Reviews: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Claim, O Brother, Where Art Thou?


First take: Shopping for movie stardom on the internet; How the Grinch's CG effects stole the show; butt-kicking chick flicks; Mel Gibson gets happy feet; a feast of frocks from the East.


Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves: British director Guy Ritchie, whose previous film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, rocked audiences with its frenetic style, returns with Snatch. This time, he's got American star power too: Leading the cast are Benicio Del Toro and Brad Pitt, who endured tattoos and potato sandwiches in order to work with Madonna's better half.


Funny farm: In O Brother, Where Art Thou? the Coen brothers apply their offbeat sensibility to Hommer's The Odyssey and end up with a set full of singing, dancing actors (including George Clooney) - and one nervous pig.


Chicken run: Premiere recaps the year in film.


No guts, no glory: It seemed like the edge hits of 1999 would have paved the way for a wild and risky 2000. So how come studios and production companies played it so safe this past year?


Wild Horses: Casting conflicts and running-time woes couldn't keep this movie at bay forever: a sweeping look at Billy Bob Thornton's All the Pretty Horses, which is finally trotting into theaters.


River Phoenix: Peter Bogdanovich looks back on his golden moments with the actor who lived fast, died young, and - nearly eight years later - remains shrouded in an almost James Dead-like mystique.


Hollywood strike fever: With actors and writers strikes threatening to halt film production next spring, Hollywood is in hyperdrive: Marquee names are loading up on projects, while eager neophytes are being thrown into stardom at lightning speed.


In a sentimental 'Mood': In the Mood For Love director Wong Kar-wai crafts a beautiful love story - without relying on love scenes.


Signed, sealed, and delivered: By taking chances, seeking out rookie talent, and hooking itself to other studio's hotshot projects, Miramax is playing ''Let's make a coproduction deal'' with the best of 'em.

Hungry for Moore?: Julianne Moore sinks her teeth into ''Hannibal.''


Hannibal: The gory details behind director Ridley Scott's sequel.


Dialogue: Joan Allen & Frances McDormand: Two actresses behind three of the year's most riveting performances chat about how they got started, how they feel about Hollywood, and how they look on camera.


Benicio Del Toro: With Traffic, Snatch, and The Pledge all hitting theaters this season, the unconventional star is quickly rising to the top of the pack.


Dialogue: Oliver Stone & Darren Aronofsky: A veteran rebel filmmaker and a member of the new breed compare notes on beating the Hollywood system.


Nicole Kidman sings!: She kicks up her heels in Moulin Rouge, a sensual musical extravaganza.


Into leatherface?: The making of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.


The 25 most dangerous movies of all time.


Knockaround Guys: Brian Koppelman explains why the Tarantino's influence is still tough to shake.


Before Night Falls: Artist-director Julian Schnabel explores the life of the late Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas.


The Claim: The crew of Michael Winterbottom's western epic torches its own set for a crucial scene.

Action: Marley Shelton ditches sugar for Spice; why Phone Booth had trouble connecting with Hollywood; Joan Crawford's sole provider; and what's happening on Robertson Boulevard. Plus: Elvis may have left the building - but he's still at the multiplex.


When films collide: What happens when Hollywood green-lights two projects about the same thing - at the same time?


The British are cunning: Working Title Films' Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner scored with High Fidelity and Billy Elliot, and they could have two more hits on the way. Who are these guys?


Trade secrets: Click and drag, nip and tuck: Add a teardrop, erase some blood, lose a pimple: With the right software, film perfection is easy.


Lost Hollywood: Noir kinda guy: The man behind original Sin, Michael Cristofer, remembers the mystery writer, Cornell Woolrich, who inspired Hitchcock and Truffaut.


Penelope Cruz: The smoldering star of Captain Corelli's Mandolin talks about life as America's newest screen siren - and why Hollywood's leading men think she's trouble.


Hack to the future: When Jon Johansen broke the encryption code for DVD, he opened the possibility of swapping films online. Is Hollywood about to be Napster-ized?


A touch of gold: Hilary Swank cried, Whitney Houston cracked up, and American Beauty ran the table: An exclusive peek backstage at last year's Academy Awards.


Arnold the barbarian: Hollywood's favorite terminator has a clear weakness: pretty young women. The inside story on Arnold Schwarzenegger's wandering hands, his state-of-the-art heart, and the publicity armor that shields them both.


Guess who's coming to Hollywood?: Chris Rock is on a roll. After successfully straying from pure comedy into edgier territory, he is ready to take on his first romantic lead. Anybody got a problem with that?


Creating a Monster: In his own early storyboards for Hannibal's nightmarish scenes, director Ridley Scott reveals the method behind his thriller's madness.


Reviews: Vatel, Series 7, Company Man.

Action: Paul Walker goes for a spin; the wizard of Oscar, Gil Cates, explains why you don't want a short ceremony, really; the best video store in America; idol chatter with Rip Torn.


Players: The state of his union: With a strike looming, the future of film production rests on the shoulders of one man: SAG prez William Daniels.


Studio system: The Asian evasion: For most of Hong Kong's stars, breaking into Hollywood is still about as easy as sword-fighting on treetops.


Indie exposure: Thanks for no memories: Director Christopher Nolan's Memento is a murder mystery-slash-revenge story told in reverse.


In the works: Julianne Moore and David Duchovny's science project; Matt Damon's Identity crisis; Tyrese's L.A. story.


The devilsh Miss Jones: She may be one of the few women in America willing to gain 15 pounds for her job, but Renee Zellweger has weightier issues to face - such as learning to fly solo again (like Bridget Jones) after her breakup with Jim Carrey.


The Wuz robbed: Premiere's exclusive Oscar-poll results overturn many Academy Award winners from the past 25 years.


Lust et veritas: A secret society at Yale recently revealed that they're not just watching X-rated films at school; they're making one. Meet the Einsteins who want to be Eisenstein.


All that Utah jazz: Mick Jagger, Julia Stiles, Ozzy Osbourne, and others heat up the Sundance Film Festival.


Purr-fect world: What's new, pussycat? For Tara Reid, a lot: starring in Josie and the Pussycats, reading with Gwyneth, and getting engaged to MTV god Carson Daly.


Man of a thousand lives: Robert Evans, the legendary producer behind Chinatown and The Godfather, has led a life as wild as his movies, and survived to tell about it. Barely.


Reviews: The Caveman's Valentine, The Center Of The World, Amores Perros, Sundance Film Festival (Julie Johnson, The Deep End, In The Bedroom, Hedwig And The Angry Inch, The Believer, Waking Life, Tape).

In love and war: At times, the making of Perl Harbor seemed like a war in itself. Ben Affleck learned the true meaning of pain, Kate Beckinsale shed tears, Ewen Bremmer barely survived, and director Michael Bay Feng Shui'd his house in search of inner peace.


The power list: The 100 most powerfull people in Hollywood.


Rock star: After several years as a WWF superstar, The Rock is ready to roll into movies.


The sorcerer's new apprentice: An exclusive peek at the magic being made (by Muggles!) on the set of Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone.


Richard Castellano: From an aspiring movie mogul to... jail.


Shmoozer take all: Once, producer Elie Samaha was riding high but when his formula failed on Battlefield Earth, investors grew suspicious.

The sexiest android alive: Jude Law talks about the year's most hush-hush film, Steven Spielberg's ''A.I.'' Plus how A.I., a futuristic Pinocchio story, finally came to life.


The movie-star prison system: Whose careers are on death row?.


The big guns of summer: 58 hot new films.


Funky Brewster: Jordana Brewster takes the wheel as a sexy speed demon in The Fast And The Furious.


Best in Show: A galaxy of stars align at the ShoWest convention. An eight-page portfolio.


Road worriers: As Thelma & Louise turns ten, Premiere's fearless reporters retrace the steps of the film's famous femme fatales.


Our dumb cinema: The weekly humor paper The Onion recently signed a deal with Miramax Films to bring its pungent brand of satire to the big screen.

Welcome to the Planet Of The Apes: It's Gorilla warfare on the set of Tim Burton's sci-fi epic. The director explains how he got his cast to find their inner simian, and Mark Wahlberg, one of the film's humans, ponders why he 's still dreaming about chimps.


A made woman: Sopranos star Drea de Matteo already knows a thing or two about, well, hits. Now she's showing her stuff on the big screen with three upcoming movies.


Tomb with a view: Kickass action, screenwriter hell, and Angelina Jolie's padded bra. How director Simon West created a cyber-screen star in Tomb Rider.


Bigger bang theories: The secrets behind summer's most amazing scenes. from the explosions of Pearl Harbor to the drag races in The Fast And The Furious


The bombshell and the bodybuilder: Mae West's last days and nights. An exclusive look at a Hollywood legend's final years.


Seth speaks: Seth Green, a 27-year-old acting veteran, is trying to grow up - taking on his first adult role, in America's Sweethearts.


The most shocking movie you 'll never get to see: Battle Royale, the Japanese kill-or-be-killed teen movie, is the most shocking film in recent years - which is why American audiences will likely never see it.


Such a tease: This summer, experience all the drama, the suspense, and the passion when the motion picture industry proudly brings you... the trailer.


Tom Clancy and the battle over Jack Ryan: Why Tom Clancy went to war with Hollywood in the hunt for a red-hot leading man.


In the works: Gwyneth Paltrow reaches a comfortable cruising altitude; Jet Li is The One to watch; Michael Douglas plays mind games.

Reese Witherspoon lets down her hair: The Legally Blonde star has a career plan, a penchant for speaking her mind, and a desire to play the Hollywood game - according to the rules.


Quel Cannes!: At the 54th Cannes film festival, Nicole Kidman, Francis Ford Coppola, Jean-Luc Godard, and other luminaries shined.


The man who fell for earth: Join Woody Harrelson, actor, activist, and ambassador of hemp, on his high but mighty crusade to save the planet.


There's something about ''Carrie'': Sissy Spacek, director Brian De Palma, and many others relive the bloody details of making the horror classic.


The 50 greatest movie posters of all time: Jaws, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, Breakfast at Tiffany's - the mere names of certain films naturally conjure up images of their posters. A look at the 50 best, ever .


Twilight of a god: Despite his legendary status, Marlon Brando is still struggling. An intimate portrait of the master at work.


Jack Valenti's last stand: For 35 years, the presidentof the MPAA has been battling Washington. At 79, is he still up to the fight?

Filmmaker Kevin Smith on playing the strong, silent type.


The Sammy Davis, Jr. Reader gets sweet on the Candy Man.


MTV Movie Awards.


All-Access Hollywood: Gossip columnist George Christy may have a weakness for freebies, but his predecessors were much worse.


George W. Bush has many friends in Hollywood. But who are they?


David Siegel and Scott McGehee: How two filmmakers made it into The Deep End - and into Sundance-goers' hearts.


Lord Of The Rings: Elijah Wood on hobbits, wizards, and other middle-earthlings.


The fall movie preview: The inside line on the season's coolest movies - from the sexy Vanilla Sky to the heavyweight Ali to such star-studded capers as Spy Game and Ocean's Eleven.


Girl talk with Hillary Swank: Boy's Don't Cry star tackles a different sort of costume drama with The Affair of the Necklace.


Hidden Hollywood: 25 years of the star's private moments. Brigitte Lacombe has chronicled Hollywood with her trademark eye for elegance.


Disney vs Pixar: The battle for animation domination.


Reviews: Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, Heist, A.I., O.

Britney goes Hollywood: Can the pop princess become a screen queen?


It takes three: Thanks to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, indie film company Good Machine is firing on all cylinders.


Ben Stiller: On the fabulous world of 'Zoolander'.


'Star Wars' shorts: The best fan films in the galaxy.


Cameron Diaz: An intimate interview with a seriously funny lady. Yes, starring in The Mask really did change her life. The always candid star of Gangs Of New York and Vanilla Sky, gets in touch with her ouvre.


What women want: From Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood to White Oleander to a daring Frida Kahlo biopic, Premiere offers a behind-the-scenes peek at Hollywood's most highly anticipated ''women's movies'' - plus a look at what that phrase even means these days.


Without Limits: Why Tom Cruise's producing partner, Paula Wagner, is a star in her own right.


A woman's touch: Three female writers (Jessica Bendinger, Allison Anders, Helen Fielding) rethink some of cinema's most macho moments, and this time the woman gets the last word.


Most likely to succeed: Leelee Sobieski may have just graduated from high school, but the gutsy star of My First Mister is growing up fast.


The natural: Oscar winner Frances McDormand, who goes glam in the Coen brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There, explains why, at 44, she's finally ready to do nude scenes.