Vintage Stars Got Big Bucks to Smoke

Roger Corman, Gordon Willis, John Calley share the spotlight

(NEWSER) - A mere 65 years after her unforgettable screen debut, Lauren Bacall has won an Academy Award. The honorary Oscar was a high point of a ceremony last night in Los Angeles that also celebrated the careers of filmmaker Roger Corman, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and producer John Calley. "I can't believe it, a man at last!" the 85-year-old Bacall joked as she hoisted her new hardware. More»

Gibson aims for rehabilitation, but Mad Max is 'gone'

(NEWSER) - Mel Gibson appears to be making an effort to revive a career stalled after his 2006 arrest and accompanying anti-Semitic tirade, but “it seems unlikely he can ever really come back,” writes Roger Friedman for Fox News. “Like Tom Cruise, Gibson has sent himself into a weird purgatory from which his reputation can never fully recover,” Friedman notes after watching the actor/director chat with Jimmy Kimmel. More»

(NEWSER) - Former film and TV heartthrob Van Johnson died today in New York of natural causes, Variety reports. He was 92. Johnson starred in many movies in the 1940s and 1950s, and was later nominated for an Emmy for his appearance on the TV show Rich Man, Poor Man. Dubbed the "non-singing Sinatra," the wholesome star married only once—a union that ended in what he called "the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history." More»

Ex-husband makes the list, too

(NEWSER) - With an ignominious 1:1 ratio of salary to receipts, Nicole Kidman snags the top spot on Forbes’ list of most overpaid movie stars. In other words, her films make a mere $1 for every dollar she’s paid, an average $15 million per flick. Ex-husband Tom Cruise is close behind at No. 3, with Jennifer Garner in the runner-up slot. More»

Leading ladies play second fiddle in Hollywood this year

(NEWSER) - Where have all the Hepburns gone? Today's thirtysomething leading ladies are being cast in "handbag" roles, writes Rachel Abramowitz in the Los Angeles Times. Juicy parts are scarce this year for actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz as popular tastes move toward bromantic comedies that appeal to men. Instead, the stars play girlfriends, shrews, or bland sidekicks. More»