RODMAN CHECKS INTO REHAB CENTER

BY DAN GELSTON
Dennis Rodman has checked into an undisclosed alcohol rehabilitation center to
treat his long-time struggle with alcoholism, his agent says.

Darren Prince declined on Saturday to say which facility will treat Rodman and how long he will be there. Rodman recently returned to the United States from his latest trip to North Korea.

He later apologized for comments he made in North Korea about a detained American missionary, saying he had been drinking and was under pressure as he organized an exhibition game there. He also sang "Happy Birthday" to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of the friendly game.

"What was potentially a historic and monumental event turned into a nightmare for everyone concerned," Prince said. "Dennis Rodman came back from North Korea in pretty rough shape emotionally. The pressure that was put on him to be a combination `super human' political figure and `fixer' got the better of him.

"He is embarrassed, saddened and remorseful for the anger and hurt his words have caused."

Rodman won five NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls and was one of the NBA's fiercest rebounders and most colorful personalities. Detroit selected Rodman in the second round of the 1986 draft out of Southeastern Oklahoma. The native of Trenton, N.J., also played for Chicago, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in of 2011.

He stamped his name on "Dennis Rodman - The original Bad Ass Premium Vodka," late last year. It was in the works before his relations with North Korea, but has taken off since.

Rodman, known as much for his piercings, tattoos and bad behavior as he was for basketball, was the highest-profile American to meet Kim since Kim inherited power from father Kim Jong Il in 2011. He traveled to the secretive state for the first time last February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television.

But the 52-year-old Rodman has been denounced for not trying to use his influence with Kim to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health problems who is being held in North Korea on charges of "anti-state" crimes.

He organized a group of retired NBA players to travel to North Korea for that exhibition game. Rodman dedicated the contest to his "best friend" Kim, who along with his wife and other senior officials and their wives watched from a special seating area. The capacity crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped loudly as Rodman sang a verse from the song.

Rodman had an angry meltdown before the game on CNN, defending his decision to travel to North Korea.
"People forget Dennis is just an entertainer and retired NBA star," Prince said. "The fact remains that a basketball game was played in North Korea live in front of 14,000 people and hundreds of millions around the world viewed clips of the game."

© 2014 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Oliver Stone drops out of Martin Luther King Jr. project.

By Samantha Highfill

With Martin Luther King Jr. Day right around the corner, Oliver Stone announced Friday that he is no longer on board to write and direct a biopic about the Civil Rights leader. Stone took to Twitter to explain that his rewrite of the script, which dealt with “issues of adultery, conflicts within the movement, and King’s spiritual transformation” was not well received by producers. It’s unclear how or if Stone’s leaving will affect Jamie Foxx, who was attached to star in the DreamWorks and Warner Bros production.

Warner Bros. declined to comment on the news.

Alex Rodriguez's suspension reduced to 2014 season

Tribune wire reports

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 season by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz on Saturday, stemming from the Biogenesis scandal.

Horowitz notified both MLB and the Players Association that Rodriguez "will be suspended for a period that includes 162 regular season games in the 2014 regular season as well as the entire 2014 post season," the league said in a statement.

The ruling upholds most of Major League Baseball's original ban of 211 games. The arbitrator's decision comes after Rodriguez appealed the suspension and played the final two months of the 2013 season.

"While we believe the original 211-game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the panel and will focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game.""For more than five decades, the arbitration process under the Basic Agreement has been a fair and effective mechanism for resolving disputes and protecting player rights," Major League Baseball said in a statement.

Rodriguez was among 13 players suspended after MLB investigated Biogenesis, the former South Florida anti-aging clinic that was linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Ryan Braunreceived the second-longest ban of 65 games, which he served. The other players were banned 50 games.

Rodriguez announced on his Facebook page that he will contest Saturday's decision in federal court.

"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," Rodriguez said in the statement. "This is one man's decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable.

"This injustice is MLB's first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review."

Rodriguez repeated his claim that he has not taken any PEDs while playing for the Yankees since 2009.

"I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court," he said. "I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension.

"No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players' contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.

"I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal."

Franklin to become next head coach at Penn State

BRUCE FELDMAN

Vanderbilt coach James Franklin is expected to be the next head coach at Penn State, a source told CBSSports.com on Thursday morning.

There are still many details to be sorted out on both sides within the next 48 hours.

The 41-year-old Franklin, a Pennsylvania native, worked wonders in his three seasons at Vandy. Franklin, known for being very organized, a dogged recruiter and energetic, walked into the toughest conference in college football three years ago and transformed a program that won just 13 SEC games in the previous 10 seasons into one that has now had back-to-back Top 25 finishes.

After a 6-7 debut season in Nashville, the charismatic Franklin coached the Commodores to an 18-8 record the last two seasons and a 9-5 mark in their past 14 SEC games. He also beat No. 15 Georgia this past season as part of the Commodores pulling off an unlikely SEC trifecta with wins over UGA, Florida and Tennessee -- the three traditional powerhouses of the SEC East.

Franklin would replace Bill O'Brien, who spent two seasons in State College and went 15-9 with the Nittany Lions despite taking over a program in chaos. The new coach would inherit a roster without much depth, but does have a blue-chip QB in Christian Hackenberg who is coming off a terrific freshman season. Penn State, which was hit with crippling NCAA sanctions after O'Brien took over the program, got some scholarship relief and sources says it is optimistic the NCAA also might opt to reduce the bowl ban placed on the program.

Penn State also considered Miami head coach Al Golden and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak, both former Nittany Lions players. PSU also interviewed San Francisco 49ers assistant Greg Roman for the job Monday.

HOLLYWOOD POISED FOR BEST-EVER BOX-OFFICE YEAR

BY JESSICA HERNDON AP FILM WRITER

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Despite a string of summertime flops, Hollywood is expected to have a banner year at the domestic box office, coming in just shy of $11 billion, the largest annual take ever. But because of higher ticket prices, actual attendance at North American theaters remained flat after a decade of decline.

With the current domestic box-office tally nearly 1 percent ahead of last year at this time, 2013 could surpass 2012's overall haul of $10.8 billion by more than $100 million, according to box-office tracker Rentrak.

High-profile flops such as "The Lone Ranger," "After Earth," "R.I.P.D." and "Turbo" were offset by mega-hits like "Fast & Furious 6" and "Iron Man 3," which consistently filled theaters last summer.

More recently, Warner Bros.' space epic "Gravity" has earned $254 million domestically, Lionsgate's sci-fi sequel "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" has grossed $378 million and fantasy prequel "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" has brought in $150 million for Warner Bros.

A strong holiday slate is also boosting the year's box-office total. "There has virtually been every kind of genre of film available," said Rentrak box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "You have blockbusters like `Hobbit' and esoteric, challenging films like `Nebraska,' `Dallas Buyers Club' and `Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.' All of these films get people to the movies."

But the National Association of Theater Owners projects that the actual number of tickets sold domestically in 2013 will remain about the same as last year's 1.36 billion. That's down from the all-time high of 1.57 billion admissions in 2002.

In 2011, the domestic box-office gross sunk to a 16-year low, dropping 3.5 percent from 2010 to $10.2 billion. But 2012 saw the industry rebound with a $10.8 billion total, thanks to hits like Disney's "The Avengers" and Warner Bros.' Batman finale "The Dark Knight Rises."

Both films screened in 3-D, a profit-boosting perk that saw a huge increase in popularity following 2009's "Avatar." But the public's appetite for the heightened technology has eased, leaving Hollywood to search for other ways to counter audience drain.

Entertainment available on countless portable devices continues to threaten multiplex attendance, as do advanced home theater systems and video-on-demand services offering original premium programming and feature films the same day as their theatrical release.

But Hollywood is fighting back with the premium multiplex experience. Movie attendance may be tepid, but the audience is willing to pay more for theater extras, which keep the bottom line growing, even as admissions remain flat.

"Theaters are offering IMAX, bigger chairs, dine-in options and alcohol," said Don Harris, head of distribution at Paramount. "It's kind of like the difference between staying at a Hilton or a Ritz Carlton. I think what you saw this year was a growth in a segment of the audience that isn't as worried about the price of a movie ticket as they are interested in the out-of-home premium experience. I think you're going to see that going forward."

And with all of the bells and whistles now offered at theaters, movie-going is still one of the least expensive ways to be entertained, compared to concerts, sporting events and live theater," notes Richie Fay, Lionsgate's president of domestic distribution. (So far this year, the average cost of a movie ticket in North America has been $8.05, according to NATO.)

Social media has also helped boost sales, Fay observed, with Twitter and other services providing a powerful marketing tool for studios and a faster way for fans to spread that all-important word of mouth. "People don't have to wait a day for a print story anymore. It's an important part of the growth of the industry."

Studios are hoping to continue that growth in 2014 with such anticipated releases as "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "Transformers: Age of Extinction," "Dumb and Dumber To," "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" and "The Hobbit: There and Back Again."

"I think the fact that attendance is at least holding its own is impressive, given the number of other media options in the mix," said Rentrak's Dergarabedian. "Going out to the movie theater is clearly as attractive, relevant and viable as ever with audiences."

Although year-end figures for the overseas box office are not yet available, foreign receipts are typically two to three times higher than domestic earnings. So fan-driven hits like "The Hangover Part III," which grossed $112.2 million in North America, are expected to earn more than double their domestic takes overseas.

"With all of its ebbs and flows, ups and downs, the theatrical experience just continues to resonate," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony.

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AP Film Writer Jake Coyle in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jessica Herndon on Twitter at: HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/SOMEKIND

Christmas 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS

from

WRLTHD!

A&E celebrates Christmas with ‘Duck Dynasty’ super marathon

By Leora Arnowitz
A&E may have given “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson the heave-ho when they suspended him from future episodes of the show last week, but the network is still welcoming him home for holidays.

The channel is celebrating Christmas with a staggering 25 consecutive episodes of their No. 1 show, beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Christmas Day and running until the wee hours of Dec. 26.

According to the schedule on A&E’s website, the Robertsons will take over the channel until 4 a.m., and then paid programming —meaning infomercials—will kick in.
And don’t think controversial papa Phil will be left out of the Christmas Day airings. He is a key character in plenty of the episodes scheduled to air, including “Quack-O-Lantern” and “Drag me to Glory.”

For Christmas, A&E is just giving the fans what they want, said Cate Meighan, senior writer for Celeb Dirty Laundry.

“I think, honestly, it’s A&E trying to play both sides of the coin,” she said. “They’ve come out and not supported Phil’s statements… however they’re also looking at the backlash from the fans, and they have a huge amount of backlash from the fans.”

Plus, in the TV world, it all comes down to money, she said. “Duck Dynasty” is the networks top show, and it has reeled it more than 14 million viewers at its peak, which means big advertising bucks for the network.

“It is really a money thing,” Meighan explained. “You’re going to have the same people tuning into ‘Duck Dynasty’ that always have and the same people not watching that always have.”

She said at the end of the day, the series will likely continue if the advertisers continue rush to air ads during the series. If they don’t, the spotlight will likely fade.

“Unfortunately people are secondary,” she said. “At the end of every single thing that we see it’s about the money and the advertising.”

So will the fans tune in on Christmas to celebrate with the Robertson clan?

“I think the same people that watch will find themselves gravitating in after holiday dinner… after 10 Christmas movies you’re [ready to watch something else.]”

Phil Robertson and the series came under fire last week when GQ published graphic comments he made about his condemnation of homosexual sex. He was subsequently suspended from the series indefinitely, and the family has stated they are hesitant to continue with the show if Phil will not be part of it.

Season 5 of “Duck Dynasty” premieres Jan. 15. Phil is slated to appear in several episodes that have already been filmed.

A&E did not respond to FOX411’s request for further comment.