Arts & Entertainment, film, television, books, music, people and celebrities, arts

By BARBARA VANCHERI
If you took all the money made by "Click," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Talladega Nights," it still wouldn't match the booty from "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

The seaworthy sequel has grossed $407 million and counting, making it the No.

By ROB OWEN
Maybe Frank Welker has an inferiority complex.

"My mother was the only woman to ever have been re-elected to three consecutive terms in the Colorado state senate. My father was nominated for a Nobel Prize for his innovations in physics," said Welker, a well-known Hollywood voice actor.

A guide to movies from a family perspective:

"Crossover"

_ Rated: PG-13.

_ Suitable for: Tweens and older.

_ What you should know: This urban drama, starring Anthony Mackie, Wesley Jonathan and Wayne Brady, is set in Detroit against the world of underground streetball.

By DUSTY SAUNDERS
It's time that Hugh Laurie fans forget about their disappointment that he was not nominated for an Emmy and concentrate on the future _ Tuesday, to be precise _ when "House" returns for its third season.

Fans are in for a surprise regarding Dr.

By PHIL VILLARREAL
Cross "Crossover" off your list of movies you need to see.

The pandering urban hoops drama lumbers along with all the bounce of an under-inflated basketball. Even with all the rap music, bling and slick moves on the court, the film is still somehow more square than "Hoosiers."

Writer/director Preston A.

By MELISSA DAHL
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Feeling emo today? Even if you didn't start your day under a dark cloud, these songs are all that's needed for an instant bad mood.

Author Tom Reynolds analyzes a list of sigh-inducing songs in his recent book "I Hate Myself and Want To Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You've Ever Heard" (Hyperion, $10.36, 288 pages).

These are songs you've probably wept over many times, but still you listen with your sad box of Kleenex.

By ROB OWEN
If you're tired of the hoopla surrounding Katie Couric's ascension to the anchor desk at the "CBS Evening News," imagine how she feels.

"I'm really excited to get started, to stop talking about this and actually to start doing the job," Couric said in July.

These days, media self-obsession knows no bounds as outlets feverishly report even the tiniest details of the Couric-led broadcast, from the composer of the theme music (James "Titanic" Horner) to Couric's first big "get" (an interview with President Bush, to air in part Tuesday (Sept.

By PHIL VILLARREAL
Now that the summer blockbusters have all blocked and busted, it's time for the good stuff.

As always, the end of the 2006 movie year is backloaded with the Oscar contenders. But, hey, there's also a sequel to "Jackass."

Following are the five films to watch for the rest of the year (Release dates are subject to change, and can vary from city to city.):

5.

By PHIL VILLARREAL
Happiness is slamming a plate of asparagus against the wall. It's telling your boss to shove it and making a vow right here and now to begin improving the way you look naked.

Happiness, as illustrated by Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty," is submitting to your base urges, if only for a little while.

By PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Hardcover best-sellers compiled from data from large-city bookstores, bookstore chains and local best-seller lists across the United States. The first number to the right of the author's name is the book's previous week's ranking; the second is the number of weeks the book has been on the best-seller list.

Fiction Hardcover

1.