latimes.com - Entertainment news

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?

Everyone knows that Taylor Swift can't sing. The teen star might hold the zeitgeist in her pink satin clutch, but she's regularly criticized for her live vocal performances, which tend toward wild notes and shortness of breath. Her turns onstage at the recent Country Music Assn. Awards, where she became the youngest-ever Entertainer of the Year, had critics pulling out descriptions like "shaky," "a train wreck" and (memorably, from Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker) "wobbly as a newborn colt."

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.

'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.

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.

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 designed to uplift Asian you

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

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?

In the middle of everything there is a pool. It's flanked by beach chairs under umbrellas, picture-perfect palm trees, actresses, publicists, reporters and other hangers-on. Four good-looking young guys dressed in Hollywood-wear -- skinny jeans, jackets with the collars up and, on one, a loose, pulled-back beanie -- are posing for photographers.

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.

'Funny People'

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

Also: 'Angels & Demons,' 'Four Christmases,' 'Gomorrah' and more

Funny People

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.

So many people are killed -- so graphically -- in some of his books that it's almost unimaginable. In his latest novel, it's after the end of the world, and besides wandering and waiting, almost nothing happens. He's renowned for his dialogue, but tends to ignore plot and doesn't use quotation marks.

With Kathryn Morris of 'Cold Case'

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

Even after all these years, she's not growing tired of the role.

Before signing on to star as the lead detective in CBS' missing-persons drama "Cold Case," Kathryn Morris was courted by Steven Spielberg and Rod Lurie. She played every male's fantasy in HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man" and in John Woo's "Paycheck." Now, seven years into playing "Cold Case's" Lilly Rush, Morris says she's more content than ever.