Titanic

As in most countries, James Cameron's last two films "Avatar" and "Titanic" top the box-office list of all-time highest grossers in Spain. But that could change if native son Juan Antonio Bayona and his latest film about a family caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami "The Impossible" continues its unlikely drive in the European country. Since its Oct. 11 opening, the film has grossed 29 million euros, over $37 million, in only four weeks of release. "Titanic" grossed 41 million euros in the country when it opened some 15 years ago, and only 2009's "Avatar" has beaten it. Currently the film is the highest-grossing film of the year in the country and the highest-grossing Spanish film of all time.

The most curious NFL news Sunday was that the league is investigating the San Diego Chargers for using Stick 'em, the glue-like goop that helps players hang on to the football. The Fox report said an equipment manager was concealing the substance on hand towels. So the Chargers couldn't throw in the towel if they wanted to - and neither could these players and teams on a gripping Sunday: •Tennessee's Chris Johnson, the onetime rushing champion who hadn't scored a touchdown in 10 games, broke loose for 195 yards and two scores in the Titans' 35-34 thriller over Buffalo.

Conner Manning threw four touchdown passes, but it was a pass he caught that he'll remember most in Lake Forest El Toro's 41-31 victory over Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro on Friday night at Trabuco Hills High. Manning hauled in an eight-yard pass from Jacob Furnari for the decisive score on a halfback option play with 4:54 remaining and the Chargers, ranked 17th in the Southland by The Times, stayed in contention for the South Coast League title. "It was a great call, a great throw, great blocking and I just had to catch it," said Manning, who completed 14 of 27 passes for 281 yards, including a 23-yard scoring strike to Blake Murphy on fourth down that clinched the win with 1:51 left.

PITTSBURGH (2-2) AT TENNESSEE (1-4) TV: NFL Network, 5:15 p.m. PDT. Line: Steelers by 5. Over/under: 42. Sam Farmer's pick: The Titans are giving up a league-high 36.2 points per game. Even with their defensive problems, the Steelers should be able to take advantage of that. Pittsburgh 35, Tennessee 24.

Autumn is a grand time to be a gearhead. By fall, most of next year's vehicles are in dealerships and we can finally compare and contrast them for ourselves. No more idle speculation about how much oomph the new Audi will have. No more flame wars in the blogosphere about whether Chevy or Ford makes the most capable pickup.  We invited a quartet of auto experts to discuss some of the new (and imminent) SUVs, crossovers and trucks that have critics raving and drivers craving.

James Cameron was obsessive in the amount of detail he put into his mega-blockbuster, "Titanic. " But leave it to the "Mythbusters" guys to find one major flaw in the film. On Sunday's episode, the "Mythbusters" team of Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage set out to see if the tragic hypothermia death of Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) at the end of the film could have been avoided. According to the team, Jack didn't have to die. In the final moments of the film, Jack and Rose (Kate Winslet)

I suppose it is not especially strange that in the centenary year of the sailing and the sinking of the Titanic we would see two miniseries on the subject. The first, written by "Downton Abbey" scribe Julian Fellowes, played here in April on ABC, its final episode timed to air 100 years to the night the ship went down; my fellow critic Mary McNamara called it "ill-paced, sanctimonious and overly stuffed. " "Titanic: Blood and Steel," which begins Monday on Encore, is the second and, I feel safe in saying, the last such miniseries we will see this year, or soon.

From the ambulance-chaser sign on the back to the wrap across the side touting Hollywood's latest, a Los Angeles County bus sometimes resembles a billboard on wheels more than a transit alternative. But those ads are serious business, pumping more than $20 million a year into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget at no cost to riders or taxpayers. So when it comes time to pick a billboard company to manage all that advertising, the choice matters. That time has arrived, and unfortunately so has a nasty dispute between the current contractor, CBS Outdoor, and a rival outdoor media company called Titan.

No Antonio Gates, no Ryan Mathews. No problem for the San Diego Chargers, who routed the Tennessee Titans, 38-10, on Sunday to improve to 2-0. With the All-Pro tight end nursing a rib injury and the speedy running back still sidelined after breaking his collarbone this summer, the Chargers received huge contributions from Dante Rosario, who had three touchdown receptions, and Jackie Battle, who rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns in 14 carries....

AMAGANSETT, N.Y. - Some actors take a part because they admire a director's vision or love the script. Richard Gere signed on to his new Wall Street cautionary tale "Arbitrage" because he liked how the filmmaker responded when he slammed him against a wall. Gere and Nicholas Jarecki were dining at the upstate N.Y. bed-and-breakfast Gere owns, discussing the actor's potential involvement in the dramatic thriller that opened Friday to strong reviews. Then Gere made an odd request: He wanted Jarecki to read with him as the wife of Gere's character.