Will Smith once owned the Fourth of July with his streak of hits on that holiday, year after year. The fresh prince of all media has lately moved off the biggest movie-going weekend of the year, but his stature as the king of the mega movies isn't in any danger.   WILL SMITH - In 'I Am Legend,' Will Smith is on his own and in danger in Manhattan after a virus has transformed everyone else ... [full story]

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Hard-living faux music legend Dewey Cox, aka actor John C. Reilly, had already downed two shots of tequila on stage and wiped his sweaty face with towels that he then tossed to hooting fans. He'd also rocked the house with more than a dozen tunes, including his pro-midget ditty, "Let Me Hold You (Little Man)."  By encore time, the pompadoured, guitar-strumming, harmonica-blowing showboat was bare-chested and gyrating in the famed Sunset ... [full story]

When Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings made their San Diego debut two years ago, this vintage R&B-celebrating band from Brooklyn was so low-profile it barely qualified as a sub-underground sensation.   SHARON JONES - 'Don't let anybody tell you that you can't succeed in music because of how you look or what you're wearing,' says vocal sensation Sharon Jones, 51. CNS Photo courtesy of Dulce Pinzon. Now, thanks to such famous fans-cum-collaborators as Amy Winehouse, Denzel Washington, ... [full story]

It's months away, but already the first major exhibition of modernist American architect John Lautner's work is stirring a buzz among architects and those with a passion about the discipline.   A VISIONARY DESIGNER - 'Too much of what goes on today are 'facilities' ... they are seldom architecture,' wrote the late John Lautner, a legendary architect. CNS Photo courtesy of Lautner Foundation. The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, part of UCLA, announced in November that it ... [full story]

Bras, panties, frocks, blouses, sweaters, coats, handbags and shoes whirled around in the master bedroom at Cat Deeley's Beverly Hills home as she was packing a handful of large suitcases only three weeks before Christmas.   CAT DEELEY - Cat Deeley will host a 'New Year's Eve Live' show in front of the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Times Square this year. CNS Photo courtesy of Jeff Neira. She was in the eye of the relatively calm (make ... [full story]

Despite her status as one of Hollywood's highest-paid and most-sought-after actresses, Nicole Kidman never had the lead role in a movie that made more than $100 million at the U.S. box office. She is certainly comfortable with that.   NICOLE KIDMAN - Nicole Kidman plays icy-hearted villainess Mrs. Coulter in the fantasy movie 'The Golden Compass.' CNS Photo courtesy of Lauri Sparham. But all the same, Kidman sure could stand to star in a hit, and "The ... [full story]

"Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments" by Alex Boese; Harcourt/Harvest Books; 288 pages; $14. Ever wonder if a dog's severed head could be grafted to another pooch's body and survive? How about whether artificial insemination could result in a human-chimpanzee hybrid? Do you think a gay man can be turned straight by stimulating the brain's sexual-pleasure center?  Of course you've never thought about such things; why would you? But somebody has. These scientific curiosities ... [full story]

Ahmad Jamal has been one of the most eloquent and influential pianists in jazz for more than half a century, in large part because he has devoted so much of his time to nurturing his greatest passion.   AHMAD JAMAL - Ahmad Jamal has been one of the most eloquent and influential pianists in jazz for more than half a century, in large part because he has devoted so much of his time to nurturing his ... [full story]

When is a reunion not a reunion? Just ask the members of Van Halen.   VAN HALEN IS BACK, KINDA - 'You don't even have to enjoy rock 'n' roll to have your mind roasted by what's going on on this stage,' says singer David Lee Roth, left, with Eddie Van Halen. CNS Photo by Don Kohlbauer. To be more precise, ask the members of the band currently embarked on the highly anticipated Van Halen reunion tour ... [full story]

When Keira Knightley phones, it seems an ear jingle from Britannia herself. The spring-loaded gush of rushing syllables announces: London calling!   KEIRA KNIGHTLEY - Still-quite-young Keira Knightley, 22, steps into her deepest adult role in the drama 'Atonement.' CNS Photo courtesy of Alex Bailey. What would famed linguist Henry Higgins of "My Fair Lady" make of Knightley's accent? Surely, that she was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England. And the old fox would intuit from the zest ... [full story]

Buying entertainment tickets used to be a pretty basic operation. Park the car; step to the window; snap up your passes; enjoy the show. They're out of tickets? You're outta luck. Unless a friendly scalper's around to relieve you of that stack of cash.   PRICE OF ADMISSION - Arts patrons used to have few options in getting a ticket to their favorite venue; the Internet has changed all that. CNS Photo by Earnie Grafton. Now, as ... [full story]

It was just another glorious summer day off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, when master survivalist Bear Grylls was demonstrating how to survive at sea on an open bamboo raft. Spotting a group of small sandbar sharks playing in the relatively shallow water, he dived in with a small camera to record the festivities.   BEAR GRYLLS - Bear Grylls, the 33-year-old star of 'Man vs. Wild,' loves adventure in the great outdoors. CNS Photo courtesy ... [full story]

"Youth Without Youth" is an artistically and intellectually ambitious return for Francis Ford Coppola, after his 10-year absence from the director's chair. Based on a novel by Romanian author Mircea Eliade, Coppola's latest might strike casual moviegoers as a head scratcher, though in its own literate and lyrical way "Youth Without Youth" is as powerful as anything he has ever done.   FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA - Legendary film maker Francis Ford Coppola gives direction on the ... [full story]