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COUNTRY-STAR EDITION

GOOD WEEK/ BAD WEEK

Taylor Swift

She’ll be the youngest person (at 21) to receive Billboard’s Woman of the Year Award

Hank Williams Jr.

ESPN canned his Monday Night Football intro after he compared President Obama to Hitler

MOVIES

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Johnny Depp

Having already played two iconic writers–Hunter S. Thompson and J.M. Barrie–Johnny Depp will continue his literary streak by producing (and possibly starring in) a biopic of children’s author Dr. Seuss.

TELEVISION

Haters and Winners

Three weeks into the fall season, and some networks have already decided which new series to put out of their misery: an odious reality show, a sexist drama and two dude sitcoms. Quickly picked up for a second season: a pair of female-centric comedies.

The CBS comedy was canceled after only two episodes

Playboy Club

How to Be a Gentleman

H8R

Free Agents

Up All Night

The New Girl

MUSIC

Bjrk Is Not Afraid of the Future (or Wigs)

Digital technology has been blamed for killing the record industry, but Bjrk has fully embraced it. Her latest studio album, Biophilia, was partly recorded with an iPad and released with 10 accompanying apps for download. “Crystalline” takes users through a tunnel filled with neon crystals that pulsate to the beat of the track.

MOVIES

Universal Stands Down

Bowing to pressure from theaters that had threatened to boycott the upcoming comedy Tower Heist, Universal Pictures called off its plan to make the film available to select home viewers just three weeks after its theatrical release. Before it backed down, Universal reignited a feud between movie theaters and film studios and prompted Cinemark, the U.S.’s third largest theater chain, to say it would ban Tower Heist from its 3,800 screens. Cinemark’s move, made in an attempt to push back against the premium video-on-demand business, was not this year’s first such face-off; in April, AMC and Regal battled with four studios that struck a deal with DirecTV to make some movies available to subscribers just 60 days after their release.

DOUBLE EXPOSURE

Photographer Edward Burtynsky, a master at exploring the effects of industry on nature, is being honored with twin New York City exhibitions this fall. The first, on display through Dec. 10 at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, features topographic landscape images like Dryland Farming #24, Monegros County, Aragon, Spain, above. Meanwhile, a Howard Greenberg Gallery exhibition takes a broader, retrospective look at Burtynsky’s 25-year career.

TELEVISION

Saving The Simpsons

D’oh! For a second there, The Simpsons was close to calling it quits after 23 seasons. But Fox renewed the show to run through 2014 after its main voice actors agreed to a one-third salary cut. Don’t pity the stars, though. Each will still pull in at least $6 million a year for voicing Homer, Bart and the rest of Springfield.

VERBATIM

‘”Look at this beautiful kitten.” “F— you, that kitten’s a socialist.” “You’re a f–.” Basically, that’s the crux of all Internet discussion.’

JEFF TWEEDY, lead singer of Wilco, giving Magnet magazine his take on Web discourse

MUSIC

Beyonc Borrows

Being pregnant grants you only so much deference from others. Beyonc has been accused of swiping moves from a Belgian choreographer in the video for her new single “Countdown.” Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker says the singer plagiarized from two of her ballets. Bey says she was just inspired.

NOSTALGIA

A Truly Outrageous Box Set

Before Hannah Montana, there was Jem and the Holograms. The 1980s cartoon, which follows a blond music executive who moonlights as a pink-haired pop star, is now available in an 11-disc DVD set that includes cast interviews and special features.

3 THINGS YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS WEEK

1. The awesomeness of the next James Bond villain.

No Country for Old Men villain Javier Bardem will star as a baddie in the as-yet-unnamed Bond 23.

2. An end to celebrity obliviousness.

It’s alive and well in the stars who decided to drop in on Occupy Wall Street knowing full well they would be mocked. (Hello, Kanye!)

3. Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic.

Everything about it, from the casting (Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his younger lover) to the network (HBO), indicates that it’s going to be a good one.