L.A. Times - Entertainment News

After seven months, Conan says farewell
Commentary: Jay Leno triumphs over what's cool
Mel Gibson: The shadow in his smile
Judge: Polanski must come to L.A. to be sentenced in sex case
Panorama: Where the stars will be sitting at the SAG Awards
Album review: Corinne Bailey Rae's 'The Sea'
Haiti relief phone bank: Pattinson no, Lautner yes
'Emma' on PBS' 'Masterpiece'
The message of Air America's end
NBC Universal profit drops 30%

Posted: 23 Jan 2010 12:00 AM PST

'Like everything in life, the fun has to come to an end a decade too early,' the comic tells his 'Tonight Show' audience. His negotiated -- and expensive -- exit clears the way for Jay Leno's return.

After two weeks of frantic backroom maneuvers and withering on-air broadsides, NBC's struggle with Conan O'Brien came to a close Friday evening. The comic signed off after less than eight months as host of "The Tonight Show," leaving a once-venerable late-night franchise hobbled by corporate missteps and changing audience dynamics.

Commentary: Jay Leno triumphs over what's cool

Posted: 23 Jan 2010 12:00 AM PST

NBC's logic-defying decision to replace him with Conan O'Brien was based on misguided demographics.

Every high school in America has its cool kids, the smart, snarky ones who sit in the prow of culture, and its dorks, the plodding if amiable ones who sit in the middle of the boat and try not to make waves. One needs to be reminded of this in assessing what was really at stake in the headline-making Leno-O'Brien war that ended Thursday with an agreement to pay $45 million to O'Brien and his staff.

Mel Gibson: The shadow in his smile

Posted: 24 Jan 2010 12:00 AM PST

The actor is back in theaters after a long break -- and a very publicized breakdown. Will moviegoers welcome his return?

The actor is back in theaters after a long break -- and a very publicized breakdown. Will moviegoers welcome his return?

Judge: Polanski must come to L.A. to be sentenced in sex case

Posted: 22 Jan 2010 03:12 PM PST

A judge has rejected director Roman Polanski's bid to be sentenced in absentia in a three-decade-old child-sex case.

A judge has rejected director Roman Polanski's bid to be sentenced in absentia in a three-decade-old child-sex case.

Panorama: Where the stars will be sitting at the SAG Awards

Posted: 22 Jan 2010 05:48 PM PST

An interactive sneak peek at the set up for this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Album review: Corinne Bailey Rae's 'The Sea'

Posted: 22 Jan 2010 02:25 PM PST

The singer-songwriter reaches into the depth of her grief and delivers a moving, if not seminal, album.

The singer-songwriter reaches into the depth of her grief and delivers a moving, if not seminal, album.

Haiti relief phone bank: Pattinson no, Lautner yes

Posted: 22 Jan 2010 02:24 PM PST

Lautner will be part of the Los Angeles-based phone crew, which includes more than 100 other celebrity names.

'Emma' on PBS' 'Masterpiece'

Posted: 23 Jan 2010 12:00 AM PST

The Jane Austen heroine gets a new outing with Romola Garai in the title role on PBS' 'Masterpiece.'

So, they have taken that Alicia Silverstone movie "Clueless" and turned it into a miniseries called "Emma," set in England in the early 1800s, and, what's more, they've issued a novelization by someone named Jane Austen. There is a lot more talking in the book, but it is really quite well done and covers all the major points of the miniseries, which is also excellent. They really capture that original "Clueless" spirit.

The message of Air America's end

Posted: 23 Jan 2010 12:00 AM PST

One thing supporters and foes of the liberal network can agree on is that its problems went far beyond politics.

Coming only two days after the Republicans' upset U.S. Senate victory in Massachusetts, the sudden demise of the Air America radio network -- after a protracted illness -- left liberals reeling and conservatives gloating over the failure of their competing ideology's highest profile outlet.