Every year, Variety issues their Women's Impact Report in which they highlight women in the entertainment industry that they think deserve some praise. From industry executives (like United Artists bigwig Paula Wagner) to household names (like Angelina Jolie), the list spotlights some strong, smart, intriguing ladies.

For the next few Wednesdays I'll focus on some of the women who I find particularly noteworthy as well. I've already sung the praises of filmmaker Adrienne Shelly and Tina Fey, and today I'm turning my attention to one of the world's most beloved authors: J.K. Rowling.

Rowling is responsible for bringing Harry Potter into the world, which turned out not only to have a far-reaching effect on readers of all ages, but also proved financially lucrative.

As her Variety profile points out:

J.K. Rowling's ability to astound in the marketplace has become a given. Barnes & Noble reported pre-orders for the new book at 1.2 million in the U.S., the largest in the chain's history. In its first 24 hours on sale, 8.3 million copies were purchased, topping the previous record (also held by Rowling).

The author already had sold more than 325 million books worldwide and is, according to Forbes magazine, one of just five self-made female billionaires — and the first billionaire author.

Getting to this place of success, however, is truly an inspiring story. To find out what I mean, read more

We may not be getting the crisp fall weather just yet, but we are getting previews for tons of movies opening in the fall. In preparation for this autumn and winter at the theaters, I've broken up the lengthy list of upcoming movies into many small themes for my Fall Movie Preview series. This way, you'll be in the know when the chillier months roll around, bringing a whole new crop of new films. Today I'm focusing on a curious surge of new takes on an old genre: the Western.

The Assasination of Jesse James by That Coward Robert Ford
The title kind of says it all, huh? Brad Pitt stars as Jesse James in this story about Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) who "joins Jesse James's gang, only to become resentful of the legendary outlaw and hatch a plan to kill the fastest gun in the West." The trailer on the movie's website doesn't give a whole lot away, but this movie had me at "Western" and "Brad Pitt."

Giddyup! Two more dusty, gritty Westerns when you read more

In the weeks leading up to the 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards, I'll be looking at the nominees in some major categories and trying to predict who's most likely to win in these Emmy Breakdowns. Up today: Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Lorraine Bracco ("The Sopranos") — Bracco has been nominated three times before this, all three in the lead actress category. Her Dr. Melfi didn't get as much screen time this season as in years past, but she's been a strong and consistent presence on the show, and voters clearly want to reward her work in some way. Plus, as I've mentioned, nobody loves series endings more than the Emmys. I have a feeling this category is all Bracco's. Chance of winning: High.

Rachel Griffiths ("Brothers & Sisters") — Griffiths is a favorite actress of mine, and the episode she submitted — in which she finds out about her husband kissing her half-sister — is probably her best work of the season. Even so, "Brothers & Sisters" is such an ensemble show that it's hard to recognize just one standout performer. Chance of winning: Low.

Four more great actresses, so read more

I recently had the excellent fortune to sit down with one of my favorite young actors: Michael Cera, who you may know from his portrayal of the nervous, dorky George Michael Bluth on "Arrested Development."

Jonah Hill and Chris Mintz-Plasse were there, too, all to promote their upcoming summer comedy Superbad. I've seen the movie — which was co-written by Seth Rogen — and it is as hilarious as it is raunchy. These young gentlemen play off each other as though they've known each other for years, though they only really met on the set of Superbad.

During the time I had with the trio and a couple other journalists, we got an earful on "the inner Judd Apatow circle," how they looked to Dazed and Confused for inspiration, and whether Superbad has a message about teen drinking. Oh, and they give some exclusive advice to high school seniors.

Q. You’re playing characters named Seth and Evan written by Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg]. Did you often go to those guys, or was it all in the script?

Michael: They were on set all the time.... We would go to them, but not for character notes, not like, “How would you play it?” But we would go to them for like, “How should I play this?” because they were good for… you know, they were very, they had very good ideas, they were very attached to the script and knew it very well.

Jonah: But we weren’t doing impressions of them, or playing them in any way.

Michael: I was actually doing an impression of Seth, which was strange.

Jonah: This isn’t like an autobiographical movie for them, like we weren’t playing them. They just kept the names the same, and they wrote it.

Chris: They were probably too lazy to think of new names.

More super great stuff from the boys of Superbad if you read more

• Fox is new with "So You Think You Can Dance"
• NBC has a repeat of "Most Outrageous Moments," is new with "Last Comic Standing," and has a repeat of "Law & Order: SVU"
• CBS is new with "Power of 10" and has repeats of "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: NY"
• ABC has two repeats of "According to Jim" and a repeat of "Primetime," followed by the premiere of "NASCAR in Primetime"
• The CW has two repeats of "America's Next Top Model"
• FX is new with "Rescue Me"
• MTV is new with "The Real World" and "Newport Harbor"
• Bravo is new with "Top Chef"
• TBS has two new episodes of "Tyler Perry's House of Payne"
• Comedy Central is new with "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report"
• Late-night highlights include Sandra Bullock on a repeat of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on NBC, Robin Williams on a repeat of "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS, Sean Hayes on a repeat of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC, and Tina Fey on a repeat of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" on NBC

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