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Dory tops July 4th box office, Willie Nelsons Independence Day picnic tradition continues, and Superman icon passes away

Joshua Roberts—Reuters
Singer Willie Nelson performs during a concert honoring him as the recipient of the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in Washington

Box Office: ‘Finding Dory’ Dominates ‘Tarzan,’ Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ Bombs”Finding Dory” dominated the Independence Day box office, overcoming a trio of new releases to provide the weekend’s biggest fireworks. The Pixar release swam to the top of the charts for the third consecutive weekend, picking up $41.9 million to bring its domestic total to $372.2 million. The follow-up to “Finding Nemo” should end the four-day holiday with another $50.5 million in receipts. It is on pace to surpass “Toy Story 3” and its $415 million haul as the highest-grossing Pixar film in history on a domestic basis.It wouldn’t be the 4th of July without Willie Nelson’s moveable ‘picnic’It is an on again, occasionally off again American tradition from the 1970s that has filled football stadiums and sun-baked Texas ranches, with one constant – country music legend Willie Nelson celebrating Independence Day with a music-packed picnic. Nelson’s first blowout picnic in 1973 was a combination of Woodstock hippy love and cowboy hoedown of more than 40,000 people in Dripping Springs outside of Austin that raised the ire of police, who received complaints about noise, nudity and dazed people wandering around.Comedienne Rebel Wilson makes London stage debut in ‘Guys and Dolls’aving made audiences laugh in movies such as “Bridesmaids” and “Pitch Perfect,” Australian comedienne Rebel Wilson now sets her sights on the London stage, making her West End debut in musical “Guys and Dolls.” The 36-year old plays club singer Miss Adelaide in an eight-week run in the latest revival of the famed 1950s Broadway show.’Deer Hunter’ director Michael Cimino dies aged 77Michael Cimino, whose roller-coaster career as a Hollywood film director included Oscar-winner “The Deer Hunter” and legendary box office flop “Heaven’s Gate,” has died. He was 77. The success of “The Deer Hunter,” a 1978 film about the Vietnam War starring Robert De Niro, made Cimino one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. The film won five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.Noel Neill, Lois Lane in ‘Superman’ TV series, dies at 95Actress Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane, the intrepid reporter on the “Adventures of Superman” television series who never quite figured out her Daily Planet colleague Clark Kent was The Man of Steel, has died at the age of 95, a friend said on Monday. Neill died on Sunday at her home in Tucson, Arizona, after a long illness, Jim Nolt, the owner of “The Adventures Continue” website dedicated to the 1950s TV show, said in a statement.