J Michael Straczynski

Last July, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe turned on a personal computer and chatted with 900,000 of his closest friends. Taking occasional breaks from recording "Monster" at Ocean Way Studio in Hollywood, Stipe used an America Online account-- stipey@aol.com --to post e-mail comments to an R.E.M. newsgroup. AOL subscribers could join in or merely watch as Stipe spent a week clearing up debates over song lyrics and entertaining system users with anecdotes from past tours. When one R.E.M.

Saturday mornings on ABC will look a little different this fall. Some of those behind the scenes on this season's programs like the new look. Others hate it--and the force behind it--with a passion. Changes in the way some familiar cartoon characters speak, act and look in ABC's Saturday morning children's schedule, as well the design of new shows, are largely due to the input of a Glendale-based company with a name like something out of a James Bond movie: the Q5 Corp.

The 2009 Holiday Movie Sneaks is a broad snapshot of films opening through early January. Compiled by Liesl Bradner, these release dates and other details are subject to change. Nov. 6 The Box A suburban couple faces a moral dilemma when they receive a wooden box promising $1 million if they push a button that will cause the death of another person. With Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella. Screenplay by and directed by Richard Kelly. Warner Bros. Pictures Died Young, Stayed Pretty A look at the underground indie-rock poster subculture in North America.