L.A. Times - Entertainment News

A record year for Hollywood
Brittany Murphy and the USO: an exclusive appreciation
Bob Dylan joins long list of Jewish musicians performing Christmas music
Head over heels for 'NCIS'
'Avatar' posts biggest-ever non-summer Monday, Tuesday
Paramount nixes plan to expand 'The Lovely Bones' for Christmas
Aniston, Roberts, Rourke to present at Golden Globes
For director Lee Daniels, hearing trash talk about 'Precious' was eye-opening
Parents in 'balloon boy' hoax get jail time
Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins call it quits after 23 years

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 12:00 AM PST

'The Blind Side' is leading the box office to a record finish for 2009, but lost in that glow are the major flops and other bumps along the way.

'The Blind Side' is leading the box office to a record finish for 2009, but lost in that glow are the major flops and other bumps along the way.

Brittany Murphy and the USO: an exclusive appreciation

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 07:56 AM PST

Brittany made an impression by stopping to say hi and shake the hand of every service member she encountered.

Bob Dylan joins long list of Jewish musicians performing Christmas music

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 12:00 AM PST

It's a wonder of the season: the long list of Jewish writers and singers helping develop music for the holiday.

Bob Dylan's decision to put out a Christmas album this year caught a lot of people by surprise. It wasn't just that the preeminent songwriter of the rock era had chosen to record secular seasonal staples such as "Winter Wonderland" and "Here Comes Santa Claus" for his “Christmas in the Heart” collection .

Head over heels for 'NCIS'

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 12:00 AM PST

This fan may have come in late to the CBS crime procedural, but now she's here to stay.

This fan may have come in late to the CBS crime procedural, but now she's here to stay.

'Avatar' posts biggest-ever non-summer Monday, Tuesday

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 01:23 PM PST

Any worries about "Avatar" after it got off to less than a phenomenal start this past weekend have been erased.

Paramount nixes plan to expand 'The Lovely Bones' for Christmas

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 03:36 PM PST

Instead, the studio is holding its marketing and distribution firepower for Jan. 15.

Aniston, Roberts, Rourke to present at Golden Globes

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 01:02 PM PST

The Globes recruit more A-listers for their star-studded ceremony.

For director Lee Daniels, hearing trash talk about 'Precious' was eye-opening

Posted: 23 Dec 2009 09:52 AM PST

"When you tell the truth, it causes people to talk," he says.

Parents in 'balloon boy' hoax get jail time

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 12:00 AM PST

Richard Heene is ordered to serve 30 days in jail and 60 days in a work-release program. His wife, Mayumi, gets 20 days in jail. At a later date, a call for $47,000 in restitution will be addressed.

In a warning to other would-be reality television stars, a judge Wednesday sentenced the Colorado parents who claimed their 6-year-old son floated away in a balloon to spend time in jail for staging the hoax.