Entertainment News Summary

Lawyers for Brad Pitt on Thursday threatened legal action against anyone publishing recent photographs they say were taken by paparazzi of the actor and his newly enlarged family at their French estate. Pictures of Pitt and his family in France were "surreptitiously" snapped using a powerful telephoto lens and sold to an unidentified buyer, the Los Angeles lawyers said in a letter published by the U.S. Web site The Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com).

Rapper 50 Cent says Taco Bell stole his endorsement

U.S. rapper and hip-hop mogul 50 Cent sued Taco Bell on Wednesday, saying the restaurant chain made him the star of its hip-hop themed ad campaign without his permission and without paying him a fee. 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, accuses the Mexican-style fast food chain of "diluting the value of his good name" and employing a guerrilla advertising campaign to fool consumers into thinking he had endorsed the chain, said the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court.

"Dark Knight" beats total of previous Batman film

After just six days of release in North America, the new Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" has grossed more domestically than its predecessor did in its entire run, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Wednesday. The Time Warner Inc <TWX.N>-owned studio projected the film would sell about $17 million worth of tickets on Wednesday, taking its U.S.-Canadian total to about $221 million. It tallied $158.4 million of that sum during its first three days, setting a new opening-weekend record.

Ethan Hawke's wife gives birth to daughter

Actor Ethan Hawke's wife has given birth a daughter the couple named Clementine, his publicist said on Wednesday. The girl is Hawke's first child with Ryan Shawhughes, who was his nanny when he and actress Uma Thurman were married. Hawke and Shawhughes were wed last month.

Ferrell, Reilly ad-lib way through "Step Brothers"

The script never got in the way of a good fight as comic actors Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly improvised their way through family warfare in the movie "Step Brothers," which opens on Friday. In making the film, director Adam McKay served as ringmaster for ad-libbed scenes of sibling rivalry between Ferrell and Reilly, who play immature adults each living with a parent and forced to coexist when one's mother and the other's father get married.

Superhero fans, Hollywood execs flock to Comic-Con

Like wannabe Dark Knights answering the call of the "bat signal," throngs of grown men wearing tights and capes converge this week to revel in all manner of superhero lore and merchandising at the 39th annual Comic-Con Convention. More than 125,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event, which opens Thursday, to indulge in a veritable feast of the latest in comic-related books, movies, toys, games and memorabilia.