George Clooney's The American opened at #1 at the box office this weekend, bringing in $12.9 million on a slow Labor Day weekend to bring its gross since Wednesday to $16.1 million. Opening in 2,823 theaters, the film had a first weekend per-theater average of $4,594. It had a budget of $20 million.

Takers dropped one spot to #2 in its second week, bringing in $11.5 million. The film now has $37.9 million total on a $32 million budget.

Opening in #3 was Robert Rodriguez's grindhouse-style movie Machete. The action film starring Danny Trejo opened in 2,670 theaters and had a three-day take of $11.3 million. That was good for a $4,232 per-screen average. The movie had a budget of $25 million.

The Last Exorcism fell two spots to #4, dropping 63% with a $7.6 million take. The movie has brought in $32.5 million on a $1.8 million budget.

The Drew Barrymore/Justin Long romantic comedy Going The Distance opened at #5, bringing in $6.9 in the three-day weekend in 3,030 for a $2,272 per-theater average. The film had a budget of $32 million.

The Expendables went to #6 in its fourth weekend, scoring a three-day total of $6.6 million. That puts the action film at a total gross of $92.2 million and a total worldwide gross of $182.2 million off a budget of $80 million.

The Other Guys dropped two spots at #7 in its fifth week, bringing in $5.4 million. The action-comedy has now brought in $106.9 million on a $100 million budget.

Eat Pray Love fell from #4 to #8 with $4.9 million in its fourth week. The film has a total gross now of $69.0 million on a budget of $60 million.

Inception stayed steady at #9 in its eighth week, bringing in $4.5 million to bring its total gross to $277.1 million and $664 million worldwide. The film had a budget of $150 million.

Emma Thompson's Nanny McPhee Returns went to #10 in its second weekend. The film grossed $3.6 million, giving it $22.4 million total domestically and $85.3 million worldwide. It had a budget of $35 million.

Labor Day is traditionally a weak weekend with strong Monday showings, so the four-day numbers could cause some shifting in the rankings.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (FOUR-DAY NUMBERS)
1. The American - $12.9 million ($16.1 million total)
2. Takers - $11.5 million ($37.9 million total)
2. Machete - $11.3 million ($11.3 million total)
4. The Last Exorcism - $7.6 million ($32.5 million total)
5. Going The Distance - $6.9 million ($6.9 million total)
6. The Expendables - $6.6 million ($92.2 million total)
7. The Other Guys - $5.4 million ($106.9 million total)
8. Eat Pray Love - $4.9 million ($69 million total)
9. Inception - $4.5 million ($277.1 million total)
10. Nanny McPhee Returns - $3.6 million ($22.4 million total)

Kevin Feige recently discussed Captain America and The Avengers, here are the highlights…

On Shooting Captain America In The UK: "Well it's that two thirds of the film actually takes place in Europe and there are many scenes in and around London. So it just made sense that we film it where the majority of the film takes place. Having been here now for almost two and a half months prepping and twenty-some days into shooting. "

On Hugo Weaving: "Hugo Weaving has been in the Red Skull effect, in costume for a couple of weeks now and it's a hell of a lot of fun ... and a rather frightening villain. "

On The Avengers: "There's not much I can tell you but Joss [Whedon] is hard at work with the script and we've hired most of our crew. They're looking to design and build and prepare for when we start filming next year."

Andrew Garfield recently discussed starring in the Marc Webb directed reboot of Spider-Man, here is what he had to say…

On Becoming Spider-Man: "I have been waiting for this phone call for 24 years, for someone to call me up and say, "Hey, we want you to pretend to be a character that you've always wanted to be all your life, and we're going to do it with cool cameras and cool effects and you're going to feel like you're swinging through New York City. Do you want to do that?" [laughs] "Let me just consult with my seven-year old self and see what he thinks..." So my seven-year-old self started screaming in my soul and saying, This is what we've been waiting for. Like every young boy who feels stronger on the inside than they look on the outside, any skinny boy basically who wishes their muscles matched their sense of injustice, God, it's just the stuff that dreams are made of, for sure. It's a true f**king honor to be part of this symbol that I actually think is a very important symbol and it's meant a great deal to me, and it continues to mean something to people. So yeah, I feel like I've been preparing for it for a while. Ever since Halloween when I was four years old and I wore my first Spider-Man costume."

On How He Plans To Approach The Role: "Not to give it credence, not to give it any of my energy. Just approach it like any other job that I care about deeply. That may be naive of me to think that I can just get away with that. But if you give focus to something, it will grow. I just want to be an actor, really. And of course all those things came into consideration when I was making the decision. But at the end of the day, I had faith that I would be able to not be defined by it. And I still have faith that I will be able to get lost in roles and just keep doing what I love to do."

Microsoft does want to make a Halo movie, but it won't be anytime soon. Frank O'Connor, the man who oversees the Halo franchise, did an interview with Variety where he talked about the future of the Halo franchise:

"We're still interested in making an excellent Halo movie. We've created an awful lot of documentation and materials to support a feature film. We have a good idea of what kind of story we want to tell, but won't move on it until there's a great reason to do it. We're in no particular hurry."

Microsoft is also watching the television landscape and is considering using TV as an outlet to grow the Halo franchise.

According to the National Enquirer, Eminem has told his representatives that he wants to play the role of The Riddler in the next Batman movie. Actors like Johnny Depp & Joseph Gordon-Levitt are said to be the frontrunners for the role and one would assume that Em would be a long shot with competition like that, but stranger things have happened. As with all stories from the National Enquirer, take this as a wild rumor for now.

If you liked The Expendables, you'll be happy to know that plenty of Expendables-related stuff will be coming out. There's a director's cut due out in six months, but Sylvester Stallone promises that there will be a documentary coming out soon.

Inferno: The Making of The Expendables is expected to be the name of the documentary, and it will feature all sorts of behind the scenes stuff. The most notable inclusion might be a scene with Stallone & Steve Austin where things went wrong & Stallone had to go to the hospital.

Sylvester also recorded DVD commentary for the movie, and is also considering what to do for the sequel:

"I am thinking what would be the most dangerous places in the world to set the sequel?... Had dinner with Bruce Willis... I want him in Expendables II as a super villain. What do you think?"

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that fans may get the ability to choose who dies in the sequel to Piranha 3-D. According to the site, the Weinsteins are "planning an online contest to let fans vote on which celebrity they would most like to see be chomped, sliced, impaled, crushed, and/or skeletonized in the new movie." The site says plans are still in the works, but that an official announcement is forthcoming.

Piranha 3-D has made $20 million in two weeks, almost scoring back its $24 million budget before foreign or DVD receipts have even begin.

IM Global, which is currently selling the upcoming Judge Dredd movie at the Toronto International Film Festival, is referring to the $45 million project as DREDD. Here's the plot synopsis:

"DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Pete Travis bring DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip."

In other DREDD news, actress Olivia Thirlby (Juno) has been cast as Cassandra Anderson, "the telepathic rookie who shadows Dredd."

Pre-production on the film started on August 23 at Cape Town Film Studios in South Africa.

An extra injured Wednesday on the set of Transformers 3 is said to now be in stable condition after undergoing brain surgery.

24-year old Gabriella Cedillo was checked into the Loyola University Medical Center after the accident.

Cedillo was involved in a car stunt. A driving scene was being shot when the cable that held together the car being filmed and the vehicle carrying the camera snapped, slicing through the Cedillo's car and skull.

Cedillo's car was then dragged along a center divider for about half a mile, banging it up pretty bad.

Police shut down production, but it resumed yesterday.

Guillermo del Toro is set to direct a film version of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, and he wants Tom Cruise to star.

Universal, however, wants James McAvoy or Chris Pine.

Cruise and del Toro spoke recently, but it was about doing a Van Helsing movie that never got off the ground. McAvoy and Pine are fairly busy in the near future, so it'll be interesting to see who winds up cast.

M. Night Shyamalan recently revealed to MTV that he plans to use the story for Unbreakable 2 in the third film in his Night Chronicles series (the first of which, Devil, opens September 17th).

"I cannibalized the idea for the sequel to 'Unbreakable' for one of the 'Night Chronicles,'" revealed Shyamalan. "It was such a cool idea for a villain, and it was actually originally in the script for 'Unbreakable,' and it was too much. There were too many villains, so I pulled this villain out and was like, 'I'll make this the second flick.'"

Disney is turning its California Adventure theme park into a "digital dance party" called ElecTRONica.

The Disney Parks Blog is already posting concept art, which kicks off October 8th and run each weekend this fall.

"It's an 'electrifying' experience for the entire family, filled with music, lights and some of your favorite food and beverage, all set amidst the captivating world of Tron: Legacy," reports the blog. "From a dazzling dance club under the stars to an authentic recreation of Flynn's Arcade to some radical gaming, it's like nowhere else on the grid! Each night, we'll feature live entertainers, complete with lasers, glow accessories and the hottest music ever to rock the grid. ElecTRONica is 'the' place to dance the night away in a fantastic world that only Disney can create. Highlights for the entire family will definitely be Flynn's Video Arcade, face painting and the Tron: Evolution videogame area."

Darren Aronofsky's "psychosexual ballet thriller" Black Swan is earning some very good reviews in its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and some are predicting that Natalie Portman will pay off come award season. London's Daily Telegraph says that her performance elevates her from leading actress to major star, while the Times of London says "Portman is astounding. Awards are sure to follow."

Aronofsky won the Golden Lion in Venice the last time he showed a film there, which was 2008's The Wrestler. Black Swan opens in the Unites States on December 1st, just in time for awards season.

Oscar Isaac (Robin Hood) has joined the cast of Drive. Isaac joins Ryan Gosling (Fracture), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Bryan Cranston (Saving Private Ryan) and Albert Brooks (Taxi Driver) in the action thriller, based on James Sallis' novel.

The book is about a guy (Gosling) who does stunt driving for movies by day and drives for criminals at night. In classic noir fashion, he is double-crossed and, though before he has never participated in the violence, he goes after the ones who double-crossed and tried to kill him.
 

Ronan Bennett (Public Enemies) is set to write the script for Skeletons On the Zahara. The film is an adaptation of the book by Dean King that covers a real-life story about a group of nineteenth century American sailors forced into slavery after being shipwrecked in Africa. The project is being put together by Independent, the company that produced last year's Moon. No director or cast has been set at this time.
 

The science fiction alien invasion thriller Skyline releases on November 12th, but IM Global isn't waiting until then to start drumming up interest in a sequel. Variety is reporting that the distribution company is shopping a sequel around to potential investors at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In the first film, which is directed by the Strause brothers (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem), strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, drawing people outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth. It stars Eric Balfour (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 24) and Donald Faison (Next Day Air, Remember the Titans).

In another interview, Melissa Rosenberg adds that the sex scene between Edward and Bell will not skimp...

""I don't think we'll be toning a whole lot [of the racy scenes] down. We want the eroticism of the sex scenes. That doesn't mean that one has to see it all, but you do want that [eroticism]. With the birth scene as well, I just don't know that you have to tone it down. If you really look at the books, how much are you really seeing? I think [the movies] might wind up being saucier than the book because you're actually seeing skin-on-skin and the horror of the birth scenes. We're not shying away from it."

In related news, Rami Malek (The Pacific has joined the film as Benjamin, an Egyptian vampirewho sides with the Cullens in their battle with the Volturi.

ORIGINAL: Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg says that she and director Bill Condon plan to be faithful to the book when shooting Bella's childbirth scene for Breaking Dawn. In a recent interview, Rosenberg had the following to say…

"We're working on it. And we're working on it to be as intense as it is in the book. I don't think it's about the amount of blood you show. It's on their faces. It's all from Bella's point of view when you're seeing what's going [on]. It should feel visceral. I think it's going to be pretty intense."