Lady Gaga wears a series of barely there outfits in the nine-and-a-half minute video for “Telephone” that debuted on Thursday night, including one that’s no more than discretely applied electrical tape and a pair of torn fishnets. But the singer said despite the acres of provocative flesh (not to mention copious product placement) on display in the “Thelma and Louise”-style revenge fantasy co-starring Beyoncé, her aim, as always, is to embed some deeper, less obvious meaning in her videos.

“There’s certainly always a hidden message in my music videos,” Gaga told E! News in a sit-down during which she wore her signature round sunglasses and a lingerie-like black leather and lace bodysuit. “But I would say most predominately, I’m always trying to convolute everyone’s idea of what a pop music video should be.”

After hooking up with Beyoncé on the set of “Videophone,” Gaga said she was excited to re-team with the R&B diva, who shows of a more foul-mouthed, edgier persona in the clip than she has in the past, including the pivotal scene in which she poisons co-star Tyrese Gibson and calls him a compound nasty name. “We had an amazing time working together on her video and it just kind of works out because we both like women,” Gaga said provocatively of the “Telephone” clip, the first half of which takes place in the sexiest/scariest women’s prison on the planet.

Gaga also explained how the infamous “Pussy Wagon” from Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol. 1″ ended up making a very prominent cameo. “We were having lunch one day in Los Angeles and I was telling him about my concept for the video and he said, ‘You gotta use the Pussy Wagon!,’ ” she said of the director’s reaction to the pulpy look and feel of the video.

“There was this really amazing quality in ‘Paparazzi,’ where it kind of had this pure pop music quality but at the same time it was a little bit of commentary on fame culture,” she said of her first hook-up with director Jonas Akerlund, who also helmed the “Telephone” mini-movie. “I wanted to do the same thing with this video — take a decidedly pop song, which on the surface has a quite shallow meaning, and turn it into something deeper: the idea that America is full of young people that are inundated with information and technology and turn it into something that is more of a commentary on the kind of country that we are.”

Sandra Bullock never had her heart set on an Oscar – and that may be partly how she ended up with one.”I didn’t aspire to this,” she told People.com after her big win. “I was in awe of it. I admired it. I got to watch it like everyone else did, or present, but it wasn’t something that I said, ‘One day when I get the Oscar.’ ”

After winning best actress for “The Blind Side” on Sunday night, Bullock is staying grounded, thanks in part to the Razzie Award for worst actress, for her performance in “All About Steve,” that she won just one night earlier.”You take the good with the not so good,” she told reporters after the Oscars, “but I had the best time at the Razzies last night. It probably means more that [the Oscar and the Razzie] both happened at the same time, because it’s the great equalizer. Nothing ever lets me get too full of myself.”

She joked about where the two statuettes would go on her mantle. “They’ll sit side by side in a nice little shelf somewhere, the Razzie maybe on a different shelf, lower,” she said laughing.She also poked fun at her hubby Jesse James, who grew misty-eyed during his wife’s acceptance speech. “Did he cry? He doesn’t cry,” she said. “He had something in his eye. It’s very dusty from the dance music.”

The funny leading lady turned serious, though, discussing her accomplishments and where she plans to go from here. “I don’t like when people tell me I can’t do something. Just because I did commercial films doesn’t mean I can’t do wonderful, small art-house films,” she said. “Just because I won an Oscar, I don’t want to ever stop doing something that makes people laugh. I love making people laugh.”

Now that she has, though, he 45-year old actress is using her moment in the spotlight to encourage other struggling actors out there. “Don’t aspire to be in these shoes. Walk in your own,” she said. “Everyone’s unique, and that’s what makes people exciting to watch, I think. So, just savor what you are and not what everyone else wants you to be.”As for her immediate post-Oscar plans? Bullock is returning to life as usual. “I will go to the grocery store,” she said, “and I will pick up a very sweet 6-year-old from school.”

He’s famed for his caustic put-downs on American Idol and The X Factor. But last night, Simon Cowell showed a very different side to his personality as he shared a kiss with fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy on U.S. TV. Moments after uncharacteristically blushing about their relationship, Cowell puckered up with his girlfriend on the sofa – but, rather unromantically, kept his eyes open.

After weeks of trying to deny their engagement, the 50-year-old finally confirmed they were getting married – in a very roundabout way on the Tonight Show. When asked by Jay Leno if he was engaged, a flushed Cowell replied: ‘Are they true? Well, I do have somebody in my life now, Jay, yes. And I kinda made a decision this year to make somebody happy.’

Despite his apparent coy behaviour over his lovelife, his decision to appear on Leno with Hussainy and kiss on TV shows he’s not so averse to publicising his relationship as he would like fans to believe. Pointing out Hussainy’s huge £250,000 diamond engagement ring, Leno joked: ‘I thought she broke her arm. ‘Cowell agreed: ‘It’s quite a big one, yes.’

When the music mogul lost his cool and started turning red, Leno teased him. Cowell acknowledged: ‘I am blushing. ‘The X Factor judge was rumoured to have proposed to Hussainy, 36, on Valentine’s Day, but he refused to clarify how it took place. He said: ‘I find this very uncomfortable. I was asleep, I think. No, look, I bought her the ring in London. ‘Leno then further embarrassed Cowell when he spotted the make-up artist in the audience and invited her to join her fiancé on stage.

Pretending he had never met her, Cowell offered to shake hands with his bride-to-be, with Hussainy heard saying: ‘Nice to meet you. ‘Cowell then pointed to her, saying: ‘That’s not her… what’s your name?’After receiving a playful slap on the hand from his fiancée, Cowell pulled her towards him by her neck for a quick kiss on the lips. Contradicting reports he will wed this summer, Cowell said he wanted a wedding ‘in the next 10 years’.

He added: ‘I’m kind of torn because I’m a bit too old to have kids, but then again I think it would be important to have a lot of me’s around in the future. ‘He joked: ‘I always said if I got engaged it would be to a make-up artist. I get touched up three times a night

When the engagement rumours first appeared three weeks ago, Cowell’s publicist Max Clifford denied he was planning to wed. He said: ‘I spoke to Simon in London yesterday afternoon, just before he took his flight back to LA.’I asked him, “Look, are you engaged? Is it true?” and he said, “No! No. I’m not engaged.”

‘Yes, they are an item. Yes, they’re happy. But they’re not engaged. That’s straight from Simon’s mouth. ‘Cowell’s turnaround comes as a complete surprise after he previously criticised the idea of marriage during his seven year relationship with model Terri Seymour.

He said two years ago: ‘Marriage is the most ridiculous contract in the world. It’s just crazy. Without any legal advice you sign this binding contract and you are not sure where you are going to be in 10 years’ time. ‘Marriage is not for me. It just feels really out of date. When you’ve worked hard for your money, you’ve got to look after yourself.’

Winners of this year’s Academy Awards beamed when asked by reporters of their recent victory. Sandra Bullock who took home Best Actress for her role in “The Blind Side” said she didn’t expect to get up on the stage and collect a prize. She said, “No, as I said up on that stage, I questioned did I win it or just wore everyone down?”

She added later, “This came out of left field, no pun intended. This was the film I said no to. If I thought this was going to be my golden ticket – I didn’t see it coming. No one saw it coming.” Bullock is the actress who is nominated for Best and Worst Actress in the same week. Speaking about her Razzie award, Bullock said “We’re the entertainment business – that’s what we’re supposed to do. Take the good with the not so good. I had the best time at the Razzies last night. It probably means more that they happened at the same time. They’re the great equalizer.”

Meanwhile, Best Supporting Actor winner Christoph Waltz described the awards “dizzying. It’s mind boggling, it’s fantastic, it’s very intense.” He said he owes the win to “Inglourious Basterds” director Quentin Tarantino, saying “You meet someone like Quentin, he brings back a lot of what you initially intended to do. That this would result, would be the result, that’s something that I never thought about.”

Mo’Nique, the Best Supporting Actress recipient, joked a lot in the press room, exclaiming “I am a stand up comedian who won an Oscar!” On how this first Oscar will change her life, the 42-year-old said, “You know, this role was so not about my acting career. This role has shaped my life and allowed me not to judge and to love unconditionally. If that goes into my career, great, but if it doesn’t and I’m just the dynamic person that I strive to be every day, then I’ve won, baby!”

Biggest winner of the night, director Kathryn Bigelow, still recovers from the stage shock when her movie “The Hurt Locker” was called as the Best Motion Picture and she herself nabbed the Best Director award. Asked whether she’s now ready to be called a female director, Bigelow said, “First of all, I hope I’m the first of many. And of course I’d love to just think of myself as a filmmaker, and I wait for the day when the modifier can be a moot point. But I’m very grateful if I can inspire some young, intrepid, tenacious male or female filmmakers and make them feel that the impossible is possible.”

Of winning against her ex-husband James Cameron, Bigelow said, “I think he’s an extraordinary filmmaker. I have to say all the nominees are phenomenal, powerful, talented filmmakers. And what an honor, and how humbling for me – it was humbling to be in that conversation. So I have to say that it’s a humbling experience.”

Lewis Hamilton has flown 6,000 miles to Los Angeles for a romantic weekend with his girlfriend, Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, just days before launching his bid to reclaim the Formula One world championship. Hamilton must fly another 9,000 miles to be in Bahrain by Tuesday and take his place alongside current world champion Jenson Button in the all-British McLaren team for the opening grand prix.

His decision to undertake such a punishing journey reflects his new-found freedom after breaking the news last week that his father, Anthony, is no longer his manager. Hamilton Snr, who has not missed watching his son race in the three years he has driven for McLaren, will not be at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, having kept his silence since his son announced the end of their professional partnership on a motor racing website on Tuesday.

Ms Scherzinger was at Los Angeles airport to meet Hamilton on Friday evening, the couple having revived their relationship last month after announcing that they had split up in January. ‘I’ve never been happier,’ said Hamilton last week. But his jet-setting love affair means he will have put himself through several time zones at a crucial time.

In contrast, Button, who succeeded Hamilton as world champion five months ago, has already flown to the Gulf to be with his girlfriend, Jessica Michibata, at the Laureus Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi before making the short onward flight to Bahrain.

Hamilton’s dash to California was made with the permission of McLaren’s management. Former team owner Eddie Jordan said last night: ‘Obviously, Lewis is back in love with his girlfriend; and love does amazing things to a man. But he understands that, with Jenson, he has a world champion for a team-mate and he will not want to do anything that jeopardises his position as one of the favourites to win the title this year.

‘Lewis will be able to manage the time difference and the flights. No doubt, he will be travelling first class and will have pills to ensure he can sleep on the flights to and from Los Angeles. As a supremely fit athlete, Lewis has an extremely low heart rate and will not be troubled by a journey that would knock the stuffing out of most of us.It’s commendable that he has a balanced life outside of F1. I’d much prefer seeing him fly to be with his girlfriend in Los Angeles, than falling out of nightclubs at 4am three or four times a week.’

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said: ‘We are aware of, and supportive of, Lewis’s decision to visit his girlfriend. He has worked hard this winter in our simulator and at the tests. He is in the best shape of his life. He topped the time-sheets on the last day of the last pre-season tests in Barcelona, then he came to UK to do a bit of pre-season media work with Jenson. Both of them were on top form. We couldn’t be happier with their preparations.’

Jordan, a judge and mentor for the Nissan Sony PlayStation GT Academy, added: ‘I have no doubts that when Lewis gets to Bahrain he will be firing on all cylinders. He will be revved up 100 per cent by Michael Schumacher’s comeback. And I think Lewis is the man they all have to beat.’

The pair allegedly hooked up after Jolie, 34, starred in the Rolling Stones’ video for “Anybody Seen My Baby?” in 1997, while Jagger was still married to Jerry Hall, and Jolie was married to Jonny Lee Miller, according to reports on the tell-all tome titled “Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: The True Story,” by Jenny Paul.

And the affair didn’t end there. According to the book, the rock legend and Jolie allegedly hooked up six year later in a Bangkok hotel, while Jagger was already with current girlfriend, designer L’Wren Scott. While Jolie has dated older men (ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton is 11 years her senior), Jagger is a whopping 32 years older than the actress.

The book also claims that Jolie has been with Ralph Fiennes and Colin Farrell, and was still sleeping with ex-husband Miller when she met husband Brad Pitt on the set of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” in 2004These latest allegations about Jolie come amidst rumors that because of steamy sex scenes between Jolie and Johnny Depp in their upcoming film, “The Tourist,” which is currently filming in Paris, Depp’s wife Vanessa Paradis has asked her husband to drop the film, the Daily Mail is reporting.

Meanwhile The first biological daughter of beautiful A-List parents, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, now sports a very short crop, prompting Life & Style to ask — ‘Why is Angelina turning Shiloh into a boy?’ Their cover story sparked a firestorm around the Internet, angering many with the arguably prejudiced undertones of the article.

Now, here at PopEater, we think Shiloh’s new ‘do looks adorable. In fact, we believe it’s improved on her already super cute adorableness — something we barely thought possible. Regardless and more importantly, we hardly think that taking scissors to her fine, wispy hair means her mom wants her to be a boy.

At her age, short hair seems much more practical. Three-year-olds play with sticky things. And they get goo and dirt on their heads. And they don’t really like it when you yank on their scalp to get the tangles out with a brush. (At least, we didn’t as toddlers. And still don’t as adults.) It follows that having less hair means less tangles and less hassle for mommy, daddy and Shiloh.

The argument rages on, however. And GLAAD responded to the Life & Style’s potentially harmful debate over the youngster’s hair style. “Life & Style is way off the mark with this outrageous coverage… Perpetuating gender stereotypes and targeting children for ridicule about the way they dress is unacceptable,” a spokesperson for the organization said.

One stylist, who is quoted in the article, even fought back at the way she claims the magazine manipulated her words. “Shiloh is pushing the boundaries of a tomboy look and crossing over to cross-dresser territory,” Alana Kelena is quoted as saying.

“I am in tears right now because this just makes me sick. In the past, L&S have often used me for style quotes, and they always give me final approval, so I trusted them for this piece, mistakenly. The actual quote began with ‘Some might think …’ but they conveniently took that out to make it seem the thought was my own, and did not contact me for that final approval,” Kelena wrote to Jezebel. However, a Life & Style insists Kelena wasn’t misquoted.

“In response to the question, “Do you think she looks too boyish for a 3 year old girl?” Alana Kelen answered, “I definitely think that Shiloh is pushing the boundaries of a tomboy look and crossing over to cross-dresser territory. The neckties just put it a bit over the edge, mostly because boys themselves rarely sport ties,” an email to PopEater from the magazine said.

Regardless, Shiloh has short hair — who cares. When we were young, our hair was so short that our dad took us into the men’s restroom and figured no one would notice. They didn’t. And uh oh, she dresses like a boy? In fifth grade, our every day attire consisted of our school’s basketball sweats. Seriously, every day during basketball season.

The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter. Let the kid have an easy and practical cut. (That is, we’ll repeat, so freaking cute.) Let her dress how she wants to dress. Angelina and Brad are not trying to turn her into a boy. They’re probably just parents who think short hair is easy and who allow her to dress herself. End of story.

Rihanna has snapped up hit making producer Sean Garrett (Beyonce, Pussycat Dolls) for a follow up to 2009s “Rated R”.”It’s just so infectious. It’s about getting past any drama and just being happy to be alive,” Garrett tells Rap-Up of a song slated to appear on Rihanna’s new album. “It’s an encouraging record. It feels great, and it’s got great tempo. I made sure that it was bulletproof.

While it is unclear when the album, or its first single, will be released, Garrett is happy to see the Rihanna he loved back in the studio.”To be honest, I wasn’t really that excited about hearing her in a dark zone,” he said. “I love Rihanna for being that girl. She’s like the lil’ fantasy chick — nice brown skin, beautiful woman with a Caribbean swagger that’s ridiculous.”David Guetta (”When Love Takes Over,” “Sexy Chick”) has also been linked to the forthcoming album.

Meanwhile It’s hard to believe Rihanna was planning a quiet night to celebrate her 22nd birthday. But baseball star Matt Kemp, her rumoured new boyfriend, still caught her out with a raucous surprise party. He even arranged for a 4ft tall stripper, Bridget The Midget, to give Rihanna a lapdance, as she sat laughing in a chair. A source told a U.S. magazine: ‘It was a little female person. She thought it was funny.’ And even though she wasn’t expecting the bash, Rihanna soon got into the party spirit.

At one point Rihanna and a female guest were grinding away on the dance floor, making the most of the time off. Luckily Rihanna was appropriately dressed for the occasion in a skintight nude dress with cut out panels and sparkly tiara. And with the addition of a plastic tiara she was ready to party.

Kemp spent more than a month organising the event. Witnesses said guests sang Happy Birthday to the R&B star and Kemp presented her with a birthday cake decorated with copies of her tattoos. The Rude Boy singer was also presented with a pile of presents at the party, in Phoenix, Arizona. After her bash, Rihanna headed to Germany to do promotional activities for her new album.

For the first time in its history, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has banned a nominee from attending the Oscars. The group said Tuesday that Nicolas Chartier, a producer on best picture candidate “The Hurt Locker,” will not be allowed into the Kodak Theatre for Sunday’s ceremony. Chartier’s tickets have been revoked, and he will not be granted entry as a guest of any other attendee, an academy spokeswoman told The Times.

The decision comes on the heels of Chartier sending an e-mail message to a group of colleagues that included academy members asking them to choose the Summit Entertainment-distributed “The Hurt Locker” for best picture and “not the $500-million film” — a clear reference to “Avatar.”The message was deemed in violation of the academy’s ban against creating a negative impression of a rival nominee. Chartier subsequently apologized for his actions.

“Chartier had recently disseminated an e-mail to certain academy voters and other film industry figures in which he solicited votes for his own picture and disparaged one of the other contending films,” the academy said in a statement. “The executive committee of the academy’s Producers Branch, at a special session late Monday, ruled that the ethical lapse merited the revocation of Chartier’s invitation to the awards.”Should the film win best picture, Chartier would be given his Oscar at a later date.

The academy stopped short of the more draconian penalty of disallowing the film from competing for Oscars. Still, the move was unprecedented. While studios have previously had their overall allotment of tickets reduced because of campaign violations, no individual nominee had previously been forbidden from attending.The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences declared this ban yesterday. They informed that Chartier was censured by the executive committee of its producers’ branch during a special session on Monday for “an ethical lapse”.

Academy rules prohibit “casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film”. For his pains, Chartier will be barred from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles this weekend, although he will receive a statuette later if The Hurt Locker takes the gong.The move is being seen as a high-profile effort to police overzealous awards campaigning, though critics have suggested that the practice is widespread and Chartier’s punishment unfair.

Meanwhile, members of The Hurt Locker’s creative team have reportedly moved to distance themselves from Chartier. Screenwriter Mark Boal, also one of the project’s three other named producers, told the Daily Beast that the Frenchman was something of a “reactive” personality prone to fits of anger.

“It was a hard movie to get made,” Boal said. “It was a challenging shoot, and it’s the nature of those things that tempers can flare and strong disagreements can arise. And Nic was eventually asked not to come back to the set.” He added: “Everyone understands that Nic bears the responsibility for his mistake 100% on his own shoulders.”

Critics of the Academy’s decision include Scott Feinberg of industry blog And The Winner Is, who tweeted: “The banning of THE HURT LOCKER producer from the Oscars is bullshit. If you’re gonna ban him, you should ban 20 others too. RT if you agree.” The Hurt Locker is currently tied with Avatar on nine Oscar nominations. Other films vying for the best picture prize include Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man and the Oprah Winfrey-backed Precious.

If you had to wear a big quirky hat, an explosion of colorful make-up and be forced to attend a tea party with a motley crew of characters for eternity, you would be mad, too. But Johnny Depp is not about to pass up his seventh collaboration with famed director Tim Burton, with whom he first worked on “Edward Scissorhands.”

Depp is currently driving everyone mad with his take on the Mad Hatter on Burton’s latest and gorgeously-rendered CGI epic, “Alice in Wonderland,” which opens locally on March 4.Burton’s take on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is unlike any adaptation you’ve seen before, as he is reportedly unimpressed with all the other versions of “Alice” that he’s seen, which he describes as mostly “a series of absurdist tales with one weird character after another and not too much of a context.”

Burton then planned to give each character more foundation; and the story has more ground to work off all the weird stuff. “I mean, they’re obviously all mad,” he tells Rottentomatoes, “but we tried to give each of their a particular madness and a bit more depth.”That said, the Mad Hatter character is said to be a true Burton/Depp creation. When Burton, Depp and costume designer Colleen Atwood each made separate sketches of what they thought the Mad Hatter should look like, the all they came up with something quite similar.

“I just knew what he looked like for some reason,” Depp says. “When I went into the makeup trailer, the process just sort of happened. It’s very rare that everything works so quickly. The only time I’d ever had that happen on that level was with Captain Jack (of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy).

One special feature of the Mad Hatter character is that, like a mood ring, his suits would change color according to his mood. The character, therefore, had different suits in different colors made with layers of other colors, enhanced post-prod by CGI for the end product.

“It was a real challenge to find something different, to define the Mad Hatter in terms of cinema,” Depp says. “One of the things Tim and I talked about early on, is the idea that he would be so pure, in the sense that you see, instantly, what he’s feeling—so much so that his clothes, his skin, his hair, everything, reflects his emotion. So when he’s beaming, you get this kind of bright effect and everything comes to life, like a flower blooming, very, very quickly. His emotions are very close to the surface.”

Depp’s uniqueness in portraying the character and his ability to transform himself awed the movie’s producer, Richard Zanuck. “There’s no one who can do these crazy, offbeat, eccentric characters like Johnny can. He has a way of being funny and crazy, yet poignant. He’s one of the world’s great actors; he takes bigger chances than any other male star.”

Depp also gave the Hatter several distinct personalities and accents. “It seemed to me also that because he would be so hyper-sensitive, he would need to travel into another state, another personality, to be able to survive, which kicks in when he is threatened or when he’s in danger. I thought it would be like experiencing a kinder form of personality disorder in a way.”

But clearly, this character would be a mad new achievement in the Depp and Burton’s tandem, which has also brought the most memorable characters to cinema in the last two decades from the otherworldly Edward Scissorhands, the farcical Ichabod Crane (“Sleepy Hollow”) and the deliciously loony Willy Wonka (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”).“It’s amazing having worked with Tim coming up on 20 years,” Depp says. “I’ve had the opportunity to see him grow. He’s so unique and so special and such a brilliant filmmaker. Anything Tim wants me to do is a real honor.”

That may be Depp’s sentiment now, but at one point, this dynamic film duo admitted even they had their share of worst ideas. At some point in “Sleepy Hollow,” Burton had strapped his genius star to a metal contraption that would be pulled around the soundstage by giant horses for an entire day. It wasn’t enough that his star was made to suffer the shoot on a Christmas Eve, Burton also unapologetically described that Depp had been pulled around the set by a couple of flatulating horses. What a mad, excellent pair they make.

Martin Scorsese’s thriller is at No 1 for the second week running, with A Prophet and Cop Out also performing well. Shutter Island will crack that old box office chestnut, the $100m (£66.5m) milestone, within a week or two following a tasty No 1 hold that saw Martin Scorsese’s haunting mystery add an estimated $22.2m in its second weekend. The film recently premiered at the Berlin international film festival and now stands at $75.1m. It shouldn’t have too much trouble easing past the century, which even in an age of blue-blooded commercial hits such as Avatar still means something to lower-budget releases.

The 1950s-set movie should also ease past Scorsese’s biggest box office hit to date, The Departed, which retired on $133.3m in early 2007. Speaking of Avatar, James Cameron’s die-hard, hard-to-die space opera has become the first movie to cross $700m as it grossed a further $14m in its 11th weekend on release for $706.9m. It held strong in fourth place, and that $14m haul was only 14% less than last weekend’s result.

Warner Bros’ syrupy Valentine’s Day oozed past $100m in its third weekend and has grossed nearly $200m globally. The mind boggles. Congratulations are due to Jacques Audiard’s French crime saga A Prophet, which not only smothered the French Cesar awards ceremony over the weekend with 10 wins – including best picture, director and star (Tahar Rahim) – but also pulled off a terrific launch through Sony Pictures Classics, pulling in $170,000 from nine cinemas. An excellent result and a nice little tee-up before the Oscars next weekend, when A Prophet goes head-to-head with The White Ribbon for the foreign language Academy award. There are three other nominees but with all respect to these noble entries, this is a two-horse race.

It would be remiss not to give a shout out to the Warner Bros’ action comedy Cop Out, with Bruce Willis, which opened second on $18.6m, and Overtures Films’ George A Romero remake The Crazies, which arrived in third on $16.5m. These rankings flatter to deceive at a time when older movies are slowing down and there was no really strong competition from the mid ranks. Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will shake things up next week.

In right behind “Shutter Island” is the Kevin Smith-directed “Cop Out”, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as veteran detectives trying to retrieve a stolen baseball card from a memorabilia-obsessed gangster? It came in at #2 with $18.6 million, making it the top new release of the weekend.

In at #3 was the 1970s remake, “The Crazies”, which took in $16.5 million. It’s about a small town hit with an epidemic of insanity. “Avatar” continued to draw in viewers, as it comes in at #4 this weekend with another $14 million in the books. It’s now at $706.9 million domestically and $2.5 billion worldwide.

Closing out the top 5 is “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, taking in another $9.8 million in its third weekend. That wraps things up this weekend. Next weekend, look out for release of new 2010 “Alice n Wonderland” starring Johnny Depp, and the action/crime flick “Brooklyn’s Finest” starring Don Cheadle, Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke.