hollywood

L.A. has been exceptionally kind to Yvonne Strahovski, the long, blonde spy-babe on NBC's Chuck and the lone pretty face in the new film Killer Elite. But if you don't get the help you need after your big break, Hollywood can kill you with kindness, so Strahovski had to adapt fast.

Jason Statham made his fortune as a top movie action hero several head-butts ago: His pictures have made well over $1 billion. But the British actor keenly remembers when being a well-paid tough guy meant selling jewelry and perfume out of a briefcase on the street.

New startup Booktracks is creating soundtracks for e-books with technology that tracks your reading speed and syncs the sound perfectly to the text. The company promises it will revolutionize reading, and authors like Salman Rushdie and Jay McInerney are giving it a try. But do books really need a Hollywood makeover?

British comedy star Simon Pegg makes serious money today, but he wasn't raised to riches. Peggs tells The Price of Fame what he learned about spending as a lad, and what it was like to have little savings and a big Star Wars obsession.

Cars 2 doesn't open until June 24, but its toy line is already revving up the summer movie-toy season. Sales of Cars 2 merchandise will surpass Disney's entire Toy Story franchise within 12 months, predicted Jim Silver, editor in chief of TimetoPlaymag.com.

What's the cheapest thing B-movie maestro Roger Corman ever did in the movie biz? Find out in our interview with the penny-pinching master of the low-budget film, who's in Cannes to promote a documentary about himself, Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel.

Film director Spencer Susser's personal finance philosophy is one you might have heard before: Stop caring so much about the money, and perhaps the money will come. If it doesn't, at least you're doing what you want to do. It worked for him: Susser got his first movie, the low-budget Hesher, made in the middle of the recession.

Today's pinched budgets mean many American families can%u2019t shell out as much as they once did to send teenagers to the movies. But there's a more affordable way to keep young people entertained: Soup up your home theater and screen some teen-friendly classics.

Regardless of your political leanings, the struggle for fair wages and collective bargaining is fraught with drama, and Hollywood's union movies have inspired some amazing performances. With the public workers standoff in the news now, here are a few of Tinseltown's best offerings.

Whether Sheen can resurrect his faltering career may depend on something as mundane as an insurance physical. Hollywood producers won't shoot a frame of film nor a second of video without insurance policies on their cast members in case they can't do their jobs.