Boston.com -- Top arts and entertainment news

Attorney: Jackson's doctor returning to work

Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-23T09:11:22Z

Michael Jackson's doctor is expected to return to work at his Houston medical clinic for the first time since before the pop star's death.

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2009-11-23T09:11:22Z

Man to be arraigned in ESPN reporter videos case

2009-11-23T08:11:53Z

An Illinois insurance executive accused of secretly making nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews is scheduled for arraignment in a Los Angeles federal courtroom.

Cuba film institute founder looks back on 50 years

Will Weissert, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-23T07:11:18Z

Fidel Castro was 32 and building his new government on the fly. He nationalized Cuba's U.S.-run telephone company, tapped Che Guevara as head of the National Bank and claimed he was no communist to every interviewer -- later maintaining he hid his true political convictions to keep from antagonizing Washington too soon.

Study: kids watching hours of TV at home daycare

Donna Gordon Blankinship, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-23T05:41:16Z

Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

Winners at the American Music Awards

The Associated Press — 2009-11-23T05:21:26Z

Complete list of winners at the American Music Awards: -- Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift

'Road' Warrior

Lynda Gorov, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-21T17:32:57Z

LOS ANGELES - Viggo Mortensen is everything you’d want and expect him to be: shaggy-haired handsome, passionate, thoughtful, and smart. The actor-writer-poet-painter and jazz musician pretty much seems to be the Renaissance man in real life that he is on paper. Only then it happens.

Holiday shows’ various guises include off-color

Geoff Edgers, Globe Staff — 2009-11-21T17:31:22Z

There is no Santa Claus at the Ramrod. But starting next week, you’ll find the holiday spirit in a basement theater at this gay bar, where a gussied-up Ryan Landry and his Gold Dust Orphans bring back their camp-fueled comedy “All About Christmas Eve.’’

An interactive taste of Bulgarian folklore

Lydia Rebac, Globe Staff — 2009-11-21T17:30:05Z

instead, you grab your beloved, run off, and get married.

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2009-11-21T17:30:05Z

Many images show a singular approach

Mark Feeney, Globe Staff — 2009-11-21T17:29:45Z

It’s a pretty funny joke. Harry Callahan must have the most recognized name of any photographer in history - except it’s not because of his photography. It’s because he shares the name with Clint Eastwood’s most famous character.

As Oprah heads to cable, will her golden touch go with her?

Johnny Diaz and Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff — 2009-11-21T04:40:08Z

There is no way to overstate the influence of Oprah on the life of 49-year-old Barbara Moulton of Boston.

Fine state of comedy

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-21T02:20:49Z

Massachusetts is a funny place. Or at least a lot of people originally from the state are currently at the forefront of TV comedy, including Conan O’Brien, Amy Poehler, and “Office’’ workers such as Steve Carell. Also on the list: Robert Carlock, executive producer and writer of “30 Rock,’’ who grew up in Weston and graduated from Harvard. I spoke ...

From a man’s mind come a girl’s thoughts

Karen Campbell, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-20T17:19:11Z

It’s a little disconcerting, maybe even a little creepy, when a grown man pretends to get inside the head of a young girl. But such is the imaginative fantasy that literature can afford, and in “Mathilda Savitch,’’ poet-playwright Victor Lodato does a great job of conjuring the first-person voice of a feisty, precocious young teen dealing with the death of ...

Miley Cyrus tour bus overturns in Va., killing 1

Dena Potter, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-20T15:24:18Z

The driver of a Miley Cyrus tour bus was killed Friday when the bus overturned, but the 16-year-old "Hannah Montana" star wasn't on board, Virginia State Police said.

Oprah's departure presents problem for TV stations

Caryn Rousseau and Ryan Nakashima, Associated Press Writers — 2009-11-20T05:22:17Z

For more than two decades, Oprah Winfrey has been the inspirational, change-your-life champion who reigned over daytime television much like Johnny Carson once ruled late night.

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Wesley Morris, Globe Staff — 2009-11-20T01:54:36Z

In “Precious,’’ Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) usually comes home from school and prepares dinner for her mother, Mary (Mo’Nique), in their Harlem apartment. Mary could probably make dinner herself. But it’s easier for her to throw the dinner out or at Claireece if she’s not the cook. Mary curses at Claireece, who is dark-skinned, overweight, and, at 16, having ...

'Jon & Kate Plus 8' to end its stormy run Monday

Frazier Moore, AP Television Writer — 2009-11-19T19:01:43Z

You might say our national nightmare is over. Or is it just a TV series?

Palin leads her own charge into the reality spotlight

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T17:58:06Z

This week’s Sarah Palin TV tour has been like “Jon & Kate & Sarah & Todd & Bristol & Levi Plus Kids.’’ A 2012 presidential candidacy may not be on Palin’s “radar screen right now,’’ as she told both Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters in separate interviews, but her desire to remain a free-floating reality star on the American stage ...

Star giddy at her unlikely success

Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T17:48:42Z

There are many ways in which the bubbly, gregarious actress Gabourey Sidibe is different from the closed-off, beaten-down character she plays in the film “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,’’ which opens today locally. But perhaps the most striking contrast is Sidibe’s laugh. The monosyllabic Precious Jones has precious little to laugh about in a world framed by ...

The sound and fury of Rihanna

Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T17:25:43Z

“Rated R’’ is not just an album title - it’s a warning. On her fourth release, out today, pop star Rihanna unleashes a storm, and an umbrella is not going to cut it.

iPod Shuffle

James Reed, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T17:25:17Z

“You’re lucky,’’ says Sonic Youth guitarist-singer Thurston Moore , “because just a few weeks ago and for a long time, my iPod only consisted of underground black-metal recordings.’’ But he’s since mixed it up to include everything from early punk to seminal jazz. We spoke with Moore this week ahead of Sonic Youth’s shows at the Wilbur Theatre Sunday (which ...

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Ty Burr, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T06:46:49Z

Sorry, girls: The thrill is gone. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,’’ the second installment in Hollywood’s adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s mega-selling vampire romance series, is an anemic comedown after the full-blooded swoon of last year’s “Twilight.’’ Where the first film’s director, Catherine Hardwicke, plugged into Meyer’s vision of supernatural teenage lust with abandon, Chris Weitz is stuck with a sequel ...

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2009-11-19T06:46:49Z

Nitze, Kennan, and the Cold War

Claude R. Marx, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-18T16:54:17Z

For many Americans, the Cold War is a distant memory, along with the enmity between the United States and Soviet Union and the threat of nuclear annihilation that characterized the period. While the dangerous world of today is quite different on many levels, reviewing the events of a previous era can help avoid repeating some of the mistakes of that ...