Warner Bros. screened a 2 1/2-minute trailer for director Steven Spielberg's upcoming, science-fiction, action-adventure, Ready Player One, at San Diego Comic Con this weekend.

The movie is based on Ernest Cline's novel of the same name. Set for release March 30, it stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance. Cline and Zak Penn wrote the screenplay.

"The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive, virtual-reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday," a synopsis said. "When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger."


Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne join Marvel's 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'
Michelle Pfeiffer and Laurence Fishburne have joined the cast of upcoming Marvel sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Pfeiffer will be featured in the film as Janet Van Dyne, the mother of series star Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne and the wife of the original Ant-Man Hank Pym, played by Michael Douglas, Variety reported.

Pfeiffer's character was mourned by Douglas who believed she was dead in 2015's Ant-Man. Janet was the original Wasp, a superhero whose name will be taken up by Hope who will team up with Paul Rudd's Ant-Man in the sequel.

Fishburne, meanwhile, has been cast as Bill Foster, a character featured in Marvel comics who worked alongside Hank Pym before also becoming a shape-changing superhero known as Black Goliath, noted The Hollywood Reporter.

Both Pfeiffer and Fishburne have been featured in superhero films before with Pfeiffer famously starring as Catwoman in 1992's Batman Returns and Fishburne most recently being featured as Perry White, the boss of Clark Kent in Warner Bros. DC extended universe.

Payton Reed returns to direct Ant-Man and the Wasp which is set to arrive in theaters on July 6, 2018. The film will also star Michael Pena and Tip 'T.I.' Harris.


??? Guess Who ???
Which actress had her home robbed after she posted vacation photos?

Hilary Duff's home was burglarized last week after the actress posted photos on Instagram from her vacation.

The 29-year-old Younger star's rep said Duff was "thankful" no one was hurt when her Beverly Hills house was reportedly robbed of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry.

"This is a scary and upsetting situation for anyone to go through, but Hilary is thankful that her family, her staff, her home and her pets are all safe," the rep told Us Weekly Sunday.

"That said, she has a significant security team in place that will work with the authorities on this incident and handle security measures moving forward," the rep qualified.

TMZ reported Duff's home was robbed late Wednesday, July 19 while the star and her son were in Canada. Duff shared a video earlier in the day of herself diving into a lake that she captioned "C A N A D A."

Sources said the thief or thieves broke through a door at Duff's house, searched around and stole the jewelry. The alarm system at the actress' house reportedly never went off.

Duff and Luca, her 5-year-old son with ex-husband Mike Comrie, kicked off their vacation July 15. The star posted a clip of Luca blowing her a kiss while water tubing July 17, and followed up with a photo by the lake July 19.