Entertainment

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<VIDEO> 'Dancing with the Stars: All Stars' winner Melissa Rycroft expresses disbelief at the competition's result, while losing contestants Derek Hough and Kelly Monaco discuss the final.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Strong holiday weekends for the "Twilight" finale, "Skyfall" and "Lincoln" helped lift Hollywood to record Thanksgiving revenue.

 

     Domestic cash totaled $290.8 million from Wednesday to Sunday, topping the previous high of $273 million over the Thanksgiving period in 2009, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

 

     "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" led the weekend with $43.6 million from Friday to Sunday. "Skyfall" ran second with $35.5 million, while "Lincoln" was third with $25.7 million.

 

     The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

 

     1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," Summit, $43,641,448, 4,070 locations, $10,723 average, $227,366,118, two weeks.

 

     2. "Skyfall," Sony, $35,502,973, 3,526 locations, $10,069 average, $221,144,122, three weeks.

 

     3. "Lincoln," Disney, $25,676,413, 2,018 locations, $12,724 average, $62,840,796, three weeks.

 

     4. "Rise of the Guardians," Paramount, $23,773,465, 3,653 locations, $6,508 average, $32,341,090, one week.

 

     5. "Life of Pi," Fox, $22,451,514, 2,927 locations, $7,670 average, $30,573,101, one week.

 

     6. "Wreck-It Ralph," Disney, $16,572,669, 3,259 locations, $5,085 average, $149,278,699, four weeks.

 

     7. "Red Dawn," FilmDistrict, $14,276,668, 2,725 locations, $5,239 average, $21,689,162, one week.

 

     8. "Flight," Paramount, $8,451,144, 2,638 locations, $3,204 average, $74,718,990, four weeks.

 

     9. "Silver Linings Playbook," Weinstein Co., $4,383,669, 367 locations, $11,945 average, $6,209,767, two weeks.

 

     10. "Argo," Warner Bros., $3,865,158, 1,255 locations, $3,080 average, $98,062,309, seven weeks.

 

     11. "Taken 2," Fox, $950,043, 763 locations, $1,245 average, $136,477,003, eight weeks.

 

     12. "Anna Karenina," Focus, $896,258, 66 locations, $13,580 average, $1,534,832, two weeks.

 

     13. "The Sessions," Fox, $724,025, 515 locations, $1,406 average, $3,929,999, six weeks.

 

     14. "Pitch Perfect," Universal, $715,865, 492 locations, $1,455 average, $62,571,928, nine weeks.

 

     15. "Jab Tak Hai Jaan," Yash Raj Films, $536,918, 164 locations, $3,274 average, $3,047,539, two weeks.

 

     16. "Here Comes the Boom," Sony, $507,814, 490 locations, $1,036 average, $42,037,240, seven weeks.

 

     17. "Cloud Atlas," Warner Bros., $422,095, 258 locations, $1,636 average, $25,788,857, five weeks.

 

     18. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," Summit, $392,766, 242 locations, $1,623 average, $16,323,537, 10 weeks.

 

     19. "Hotel Transylvania," Sony, $377,389, 464 locations, $813 average, $143,500,130, nine weeks.

 

     20. "Looper," Sony, $300,438, 293 locations, $1,025 average, $65,587,055, nine weeks.

 

    

 

     LAS VEGAS (AP) - The long trip from Southern California to Las Vegas is about to get bigger, better and boozier.

 

     A Nevada company is one step closer to putting a party train on the tracks after signing a conditional agreement with Union Pacific Railroad last week.

 

     The pact allows the Las Vegas Railway Express to use tracks between Daggett, Calif., in San Bernardino County, and Sin City, as long as the company meets certain conditions.

 

     The proposed "X Train" would feature an ultra lounge, TVs for watching sports, and private cars suitable for bachelor parties. A $99 ticket each way would include food and drinks and get passengers from Fullerton, Calif., to downtown Las Vegas in about five hours.

 

     Company officials hope to get the X Train running by late 2013.

 

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  EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Friends and family are remembering actor Sherman Hemsley at his funeral service in West Texas by showing video clips of his best known role as George Jefferson on the TV sitcom "The Jeffersons."

 

     About 150 people attended Hemsley's service Wednesday at Cielo (see-AY'-loh) Vista Church in El Paso. He died in July but a fight over his estate has delayed his burial. 

 

     Hemsley's will named his longtime friend Flora Enchinton Bernal as his heir, but his half brother from Philadelphia, Richard Thornton, challenged the will. An El Paso judge earlier this month ruled the will valid. 

 

     Hemsley will be buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Hemsley served in the Air Force before turning to acting. 

 

  MENDHAM, N.J. (AP) - Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi are among the New Jersey natives joining a special fund created in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

 

     The musicians will serve on the advisory board of the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. The nonprofit was created by state first lady Mary Pat Christie to aid in the long-term recovery effort following the storm.

 

     The board has raised more than $16 million so far.

 

     Springsteen says he knows people will rally together to help neighbors to "come back better and stronger."

 

     Bon Jovi says the damage and devastation are unimaginable.

 

     The musicians will join Kelly Ripa of "Live with Kelly and Michael," nationally syndicated talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz, and musician and actor Kevin Jonas as celebrities on the board.

 

   NEW YORK (AP) - Less than three weeks after Superstorm Sandy came ashore on the East Coast, three television networks will offer the chance to relive the experience on the same night.

 

     PBS' "Nova" series will air a one-hour special on Sandy on Sunday evening, the same night that History is scheduled to run "Superstorm 2012: Hell and High Water." The National Geographic network first airs its Sandy special on Thursday but is rerunning it on Sunday night.

 

     Two of the specials, on PBS and National Geographic, will directly compete with each other Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

 

     Still, many of the people affected by the storm will be unlikely to see the TV specials. Thousands of homes remained without power Thursday. 

 

  BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Adam Levine spans music and television with his leading six nominations for the People's Choice Awards.

 

     The Maroon 5 frontman and star of TV's "The Voice" is up for favorite band, song, album and music video, along with favorite celebrity judge and favorite competition TV show.

 

     Nominations were announced Thursday at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, Calif.

 

     Justin Bieber has five nods, followed by the newly crowned "Sexiest Man Alive" Channing Tatum with four. "Glee" was the most-nominated TV show with five, and "The Avengers" leads movie nominees with eight.

 

     Fans chose the nominees by voting online and can do the same to select the winners. Voting in 48 categories continues through Dec. 13.

 

     The People's Choice Awards will be presented Jan. 9, 2013, and broadcast on CBS.

 

 

 NEW YORK (AP) - A memoir by the man retired Gen. David Petraeus succeeded as commander of forces in Afghanistan is coming out Jan. 7.

 

     Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal's "My Share of the Task" had been scheduled for this month but was delayed because security clearance was still needed from the government.

 

     The 58-year-old McChrystal stepped down in 2010 after a Rolling Stone article quoted him and his associates making unflattering remarks about Obama administration officials.

 

     McChrystal's publisher is Penguin Group (USA), which also released the Petraeus biography "All In." Biographer Paula Broadwell allegedly had an affair with Petreaus, who recently resigned as CIA director.

 

     Penguin spokeswoman Christy D'Agostini declined to comment Friday on specific contents of the book. She did say McChrystal and Petraeus have "been colleagues and friends" for decades.  

 

  WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says Vice President Joe Biden has met with U2 frontman Bono to discuss global development, AIDS and efforts to fight poverty. 

 

     The singer and activist has been a leading advocate for Africa, drawing attention to issues ranging from poverty and hunger to AIDS.

 

     Spokesman Jay Carney joked that Bono and Jim Messina - President Barack Obama's campaign manager - were forming a new band. Messina also visited the White House on Tuesday. Carney says Obama did not meet with Bono.

 

 NEW YORK (AP) - The puppeteer who performs as Elmo on "Sesame Street" says he did have a relationship with a man who says he was 16 at the time the relationship began. 

 

     But Kevin Clash says the relationship was between "two consenting adults" -- and that he is "deeply saddened" that the accuser is "trying to characterize it as something other than what it was."

 

     Sex with a person under 17 is a felony in New York if the perpetrator is at least 21. Clash is now 52 years old. The accuser was 23 by the time he made the allegations this past June.

 

     Sesame Workshop says its own investigation found the allegation to be unsubstantiated. But it has suspended Clash, saying he had exercised "poor judgment" and had violated company policy regarding Internet usage.

 

     A person close to the show says other puppeteers are prepared to fill in for Clash during his absence, and that Elmo "will still be a part of the shows."

 

     Clash is normally behind the scenes as Elmo's voice and animator. But he was the subject of a documentary last year. He also serves as the show's senior Muppet coordinator. 

 

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A widow of a U.S. Army soldier killed in Afghanistan is suing Fox Cable Networks and the National Geographic Society over a documentary that featured her husband.

 

     Donnice Roberts filed the lawsuit this month in Texas. Her husband, Staff Sgt. Kevin Casey Roberts, was serving with the 101st Airborne Division when he was killed in 2008 by an improvised explosive device. She says the documentary, "Inside Afghan ER," did not get her permission to include images of her husband and their family.

 

     She is seeking at least $750,000 in damages and wants a judge to prevent the film from airing again.

 

     The documentary aired on the National Geographic International channel. A Fox spokesman says filmmakers had permission from the military to shoot the documentary and a memorial service for Roberts.

 

BOSTON (AP) - Thousands of fans filled a Boston street to watch the band Aerosmith play a concert in front of the building where they once lived.

 

     People hung out windows, crowded fire escapes and stood on roofs on Commonwealth Avenue to watch a show Monday meant to encourage voting and promote the band's new album, which premiers Tuesday on Election Day.

 

     The band played songs, including "Walk this Way,"  "Sweet Emotion" and a tune from their new album, "Live from Another Dimension."

 

     New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was among the people attending.

 

     Boston University student Becca Emmetts, who lives in Aerosmith's former building, said she sent a friend to her physics class with this message explaining her tardiness: "Aerosmith was playing on my front stoop." 

 

<VIDEO>Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi to perform at NBC benefit concert; Chris Brown to stay on supervised probation; Blake Shelton pulls off surprise win at CMAs.

 LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California judge says Chris Brown must return to court to update her on the progress of his probation after he completes an overseas tour.

 

     Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg did not address questions raised at a previous hearing about whether the R&B singer had completed the terms of his community labor sentence.

 

     A prosecutor said a report filed for Thursday's hearing did not add additional details about Brown's service as previously requested by the court.

 

     Brown remains on supervised probation for felony assault for an attack on Rihanna in 2009. He is scheduled to return to court Jan. 17.

 

     In September, officials in Brown's home state of Virginia reported that the singer completed six months of community labor, but the judge called those records "somewhat cryptic" at the time.