Here's what's being talked about in pop culture:
• "Thor: The Dark World" won the weekend at the box office, with $38.5 million but "The Best Man Holiday" surprised with a stronger-than-expected second-place take of $30.5 million. [Box Office Mojo]
• Legendary screenwriting teacher Syd Field, who literally wrote the book (several of them, in fact) on the classic three-act script structure, died at the age of 77. [BBC]
• Two authors of very different types died over the weekend: Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing, who wrote about her liberated and unconventional life, died at age 94; and Barbara Park, creator of the "Junie B. Jones: First Grader" children's book series, died from ovarian cancer at age 66. [AP, via The Salt Lake Tribune; Los Angeles Times]