AGE OF INNOCENCE ENDS: Winona Ryder convicted by a jury Wednesday of grand theft and vandalism stemming from her shoplifting arrest at the Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue. She was acquitted of a felony burglary count. A sentencing hearing is pending.
HANGING UP THE ADIDAS: During a press conference Wednesday announcing their support of their late deejay Jam Master Jay's family, Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels said Run-D.M.C. won't record or tour again. "As a tribute to the positive legacy of Jam Master Jay, we started together and we want the Run-D.M.C. legacy to always reflect the three of us together," said Simmons.
SUMMIT: In the middle of his Cuban tour, Steven Spielberg spent eight hours chatting with President Fidel Castro on Wednesday. The director also visited Havana's largest synagogue.
IN COURT: CBS following through on threats and suing ABC over the planned reality series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, which CBS says illegally rips off Survivor. The suit seeks unspecified damages and a court order stopping ABC from airing the show.
BUTTING HEADS: Steven Soderbergh and 20th Century Fox reportedly battling the Motion Picture Association of America over the rating for the director's upcoming Solaris. The MPAA has given the film an R apparently because of two scenes featuring George Clooney's butt.
IT'S A BOY! Live with Regis and Kelly cohost Kelly Ripa announcing this morning that she is expecting a baby boy in February. The tyke will be her her third child with hubby Mark Consuelos.
BRAT PACK BREAK-UP: Molly Ringwald filing for divorce from her husband, French novelist Valery Lameignere, after three years of marriage. She blames the split on "cruel and inhuman treatment," according to ET Online.
HE'LL BE BACK: Arnold Schwarzenegger emerging victorious as California voters approved a statewide referendum he spearheaded on after-school programs for children. The ballot initiative was widely seen as a dry run for a potential gubernatorial bid by the Terminator star in 2006.
HITTING THE ROAD: Bon Jovi announcing a world tour in support of the band's new album, Bounce. The trek will kick off on February 8 in State College, Pennsylvania.
IN THE BEDROOM: NYPD Blue creator Steven Bochco teaming with HBO to create an hourlong drama series that will be set entirely around the bedroom area of a married New York couple. The cable channel will air the 13-episode first season in early 2004.
SENDOFF: Russell Crowe turning up at the London wake of Richard Harris on Monday to pay respects to his Gladiator costar. "I love him and I miss him," Crowe said.
BLAKE UPDATE: Robert Blake, who is accused of killing his wife, set to give a jailhouse deposition next week in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her children.
NOT WANTED AGAIN: A Miami judge withdrawing an arrest warrant for O.J. Simpson for skipping a court appearance Wednesday. The judge made the move after the former footballer's attorney appeared in court to address a charge that claimed Simpson sped through a protected manatee zone in a power boat. Simpson has pleaded innocent.
QUEEN OF MEAN? Former Rosie staff and editors telling the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair that Rosie O'Donnell was prone to child-like tantrums that often were directed at her employees and was overly abusive towards them. O'Donnell denied the charges.
SHILLING: Celine Dion coming aboard to pitch cars for Chrysler, and will lend her image to a variety of Chrysler advertisements over the next several years, including recording a new song for the automaker.
STREET-FIGHTING MEN: Teamsters pledging to shut down two Rolling Stones concerts this weekend at San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park if promoter Clear Channel Communications doesn't agree to use union workers. Several trucks delivering equipment for the Friday and Saturday shows have already turned around without making deliveries.
SIDELINED: Bruce Springsteen's concert in Austin on Wednesday postponed because E Street Band saxophone player Clarence Clemons needed surgery Monday for a detached retina. The surgery was successful and the date will likely be rescheduled.
IN THE AIR: Singer Phil Collins announcing he will take a hiatus from touring so he can protect his ears. The musician suffers from ear problems stemming from a year and a half ago when he was recording his latest album and developed "sudden deafness," a viral infection that affected the hearing in one ear.
BROTHERLY LOVE: Filmmaking brothers Ridley and Tony Scott teaming up to develop three drama projects for CBS for fall 2003 , including T.I.M.E., a science-fact mystery-adventure series following a group of treasure hunters turned archaeologists who discover that humankind's past is not as science has presented it.
THE KID IS IN THE CHAPEL: Famed Hollywood producer Robert Evans (The Godfather, Chinatown) tying the knot with former model Leslie Ann Woodward on the beach in Mexico over the weekend, according to syndicated gossip Liz Smith. Evans is 72, Woodward, 34.
WILLIE'S WHISKEY: Country singer Willie Nelson introducing his own Old Whiskey River Kentucky Straight Bourbon. The whiskey's made with select grains purchased from independent family-owned farms, which Nelson supports as a cofounder of Farm Aid.
USE YOUR ILLUSION: Comedic magic duo Penn & Teller signing on to star in a series that will find them using their knowledge of con artistry, magic and carnival tricks to unveil the scams behind such topics as TV psychics, alien abductions and fad religions. The show, tentatively titled Penn & Teller, will premiere on Showtime in January.
HORSE RACE: CBS topping the week ended November 3 with 12.78 million average total viewers, just barely edging out NBC's 12.42 million as the two battle for honors during the all-important sweeps period.