John Waters has written a memoir. That statement alone may be enough to make those who are familiar with his work lunge towards the nearest bookstore—or to Bryant Park on Monday night, where the inimitable auteur will be having a conversation with Paul Holdengräber as part of the free "LIVE at the NYPL" series. Everything about the cult film director—who has been called the "Pope of Filth," and is responsible for such classics of their own very off-kilter genre as Hairspray, Cry Baby, and Pink Flamingos—begs the question, "how did he get this way?" more ›

National prize Chris Brown has been asked to read to children at a Harlem charter school. The controversial singer, who is trying to rehabilitate his image, was invited to attend and participate in the annual "Family Read Night" at Sisulu-Walker Charter School on Nov. 18. Despite his past troubles, some seem ready to forgive and forget; one parent at the school told the Daily News, "He's coming to read to the children. He apologized on TV. Sometimes in real life we make mistakes." And sometimes we do this in real life, then ask a convicted 20-year old clown to be a role model to our kids! more ›

Soul Men, directed by Malcolm D. Lee (whose credits include blaxploitation farce Undercover Brother), stars the late Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson as two-thirds of a 1960s soul trio whose lead singer long went on to be a star. When the famous frontman dies, the two remaining members try to bury the hatchet and travel to New York for a memorial gig. Salon's Stephanie Zacharek writes, "The only good reason to see the otherwise dismal comedy Soul Men is to have a look at Bernie Mac in one of his final screen roles... Mac could always deliver a line in a way that seemed laid-back and casual. But he knew how to sharpen the edges of his gags just slightly—his unwillingness to suffer bullshit was always part of his charm." more ›