The Golden Globes have never really been a paradigm of dinner etiquette, but the 2011 show was notable for going out of its way to insult its hosts, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.From emcee Ricky Gervais to honored guest Robert De Niro, there were several pointed jokes directed at a group that has just been sued and accused of engaging in payola and is engaged in another fight over its lucrative TV rights."I'd like to quash this ridiculous rumor going around that the only reason 'The…See More

Iranian authorities have suspended a Tehran theatre's production of the classic European play Hedda Gabler and set up a body to police cultural affairs in a sign of a new crackdown on the arts.Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, chief prosecutor in the Iranian capital, told the semi-official Fars news agency on Wednesday he had summoned theater company members to explain themselves and said a new office to police cultural affairs had been created."This play had some problems both conceptually and in the…See More

On Broadway, bad press doesn't necessarily spell failure, and the struggling "Spider-Man" musical is still luring tourists and theater goers into seats as it deals with persistent technical problems.The ambitious, high-tech $65 million musical -- the most expensive Broadway show ever -- has endured four delays in its opening and four injuries to its cast. By some accounts, it is shaping up as the biggest entertainment flop since Kevin Costner's movie "Waterworld" or Warren Beatty's…See More

The 1993 killing of a man outside a housing complex was a cold case for years until a suspect appeared on detectives' doorstep last week.Apparently haunted by his secret, once-promising rapper G. Dep walked into a police precinct to confess to the shooting, authorities said. The rapper is being held without bail after surprised investigators matched the details he provided to the unsolved slaying of John Henkel. Initially charged with murder, he was indicted Tuesday on a charge that won't be…See More

New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys are bringing their '90s boy-band magic to Dick Clark's annual New Year's Eve TV special.Producers say the two groups are mashing up to close out 2011 on the ABC special.The two bands, who have melded their monikers to become NKOTBSB, performed together live for the first time on the Dick Clark-produced American Music Awards last month. The supergroup plans to tour North America together next summer."The NKOTBSB just keeps snowballing ... and nothing is…See More

Antoine Dodson's dramatic reaction to a local crime has spawned the most-watched YouTube video of the year, excepting music videos.When Dodson, a 24-year-old Alabama student, gave an angry TV interview about an attempted rape against his younger sister, he became a viral hit. When a video turned that rant into an auto-tuned song, "Bed Intruder Song," Dodson became a full-fledged Internet sensation.The "Bed Intruder Song" is the top YouTube video of the year, the Google Inc.-owned company…See More

For years, civic boosters have pointed out intriguing parallels that suggest Seneca Falls, N.Y., was the inspiration for Bedford Falls, the make-believe mill town in "It's a Wonderful Life."Those musings are now embodied in a museum of sorts that showcases Frank Capra's Christmas movie classic.And who cut the ribbon at Friday's grand opening? Zuzu, of course.Former child actress Karolyn Grimes, who played George Bailey's daughter Zuzu in the 1946 drama, traveled to central New York to launch…See More

Thomas Kail is having lunch in the theater district when his iPhone resting in the middle of the restaurant table starts buzzing. He casually looks down to check who's calling. It's Ben Affleck.Kail hits "decline."Then he laughs as his companion's eyes go wide.It turns out that the 33-year-old director is playing a joke: It wasn't Affleck on the phone at all. Kail was just using an app that simulates a call from whomever the user wants. He has delighted friends by refusing to answer calls from…See More

Actor Wesley Snipes has arrived at a federal prison in Pennsylvania to begin serving a three-year sentence for failure to file income tax returns.Federal Prisons spokesman Ed Ross says Snipes entered the Federal Correctional Institution McKean on Thursday morning. He had been ordered to arrive by noon.The minimum security prison camp in the northwestern Pennsylvania town of Lewis Run is worlds away from the harsh prison fortresses depicted in the Snipes' films "Undisputed" and "Brooklyn's…See More

Oprah Winfrey's giddy audience of 300 arrived in Australia from the U.S. on Tuesday to begin enjoying the talk show queen's ultimate giveaway — an eight-day journey across the land Down Under.Winfrey kicked off her 25th and final season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in September by surprising her shrieking, jumping and sobbing fans with what she's billed as the trip of a lifetime. The hand-picked audience was made up of some of who the program called its most loyal viewers over the years.The…See More

Katy Perry loves a man in a uniform.The pop superstar met dozens of service members while working on the special "VH1 Divas Salute the Troops" this weekend near San Diego."There was a kid who I met backstage who was rather chatty, but adorable," Perry recalled. "He was really sweet. He was 19. He had such a good heart. He said, 'Yes, ma'am' to me. 'Yes ma'am!' I was like, 'O.K.! Yes, sir!'"A VH1 publicist estimated an audience of 27,000 attended nearly three-hour taping of the concert Friday…See More

A lead actress in "Spider-Man," the most expensive Broadway show ever produced, suffered an injury during its first performance and will be replaced for a short period, a producer said on Friday, compounding the show's problems in its previews."Natalie Mendoza suffered an injury...and, on doctor's orders, will be out of the show for a brief time," lead producer Michael Cohl said in a statement.The New York Times reported on its website that Mendoza, who portrays Arachne, suffered a concussion…See More

Hollywood scribe Nikki Finke, the founder of the Deadline Hollywood news site, is in a trademark tangle with the operator of a website called Deadline Hollyweird.One problem: Finke and her lawyers have no idea who is running the Hollyweird site, which describes itself as "a Los Angeles-based news and gossip organization dedicated to exposing the truth about Hollywood talent agencies, celebrities and the movie studios & television networks."Mail.com Media Corp., parent of Finke's…See More

One hundred years after reports of his death were correct, not exaggerated, Mark Twain is a hot commodity again with an autobiography on the best-seller list and a new CD celebrating his legacy.The best seller is the first of the three-volume "Autobiography of Mark Twain," the iconoclastic author's private thoughts dictated during his life with the stipulation they not be published until he was dead for 100 years. That anniversary is 2010 and the 500,000-word book is flying off shelves.The CD,…See More

More change is afoot for "American Idol," which will air on a different night for its upcoming 10th season.The Fox TV network said its hit singing contest will move from its longtime Tuesday and Wednesday night broadcasts to Wednesday and Thursday when it returns. Its season debut is Jan. 19.The switch means more big change for "American Idol," which is bringing in new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez after the departures of Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi. Randy Jackson…See More