Mandalit del Barco

In medieval art, Virgin Mary was cloaked in blue. In Colonial America "blue laws" made it illegal to buy alcohol on Sunday. And more recently, irreverent blue humor made blue the most off-color color.

The Day of the Dead holiday celebrated in Mexico and other Latin America countries is now the subject of a 3-D animated movie, produced by filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and directed by Jorge Gutiérrez.

Sin City director Robert Rodriguez has been making movies away from the Hollywood machine for years — he does most of his filming in his studio in Austin, Texas.

Award-winning actress Lauren Bacall was Humphrey Bogart's partner on and off the screen. She was nominated for an Academy Award, won two Tony Awards and received an honorary Oscar in 2009.

Actress Lauren Bacall, who paired with spouse Humphrey Bogart in films including The Big Sleep and Key Largo, has died at the age of 89, according to her family's estate.

As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske, in the Bronx, to working class Jewish parents. ...

Motorcycles provide an open road for literature — literally and figuratively. They're sometimes the dramatic device writers use to talk about many things: adventure, rebellion, even inner peace. But motorcycles aren't just a metaphor at Bartel's Harley-Davidson shop in Marina Del Rey, Calif. They're loud and shiny and very real.

...

J.K. Rowling's new book, The Silkworm, has been caught up in Amazon's ongoing fight with publisher Hachette Book Group. Amazon has been delaying delivery on more than 5,000 of Hachette's titles

Apple has reached an out-of-court settlement with states' attorneys general and a number of other complainants over e-book price fixing. Apple had been facing some $800 million in damages.

Born Ruby Ann Wallace, she grew up writing poetry in Harlem and went on to become a playwright, activist, journalist and one of the most prominent actresses of her time. She died Wednesday at 91.

In much the same way it's fighting with publisher Hachette, Amazon is battling with Warner Home Video over terms for its DVD releases. Amazon is denying advance orders of The Lego Movie.

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars is a cult classic for young readers. The film adaptation comes out Friday, and excitement has reached a fever pitch among middle-schoolers obsessed with the book.

"Being a woman over 50 in Hollywood I could commit any crime with impunity, because I'm completely invisible," says actress Annabelle Gurwitch. Her new book is called I See You Made an Effort.

Amazon wants better terms for print and e-books and is refusing pre-orders for upcoming Hachette books, and slowing delivery for those already ordered. Authors are complaining on the Internet.

"If they hold an instrument, they will not take a drug. They will not hold a gun," says Santa Cecilia Orchestra conductor Sonia Marie De Leon De Vega. "It's that powerful."

The state Assembly passed a bill to offer tax incentives to film and TV production companies. Big city mayors signed a letter in support, but it's not clear Gov. Jerry Brown will sign on.

The hotel is part of a group owned by the Sultan of Brunei. The Southeast Asian country has enacted laws based on strict interpretations of Islam that impose restrictions on women and gays.

Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton's new memoir, Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty, tackles classic menswear, her insecurities about aging, and the new places she's learned to look for beauty.

The master of magic realism was the region's best-known writer. His novels were filled with miraculous events and characters; love and madness; wars, dreams and death. He died Thursday at 87.

Journalism's highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize, went to two paper for their coverage of the leak of National Security Agency documents. The Post and Guardian relied on data provided by Edward Snowden.