A lively, discontented rabble marched through the East Village Friday night, protesting what they see as the neighborhood’s ongoing desiccation, caused by “real estate developers, landlords, yuppie wine bars and Republicans.” Organized by longtime gadfly John Penley, the group swelled to approximately 100 protesters, who jeered, sang, read poetry and generally condemned others for enjoying fine wine and luxury apartments. Vanishing New York has a thorough account of the proceedings, which started outside the newish......

When it comes to turbo-gentrification, longtime East Village activist John Penley has drawn a line in the sand at the Bowery Wine Co.; the newish wine bar co-owned by actor Bruce Willis. Penley, who joined Jerry "the Peddler" Wade in pushing the Parks Department to permit this August’s concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Tompkins Square Park riots, not only objects to the “yuppie” wine bar’s sterile aesthetics but also Willis’s GOP support. A......

Has Bruce Willis left behind beer and barstools for wine and a more posh drinking atmosphere? The NY Post is saying yes. Willis has reportedly become a partner with the Bowery Wine Co., where he was spotted bartending at his private party last week. The watering hole (which is "upscale and loungy") is set to open its doors to the public this weekend, and is located at 13 East 1st Street (housed within Avalon Bowery......

Remember that whole Hep-A scare at West Village bar Socialista? Reports came in this week that the whole thing may have been a joke -- but who's laughing? Probably not the owners of Socialista. Word is that Ashton Kutcher has a new show coming out called Pop Fiction, which has thus far been kept under wraps. Not straying far from his Punk'd roots, the series (which will air on the E! network) is a prank......

Making fun of hipsters isn't even ironically cool anymore, but this video of The Hipster Olympics somehow still manages to be funny. The hipsters go through a series of challenges including picking out ironic thrift store t-shirts (obvs), photographing themselves for their MySpace profiles, and tossing out albums by artists who have sold out by becoming popular (Of Montreal, Caribou, The Beatles and the sarcastic selection of Bruce Willis). Find out who wins the silver......

Ratatouille (directed by Brad Bird) For fans of animated movies, the work produced by the Pixar studio hold a prominent place in our hearts. Pixar and their often rocky involvement with the Disney Company was back in the news a year and a half ago, when Disney (who had previously released a number of Pixar projects like Toy Story, Monsters Inc and The Incredibles) purchased Pixar to the tune of $7.4 billion in stock and......

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters (directed by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis): With all of the trans fats and rat infestations, fast food can be a scary thing these days. You can't help but wonder then if it was one really bad double bacon cheeseburgers that led to the creation of Aqua Teen Hunger Force's cartoon trio Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad. A full length feature film version of Adult Swim's......

Grindhouse (directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino): Directors and friends Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez really love old movies, particularly the exploitation B movies of '70s with their silly fake violence and boobs galore. They've crafted a three hour, double feature homage to their favorite genre called Grindhouse, which starts with Rodriguez's chemical weapon zombies on Planet Terror, takes a brief intermission with some fake "prevue" shorts and ends with Tarantino's car chase/girl's revenge......

Scoping out movie sets is practically a city-wide past time in New York and today in the New York Times' City Life, Francis X. Cline elaborates on the natives' love/hate relationship with the constant filming on our streets. While it's easy to love catching a few celeb sightings on your lunch break or nab a snack from the unsuspecting Craft Services, it seems complaints about location scouts getting carte blanche on illegal parking led......

This week's new film releases are a lovely New York melting pot: ballroom dancing teens, Arab/Israeli anxieties, motor skills-challenged geeks, neurotic female friends, and a thoughtful Polish director thrown in for good measure. Spring may have sprung outside but it's also a great time to be inside at the movie. If you saw last year's documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, you're already familiar with dancing teacher Pierre Dulaine and his work with children around the country.......

Can't you just feel the Oscar buzz in the air? The jangling of borrowed jewels and the buzzing of nominees nerves is like a cacophony even on this coast. Gothamist is excitedly anticipating the telecast like June Carter Cash before a duet with Johnny. In the meantime though, there are movies to be watched. As for the new releases, if you like movies where Bruce Willis takes charge with his sensitive but still ass-kicking masculinity,......

Mos Def, the rapper-turned-actor, is having child support problems. His estranged wife, Maria Yepes-Smith (Mos Def's real name is Dante Smith), says that he's failed the pay the full $10,000-a-month for their two daughters that he's owed for the first two months of the year, only paying $8,000 each time. Mos Def's lawyer claims that his business obligations, plus supporting three other children, are making it difficult. Def even spoke up during the hearing, much......

Gothamist has our guacamole and Tostitos with a Hint of LIme (best tortilla chip ever!) and we're ready to see if anything crazy happens during the game. Pre game: Stevie Wonder and friends perform hits of Motown. Joss Stone, India.Arie, John Legend... Gothamist loves Stevie Wonder, but medleys hurt our heads. This is a nod to Detroit's heritage, but let's face it, the Stones are the halftime act because their fans are the attractive-to-advertisers......

For the last 24 hours we've been deluged with requests to track down Chris Parnell's "Lazy Sunday Afternoon" video (AKA "The Narnia Rap"). It can be found at YouTube, and it is indeed the funniest thing SNL has put up in about five years. A quick transcription of the lyrics: Lazy Sunday wake up in the late afternoon call Parnell just to see how he's doing hello what up pas! yo sandburg, whats rocking?......

Gothamist can only suspect that the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards were so stultifyingly boring is because somehow, Miami and the huge US Air Arena sucked the energy out of everyone. We think the overly manufactured entertainment industry is digging its own grave (A&R guy: "Hey, we need another 'rock' group...it's be a bunch of guys with spiky hair and punkish clothing...let's give 'em a wacky one-word name, too!"), because watching commentary-less CSPAN coverage of......

Ever since watchdog groups wondered if Jodie Foster was victimized playing a young prostitute in Taxi Driver, the welfare of children acting in Hollywood is closely monitored. However, Gothamist is disturbed by one young rising star's current position as the go-to victim: Little Dakota Fanning, who stars in today's new release, Man on Fire. Not only is she playing yet another preternaturally aware little girl in today's new release whose charming ways soften the reserve......

Okay, let's get it out of the way: Madonna kissed Britney. Madonna kissed Christina. Fine. Of course Madonna did something outre and not very Gappy by kissing Britney and Christina, but when Gothamist started to think about it, it was totally predictable and not that hot or exciting. It was calculated and a little boring. It's hot only in the way that the media will be able to say "girl-on-girl" action, but big deal.......

It's good to know that Winona Ryder is basically like the Welcome Wagon for any semi-cute up-and-coming would-be rocker - at least someone is looking out for the lads. That's why she was the focus of a VH1 All Access:Winona Rules! Truly, it makes sense for Winona to be featured, because as Courtney Love says, as quoted on the show's site, "You�re no one in music until you have feuded with me or until you......

NY Post follows up the birth of Carys Zeta Douglas with wondering about the insane names that celebrities give their children. They offer up: Jett Travolta (John Travolta and Kelly Preston), Speck Wildhorse (John Mellencamp), Diezel and Denim (Toni Braxton), Casper (Claudia Schiffer), Romeo and Brooklyn (David and Victoria Beckham), Hopper (Sean Penn), Salome (Alex Kingston), Sailor (Christie Brinkley), Zephyr and Lyric (Robby Benson), Aurelius (Elle MacPherson), Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle (Demi Moore and......