Sopranos' Johnny Cakes Commits Suicide

What will we still be talking about next decade? Britney, for one

(NEWSER) - The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks:

• TV: The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things Oprah Winfrey.
• Books: The Da Vinci Code for singlehandedly sustaining the book industry, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for blazing the trail of combining geek lit with high lit.

The Wire , The Sopranos , Six Feet Under , Mad Men —get the picture?

(NEWSER) - For television, the past decade has been “as the sixties are to music and the seventies to movies”—some of the worst content ever was produced, but the cream of the crop rose to the level of art, Emily Nussbaum writes. Sure, “you could easily memorialize the aughts as the Decade of Reality TV,” but then you’d be leaving out The Sopranos, Mad Men, and, most important, The Wire. The best of the best dared audiences to take them seriously and didn’t have time for those who wouldn’t. More»

(NEWSER) - True Blood stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are engaged, People reports. The two have been open about their 6-month relationship and how it affects their onscreen romance. Says Paquin, 27: “If you're already with that person, then you're not having to sort of get over the 'Wow, I'm naked with someone that I don't even know the middle name of." Adds Moyer, 39: “My girl is hardcore.” More»

Appeared in Apocalypse Now , Outlaw Josey Wales

(NEWSER) - Actor Sam Bottoms, who appeared in Apocalypse Now and some 30 other films, died at his LA home this week of brain cancer at age 53, the Los Angeles Times reports. Bottoms began his film career at age 15 in The Last Picture Show and was cast as surfer Lance Johnson, a sailor who travels alongside Martin Sheen in 1979's Apocalypse. More»

New management picks a new crop of shows, hoping for a winner

(NEWSER) - HBO, at 36 years old no longer a bold young upstart of a network, is struggling to come up with hits to match The Sopranos and Sex & The City, the Wall Street Journal reports. Changes in the top ranks have meant shifts in direction: The Texas-set Lily Tomlin drama 12 Miles of Bad Road HBO was ditched after execs saw the first few episodes. More»