PopWire

News, Reviews and Commentary from the World of Popular Culture

LOS ANGELES — Daryl "Chill" Mitchell's life changed nine years ago when a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. He uses a wheelchair to get...

DETROIT — It's a quiet afternoon in downtown Detroit as an invasion is in progress. Soldiers and shabbily-dressed civilians are standing at a cordoned-off area around...

TORONTO — In "The Men Who Stare at Goats," Jeff Bridges plays Bill Django, a military man who returns from Vietnam to embrace the '60s counterculture headlong —...

You call him Mr. Rickles because he deserves it. He's a legend. Honorary member of the Rat Pack. The guy Johnny Carson tossed into a hot tub. And a performer who has as much...

There's nothing fancy about Jewel's concerts. That's not the way she rolls. "It's just me and my guitar," says the country-folk-pop singer from Durham, N.C., a stop on her...

The most surprising thing about Lily Tomlin is that she's really not that funny. At least, that's what she says. "I'm quite in earnest as a person. I could imitate funny...

"American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot" by Craig Ferguson. HarperCollins. 268 pages. Acknowledged that this may seem to be a left-field...

The Academy Is ... isn't afraid of taking chances. Each of the Chicago band's albums features a different approach to pop-leaning rock, and its new EP, "Lost in Pacific...

One of 2009's most intriguing documentaries played so briefly that you probably missed it. But thanks to the eternal life promised by DVD, you can see "Unmistaken Child" in...

CANCUN, Mexico — Roland Emmerich has an ongoing project: destroying the world. In 1996's "Independence Day," the German director sent aliens to wipe out the White...

Bruce Springsteen is doing it. So are Van Morrison, the Pixies and Steely Dan. Playing a classic album in its entirety in concert — along with random favorites, of...

CHICAGO — You'd never guess it from meeting her on the street, but Gabourey Sidibe makes an incredibly convincing troubled, abused teenager. The 26-year-old New Yorker...

Filmmaker Richard Kelly's initial encounter with Richard Matheson's fiendish little short story "Button, Button" — about a cash-strapped couple offered a million dollars to push a button on a box that will instantly cause someone they don't know to drop dead — came not on the page, but on TV. "As a bunch of attorneys have informed me, I am not allowed to exploit the name of a certain...

Season finale of 'Mad Men,' Sunday on AMC

'Goats' director Heslov and star George Clooney go way back

It's a 'Wonderful World' for Matthew Broderick

Pop 20: What's next for paranormal pop culture

When browsing online or in a bookstore, one might easily conclude that every third person in the country is actively engaged in writing or reading a memoir. The rest have it on their to-do lists. Ben Yagoda, author of the new "Memoir: A History" (Riverhead Books) concurs. "I worked on the book for three years, and the whole time I kept expecting to die down a bit," he said in a recent...

Live from New York: Previously unreleased Sinatra

A handful of CDs feature women singing traditional country standards

'American Idol' finalist wants you to spend a night at his 'Rock Show'

Ethical journalism: A book goes case by case

Pop culture titans Winfrey, Perry throw their weight behind movie from book

Great expectations: Movie fans are buzzing about these 8 holiday-season films

Tony Curtis revisits 'Some Like It Hot' for his new book

Google's desire to scan old books has critics casting it as Goliath

Michael Connelly talks about setting his latest novel in Hong Kong

Deli talk with David Sax

In John Irving's latest novel, the main character shares the author's profession, but that's not the most important similarity. They also share the same anxieties. "The book describes what I fear," Irving said. "Last Night in Twisted River," published in October, is the extended story of Daniel Baciagalupo, the son of a logging camp cook, who grows up to be a writer. Irving is known for novels...

Can bigger screens save a shrinking market?

Comic actress Mo'Nique gets a breakout dramatic role in 'Precious'

Acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke can't believe he's still on stage

Vertigo's first prose novel spins out of 'Fables'

The most mind-boggling aspect of the still-fresh TV season isn't that witches have returned to Eastwick or that the planet got a sneak peek at the apocalypse. It's that, for the first time in years, network executives can step away from the ledge. Ratings are up 2 percent after falling for several seasons. I'm not suggesting the suits break open 11,000 bottles of champagne, but there is plenty...

50th anniversary Blu-ray edition makes Hitchcock's 'North by Northwest' look new

'Forgotten'? Not Christian Slater

These chilling, low-budget flicks are right on fright

For its director and young star, 'Precious' is ready to pop

In Roland Emmerich's world, the fleet can flee disaster

'V': The saucer-shaped bandwagon

Wine, women and song: What it's like to be piano superstar Lang Lang

String Cheese alum Bill Nershi finds his mountain music roots

MINNEAPOLIS — The main problem with a supergroup, side project or whatever you want to call Monsters of Folk is how serious the musicians are about it. Are they really investing a lot of time and energy into the music, or are they just looking for a quick excuse to get away from their regular bandmates for a while? Jim James, however, probably doesn't need to further demonstrate his level...

With 'Hannah Montana' looming in the rearview mirror, is it time for Miley to move on?

New rules for Oscar's best-picture race

Rhythm &Blues Foundation needs help , so it can help others

Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Sting at epic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame party

Kym Whitley is having fun being funny

The peasants love it: Mel Brooks defends his musical creation 'Young Frankenstein'

Monsters: Creepy, crawly and completely real

Halloween is nearly here, so let's talk ghosts. Annoying TV ghosts. They seem to be everywhere. On their respective CBS dramas, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Patricia Arquette possess the freakish ability to chat with ghosts. On "Lost," Hurley often sees ghosts. And on "Desperate Housewives," a ghostly narrator has nothing better to do than haunt Wisteria Lane and spew hackneyed observations. But...

Nick Hornby calls 'Education' star Carey Mulligan a revelation

New rules for Oscar's best-picture race

The Movie Masochist: 'Saw' VI, or VII, or whatever

Brazilian diva Gal Costa continues to be the voice of 'tropicalismo'

Brandi Carlile gives voice to her love of different singers

Dick Gregory on Obama, longevity and comic geniuses

New all-star band Monsters of Folk has enjoyed it from the get-go

'Antichrist' star Willem Dafoe takes a leap of faith into the taboo

It is record-release day for Lyle Lovett, a Tuesday when his 14th album, "Natural Forces," is being unleashed on the world. Typically, such an occasion becomes the apex of a promotional push, a day loaded with TV appearances, performances and any number of exercises to capitalize on what is, in essence, "opening day" for a recording. For Lovett — multiple Grammy Award-winning songsmith,...

'Big Bang Theory' a supernova for CBS

Style-merging Marc Broussard remains determined to go his own way

Art that emerged from Great Depression served as more than escapism, book says

Senator hopes his book clears up misconceptions about Latinos

Anne Rice 'obsessed' with her new hero, a killer recruited to do God's work

There's no burying vampire mania

SEATTLE — Stephen Sondheim does not give many interviews. Why should he? Now 79, Sondheim long ago cemented his reputation as Broadway's most esteemed living composer and lyricist, and one of the American musical theater's greatest visionaries. From "West Side Story" to "A Little Night Music" to "Sweeney Todd" and on, the eight-time Tony Award honoree has redefined and expanded the sonic...

ICP's lucrative empire includes clothing, comic books, DVDs and even wrestling exhibitions

Veteran actress Estelle Parsons is 81 and on the road with 'August: Osage County'

Style-merging Marc Broussard remains determined to go his own way

NEW YORK — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is generally one of the year's swankiest, most exclusive affairs — marked by once-in-a-lifetime collaborations, stunning arguments and $1,500-a-plate dinners at the Waldorf-Astoria. Sure, you could watch much of it unfold on VH1 or Fuse, but there is something about having that much rock royalty in one place that is hard to...

Bottle Rockets: oldies but goodies (and getting better)

A movie guide for stupid parents

Carey Mulligan is known for movies set in different eras

'White Collar,' premiering Friday on USA

Pie-splattered comedian Soupy Sales was one of the TV greats

PBS hopes unusual distribution will boost audience for 'Endgame'

Amazon fights to keep Kindle on top of e-book crowd

Another Stoker bites into the Dracula legend