The Grey tops the US box office

Liam Neeson's rock-hard thriller The Grey has slogged its way to the top of the US box office, after an opening weekend of $20 million knocked Underworld: Awakening off its perch.The vampires and werewolves saga slipped to second with a $12.5 million weekend, narrowly edging out Katherine Heigl's latest misfire, One For The Money.Red Tails slipped several places to fourth with $10.4 million, while Sam Worthington's Man On A Ledge opened disappointingly with just $8.25 million in the coffers.The Oscar-nominated Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close continued to underwhelm at the box office, adding just over $7 million to its overall haul. The Academy Award announcement also seemed to make a negligible influence on The Descendants which took around $6.5 million.Mark Wahlberg's Contraband was in eigth spot on $6.5 million, with another action thriller propping up the table in the shape of Haywire, on $4 million. Sandwiched between those two is the 3D refit of Beauty And The Beast, which took £5.3 million.Next week sees Daniel Radcliffe arrive in US screens with The Woman In Black. Can he scare some life into an otherwise turgid box office? We'll have to wait and see...

Joaquin Martinez dies at 81

Actor Joaquin Martinez, best appreciated for your role of offerings His Shirt Red-colored-colored in Sydney Pollack's Robert Redford starrer "Jeremiah Manley" as well as the title role in Robert Aldrich's "Ulzana's Raid" (1972), starring Burt Lancaster, died on Jan. 3 at his home in Everdingen, Holland, carrying out a brief have trouble with pancreatic cancer. He was 81. Born in Cozumel, Mexico, Martinez examined Method acting with Seki Sano and located prominence in Carlos Velo's Mexican film "Pedro Paramo," which opened up at Cannes in 1967. Soon after he gone after La and labored becoming an actor in film, on television and onstage more than 3 decades. Offered stereotypical roles, like many Latino stars, throughout his career in Hollywood, Martinez activly works to redefine the various, sometimes getting him into conflict with producers and company company directors. His TV work including guest roles in many Western series, including "The Top Chapparal," "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke" guest gigs on "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Ironside," "Quincy," "L.A. Law," "Empire" and "Northern Exposure" and roles in telepics and miniseries incliuding "Ishi: All the His Tribe," "Centennial," "How a West Was Won" and "Gems for Ibarra." Film credits Bille August's 1993 "Home from the Spirits," and "Revenge" (1990), starring Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn. In 2001, Lee Tamahori cast Martinez inside the Jason Bourne thriller "Die A Later DateInch based on his longtime recognition of Martinez's performance in "Ulzana's Raid." Onstage Joaquin came out with Christopher Reeve and Christine Lahti in Tennessee Williams' "Summer season and Smoke" within the Ahmanson in 1988. He appeared to become a geniune cast part of the musical drama "Zoot Suit." Martinez is managed to get by his wife, Marja Valkestijn boy Christopher, a publicist a daughter, Jennifer stepson Sjoerd and former wife Mary Preston. Donations may be created in the memory for the SAG Children's Fund for Children's Literacy. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

WGA Nominations 2012: 'Win Win,' 'Bridesmaids' and Steve Zaillian Among Nominees

It seems like no less than lots of people haven't overlooked 'Win Win.' The well-examined, honours-season afterthought received a sizable boost on Thursday within the Authors Guild of America when Tom McCarthy was among the five nominees for top Original Script. The WGA also selected Diablo Cody (for 'Young Adult'), Will Reiser (for '50/50'), Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (for 'Bridesmaids') and Woodsy Allen (for 'Midnight in Paris') as original script nominees. Round the modified side, the scripts for 'The Descendants,' 'The Help,' 'Hugo' as well as the Steve Zaillian twosome, 'Moneyball' and 'The Girl While using Dragon Tattoo,' were designated as honorees. Clearly, don't go putting lower a pleasant earnings on these films within your Oscar conjecture pools at this time around the WGA considered scripts for 'The Artist,' 'Beginners,' 'Drive,' 'Margin Call,' 'Shame,' 'Melancholia,' 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,' 'The Iron Lady,' 'The Skin Home Is,A 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' and 'My Week With Marilyn' ineligible. So! What can the WGA nominations mean for your Academy awards? That 'Bridesmaids' is virtually locked to, no less than, a Best Original Script nomination it's doubtful the trio of Will Reiser, Diablo Cody and Tom McCarthy will all get requested for the Kodak Theater in February with 'The Artist' and 'Beginners' residual which 'War Horse' is most likely not the Oscar favorite you assume. The Richard Curtis and Lee Hall adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel was snubbed despite getting qualification for just about any WGA nomination. [via GoldDerby.com] [Photo: Fox Searchlight] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook