Marlon Brando

James Brolin did a little soul searching before doing "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," a raunchy new comedy opening Friday from producers Adam McKay and Will Ferrell. "I always look at things and say, 'Will Barbra be proud?' " Barbra is, of course, Brolin's third wife, the legendary singer, actress, director, producer and composer Barbra Streisand, to whom he has been married for 11 years. "She does such elegant work. Am I the guy who is going out and doing the tacky stuff?

Producer-director Brett Ratner is adding publisher to his list of credits. The Hollywood hyphenate intends to release three books today through his publishing company, Rat Press. The softcover books -- on Marlon Brando, Robert Evans and Jim Brown -- are the first in a series of planned releases of out-of-print books about filmmakers and filmmaking.

OK. So I know I'm supposed to be shocked to discover that Christian Bale cussed out the director of photography on the set of "Terminator Salvation" last summer. (You can listen to his tirade on my blog, but be warned: The language is most certainly R-rated.) But is it really a surprise that Hollywood actors -- even really gifted ones like Bale -- often act like bullies and idiots? After all, if you look back at the history of film, there is a long tradition of brilliant nut cases, from Marlon Brando and Peter Sellers and Rip Torn right through Nick Nolte and Don Johnson to Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe.

Jonathan Shapiro is right to point out that Marlon Brando made more than his share of "turkeys" ["How to Explain Brando?," Nov. 27]. But to include Bernardo Bertolucci's pathbreaking, unquestionably artistic "Last Tango in Paris" as one of them undermines his argument. Calling "Tango" "prurient" is about as helpful as describing Picasso's "Guernica" as colorless. Jeff Schultz Los Angeles

Writing for actors is a privilege and a pain. Good actors elevate the material, finding truths the writer never intended. But their process, the means by which they are able to breathe life into a character, is an infuriating mystery. Articulate actors rhapsodize about their craft. Honest ones admit not even they can explain how they do it.

Christian Brando, the troubled son of legendary actor Marlon Brando, who made headlines in 1990 when he was arrested in the shooting death of his half-sister's boyfriend, died early Saturday. He was 49. Brando died from complications of pneumonia at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, said David J. Seeley, an attorney for Marlon Brando's estate. The legal proceedings against Brando in the killing of Dag Drollet, 26, caused a firestorm of media attention.

Marlon Brando was different things to different people -- catnip to women, a director's worst nightmare on set, champion of the underdog and the downtrodden. For actress Penelope Ann Miller, the acting icon was a lovable goofball. She recalls a dinner she had with costars Matthew Broderick and Bruno Kirby during the production of the 1990 Brando comedy "The Freshman." "We felt these little things hitting us and falling on the table," she says.

Marlon Brando's heirs are suing a Canadian furniture company after making the company an offer it refused. The late actor's family has been trying for months to get Palliser Furniture Ltd. to stop marketing a line of plush home theater chairs dubbed the Brando without a licensing agreement. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages but claims sales of the chair "exceed several million dollars on a worldwide basis."

Once again, the Los Angeles Times Calendar section proves it doesn't care about the Asian American perspective ["Is This What a Future Oscar Winner Looks Like?" Feb. 8]. This article focused on the outrage of some black activists over the film "Norbit" perpetuating stereotypes about black people. Nowhere was it mentioned that one of the three characters Eddie Murphy portrays is a Chinese character, Mr. Wong. Historically, non-Asian actors putting on "yellow face" (Shirley MacLaine, Marlon Brando, Jonathan Pryce, for instance)

As jury selection was about to begin, Christian Brando and his ex-wife Deborah Brando have settled their dueling lawsuits against each other, an L.A. Superior Court clerk announced Monday. Deborah Brando had accused the eldest son of the late Marlon Brando of, among other things, assault and battery, as well as infliction of emotional distress.