By PETER HARTLAUB, San Francisco Chronicle
Indie cred gave 'Iron Man' filmmaker his shot
Jon Favreau wrote and starred in "Swingers" and directed "Elf." He doesn't seem like the obvious guy to hand a nine-figure budget to for a studio's new superhero franchise.
Hate musicals? Give these a try
For many moviegoers, just the word "musical" is enough reason to stay home and rent a Steven Seagal straight-to-video release. As someone who still favors a good action movie over most independent films, I grew up avoiding singing and dancing whenever possible.
Inventor says he has a batter idea
Getting the pancake batter into the whipped-cream canister actually was the easy part. Batter Blaster creator Sean O'Connor says he managed to come up with something edible on the first try.
An early look at the Oscars race
Academy Award nominees will be announced Jan. 22, and the winners announced Feb. 24. But why wait until the names go public, when we can speculate, speculate, speculate into the new year?
Making 'Youth Without Youth' brings Coppola full circle
Francis Ford Coppola's name has become synonymous with operatic filmmaking: helicopters flying in formation, Italian weddings and sets so big that a gaffer could get lost on the way back from

