Kurt Russell, who starred in the Death Proof segment of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez horror "double feature" Grindhouse, has expressed disappointment over the decision to release Death Proof as a separate feature for European audiences. Appearing today (Tuesday) at a news conference at the Cannes Film Festival, where Death Proof is screening in competition for the Palme d'Or, Russell, acknowledging that he hasn't seen the reedited longer version, said, "I'm disappointed for any audience that they won't get the Grindhouse experience. ... These [two] movies are going to go out there by themselves and they'll live their own life, but my prediction is that 20 years from now, you'll want the Grindhouse experience. ... [It's] something bizarre that you've never experienced before." But, appearing at the same news conference, director Quentin Tarantino defended the new version, saying that the film has changed "180 degrees so far as the emotion" is concerned and that he is particularly pleased with the way Russell's character has evolved in the editing. Standing at the rear of the news conference, producer Harvey Weinstein also joined in the discussion, saying that what Tarantino and Rodriguez originally had to remove from their films so that they could be combined "reduced the essence of the films." It would have been like "cutting [Tarantino's] Kill Bill and [Rodriguez's] Sin City to 70-minute versions," he said. He predicted that European audiences "and hopefully American audiences" will get a lot more enjoyment out of the films when they're seen separately. (Grindhouse was a surprise flop when it was released domestically in April. The $60-million film earned only $24 million in ticket sales.)

In the film A Mighty Heart, a reporter is seen asking Mariane Pearl (played by Angelina Jolie), the wife of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, whether she had seen the tape of her husband's beheading. At a news conference Monday at the Cannes Film Festival where the film was screened for the first time, a reporter for Bloomberg News shocked those around him when he addressed Pearl, who was seated next to the filmmakers, and remarked, "I was one of the reporters who covered the Danny Pearl murder in Karachi. I was the one who asked that question. ... Could you -- have you -- maybe now -- have you -- maybe -- forgiven me for that question, which I regret?" Pearl replied, "I accept your apology." The exchange triggered a murmur in the crowd of reporters, who had never previously seen such an exchange during a film festival news conference.

Disney has lined up 1,064 digital movie screens for Thursday's opening of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, the Hollywood Reporter reported today (Tuesday), noting that the number has been rising steadily. Disney distribution chief Chuck Viane noted that in addition to the savings in print costs that digital distribution represents, it will also result in future audiences being able to see the movie without dirt or scratches degrading the picture. "I believe Pirates is going to be around a long time this summer, [and] this guarantees that audiences will see this in the most pristine way throughout the engagement," Viane told the trade publication. "In week 15, it will be as good-looking as this Thursday at 8 p.m." During a month when 3 appeared to have become Hollywood's magic number, after Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third set box-office records, the third Pirates movie is expected to make May 2007 the most lucrative month in film history.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Shrek the Third, Paramount, $121,629,270, (New); 2. Spider-Man 3, Sony, $29,022,026, 3 Wks. ($282,379,655); 3. 28 Weeks Later, Fox Atomic, $5,454,168, 2 Wks. ($18,914, ,924); 4. Georgia Rule, Universal, $3,745,880, 2 Wks. ($12,867, ,455); 5. Disturbia, Paramount, $3,731,349, 6 Wks. ($71,379, ,695); 6. Fracture, New Line, $2,278,362, 5 Wks. ($34,530, ,840); 7. Delta Farce, Lionsgate, $1,852,193, 2 Wks. ($6,138,105); 8. The Invisible, Disney, $1,300,769, 4 Wks. ($17,654, ,557); 9. Hot Fuzz, Focus Features, $1,291,898, 5 Wks. ($21,125, ,512); 10. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $1,091,982, 8 Wks. ($115,446,583).

For the second time this year, a blockbuster movie is scheduled to premiere in Tokyo. Warner Bros. said that it plans to open the fifth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, in Tokyo on June 28. Earlier this month, Sony opened the third Spider-Man movie in Tokyo -- but Sony, unlike Warner Bros., is a Japanese-owned company. A spokeswoman for the Time Warner-owned studio told Reuters that there was "no special reason" why the film is premiering in Japan.

The final performance show of this season's Dancing With the Stars on ABC stomped all over Fox's season finale of 24. The dancing contest posted a dominant 14.2 rating and a 22 share (19.75 million viewers) at 8:00 p.m. versus a 6.5/10 (9.34 million viewers) for the first hour of 24. At 9:00 p.m., NBC's Heroes ended the season with a strong 8.9/13, edging out the first hour of the season finale of ABC's The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman, which drew an 8.2/12. The second hour of the 24 finale pulled a fourth-place 7.2/11, behind two back-to-back episodes of the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men (average 8.0/12). At 10:00 p.m., the second hour of The Bachelor rose to the top of the ratings with a 9.0/14, ahead of a repeat of CBS's CSI: Miami, which registered an 8.1/13.

Although ratings for American Idol this season are down somewhat from previous seasons, the two final shows tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow are expected to draw the biggest ratings for any regular show this year. Fan websites are split fairly evenly over who will win, Jordin Sparks or Blake Lewis. Vegas odds give Sparks the edge (2-1) over Lewis (9-5). The website theonlinewire.com said that "betting on American Idol has become the largest non-sports-related wagering event of the season." In an interview with today's New York Daily News, American Idol judge Simon Cowell commented, "One is a better entertainer and one's the better singer, so it will be down to what they do" on the final performance show tonight.

A massive campaign has been mounted by fans of Jericho, which got off to an impressive start at the beginning of the season but appeared to lose most of its audience following its winter hiatus. Those who remained loyal to the show have launched an online petition that has already been signed by more than 60,000 and have also posted thousands of messages to Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, protesting the drama's cancellation. A preamble posted on the website http://jericholives.com/fight.htm reads in part, "This show has touched us all like no other before it. It is unique. It is another high-quality show cast aside by the networks." The website suggests that the show may have "suffered for its success" since, it said, many viewers had decided to watch it on their digital video recorders and online. Tassler responded that she, too, had been a fan of the show "and we are humbled by your disappointment. In the coming weeks, we hope to develop a way to provide closure to the compelling drama that was the Jericho story."

CNN will soon be able to provide local news -- at least on its website. The Wall Street Journal reported today (Tuesday) that the broadcaster had reached an agreement with Minneapolis-based Internet Broadcasting Co., which operates the websites of 70 TV stations, to use local news from those websites on its own CNN.com. The cable news network reportedly hopes that the additional news content will allow it to sell online ads to local advertisers.

It appeared Monday that News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch would likely abandon his $5-billion bid to buy Dow Jones and its primary subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal, and metamorphose his planned Fox Business Channel into the Wall Street Journal channel. Several analysts wrote Monday that Murdoch had become frustrated with his inability even to arrange a meeting with members of the Bancroft family, who own a majority interest in Dow Jones.