Earlier this year, the comet whizzed but the asteroid blasted. Mulan and Anastasia both faired pretty well. This fall, Disney's animated feature following Toy Story created such an impact it made Antz and summer's Small Soldiers grosses look pathetic. One of 1998's biggest opening week, Bug's blew records by raking in over US$46 million, the successor surprise hit to The Waterboy just a few weeks back. Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld and David Hyde Pierce of Frasier are just 2 of many celebrities hired to voice this insected movie. Heavy weights such as Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken and Woody Allen joined efforts for Antz and Bug's did just as well. Look out this Christmas when the hugely publicised biblical feature The Prince Of Egypt hit screens worldwide. Voices behind this Dreamworks production include Michelle Pfeiffer, Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock and Val Kilmer as Moses himself. This holiday season should prove exciting amidst all these competition.

Cher, singer of 'I Believe' and actress in Mermaids to play titular role in Cleopatra... Winona Ryder teams up with ex Johnny Depp in her new project...

Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace's trailer debut in theatres helped a cinema increase its ticket sales by 85%...

Trainspotting star Ewan Mcgregor accepts 250 pounds-a-week-pay to star in a play in a London theatre, provoking much excitement from his loyal fans...

Reports from USA Today say that the star of The Wedding Singer and the latest fall surprise smash hit The Waterboy will be entering the league shared by Hollywood superstars such as Tom (both Hanks and Cruise), Jim Carrey, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford to summon over US $20 million for a movie deal. Re-negotiations occur concerning his pay for his new film, Little Nicky (about a dad wanting his son to take over his family business- Dad being the devil), when Waterboy proved such a phenomenon grossing over US $130 million in 5 weeks. His new deal with New Line Cinema should lift his subsequent projects to THE league of paychecks, that is, if Little Nicky don't flop. Just how prophetic is the movie The Waterboy :)

When You Believe MTV will be shot live! The theme song to the soundtrack of Dreamwork's animated feature, The Prince Of Egypt, may be shot later this year in an award show of Whitney Houston's. Besides the 2 stars, the soundtrack will also feature Boyz II Men amongst others. Watch out billboard.

Speilberg teams up with fellow friend Harrison Ford to follow to one of history's most successful series, Indiana Jones. Said to be set in Shangri-la, this film should be out beginning of the next millenium.

The latest craze in Hollywood is the filming of biographical movies. Hanson brothers are having one made and not at all surprisingly, Ms Monica Lewinsky herself. The Latter's project's working title, 'The Washington Intern'. Shannon Doherty is a populer choice for the role.

Summer's out and fall's in but who were the survivers of the dry spell? The top 10 box office grossers are as follows : Armageddon, Saving Pte Ryan, Deep Impact, Dr. Dolittle, Godzilla... Lethal Weapon 4, The Truman Show, Mulan & There's Something About Mary. The last in the list is still doing well 10 weeks after its release, smelling US$150 million and showing no sign of fatigue. The biggest flop? The Avengers, raking in little over US$20 million, tens of millions shy of its production costs.

The wide screen and TV versions of this phenomenal picture is selling like none other videos. Stores are pre-ordering millions of it before its official sale worldwide. The LD version, supposedly clearer, is hitting stores Oct 13th. Watch out.

The hundreds of extras in Speilberg's latest box office sensation are no ordinary men. They are troops from The Irish Department Of Defense. Speilberg hopes to enhance the film's realism by doing so. On top of that, the 8 men crew in the film in charge of tracking down Ryan were put into a harsh military boot camp to prepare themselves physically and mentally for the war film (including Tom Hanks). Days into the brutal conditions of the camp, all but Hanks opted to leave it. None did in the end. Matt Damon (Ryan), was not invited to the camp by director Speilberg to distant him from the crew for the plot's purposes.

90210's doing it and now so is their spin-off cousin. Andrew Shue who plays Billy Campbell is leaving the show but Josie Bissett's back to reconcile with character Michael as the victimised Jane. The show seems to be going nowhere with its constant star shuffle. Baywatch?

7th Heaven, the drama about a minister and his family is by Aaron Spelling, creator of Melrose Place, Savannah, Dallas? Yes and he's not hesitating to spice the new season coming fall. More drugs, sex ... goodness gracious.

A couple of years ago, Anthony Hopkins aka Hannibal Lecter refused to do a sequel to the 91 hit which claimed the 5 most prestigious awards at the Oscars. Second thoughts apparently as he reprises his popular cannibalistic role for US$15 million to torment Clarice Sterling (Jodie Foster).

Madonna got out of her movie project and Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock expressed interests. Now Meryl Streep is set to fill in her shoes in the project entitled 50 violins. Any chance the film's not about violins?

Scream Princess and star of Can't Hardly Wait & I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is having her own drama spin-off from angst-ridden PO5. Looks like the drama series is too small for 2 screamers (Neve Campbell). She will still play character Sarah Reeves, Bailey's girlfriend. Can't hardly wait!

This hot project starring couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman which began production light years ago is completed but will only be out ... next year in July! Looks like it'll be a long way before seeing Tom in the lime light again, last seen since Jerry Maguire.

Words are flying in tinseltown that the star of last year's hit My Best Friend's Wedding is summoning more than US$17 million for her role in The Runaway Bride, alongside Richard Gere. Reportedly 2 million higher than Hollywood's other gem, Jodie Foster, for the latter's role in Anna and The King opposite Chow Yun Fat, this makes Julia Roberts the highest paid actress.

While on and off problems are arising for Foster due to problems with filming grounds in Malaysia and Thailand, Roberts has already started production for Bride in Maryland. Reuniting not just the stars of Pretty Women, Bride sees the reunion of director Gary Marshall, hotel manager and the waiter who caught the flying snails in PM. 'I could feel the mechanics moving quickly, everyone wanting an answer from me,' says Roberts, after being urged by everyone, including Gere who read and liked the script.

Gere plays a cynical newspaper columnist who writes about Maggie (Julia Roberts), a lady who left her grooms at the altar at her past 3 weddings. Maggie is 'somewhat eccentric, and more so with this legendary inability to actually tie the knot,' says Roberts. 'With all her wit and cleverness, she has some issues to deal with.' Look out for this anticipated romantic comedy next summer. Mean time, Julia will appear with Susan Sarandon during the Christmas season in Stepmom.

-USA Today

Grossing a surprising US$39 million after only one week of release, The Waterboy shocked the box-office with its comedic antics. Star Adam Sandler (The Wedding Singer) plays the waterboy who turns from a loser to a sports phenomenon, gaining inspiration from existing stars such as Mariah Carey. Undoubtedly becoming one of 1998's biggest money-earner, Waterboy may just be stepping stone for Sandler to turn Jim Carrey-big. Even Brad Pitt's Meet Joe Black debut fails to knock it off the number one slot. Same plight goes out to the 97 hot flick's sequel I Still Know What You Did Lasy Summer.

'Just because I'm on a movie screen, guys fantasise about me. I'm just a tall, sandy blonde with blue eyes- skinny in places, fat in others. I'm just average. Don't make more than that.' Goddess-like bombshell of The Avengers dislikes the accolades of being a sex symbol.

Probably one of the biggest years for movie soundtracks, 1998's billboard charts are often, if not always, filled with a soundtrack throughout the year. With Titanic breaking records, its soundtrack stood firm for months on the Billboard 200 album charts right from the start of the year, pathing the way for more to come.

Armageddon, propelled by Aerosmith's 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing', is still raking in sales months after the blockbuster lost steam. City Of Angels, did just as well if not better, when the Goo Goo Dolls' 'Iris' along with Alanis Morrisette's 'Uninvited' flooded the radio airwaves with months of peaking airplays.

Rushhour, The Wedding Singer and Grease hit the stores and made an impact as well, not forgetting Godzilla and its Jakob Dylan hit 'Heroes'. Nearing Christmas, look out for DreamWorks' triple soundtrack for The Prince Of Egypt shaking the charts.

Doing amazingly well like its predecessor Toy Story of PIXAR, Bug's grossed close to US $70 million in 3 short weeks. It stays put at the No.1 slot beating the debut of Gus Van Sant's (Good Will Hunting director) Psycho, a 95% accuracy remake of Hitchcock's classic. American History X finally enters the top 20 but its meagre gross of US $4.9 million since its debut 6 weeks back is most undeserving. Cameron Diaz's hit vehicle Mary is still unrelentingly hanging on to the top 20, a farther than far cry from her new movie Very Bad Things which smelled only US $7.1 million after 2 weeks. Looks like the blonde still can't open a movie.