David Hyde Pierce starts Alzheimer’s campaign

Washington – David Hyde Pierce is helping start a campaign against Alzheimer’s disease, which he saw two family members suffer from.

“I think the hardest thing in both cases, with my grandfather and with my dad, were the moments when they understood what was happening to them,” Pierce said on ABC’s “This Week” program in a segment that aired Sunday. “It’s a disease that takes your brain apart, a piece at a time. And it doesn’t stop till it kills you.”

The longtime “Frasier” co-star said the Alzheimer’s Association’s Champions campaign aims to recruit one American for every person with Alzheimer’s. A Web site lets people sign up for events, make donations and buy T-shirts. More than 5 million people in the U.S. live with the disease, according to the association.

Half-brotherly love reunites Lennons

New York – Half brothers Julian and Sean Lennon have begun speaking to each other again.

Their reconciliation follows Julian’s eight-year feud with Sean and Sean’s mother, Yoko Ono, the widow of the men’s father, Beatle John Lennon, the New York Post reported in Sunday’s editions.

The rift stemmed from comments Julian made about Yoko Ono, he told the Post. Julian’s mother is John’s first wife, Cynthia.

“I thought it time to make big changes in my own life,” Julian, 44, told the Post in what the paper said was his first interview since 1999. “Part of that has been to get Sean back into my life, because I love him so much.”

After contacting Sean’s tour manager this year, Julian surprised his half brother backstage after a show in Prague. “We just hugged and held each other,” Julian recalled.

Julian joined Sean, 31, on the tour bus, sleeping on the floor and traveling through Croatia and Slovenia, he said.

‘Evan Almighty’ faces challenge to stay afloat

Los Angeles – Steve Carell proved not nearly as all-powerful as Jim Carrey.

“Evan Almighty,” with Carell taking over for Carrey in a follow-up to the comedy smash “Bruce Almighty,” debuted a solid No. 1 with $32.1 million, though that was less than half the $68 million opening of its predecessor, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Released by Universal, “Evan Almighty” has Carell as a new congressman instructed by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark for a coming flood.

Carrey’s “Bruce Almighty” was an adult comedy, while the PG-rated “Evan Almighty” was aimed at a family crowd, which could give it longer shelf life, said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal.

“Family films have an incredible ability to just play and play,” Rocco said. “I’m very optimistic about it playing out over the course of the summer.”

The Stephen King adaptation “1408,” a Weinstein Co. horror tale with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson in the story of a man trapped in a hotel room with malevolent spirits, debuted in second place with $20.175 million.

Paramount Vantage’s “A Mighty Heart,” starring Angelina Jolie as the wife of kidnapped and slain journalist Daniel Pearl, had a so-so debut, coming in at No. 10 with $4 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC:

1. “Evan Almighty,” $32.1 million.

2. “1408,” $20.175 million.

3. “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” $20.15 million.

4. “Ocean’s Thirteen,” $11.3 million.

5. “Knocked Up,” $10.6 million.

6. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” $7.2 million.

7. “Surf’s Up,” $6.7 million.

8. “Shrek the Third,” $5.8 million.

9. “Nancy Drew,” $4.5 million.

10. “A Mighty Heart,” $4 million.