Filmmaker Kevin Smith was reportedly removed from an airplane flight because of his large size.

At least one writer smells a bit of a publicity stunt. Yet the airline is offering its apologies. Incidentally, Smith got a warm welcome at a Michigan Theater appearance last fall.

Some other entertainment news to ponder this morning, to help take your mind off the fact that France took gold medals in Nordic combined and biathlon:

MUSIC

• Doug Fieger, lead singer for The Knack (and Geoffrey Fieger's brother), has died of cancer. Their biggest hit, of course, was "My Sharona."

• The Detroit Free Press yesterday had a nice feature on Patti Smith. The pioneering musician/artist/author will be in the area later this week, for a book signing and in-store performance at the downtown Ann Arbor Borders store, as well as a concert at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit.

• The Detroit News reviewed John Mayer's concert at The Palace on Friday, which was blessedly free from references to his recent scary Playboy interview.

TELEVISION

• The University of Michigan dance department's most famous non-graduate — Madonna, of course — is set to appear on the upcoming NBC game show "The Marriage Ref."

MOVIES

• Martin Scorsese's new movie, "Shutter Island," recently premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and has some good early reaction. The Miami Herald has an interview with star Leonardo DiCaprio on his ongoing collaboration with Scorsese.

• "Valentine's Day" dominated the weekend box office, and "Avatar" is still hanging in there.

BOOKS

• Author Dick Francis has died at age 89.

AND FINALLY ...

• The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is returning to Madison Square Garden. And speaking of dogs, Robert Pattinson really, really likes his.

Renee Tellez contributed to this roundup. Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.