Eliciting extraordinary performances from a cast headed by Oscar winner Kate Winslet in the title role and with a visually thrilling attention to period detail and rich cinematography by Ed Lachman, Haynes both celebrates and wrestles with the potboiling melodrama of Cain’s story. Except for a few scenes, he wins the bout.

ON THE TUBE

What: “Mildred Pierce,” a five-part miniseries over three nights

When: 9-11 tonight, 9:15-10:30 p.m. April 3 and 9-11:30 p.m. April 10

Airing on: HBO

In its own way, “Mildred Pierce” is a pre-feminist novel about a sister doin’ it for herself during the Depression after she sends her philandering husband, Bert (Brian F.

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The sci-fi thriller opened at No. 1 this weekend with $19 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The film from Relativity Media stars Bradley Cooper as a struggling writer who takes a magical pill that allows him to tap into his maximum brain potential. Suddenly he’s cleaned up, making millions and wowing everyone he meets. Robert De Niro co-stars as a financial guru who’s fascinated by him, with Abbie Cornish as Cooper’s skeptical girlfriend.

“Limitless” broke out of a crowded pack of new releases and holdovers to take the top spot.

Last week’s No. 1, the alien invasion movie “Battle: Los Angeles,” fell to third place with $14.6 million.

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The many faces of Doug Jones

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For someone whose mug rarely graces the big screen, actor Doug Jones has carved out a nice career under wraps and become a bit of a cult favorite.

He’s played a blue-headed fish mutant with big black glasses, ghastly horror creatures with gangly horns and eyes lodged in their palms, a sleek Silver Surfer action figure in a Fantastic Four film, a McDonald’s pitch man with a crescent moon for a head, and a cartoonish version of a French pop star.

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ET was on the scene immediately following David Arquette‘s car accident today and brings you footage of the wrecked cars and cleanup operations — plus we talk to an eyewitness who describes what he saw. 

A man who witnessed the crash tells ET: “I was outside my house, I live down here, and you know, I heard a big collision and I ran up here and it was the Cadillac — David Arquette was driving the Cadillac — went head-on into the Jeep.” 

Arquette spoke out about his car accident via Twitter, saying “I got into a car accident but I’m fine.”

Whatever you’re into, it probably has a trinity.

Cars?: Detroit’s Big Three are General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

Basketball?: The NBA’s most hyped trio consists of the Miami Heat’s LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

JOFFREY BALLET

The Chicago-based dance company will make its Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks debuts next week. The troupe will perform at 8 p.m. Monday at The Granada, 1217 State St., Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $48-$68 for general admission and $28 for UC Santa Barbara students. Call 893-3535 or visit artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu.

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I know, it sounds silly. But that’s the way Hollywood worked.

Maybe it was a lingering resentment from the 1950s, when the rise of television threatened the movie business. Perhaps the hurry-up shooting schedules and limited budgets of TV created a schism between pampered movie stars and the working stiffs knocking out episodes for the boob tube.

And then there was a feeling that people wouldn’t pay to see actors in a theater when they could see them for free in their living rooms.

Whatever the reason, for more than 40 years this odd strain of Hollywood apartheid was in effect. A few actors — James Garner comes to mind — could have a hit TV series and pop in and out of a string of successful movies. But

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