Earlier this week Shrek, the world's (probably) wooliest sheep, died in New Zealand at age 16. So as the nation ponders its future without Shrek — an animal so famous and influential that it had the ear of the prime minister — museums are lining up for the right to display his stuffed carcass for future generations.…

It's been a tough year for world famous animals. Knut died. Ming Ming, the world's oldest panda, died, too. And Shrek, the New Zealand sheep that hid in a cave for six years to avoid his owner's shears, was was put down last weekend. When Shrek emerged from his cave in 2004 his fleece was finally clipped, producing…

As this summer's movie season continues to falter, a third-week runner beat a slew of new releases for the lackluster top spot. A cult-potential sci-fi film disappointed, and Katherine Heigl shot her way to the middle.

A dull Memorial Day weekend left two debuts struggling with, and ultimately losing to, a sophomore movie. That's not something that usually happens over the big moviegoing holidays, but it's 2010, and 2010 is a crazy year.

With the release of the appropriately monstro-schlocky Shrek Forever After on IMAX, movie tickets (in Manhattan, at least) are passing the "symbolically important" $20 price point. Yea, you know what else is symbolically important? Netflix. [WSJ]

Some goodbyes go on for a very long time. But the day does come when the train pulls out of the station. Live singing Shrek, memory-erased Eliza Dushku and Michael Jackson, it's time to take your seats.

Last week, we reported that Hollywood has begun taking steps to wipe out the first outbreak of free-speech showbiz has seen since the Hays Code, eradicating the threat of stars communicating directly to the pubic via Twitter.

MSNBC reports today that based on adjusted ticket prices, the record-breaking summer Hollywood just enjoyed at the box office in fact hosted 5 percent fewer moviegoers than 2007. Even The Dark Knight was subject to a particularly troubling reality check, with the as-yet-unproduced Shrek 4 surpassing its…

· Tom Cruise's career as a studio mogul is off to an inauspicious start, as poor box office results for Lions for Lambs suggest he hasn't quite cultivated the hitmaking instincts MGM believed he had when they handed him United Artists. Next up: Tom tries to kill Hitler! [Variety]
· Entertainment companies are facing…

We're nothing if not suckers for a nice feel-good story, especially when it's accompanied by a fun chart where Spider-Man scales a pillar representing the obscene amounts of money some of our favorite movie studios are making: With four different films crossing the $300 million mark, Hollywood is enjoying its Best…

Clear your calendars, underemployed, musical-loving actors of Los Angeles, for you've been officially notified that the cattle-call that could deliver you the kind of Broadway superstardom you've always dreamed of is at hand. Next Wednesday, thousands upon thousands of singing-ogre hopefuls, their voices colored…

The Illinois Review blog (the "crossroads of the conservative community") posted a review of Shrek the Third that, despite acknowledging a positive, "pro-life" ending, still gave it a thumbs down. Their reasoning: They felt that the mannish character of Doris the Ugly Stepsister, voiced by CNN's trusted talk icon…

As you settle back into your ergonomic seats after a well-deserved long weekend, contemplating how a Tuesday morning could feel more hopeless than any Monday ever did, consider stirring some box office numbers into your coffee instead of that heaping teaspoon of rat poison. You'll thank us if you do.

The Second Horseman of the Blockbuster Sequel Apocalypse is now galloping through your local multiplex, so dive behind the candy counter and pray he harvests the souls of that bickering family of four in line behind you. Your weekened box office numbers:

Perhaps depressed that his evil, publicity-boosting plan to cut Jerry Seinfeld's zip-line with a comically oversized pair of scissors and send the Bee Movie star hurtling into the sea was foiled by a last-second bout of conscience, DreamWorks Animation head cheerleader Jeffrey Katzenberg refrained from making any…