L.A. Times - Entertainment News

Child's play

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Oh, to be young and famous. It's a common fantasy. But are the kids' networks going overboard with it in shows?

Oh, to be young and famous. It's a common fantasy. But are the kids' networks going overboard with it in shows?

'New Moon' poised for biggest box office day ever

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:55:19 -0800

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is poised to break its second box office record in a single day.

In search of the perfect diva

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A powerhouse voice, a cover-girl face, a centerfold body, a clever and alluring personality -- can a singer ever hope to be the 'total package' for a pop-culture world that seems to demand it?

A powerhouse voice, a cover-girl face, a centerfold body, a clever and alluring personality -- can a singer ever hope to be the 'total package' for a pop-culture world that seems to demand it?

Infiltrating 'Dancing With the Stars'

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

On a dare, an entertainment reporter steps into the shoes (and sultry zebra dress) of a 'Dancing With the Stars' contestant. In a grueling test of stamina and nerves, she discovers her inner shimmy.

On a dare, an entertainment reporter steps into the shoes (and sultry zebra dress) of a 'Dancing With the Stars' contestant. In a grueling test of stamina and nerves, she discovers her inner shimmy.

VIDEO: Lady Gaga before she was famous

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:10:54 -0800

Before the uber-drama makeup, costumes and flashy dance routines.

'Pippa Lee' autobiographical? Not so, says its writer-director

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Though audiences might be tempted to think otherwise, it's 'a work of imagination,' says Rebecca Miller, who also wrote the book it's based on.

In "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee," opening Friday, the title character finds herself at a crossroads, bristling at the rather staid, low-impact life she has fashioned for herself as the wife of a prominent publisher after her more trauma- and drama-filled younger years. The film, written and directed by Rebecca Miller, cycles back and forth between Pippa's older and younger selves (played by Robin Wright and Blake Lively, respectively), creating an intimately detailed portrait of how events from the past form the foundations of who one becomes.

Q & A with 'Princess and the Frog' animators

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Ron Clements and John Musker talk about their fairy tale 'valentine' to New Orleans.

The Disney animation team of Ron Clements and John Musker wrote and directed the 1989 blockbuster musical fairy tale "The Little Mermaid," and followed that up with 1992's "Aladdin" and 1997's "Hercules." Seven years after their last Disney film, 2002's "Treasure Planet," the two are back with the new musical fairy tale, "The Princess and the Frog," set in New Orleans in the 1920s and featuring the studio's first animated African American heroine. Randy Newman supplies the lovely ballads and swinging ragtime jazz score.

John Woo revisits Chinese roots with 'Red Cliff'

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

It's been 16 years since the influential filmmaker turned his vision to China. The historical epic combines Woo's large-scale production skills with an inspirational story.

"I've always wanted to be a global filmmaker," John Woo said in an interview at his Manhattan hotel last month.

Cormac McCarthy's rugged road to respectability

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The writer had been dismissed as an eccentric with 'horrible' style and a hacky, regional view. Now, the much-anticipated film 'The Road,' based on his Pulitzer-winning novel, opens Wednesday.

The writer had been dismissed as an eccentric with 'horrible' style and a hacky, regional view. Now, the much-anticipated film 'The Road,' based on his Pulitzer-winning novel, opens Wednesday.

Opinions pour from expanded 'Mondovino'

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Advocacy journalist Jonathan Nossiter probes further into globalization's effect on winemaking.

At once a punch-drunk love letter to the expressive possibilities of wine and a boozy rant against clubby wine-world politics, Jonathan Nossiter's "Mondovino" is also among the most vigorous cinematic explorations of globalization and its discontents.