Saturday, January 24, 2015

Cowboys fan sues NFL for $88 billion over reversed call

1/24/2015

"Dean Blandino, Gene Steratore, and Roger Goodell are wrong and have stolen a victory from the plaintiffs," Hendrix said in the handwritten lawsuit.

A man incarcerated in a Colorado correctional facility filed a lawsuit against NFL officials seeking over $88 billion in damages because of an overturned call.
Terry Hendrix, evidently a passionate Dallas Cowboys fan, is seeking $88,987,654,321.88 from the NFL in the wake of the controversial replay reversal in the Cowboys' NFC divisional round loss to the Green Bay Packers.
He names NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino, referee Gene Steratore and Commissioner Roger Goodell by name.
In the handwritten lawsuit filed Wednesday, Hendrix asks for the astronomical sum of money "for but not limited to: negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and also reckless disregard."
Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant made what was first ruled a catch -- a spectacular one at that -- on a fourth down pass down the sideline.
After Packers head coach Mike McCarthy challenged the call, it was ruled that Bryantdidn't complete "the process" of a catch.
Reaction to the play and the ambiguous rule primarily followed the "bad rule, good call" narrative. Hendrix believes his team and its fans were cheated.
He calls the video review and reversal a "fraud" and a "gross negligence" that caused "true injury" to the Dallas Cowboys.
Had the pivotal play late in the Jan. 11 game been ruled a catch, Hendrix believes the Cowboys would've been in position to secure a win and advance to the NFC Championship.
"Dean Blandino, Gene Steratore, and Roger Goodell are wrong and have stolen a victory from the plaintiffs," Hendrix wrote in the lawsuit. "The Cowboys' offensive line would have perfectly created an 'Autobahn' for DeMarco Murray to drive into the endzone for the score and victory."
Hendrix presumably arrived at the figure close to $89 billion because of Bryant's jersey number -- 88. The desired sum begins and ends with the number, and Hendrix refers to the Cowboys' star wideout as "Dez Bryant #88" numerous times in the lawsuit.
Hendrix, an inmate at Fremont Correctional Facility in Cañon City, Colorado, states that he appears as counsel for "Dez Bryant, all Dallas Cowboys fans and all people in or from the sovereign republic of Texas."
The suit seeks permission to move before court within 35 days.
In conjunction with the suit, Hendrix filed an application to continue with the case without paying the court fees.

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Adhan – The Muslim Call to Meeting / Prayer

1/24/2015



This blog post is created to educate people on the Muslim Call To Prayer. It’s NOT a call to prayer but really a call to meeting. It is going to be long and indepth, with lots of links to various sources so if you’re not willing to be educated on the facts…. then I’ve provided you with a link to Nude Photos of Kim Kardashian & Jennifer Lawrence

AdhanGraphic02
For those of you who ARE ready to learn, here we go…..

The “Adhan” or the SO-CALLED ‘Call to Prayer’


(The Components of the Adhan)
Allah is greater than any description = Allahu Akbar – four times
I testify that there is no god but Allah = Ash hadu an la ilaha illal lah – two times
I testify that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger = Ash hadu anna Muhammadan Rasu lul lah – two times
I testify that Ali is the Vicergent of Allah = Ash hadu anna Amiral Momeneena Hajjattul lah- two times
Hasten to prayers = Hayya’alas Salah – two times
Hasten to deliverance = Hayya’alal Falah – two times
Hasten to the best act = Hayya’ala Khayril ‘Amal – two times
Allah is greater than any description = Allahu Akbar – two times
There is no god but Allah = La ilaha illal lah – two times
(What it really means is a call to WAR with the Infidel, to defeat the Infidel and asking for blessings from Allah to provide them strength and power in conquering the infidel)
“The general secret of the Adhan is the announcement to the overt and covert powers and the divine armies to attend the Meeting. Its general discipline is to be aware of the greatness of the position, its significance and the majesty of the Presence and the Present, and it is the servility, helplessness, poverty, incapability and shortcoming of the “possible” (existent) in carrying out orders and deserving to attend the Meeting [mahdar], unless the kindness and mercy of Allah, the Most High, extend the helping hand to make up for the shortcomings. Adabus Salaat – Imam Khomeini.”
      
Next piece of info. Why would ANYONE who is of another faith, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, etc take a stand proclaiming that their God doesn’t exist? Only indoctrinated youth at Universities such as Duke would fall for this nonsense.
The Adhan is the announcement of the existence of Islam, of the beliefs and deeds of Muslims, and a rejection of all false deities.

The 3rd piece of info;
When he (the Mu’adhdhin = the muslim official) says: Come to prayer, one should make a response: There is no might and no power except with ALLAH.
When he (the Mu’adhdhin) says: Come to salvation, one should respond: There is no might and no power except with ALLAH.


The 4th item, we will examine the Kalima – or “The Declaration”
The definition of Kalima = In Arabic grammar ‘Kalima’ refers to, any sentence that means something for example:
‘There is none worthy of worship save Allah’
‘The House of Allah is in Makka’
‘Allah is the Master of all Creation’
First verse – We read in Holy Quran:
[Shakir 5:55] Only Allah is your Vali and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow.
Second verse – [Shakir 4:59] O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end.
Third verse – [Shakir 5:67] O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.   


Now, in closing, lets examine Taqiyya & Kitman – The practice of Deceiving, or lying, to prevent persecution of your beliefs.    

TaqiyyaKitmanGraphic
TaqiyyaGraphic01

Question: Are Muslims permitted to lie?
Summary Answer: Muslim scholars teach that Muslims should generally be truthful to each other, unless the purpose of lying is to “smooth over differences.”
There are two forms of lying to non-believers that are permitted under certain circumstances, taqiyya and kitman. These circumstances are typically those that advance the cause Islam – in some cases by gaining the trust of non-believers in order to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them.


Other links for information:



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Uncle Sam Is Coming After Your Savings

1/24/2015

 FIRST HE CAME FOR YOUR 529'S...


By 
Earlier in the week, I discussed the Obama administration's proposal to tax earnings on so-called 529 college savings plans, part of a package of tax hikes that will pay for new programs such as his proposal to make the first two years of community college free. This has been touted as a plan to hike taxes on the rich to help the middle class, but in fact it's more of a plan to redistribute money from the upper middle class to the lower middle class.
As I noted then, this proposal is not going anywhere, not just because Republican congressmen will block it, but because it would be very unpopular with affluent blue-state voters who currently vote for Democrats. About the only people I saw defending this particular idea were blue-state singles who haven't yet confronted the monstrous expense of shepherding their progeny into the new mandarin class to which they belong.
Everyone else seems to be somewhere between confused and aghast. One comment in particular struck me, as I saw it several times on social media and in writings: "How would you feel if they did this to Roth IRAs?"
Why did I find that particular question a compelling topic for a column? Because it's a question we may have to ask ourselves. As I observed when I first wrote about the plan, the very fact that we are discussing taxation of educational savings -- redistributing educational subsidies downward -- indicates that the administration has started scraping the bottom of the barrel when seeking out money to fund new programs. Why target a tax benefit that goes to a lot of your supporters (and donors), that tickles one of the sweetest spots in American politics (subsidizing higher education), and that will hit a lot of people who make less than the $250,000 a year that has become the administration's de facto definition of "rich"? 
Presumably, because you're running out of other places to get the money. The top tax rate on people who make more than $413,000 ($464,000 for married couples) is already almost 40 percent. That's on top of Medicare taxes (2.9 percent, not capped), Social Security taxes, state and local taxes (in a deep blue area like New York City, these can amount to 10 percent, though you get some of that back by deducting state taxes from your federal tax) -- a marginal tax rate of around 45 to 50 percent in blue states, and possibly even more if you run a business.
Capital gains are taxed at a lower rate, of course. But if you combine the Obamacare capital income surcharge for higher earners, and the administration's new proposal to raise the base rate to 28 percent, you're looking at a capital gains tax of almost 32 percent for people who make more than $200,000 a year ($250,000 for married couples). We are simply running out of room to pay for generous new programs with higher taxes on the small handful of people who make many hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. I'm not saying that it's impossible, politically or otherwise, to further raise their tax rates. I'm just saying that there's not all that much money there left to get. 
Yes, I know that tax rates used to be much higher in the middle of the 20th century. However, eye-popping, high-double-digit rates fell on a much smaller share of the population, and therefore didn't raise all that much money; they were mostly symbolic, especially since they were combined with a much more generous array of deductions. Also, there's a reason that countries largely stopped trying to enact such heavy tax rates; in an era when global capital, and people, move pretty freely, they turned out to be mostly counterproductive. This is also why we don't try to tax the bejesus out of capital income, much as many would like to; old capital flees, and new capital doesn't get formed, as savers decide it's not worth it.
What that tells us is that politicians will need to reach further down the income ladder in order to fund new spending -- indeed, to fund the spending we've already done, in the form of entitlement promises. Where will they go for that money?
Once you've hit your fiscal capacity to tax the rich,  a few big sources of tax revenue are left:
1) A value-added tax. Very efficient and generates a lot of money because evasion is very difficult; it is almost self-enforcing. It minimizes economic distortion, and what distortions it does introduce encourage savings over consumption. It is also highly regressive. So it's hard to see where the political support will come from: Progressives hate the regressivity, conservatives, the imposition of a large new tax that will squeeze a lot of money out of people.
2) Raising income taxes on the middle class. Also raises a lot of money -- the middle class mostly have salary income, and they don't have the ability of the wealthy to shift their income between, say, capital gains and ordinary income. This will raise a lot of money (note that the Bush tax cuts on the middle class, which were made permanent in 2010, cost about three times as much as those on the wealthy.) It will also rile many millions of people, who will make angry phone calls to their representatives.
3) Tax the savings of the middle class. This could take many forms: lowering the dollar value of an estate that is exempted from tax, eliminate the basis-step up that such estates currently enjoy, or start to pare back on tax-advantaged savings like Roth IRAs and 529 educational savings accounts.  (Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s already have their withdrawals taxed as ordinary income, which will make it harder for the government to claw back the tax benefit they've already extended without outright seizing the accounts.) This will also cause a mass freakout, but of a smaller number of people, since a surprising number of affluent people save very little of their income. 
The third option is the worst, from an economic point of view -- the last thing we want to do is discourage saving, given how little of it Americans do. On the other hand, it may be the most politically palatable.
Does that mean you should forget the Roth IRA?
I've thought a lotabout this question , and the tentative conclusion I have come to is that you have to save the money somewhere, so you might as well put it in a tax-advantaged account. Yes, I understand the temptation to implement Plan Grasshopper in the face of future tax hikes, but before you pull the trigger, I suggest you try to draw up a household budget living only on what you're likely to qualify for in the way of Social Security benefits. I'd rather live comfortably with a higher tax rate than scrape along on what the government will give me.
And there are real benefits to a Roth IRA. For one thing, because you put in post-tax dollars, you have to save more and consume less now, which is good fiscal discipline. For another, there's a good chance that any future attempt to tap this money will -- because of the political optics -- come in the form of taxing only future contributions, rather than contributions that have already been made. This seems worth the risk to me, though I certainly see the arguments against.
What it does argue for is diversifying where you put your money: some in traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, some in Roth, and hopefully, some in regular taxable accounts, because you've already maxed out your tax-advantaged contributions. That way a change in a single program doesn't radically alter your retirement and college plans.
What it also argues for is saving even more than you  are. The government is going to come for its money one way or another, and the best way to deal with that is to have more than you need. 


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Rapper Tiny Doo facing long prison sentence over lyrics

1/24/2015

 *As much as I despise rap music and forbid my minor children from posessing it. I am a 100% defender of free speech and expression. This is not an attempt to 'eradicate black men' as the artists claims. This is a direct assault on the guarantee of the Constitutional to exercise the First amendment rights. If this stands, expect more liberties to fall.
'I feel like they're trying to eradicate black men' 04:33
(CNN)Song lyrics that glorify violence are hardly uncommon. But a prosecutor in California says one rapper's violent lyrics go beyond creative license to conspiracy.
San Diego-based rapper Tiny Doo has already spent eight months in prison, and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted under a little-known California statute that makes it illegal to benefit from gang activities.
The statute in question is California Penal Code 182.5. The code makes it a felony for anyone to participate in a criminal street gang, have knowledge that a street gang has engaged in criminal activity, or benefit from that activity.
It's that last part -- benefiting from criminal activity -- that prosecutors are going after the rapper for.
Tiny Doo, whose real name is Brandon Duncan, faces nine counts of criminal street gang conspiracy because prosecutors allege he and 14 other alleged gang members increased their stature and respect following a rash of shootings in the city in 2013.
Prosecutors point to Tiny Doo's album, "No Safety," and to lyrics like "Ain't no safety on this pistol I'm holding" as examples of a "direct correlation to what the gang has been doing."
    No one suggests the rapper ever actually pulled a trigger.
    In fact, Duncan may rap about violence but he's got no criminal record.
    Duncan told CNN's Don Lemon he's just "painting a picture of urban street life" with his lyrics.
    "The studio is my canvas. I'm just painting a picture," he said. "I'm not telling anybody to go out and kill somebody."
    He denied any involvement with any gang but said the prosecution has him concerned about future creative expression.
    "I would love to continue to rap," he said. "But these people have you scared to do anything around here."
    Prosecutors say lyrics aren't the only evidence they have. At Duncan's preliminary hearing, they presented social media posts that they say prove Duncan is still a gang member.
    CNN Legal Analyst Mark Geragos says the district attorney may be trying to send a message "that you shouldn't glorify or glamorize gang activity."
    "The problem is you're going to run straight head-on into the First Amendment," he said. "If they don't have anything other than the album, this case I don't think would ever stand up."


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    ‘American Sniper’ Thrives As Johnny Depp’s ‘Mortdecai’ Dies – Late Night B.O. Update

    1/24/2015
    mortdecai
    UPDATE, SATURDAY 3AM: With Warner Bros./Village Roadshow’sAmerican Sniper shooting down more box office records this weekend with an updated industry projection of $61.2M, another star-studded bomb went off at the B.O. following last weekend’s mortdecai 3Blackhat debacle: Johnny Depp’s $60M R-rated comedyMortdecai flatlined with an estimated $1.6M on Friday at 2,648 theaters, on track for a horrendous $4.6M weekend in eighth place – far below the $10-$12M that distributor Lionsgate was expecting for the OddLot co-production. Among Depp’s wide releases, that bow is lower than his 2011 Hunter S. Thompson adaptation The Rum Diary, which posted $5.1M and was also overpriced ($45M) in relation to its final domestic cume ($13M). It’s Depp’s fourth flop domestically after Alcon/WB’sTranscendence ($100M budget, $23M domestic B.O.), The Lone Ranger($215M budget, $89M domestic) and Rum Diary (This is outside his ensemble work in Disney’s Into the Woods which is looking to take tenth this weekend with a projected cume through Sunday of $121.29M).


    Has Depp’s predilection for playing goofy, absurdist personalities alienated his fans? The answer is a resounding “Yes” as Mortdecai, in which Depp plays a posh, curly mustachioed Euro art dealer, got a C+ CinemaScore, not too far above Rum Diary’s C, and on par withTranscendence’s C+ (granted, Depp was playing more dramatic in that film, but his cyber-afterlife self was too mindboggling for the masses).
    Mortdecai marks the second outing for both Depp and director David Koepp (who excelled at writing blockbuster scripts like Jurassic Park andMission: Impossible) after 2004’s $40M Stephen King adaptation Secret Window. That one  also failed to send shockwaves through the B.O. with a final domestic of $48M. When Lionsgate and OddLot signed a co-financing deal in fall 2013, Mortdecai, based on Kyril Bonfiglioli’s 1970s novels, was trumpeted as one of the studio’s first projects. Depp made this bad decision after Lone Ranger opened in July 2013, and within weeks of wrapping Transcendence.
    mortdecaiThree weeks before its opening,Mortdecai was showing tracking figures on par with Blackhat’s bottom dwelling figures. Both first choice and unaided awareness (when any person polled can cite any film title opening without being prodded by the pollster) were in the low single digits of 1-2%.  Translation: It was on no-one’s radar, despite a heavy media campaign that launched six weeks out. Some highlights: Marketing integrations and sponsorships across 14 networks with nearly 100 million impressions, and custom vignettes of the cast on Comedy Central, E!, Bravo and TBS (specifically during Conan). AMortdecai Twitter handle @PartTimeRogue was created six months out in the voice of the character collecting 21K followers (as a measure, Disney’sLone Ranger handle had 16K while a Johnny Depp News site mortdecai 2has 74K).  Relish Mix, which measures celebrity social media marketing, showed Gwyneth Paltrow as the lead social driver for the film (1.1M FB, 2M TW) as well as actress Olivia Munn (600k TW). Munn’sConan interview, in which she comically describes Depp grabbing her breast during production drew 4M Facebook video views. There was also a promo celebrating Mortdecai’s mustache on shopping website The Art of Shaving.
    By January 16, none of this seemed to be persuading anybody with first choice and unaided awareness still at 2-4%. Definite Awareness remained in the low 30 percentile just like Blackhat. Critics didn’t help, givingMortdecai a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score and a critical consensus summation of “aggressively strange and willfully unfunny.” Lionsgate tried to control critical word of mouth by nixing media screenings and shuttling select critics and media to the LA premiere on January 21, which one insider remarked “was an attempt to put them among a crowd that would deliver a positive response, hoping to sway their opinions.”
    Warner Bros. sets date for American SniperIn happier news, American Sniper took in $18M on Friday; and if its projected $61.2M second wide weekend holds, that will be the third highest haul for a film playing in January behind Sniper’s opening weekend of $89.3M and Avatar’s third FSS of $68.5M. It’s also the second best weekend for any film that went wide (or opened) in January.
    Universal’s Jennifer Lopez thriller The Boy Next Door was the only new wide release to crack the top 10 and took second on Friday with an estimated $5.56M at 2,602 venues. The film is now looking to make $15.3M which will be a FSS take that is close to four times its $4M budget. The film has a B- CinemaScore.
    paddingtonFamilies on Friday night showed more interest in seeing TWC-Dimension’s Paddington, shelling out $2.57M in 3,355 theaters, than Disney-Lucasfilm’s Strange Magic, which only hooked $1.2M at 3,020. Not even matinees are expected to push the goblin-fairy redux of A Midsummer Night’s Dream up the charts. Unlike The Boy Next Door, which is beating its B- CinemaScore in its opening,Strange Magic is being hindered by it. Over three days, Paddington is going to hold its spot in third with $11.8M, off 37% and a total cume by Sunday of $39.5M.
    In its second Friday, the Kevin Hart and Josh Gad R-rated comedy The Wedding Ringer made $2M, down 51% from a week ago. It looks to slot fourth through Sunday with $10.95M, down 47% with a cume of $38.9M, which is legging pretty close to the comp that the industry pegged the Jeremy Garelick-helmed title to: About Last Night.
    Cinelou’s Cake released via Freestyle is estimated to make $300K from 482 venues with a $924K weekend. Cake’s weekend is more robust than the bows of Jennifer Aniston’s critically acclaimed titles 2006 Friends With Money ($589K on 28) and 2002’s The Good Girl ($152K from four), though those were on significantly fewer screens during the first weekend. Aniston is nominated for a best lead film actress SAG award this Sunday.
    1). American Sniper (WB), 3,705 theaters (+150)/ $18M Fri. (-40%) /3-Day: $61.2M (-31)/Total cume: $197.7M/ Wk 5
    2). The Boy Next Door (UNI), 2,602 theaters / $5.56M Fri./ 3-Day: $15.3M/ Wk 1
    3). Paddington (TWC), 3,355 theaters (+52) / $2.57M Fri. (-45%) / 3-Day: $11.8M (-37%) / Total cume: $39.5M /Wk 2
    4). The Wedding Ringer (Sony), 3,003 theaters (0)/ $3.2M Fri. (-53%) / 3-Day: $10.95M (-47%)/ Total cume: $38.9M /Wk 2
    5). Taken 3 (Fox), 2,909 theaters (-685)/$2M Fri (-51%). / 3-Day: $6.9M (-53%)/Total cume: $75.1M/ Wk 3
    6). The Imitation Game (TWC), 2,025 theaters (+414) / $1.8M Fri. (-2%) / 3-Day: $6.5M (-3%)/Total cume: $59.68M / Wk 9
    7). Selma (Par), 2,046 theaters (-189) / $1.5M Fri. (-%)/ 3-Day: $5.49M (-37%)/Total cume: $39.45M / Wk 5
    8). Mortdecai (LGF), 2,648 theaters / $1.6M Fri./ 3-Day: $4.6M/Wk 1
    9). Strange Magic (DIS), 3,020 theaters  / $1.2M Fri./ 3-Day: $4.3M/ Wk 1
    10). Into The Woods (DIS), 2,270 theaters (-488) / $1M Fri. (-39%)/ 3-Day: $3.8M (-43%)/Total cume: $121.29M / Wk 5
    Notables:
    Blackhat (UNI), 2,568 theaters (1)/ $476 Fri. (-66%)/3-Day cume: $1.6M (-59%)/Total cume: $4.8M / Wk 2
    Oscar Best Pictures: (outside of the top 10, all of them added more runs)
    Birdman (FSL) 833 theaters (+362)/$487K Fri. (+20%)/ 3-day cume: $1.85M (+20%)/Total cume: $30.8M/Wk 15
    The Theory of Everything (FOC), 858 theaters (+349)/ $330K Fri. (+33%)/ 3-day cume: $1.2K (+32%)/Total cume: $29M / Wk 12
    Whiplash (SPC) 567 theaters (+378)/$202K Fri. (+120%)/3-day cume: $802K (+120%)/Total cume: $7.6M/Wk 16
    Boyhood (IFC), 197 theaters (+64) / $58K Fri. (+5%)/3-day cume: $229K (+3%)/Total cume: $24.95M/ Wk 29
    New Releases:
    Cake (FREE) 482 theaters /$300K Fri./ 3-day cume: $924K/Wk 1
    Song One (TFA) 27 theaters /$22K Fri./ 3-day cume: $71K/Wk 1
    Black Sea (FOC) 5 theaters /$11K Fri./ 3-day cume: $37K/Wk 1
    PREVIOUS, 12:57 PM: Noon industry estimates are flying in, and Warner Bros’ American Sniper is looking at another enormous record-setting weekend with a projected $59.3M. If that number holds through Sunday, it would be the second-highest weekend ever for a film in January, after Sniper‘s gigantic FSS of $89.3M. Friday alone looks to be $17.45M, which is just under what the Clint Eastwood film posted on MLK Monday ($17.9M). By the end of the weekend, American Sniper will be short of $200M by $5M in its domestic cume — again, just jaw-dropping numbers for this war-hero film. One exhibitor chief told Deadline, “American Sniperis playing everywhere, not just the flyover states. There’s a been a little controversy about the film from blue and red audiences, but that’s what makes it great: It’s a film that has moviegoers talking.”
    Universal’s Blumhouse thriller The Boy Next Door starring Jennifer Lopez is looking quite sexy at No. 2. The $4M film is Boy Next Dooron a track to make $16.5M and a potential $6M Friday. Following Boy Next Door are last weekend’s holdovers Paddington and The Wedding Ringer eyeing spots three and four with respective estimated weekend takes of $12.5M and $11M. Both films are looking at cumes around $40M by Sunday. Taken 3 in its third weekend is looking at $7.05M with a $2M Friday, raising its cume on Sunday to about $75.5M. It’s not quite certain exactly where newcomers Disney’s Strange Magic and Lionsgate’s Mortdecai will rank. Strange Magic is being estimated at $1.5M for Friday and a $6M weekend, while the R-rated Johnny Depp absurdist comedy is looking at $2M today with $5.8M for the weekend. Again, these are early third-party estimates. As we get closer to midnight tonight and multiplexes close out their cash drawers, the numbers become more certain, but this is how the weekend is looking at this point.
    UPDATED, FRIDAY, 8:33 AM: Thursday night preview figures are being posted, with Universal’s Blumhouse thriller The Boy Next Door racking up $500K in 1,869 theaters. Meanwhile, Warner Bros’ American Sniper had a solid week grossing $132.3M overall, with Thursday generating $7.65M. The film came close to making $10M on Tuesday, the day after the MLK holiday. Current domestic cume for the Clint Eastwood film stands at $135.8M prior to its fifth frame. More to come.
    MortdecaiPREVIOUS, WEDNESDAY PM:Prior to Super Bowl next weekend, three wide releases are looking to get a leg up before the big game this Friday — Lionsgate’s Johnny Depp -Gwyneth Paltrow period comedy Mortdecai, Universal’s The Boy Next Door as well as Disney’s Lucasfilm toon Strange Magic.However, it’s Warner Bros./Village Roadshow’s American Sniper that is expected to secure first place again with $40-45M, an anticipated average drop of 50-55%  in its second wide frame after last weekend’s $89.3M. Fandango is reporting that its advance ticket sales for American Sniper are so strong, the film could wind up posting the second best frame ever for January.
    It’s hard for distributors to put a comp on the Clint Eastwood title as there has never been an MLK release quite like it. Unlike the female demos which flocked to Kevin Hart comedies such as The Wedding Ringer and Ride Along, and the young demo which shelled out for Cloverfield,  American Sniper drew a massive older male crowd. You can’t even compare American Sniper to the January carryover titan Avatar as that film was propped by 3D ticket pricing. Even comparing American Sniper to Michael Bay’s World War II film Pearl Harbor ($75.2M four-day bow, $198.5M total cume). is a stretch given that film’s Memorial Day rollout, and it’s romantic epic nature (vs. Sniper‘s as dramatic biopic of an actual Navy SEAL).  Through Tuesday, American Sniper‘s cume stands at $120.56M.  Warner Bros. will 150 engagements Friday, raising its theater count to 3,705.
    The Boy Next DoorUniversal and Blumhouse’s Jennifer Lopez suspense film The Boy Next Door is looking to profit like its previous microbudget thrillers and horror films. The $4M film is looking to mint a figure somewhere in the low teens at 2,599 venues. Sneaks for the film will kick off after 8PM tomorrow night. The thriller is directed by Rob Cohen (who helmed the first Fast and Furious) and it is making a play for Latinos and females.  The Boy Next Door is Lopez’s third suspense thriller since 2002’s Enough ($40M) and 2001’s Angel Eyes ($24.2M), the upside this time around is that the Blumhouse title is more economically priced than those two titles which respectively cost $38M and $53M. Part of Lopez’s promotion for The Boy Next Door entailed the star’s largest Hispanic press tour ever in Miami. She visited such shows as Univision’s Despierta America for the first time as well as the network’s beauty pageant reality show Nuestra Belleza Latina. Lopez’s appearance on the season premiere of that primetime show registered a 22% uptick in ratings from its season premiere a year ago.
    Lionsgate-Odd Lot Entertainment’s co-production Mortedecai stars Johnny Depp as a flamboyant art dealer-adventurer who is dodging British Spies, Russian and terrorists as he aims to lay his hands on a painting that will lead him to Nazi gold.  The film rolls out in sneaks tomorrow at 7pm.  At a cost, per industry execs, of $60M, Mortdecai which has been described as a Peter Sellers absurdist type film, and continues to provide a platform for Depp’s offbeat onscreen personalities (such as Barnabas Collins in 2012’sDark Shadows) is eyeing $10-$12M over FSS. Lionsgate employed a heavy social media and TV marketing campaign. Six weeks out, Lionsgate targeted a broad audience with marketing integration and sponsorships across 14 networks earning nearly 100M impressions, and custom vignettes featuring the cast on Comedy Central, E!, Bravo and TBS (specifically during Conan).
    Strange MagicGirls 7-11 are the target demo for Disney’s release of Lucasfilm’s goblin-fairy animated pic Strange Magic, given its themes of female empowerment and princess characters.  Strange Magic was directed  by Gary Rydstrom with a story penned by George Lucas, who also produces.  The animated feature was made at Lucasfilm’s Singapore studio and was in production prior to Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm. With a family release in each of the last three months — Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good ,Very Bad Day in October, Big Hero 6 in November and Into the Woods last month, Strange Magic is Disney’s January entry. And the thinking is that it will co-habit multiplexes just fine with TWC/Dimension’s Paddington in the market. Strange Magic is looking to make $10M in 3,020 theaters. However, TWC/Dimension’s bear-in-the-hat Paddington should beat out goblins and fairies with a projected $12-$13M.
    Jennifer Aniston Cake In pharmacyBrian Brooks will weigh in further on the arthouse scene tomorrow, however, Cinelou is releasing its Jennifer Aniston drama Cake via Freestyle Releasing Friday in 465 runs in the top 75 markets.  Since the film launched at the Toronto Film Festival, Aniston has received high praise for her 180 degree method turn as a curmudgeon woman, battling chronic pain and personal tragedy.   She earned a Golden Globe nomination for best actress drama and is up for a SAG female leading actress nom this Sunday.  Expectations are that Cake makes $1.5-$2M, and will expand accordingly.
    In addition, Focus Features is releasing its submarine Jude Law thrillerBlack Sea bows in two theaters in New York and three in Los Angeles.  The R-rated film will expand nationwide on January 30.
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