Pictured: Ballet rehearsals, New York City, ca. 1916. From the Library of Congress. If you're head over heels for the ballet, we've got some good news: The New York City Ballet announced last week that they would be hosting two open dress rehearsals of Susan Stroman's Double Feature this month. The company began the open rehearsals last year with Peter Martins's Romeo + Juliet, and they hope to continue them annually. The press release......

Due to the Writer's Guild of America strike, Hollywood's party, the Golden Globes Awards were transformed from a boozy, fun dinner party to a press conference where presenters from entertainment programs like Extra! and E! News got to announce the winners. Yes, it was as painful as it sounded (Giuliana Rancic, it's not about you); many said they couldn't believe they were announcing the winners but said they would prefer it with the stars.......

The Gotham Awards gala run by the Independent Feature Project (IFP) will be held in Brooklyn for the first time tonight, after 17 years spent bouncing around between Roseland, Hammerstein Ballroom and Chelsea Piers. This year the independent film awards will take place on the soundstage of Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Among the thousand-plus guests expected to attend are Javier Bardem, Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Uma Thurman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Brooklyn’s......

Adam Moss, editor-in-chief of New York magazine may have one of the most dangerous-looking offices in publishing this morning, as it is probably crowded with a number of large sharp-edged and -angled Ellies, or National Magazine Awards. New York was nominated for seven awards and its capture of five of them added an air of upset to the proceedings. MediaBistro's FishbowlNY live-blogged the event last night from Lincoln Center:9:16PM: The magic night for Adam ("I'm......

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: iVillagelive (WNBC & Bravo, Monday, 12:00 noon) NBC launches this lifestyle show focused on women on Monday. What makes it different from other such shows is that it is going to have an interactive component, since it is a spin-off from the NBC-Universal owned website iVillage.com. The 2006 Billboard Music Awards (WNYW 5, Monday, 8:00 p.m.) Yet another music awards show. The only reason it is noteworthy......

A young man trying to help support his family with roofing gigs overhears a mysterious conversation on the job. His employer seems to be involved in some amazing money making scheme and when the man dramatically kills himself, our hero takes the train ticket and hotel reservation which has been sent to him. What he finds at the end of that trip only gets more dangerous by the minute in Gela Bablauni's movie, 13......

It's Oscar Night and Gothamist is here. Tonight, it'll be a joint effort, from our resident film guru Karen Wilson and our resident Oscar freak Jen Chung. We hope you weigh in with what you think! KW: I have my popcorn, my diet coke -- I am ready for the spectacle and the excess. JC: ALL RIGHT! I just took extra Vitamin C - I'm waiting for some food delivery. 6:36PM Isaac Mizrahi has NOT......

New Feature Alert! In a city filled with music, bands and venues we sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed and underenthused. So here's the deal, we are going to write about one NYC band each week. We want to introduce you to some new music that we've heard, and we want you to introduce us to some new music as well (see end of post). We're all listening through cluttered ears, but that's only because we......

There's only one major wide release this weekend, and although it stars an Oscar winner, we can pretty much guarantee Paramount isn't expecting any year-end kudos for Aeon Flux. In fact, it looks like the studio is hoping to slyly score a big opening weekend on the draws of Charlize Theron in skintight rubber and fans of the old MTV animated series because they aren't letting critics anywhere near it -- apparently no press screenings......

There are some great benefits happening around town tonight, we suggest you hit one, or both, up if you have the time. Billabong & Boarding for Breast Cancer celebrate See Me Speak Art Collaborative tonight at Melody Weir Gallery. As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 50% of all art sales will benefit Boarding for Breast Cancer Organization. Feature will be work from some of the country's finest emerging and established artists. Cocktail Reception,......

Gen Art is well underway with its decadent parties and premieres. The good news is there are still five more nights of revelry. What makes Gen Art unique is that it only screens seven features and seven shorts, while other fests screen tens of hundreds of films. And each night’s film is followed by an afterparty at some hot spot with 2-hour open bar. Also unlike other festivals, this one is more audience-driven and......

Arguably the most important film festival in the world, even after last year's unspectacular showing, the Cannes Film Festival starts again, with movie screenings around the clock, preening stars, and deals being made furiously. Why is Cannes important? In a nutshell, it helps films get launched, whether they're American films looking for a bigger audience (think Pulp Fiction and Mulholland Drive) or foreign films looking for American distribution. Films Gothamist is interested in that are......

In time for the Oscars this Sunday, greg.org has a great interview with Errol Morris about making The Fog of War, one of the best movies Gothamist has seen this year. greg.org captures the cadence of Morris, one of the most influential filmmakers today, in the way he spaces the interview. For example, when greg.org asks how Morris made the film and he responds: Very, very few people ever ask me about the film as......

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar....

The evening is over, while Gothamist will be following up with extensive commentary about the actual Oscar telecast, here are the winners and some post-game analysis: Best Picture: Chicago - Marty Richards Not a huge surprise given the momentum Chicago's had since the Golden Globes, but there was an outside chance of a Pianist upset with The Pianist's acting, directing, and screenplay awards. But in the end, Harvey got his best picture. Best Actor in......

If you're a member of the Independent Feature Project, take advantage of the second Charlotte Sometimes showing this weekend at the Pioneer Theater in the East Village, as part of the screening schedule for Independent Spirit Award nominated films. Charlotte Sometimes was nominated for two - Best Supporting Actress, Jacqueline Kim, and Best feature under $500,000. The only other things I know about it are that Roger Ebert thought it was a wonderful film (he's......

The New York Emmys were announced today and to no one's surprise, WNBC led the pack. The Daily News has more but I'd like to let Jake know his favorite reporter, Toni Sencal, was nominated for "Multi-Part News Feature" for her "Weird New York" series plus "Entertainment Reporting." PDF of the nominees. I'm sure Jake will be at the Regent on March 30, 2003, hoping for a glance.......

As a hopeless cinephile, I feel that the year I spend watching movies is like having a crush on some unattainable person. It makes me feel alive, with all the planning and dreaming and effort I put into it, and somehow, even when I see a bad movie, it’s okay, because it’s one of the knocks I take in wishing that maybe this in time, after paying $10+ for a movie, it might reward my......