The relaunch of “Spider Man” — you can’t say it’s a flop. “The Amazing Spider Man” has put $200 million into the bank domestically in 13 days. That’s not chopped liver. But it’s $40 million off the pace of “Spider Man 3” from 2007, directed by Sam Raimi. So you decide, dear reader. “Amazing” also has had much higher ticket prices thanks to IMAX and 3D pricing. Fewer people have seen it. Number 1 this week was “Ice Age: Continental Drift.” But that will be a short lived run at number 1. Come Friday, “The Dark Knight Rises” will break records, swamp the box office, and turn over everything–especially since David Letterman let the ending slip out. Was that really an error? Or was it planned? Letterman isn’t stupid or senile. I wonder if the plan was to leak it that Batman takes a powder. Knowing that will make people want to see the movie even more. Expect a blockbuster here.

Meanwhile, three indie films doing great– Woody Allen’s “To Rome with Love,” Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” and John Madden’s “Exotic Marigold Hotel.” There’s still a counter programming audience who want to see intelligent films without comic book characters. “The Intouchables” is doing very well, too. See, there are reasons to go on after all…

Celeste Holm was still attending events a month ago–at 95 she and husband Frank Basile came to the Tony Awards. Celeste was in a wheelchair, but she was happy to get out of the house be with her Broadway people. A theater star for her whole career, Celeste also had a big film resume–she won an Oscar for “Gentleman’s Agreement” with Gregory Peck. She was also very well known and popular as the elegant, beautiful, wisecracking Karen Richards, wife of producer Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) in “All About Eve.”

For years she was married to another popular theater, Wesley Addy, who was also a star of the New York soap operas. They were married from 1961 to 1996, when Addy died. He was her fourth husband. In 1994, Holm married opera singer Frank Basile, 45 years her junior. Their marriage caused a permanent rift with her family.

There were a lot of questions about Basile’s motivations. The family sued him, and cut Holm off from her own financial resources. Most people thought Basile must be a golddigger. But an article in the New York Times last year really exonerated him from all wild speculation, and sort painted a picture of a family that wasn’t so interested in taking care of an elderly person.

At least in person, Basile always seemed to be taking excellent care of Holm. She loved being out and about, and not forgotten. I ran into them in the Palm Court of the Plaza Hotel having afternoon tea a few months ago, and Celeste was cogent, alert, and thrilled to meet Aretha Franklin, who was at the next table.

Ninety five–it’s a good life. And she had a great life, that’s for sure, right up to the end. But for her family and for Frank Basile, the end is still  very sad. RIP, Celeste. It was lovely having you in our midst all these years.

Read more about her at www.celesteholm.com You can ever hear her sing!

We’re at the mid point of the and the mid point of the summer. And we have no Oscar nominees. Well, maybe one. I would say that Omar Sy, from “The Intouchables,” has an outside shot. And “The Intouchables,” a French film, could be a Best Foreign Film nominee if France chooses to submit it. Otherwise, the pickings aren’t slim, they are non existent so far for 2012. Almost all the movies released since January 1st were either cartoon-comic book films or so dreadful that they’re embarrassing to look at.

What about Woody Allen’s “To Rome with Love,” you ask? Maybe Roberto Benigni, who I think had the best storyline and really was wonderful. Penelope Cruz is a very outside possibility. How about “The Exotic Marigold Hotel”? Well, Judi Dench is great in everything she does, and she has high Oscar recognition. But that’s it. No one from “The Avengers,” “Spider Man,” “Dark Knight Rises,” etc will qualify. That’s just not Oscar. Heath Ledger was the exception.

So we wait. Patiently. For the Oscar rush to begin. And then it’s going to be a flood. From Spielberg’s “Lincoln” to Baz Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby,” Tom Hooper’s “Les Miserables,” to Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” “David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” the musical “The Sapphires” (a Golden Globe cinch), and many that we don’t know about yet.

We can pretty much relax until September 7th, when “Gangster Squad” with Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling kicks off the fall season. Two comedies to look forward to, awards or not: “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” which is just terrific, and “Hope Springs.” They, plus “The Bourne Legacy,” will make August at least tolerable.

Beloved Hollywood big studio producer Richard Zanuck has died at age 77 in Hollywood. Zanuck’s long list of hits includes “Jaws,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Cocoon,” “Big Fish,” and most recently, “Dark Shadows.” In recent years he co-produced movies with his third wife, Lili Fini Zanuck. For most of his career, Dick Zanuck partnered with the late great David Brown, and they were a popular and successful team in Hollywood. Zanuck was part of Hollywood’s real dynasty. His famous father, Darryl F. Zanuck, helped start Hollywood. He began producing movies in 1925. The Zanucks leave a long and proud legacy in the film business. Here’s a link to a great piece from two years ago in the L.A. Times. RIP. http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2010/04/13/richard-d-zanuck-a-hollywood-legend-too-busy-to-look-back/