• Jumper only managed to clear $38.1 million at the box office over the five day weekend, which may be enough for sequel talks, but doesn’t seem like such a victory against the news that Step Up 2 made $28 million over the same frame. Meanwhile, The Band’s Visit, which is not a new release, managed the highest per-screen average of any film over the holiday weekend with $12,295 at each of its 13 locations.
• With Blu-Ray declaring “Mission Accomplished!” in the costly, confusing and totally pointless HD DVD format war, technology companies are expected to turn their focus towards creating consoles to handle digital downloads.
• Oscar ballots were due yesterday. Also, did you know we’re having a party?

We’re joining forces with our friends at The Reeler to throw an Oscar viewing party, this Sunday in New York City. If you’re in town, do come out and enjoy free fondue, a cash bar, special prizes (including a set of Eleni’s Oscar cookies, pictured above, to the smartest prognosticator in the room), and much drunken yelling at the screen. All pertinent details can be found here. See you there!

New York Magazine’s Grub Street blog points to a glorified press release wire story about the menu created by James Sakatos at the Carlyle Cafe for the Academy’s official New York Oscar viewing party, with one course devoted to each of the five Best Picture nominees. Sakatos says he watched all five films in a weekend and took copious notes before putting the menu together, but he’s apparently not much of a deep reader, because each entree is a thuddingly literal interpretation of the film’s themes––and at least one isn’t even accurate.

For instance: There Will Be Blood is represented by Sakatos’ favorite dish of the five, a squid ink risotto with mushrooms, cuttlefish and blood orange foam. That sounds awesome, but the last thing I think of when I think of Daniel Plainview is a delicate seafood risotto. Check out Sakatos’ description of why this is more appropriate than, say, cold steak and a milkshake: “The black ink brings to mind the film’s oil gushers, with blood orange foam to remind diners of the struggle and, of course, the title.” OF COURSE. How silly of me.

Way, way, way worse, is Sakatos’ justification of how Dover sole is the embodiment of Michael Clayton: …Read more

• Vanity Fair has canceled their annual post-Oscars party, as a show of solidarity for the striking writers, and also presumably because there may not be a “real” Oscars to throw a party after.
• That said: the WGA is planning a “bicoastal powwow” for Saturday in order to present a tentative contract plan to their members, and if all goes well, says Dave McNary, “the boards could quickly start the ratification process — and possibly issue a back-to-work order that could take effect as early as Monday.”
• Welcome to the seventh circle of hell: an awards show honoring publicists, hosted by Billy Bush. It would almost be irresponsible to craft a joke around the following: “‘This is an event by publicists, for publicists, honoring publicists yet nobody knows about it because it’s not publicized,’ host Billy Bush joked in his opening remarks at the luncheon, to the delight of the flack-filled room.”

• Today in Pre-Strike Deals: Ron Howard and Tom Hanks are coming back for Da Vinci 2: Big Trouble in Vatican City; Robert DeNiro will play a mob hitman forced to come out of retirement in Michael Mann’s Frankie Machine; Woody Harrelson will star in Oliver Stone’s latest rumination on Vietnam, Pinkville; and Jim Caviezel (who last popped up as a bit player in the affair between Andy Samberg and the president of Iran) will star in a remake of the 1978 Australian film, The Long Weekend.
• After Dark Films and Lionsgate have teamed up to acquire Mulberry Street, a low-budget horror film about rats who bite New York City dwellers and turn them into rodent zombies. When the film premiered at Tribeca, Eric Kohn at The Reeler said it was “the best attempt to tackle a New York state of grime since Abel Ferrara turned NYU students into vampires in The Addiction.” After Dark will put Mulberry Street on 300 screens November 9th, as part of their aptly-named After Dark Horrorfest; Lionsgate will handle DVD distribution.
• With Morton’s closing, Vanity Fair will hold their Oscar party at a new location for the first time in 14 years. Of the party’s new home, VF puppetmaster Graydon Carter says, “Craft is the ideal place for the party: great food — which we will not be serving family-style, by the way — great location with a dramatic entrance and a big, sweeping space.”