Calendar Girls

J. Lo, Kate, and Gisele flaunt it in 2006

November 29, 2005

WEB: Sure, you love Jennifer Lopez for her singing voice. But in case you're interested, she shows off some of her other assets in the 2006 edition of the Pirelli Calendar, that annual collection of haute pinups by some of the world's best photographers. This year, British-Turkish duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott follow in the footsteps of Ritts, Weber, and Testino with black-and-white, Riviera-themed photos of La Lopez & Co. At pirellical.com, you can view the entire archives, from the 1964 debut on—think Kate, Naomi, Cindy, and Gisele in all their natural glory.

MOVIES: Perpetually underappreciated musical innovator Townes Van Zandt—memorably described as "a rambler, gambler, hell-bent drunk, and arguably the greatest American songwriter of his day"—gets part of his due courtesy of a new documentary out Friday. In Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, and Steve Earle share stories about the rabble-rouser, while the moviemakers showcase Van Zandt's unclassifiable brand of country/folk/blues by featuring 25 of his original songs.

DVD: Wheelchair-rugby players show what kind of trouble you can get into sitting down in Murderball, the critically praised documentary that arrives on DVD this week. And rescued from the vaults just in time for King Kong's unstoppable marketing push: The Frighteners, from a pre-Hobbits Peter Jackson. Michael J. Fox stars as a ghost-busting investigator, though the real headliners are Jackson's twisted humor and special-effects wizardry. Comes with the inevitable director's commentary and behind-the-scenes dish.

BOOKS: Before he set the mold for eccentric auteurs, Stanley Kubrick was a teenage photographer for Look magazine. More than 350 of his early lifestyle and celebrity shots have been gathered in Stanley Kubrick: Drama and Shadows, an aptly named tome for a man who once shot an entire film using only natural light and thousands of candles. Also this week, Post Secret, the blog that indulges every voyeuristic and exhibitionistic whim, introduces a collection of some of its greatest confessions to date.