Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

Vampire flick sets midnight record

New York -- "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" has set a box-office record for midnight screenings.

Summit Entertainment estimated Friday that it earned $26.3 million after opening early in the morning.

That would topple the previous midnight record, held by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." It earned $22.2 million this year. "The Dark Knight" from 2008 is third with $18.5 million.

Cyrus' bus driver dies

Dinwiddie, Va. The driver of a Miley Cyrus tour bus was killed Friday when the bus overturned, but the 16-year-old "Hannah Montana" star wasn't on board, Virginia State Police said.

Sgt. Thomas Molnar said the bus ran off the left side of Interstate 85, struck an embankment and overturned. The accident occurred around 8:15 a.m. in Dinwiddie County, about 40 miles south of Richmond. Speed and weather weren't considered factors.

The driver, William G. Douglas, 53, of Austin, Texas, died at the scene, police said.

The Cyrus family said on her Web site that they were "deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas" and that he would be missed.

"Members of our tour are like members of our family," the statement said.

Rapper to re-release CD

Detroit Eminem's comeback year of 2009 was expected to include the release of two new albums.

That turned out to be only partially true.

"Relapse," the Detroit rapper's first original studio album in more than four years, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in May and eventually went platinum.

The plan then was to release a follow-up disc, entitled "Relapse 2," in the second half of the year.

Instead, Eminem and Interscope Records announced Thursday that "Relapse 2" will drop in 2010, and a CD called "Relapse: Refill" will come out on Dec. 21.

"Refill" is a re-release of "Relapse" and includes seven bonus tracks.

Spears' ex in jail

Los Angeles Britney Spears' ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib is being sent to jail for 45 days for leaving the scene of an accident.

Los Angeles District Attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison says Ghalib was taken into custody immediately after being sentenced Friday.

He pleaded no contest last month to leaving the scene of an accident that injured a man who was trying to serve him with a restraining order. The order was sought by Spears' father and was eventually granted.

Opera star dies at 82

Stockholm Swedish soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom, an international opera star, has died, her husband Sverker Olow says.

Olow says Soderstrom died in Stockholm early Friday morning of complications from a stroke.

Soderstrom, who was 82, made her debut in 1947 at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre, singing in one of Mozart's lesser-known works.

Birthdays today

Actor Laurence Luckinbill, 75

Actress Marlo Thomas, 72

Singer Dr. John, 69

Actor-director Harold Ramis, 65

Actress Goldie Hawn, 64

Singer Steven Curtis Chapman, 47

Actress Nicollette Sheridan, 46

Singer Bjork, 44

Country singer Kelsi Osborn, 35

Actress Jena Malone, 25