Having a baby Hollywood-style

My daughter is going to have a baby girl on Monday (unless she decides to follow her own timetable and show up sooner).
I figured a great way to count down the days would be to watch movies about expectant parents.
Hollywood has produced lots of movies about pregnancy and expectant parents over the years.
Rene Russo is a pregnant cop trying to get Mel Gibson to marry her in "Lethal Weapon 4," the last of the series. He finally pops the question after she goes into labor.
Mia Farrow learns some disturbing news about her husband and his family as she gets closer to having her child in "Rosemary's Baby."
Molly Ringwald is an honor student whose high school career gets derailed when she and her longtime boyfriend find out she's expecting in "For Keeps?"
Mother and newlywed daughter find out they are expecting together in the sequel "Father of the Bride 2."
Tina Fey hires a woman to have her baby in "Baby Mama," while a woman wants to have a baby but hires a woman to carry the child because she doesn't want to gain weight in "Baby Fat."
Baby movies aren't just American, either. A British couple try about everything to conceive a child in the comedy "Maybe Baby." And a pregnant woman is the world's last hope in the British end-of-the-world thriller "Children of Man."
Here are six movies about expectant parents that will hopefully keep my daughter's mind occupied as the countdown continues. All are available on video and DVD.
"She's Having a Baby" (1988) -- Expectant father Kevin Bacon is a basket case after his wife (Elizabeth McGovern) finally conceives a baby in this John Hughes comedy. Other stars include Alec Baldwin, Holland Taylor, William Windom and Daniel Dugan.
"Knocked Up" (2007) -- Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl (pictured above) unexpectedly hook one for a one-night stand and find themselves expecting in this comedy about a surprise pregnancy. Other stars include Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.
"Juno" (2007) -- Ellen Page is 16 and pregnant and ready to have a baby in this comedy written by Lemont native Diablo Cody. Other stars include Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janey and J.K. Simmons.
"Nine Months" (1995) -- Hugh Grant's life takes a definite turn after longtime girlfriend Julianne Moore tells him her news. Other stars include Tom Arnold and Chicago's own Joan Cusack, and Robin Williams.
"Paternity" (1981) -- A successful New Yorker (Burt Reynolds) decides he wants a child but not a wife, so he recruits Beverly D'Angelo to deliver his baby. Things then get complicated for the non-couple. Other stars include Norman Fell, Paul Dooley and Elizabeth Ashley.
"Junior" (1994) -- Here's one for all the women who wonder how big a baby a man would be if he ever got pregnant. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a scientist who decides to carry a baby with some help from fellow scientists Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson. Other stars include Frank Langella and Pamela Reed.

Hollywood witches not all toil and trouble

The gang from Hogwarts is back in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which opened this morning to record crowds at midnight showings across America.
In this installment, Harry and company must again fight off the growing presence of evil Voldemort while continuing to explore their feelings for one another. The characters (and the actors) aren't kids any more.
Harry and company are witches and wizards of the good sort. They co-exist peacefully with ordinary folk, us Muggles.
Not all Hollywood witches are the good sort. Anjelica Huston is the leader of a plot by witches to rid the world of children in "The Witches." Palos native Robin Tunney turns on her witch girlfriends after they try to kill her in "The Craft." Bette Midler and her sisters try to gain immortality after coming back to life after 300 years in the dark comedy "Hocus Pocus."
And there's a whole nasty genre of witch movies with titles such as "Daughters of Satan" and "Satan's School for Girls" in which the girls are just plain evil.
Many Hollywood witches, though, have a good side. Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer realize the error of their ways and use witchcraft to defeat the devil (Jack Nicholson) in "The Witches of Eastwick." Angela Lansbury uses her powers to defend Britain from Nazi invaders during World War II in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks."
Here are six films available on video and DVD that feature witches who turn out not to be mean and nasty.

"Bell, Book and Candle" (1958) -- Kim Novak is a witch living in New York City who casts a love spell on her handsome neighbor (James Stewart) and then finds herself falling in love with him in his adult comedy. Other stars include Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold and Elsa Lancaster. Avoid the 1976 made-for-television version, it's a stinker. Plans are in the works for a remake but no names have been officially attached to the project.
"Practical Magic" (1998) -- Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock are sisters who learn their witchcraft from their aunts (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest) after their mother dies. Then it's up to Bullock to save her free-spirited sister after she falls in with a nasty guy. Other stars include Goran Visnjic and Aidan Quinn.
"The Wizard of Oz" (1939) -- Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) gets a lot of help from the good witch Glinda (Billie Burke) after she drops a house on a bad witch and starts a blood feud with her sister (Margaret Hamilton) in this family classic that was my daughter's favorite movie while she was growing up. Other stars include Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley.
"Four Rooms" (1995) -- A coven of witches (Madonna, Lili Taylor, Sammi Davis, Valeria Golina, Ione Skye and Alicia Witt) descends on a hotel on New Year's Eve to free their goddess from her prison in the first of four stories in this Tim Roth comedy. Roth is called upon to help out with the plan after Skye shows up without her part of the potion.
"I Married a Witch" (1942) -- A witch (peek-a-boo actress Veronica Lake) comes back to life to torment the descendant of the man (Fredric March) who burned her at the stake by stealing him from his fiancee. Then she drinks the love potion by mistake and falls in love with him with the usual hilarious results. Other stars include Cecil Kellaway and Susan Hayward.
"Teen Witch" (1989) -- Robyn Lively (pictured above) stars as an unpopular high school student who discovers she's descended from the Salem witches and inherits their powers. She then uses her powers to become the most popular girl in the school and win the heart of the football star. Other stars include Dan Gauthier, Caren Kaye and Dick Sergent.

Dolton native joins Oscar voters

BULLETIN: Jane Lynch received a Golden Globe nomination today for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the conniving and bitchy cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester in the Fox musical comedy "Glee." Here is a video six-pack written a few months ago when the Dolton native was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Dolton native Jane Lynch, who so effectively lay down granny law in "Talladega Nights," is one of the recent newcomers invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the 6,000 or so Hollywood types who vote on the Oscars each year.
Lynch is among the busiest actors in Hollywood as she bounces with ease back and forth between feature films and television.
Just this week, she announced that because of her role in the new Fox comedy "Glee," which will air this fall, she must bow out of her role in "Party Down," a comedy show on the Starz cable channel that was recently picked up for a second season. In "Glee," Lynch portrays a cheerleading coach who is the enemy of a high school's tarnished Glee Club.
Hopefully, her new gig won't prevent her from reprising her terrific role as the shrink who tries to help Charlie Sheen cope in the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men." Her give and take with the self-absorbed Charlie is priceless. She also had a great recurring role on "Boston Legal" with William Shatner and James Spade.
Lynch will also be seen on the silver screen this year as Julia Child's sister in the upcoming "Julie & Julia." You can hear her as the voice of a dinosaur in the recently released "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."
She's also not been afraid to appear in movie shorts, including a turn as the title character in "Memoirs of an Evil Stepmother," which is an 18-minute film told from the view of a soap opera star being replaced by her stepdaughter, Snow White.
Lynch has been plying her trade in movies and TV since the late 1980s and eagle-eyed viewers might recall her as a doctor colleague of Harrison Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble in "The Fugitive."
Here are six performances available on video and DVD that highlight the Thornridge High School graduate's career so far.

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (2006) -- Lynch co-stars as Will Ferrell's mom who helps her son bounce back as a racecar driver after his emotional collapse. She also lays down granny law to control Ferrell's wild children. Other cast members include Chicago-area natives John C. Reilly and Michael Clarke Duncan, and Gary Cole, Amy Adams and Leslie Bibb. Talladega Nights

"The 40 Year Old Virgin" (2005) -- Lynch co-stars as Steven Carell's boss who constantly reminds him that she's available to help him shed his virgin status. Other stars include Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks and Kat Dennings. 40 Year Old Virgin
"A Mighty Wind" (2003) -- Lynch co-stars as a former porn star who now leads a folk band with John Michael Higgins in this Christopher Guest improv movie about a folk music reunion. She even throws in a mention about her south suburban roots. Other stars include Guest, Parker Posey, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Bob Balaban. A Mighty Wind
"Best In Show" (2000) -- Lynch's portrayal as a lesbian dog trainer in another Guest improv movie, about a national dog show, is considered to be her breakthrough role. Other stars include Guest, Posey, O'Hara, Levy, Higgins, Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge and Michael Hitchcock. Best In Show
"Role Models" (2008) -- Lynch co-stars as the psycho mentoring director who makes Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd rethink their decision to act as big brothers for a couple of inner-city youths instead of going to jail after they go on an energy-drink induced wild ride. Other stars include Bobb'e J. Thompson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Elizabeth Banks. Role Models
"The L Word" (2005 to 2009) -- Lynch co-stars in 15 episodes as a high-powered lesbian divorce lawyer who becomes an occasional friend and lover to the Southern California women this Showtime series was about. Stars include Jennifer Beals, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner and Pam Grier. The L Word