To Kill A Mockingbird

Universal Orlando will debut the "Cinematic Spectacular" nighttime water show this spring as part of a new entertainment lineup at the Florida theme park that includes an upgrade to one ride, a re-theme of another attraction and the addition of a nightly parade. PHOTOS: New attractions coming to Universal Orlando this spring and summer "Cinematic Spectacular" will celebrate a century of Universal Studios movie memories with a nighttime water show that features film clips projected on 30-foot-by-30-foot waterfall screens and colorful fountains that rocket 100 feet into the air along with laser lights and pyrotechnic displays on the Orlando theme park's central lagoon.

Harper Lee, the 87-year-old author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," has filed suit against her literary agent over the rights to her classic novel. The suit alleges that the agent took advantage of Lee's age and infirmity when she assigned the copyright to him six years ago. In 2007, Lee was living in an assisted living facility and had recently suffered a stroke when she signed over the rights of "To Kill a Mockingbird" to her agent, Samuel Pinkus, and his agency Keystone Literary.

French-born Veronique Peck, who was the widow of actor Gregory Peck and an ardent supporter of civic and cultural causes in her adopted country, died Friday of heart failure at her Los Angeles home, her family said. She was 80. As a young journalist, Veronique met Peck in 1953 when she interviewed him for a French newspaper. They were married on New Year's Eve 1955, soon after his divorce from his first wife was finalized. "I just participate in everything Greg does. I like it that way. I am not a career woman," Veronique told The Times in 1967 when the newspaper named her Woman of the Year.

Universal Orlando will debut the "Cinematic Spectacular" nighttime water show this spring as part of a new entertainment lineup at the Florida theme park that includes an upgrade to one ride, a re-theme of another attraction and the addition of a nightly parade. PHOTOS: New attractions coming to Universal Orlando this spring and summer "Cinematic Spectacular" will celebrate a century of Universal Studios movie memories with a nighttime water show that features film clips projected on 30-foot-by-30-foot waterfall screens and colorful fountains that rocket 100 feet into the air along with laser lights and pyrotechnic displays on the Orlando theme park's central lagoon.

'Hey Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'" MPAA rating: Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 22 minutes Playing: At Laemmle's Music Hall, Beverly Hills <

Nature is a marvelous thing, but not at 3 a.m. and not in my backyard. These spring nights, my little patch of green is an environmental battleground. On one side, there's the mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), whose nonstop shrieking--"Chip chip chirrup, bop bop shebop, fool's in bed!"--is designed to impress female mockingbirds and also to drive the hapless homeowner insane. On the other side is me (Homo suburbus), lying sleepless in a pile of twisted sheets, plotting my next move.

Robert Mulligan, who was nominated for an Academy Award for directing the 1962 film classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Saturday at his home in Lyme, Conn. He was 83. Mulligan had heart disease, his nephew Robert Rosenthal said. The director began working in live television in New York in the early 1950s and won an Emmy Award for the TV movie "The Moon and Sixpence" in 1960.

Harper Lee, the 87-year-old author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," has filed suit against her literary agent over the rights to her classic novel. The suit alleges that the agent took advantage of Lee's age and infirmity when she assigned the copyright to him six years ago. In 2007, Lee was living in an assisted living facility and had recently suffered a stroke when she signed over the rights of "To Kill a Mockingbird" to her agent, Samuel Pinkus, and his agency Keystone Literary.

Collin Wilcox Paxton, who played the poor Southern white girl who falsely accuses a black man of raping her in the 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," has died. She was 74. Paxton died Oct. 14 of brain cancer at her home in Highlands, N.C., said her husband, Scott Paxton. Then known as Collin Wilcox, Paxton was a seasoned stage actress when she auditioned for the role of Mayella Violet Ewell in "To Kill a Mockingbird." The film, set in Depression-era Alabama, starred Gregory Peck, who won an Oscar for his performance as Atticus Finch, the kind and principled lawyer and widowed father of two who defends the accused black man, played by Brock Peters.

Harper Lee was working as an airline reservations agent in New York City, struggling to write a novel tentatively titled "Atticus," when a close friend gave her enough money to take time off and finish her book. Published in 1960 with an initial print run of just 5,000 copies, "To Kill a Mockingbird" became an instant phenomenon: a critically acclaimed bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner, followed by a multiple-Oscar-winning 1962 film featuring the iconic performance of Gregory Peck as courageous Southern lawyer Atticus Finch.

'Hey Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'" MPAA rating: Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 22 minutes Playing: At Laemmle's Music Hall, Beverly Hills <

Harper Lee was working as an airline reservations agent in New York City, struggling to write a novel tentatively titled "Atticus," when a close friend gave her enough money to take time off and finish her book. Published in 1960 with an initial print run of just 5,000 copies, "To Kill a Mockingbird" became an instant phenomenon: a critically acclaimed bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner, followed by a multiple-Oscar-winning 1962 film featuring the iconic performance of Gregory Peck as courageous Southern lawyer Atticus Finch.

In her last in-depth interview about writing, Harper Lee talked about her hometown, Monroeville, Ala., in 1964, telling Roy Newquist: We simply entertained each other by talking. It's quite a thing, if you've never been in or known a small Southern town. The people are not particularly sophisticated, naturally. They're not worldly wise in any way. But they tell you a story whenever they see you. We're oral types — we talk. Sunday is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird," and Monroeville is still a place rich with stories and storytellers.

Collin Wilcox Paxton, who played the poor Southern white girl who falsely accuses a black man of raping her in the 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," has died. She was 74. Paxton died Oct. 14 of brain cancer at her home in Highlands, N.C., said her husband, Scott Paxton. Then known as Collin Wilcox, Paxton was a seasoned stage actress when she auditioned for the role of Mayella Violet Ewell in "To Kill a Mockingbird." The film, set in Depression-era Alabama, starred Gregory Peck, who won an Oscar for his performance as Atticus Finch, the kind and principled lawyer and widowed father of two who defends the accused black man, played by Brock Peters.

Robert Mulligan, who was nominated for an Academy Award for directing the 1962 film classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Saturday at his home in Lyme, Conn. He was 83. Mulligan had heart disease, his nephew Robert Rosenthal said. The director began working in live television in New York in the early 1950s and won an Emmy Award for the TV movie "The Moon and Sixpence" in 1960.

Brock Peters, the actor best remembered for his touching portrayal of a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman in the Oscar-winning film "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Tuesday. He was 78. Peters died at his Los Angeles home of pancreatic cancer, said Miles Kreuger, president of the Los Angeles-based Institute of the American Musical. Peters had been diagnosed with cancer in January.

The Pulitzer Prize in fiction, announced Monday, has been awarded to Adam Johnson for his book set in North Korea, "The Orphan Master's Son. " The committee described the book as "an exquisitely crafted novel that carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart. " Johnson teaches at Stanford; "The Orphan Master's Son" is his third book. Sharon Olds won the poetry award for her collection "Stag's Leap," cited as "a stunningly poignant sequence of poems that tells the story of a divorce, embracing strands of love, sex, sorrow, memory and new freedom.

Mary Badham gave one of the greatest child performances as the tomboyish 6-year-old Scout in the classic 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." It was one of those rare times when character and actor blended seamlessly together. Many film critics say her scenes with Oscar-winner Gregory Peck, who played her widowed father -- the principled, honorable attorney Atticus Finch -- are among the most tender ever put on screen.