Photo of sign via epc's Flickr. Following an announcement last September of the film getting the remake treatment, The Taking of Pelham 123 started scouting NYC nooks and crannies to film in. Now shooting has commenced, and today Denzel Washington & Co. can be found in DUMBO. Unless, of course, this is a set for The Talking of Telham 123, as the sign suggests -- in which case, don't expect to spot John Travolta......

Photograph of Queens native Amy Ryan, nominated for best supporting actress for her role in Gone, Baby Gone At 8:30PM (following a half-hour red carpet special), the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony will begin, finally putting an end to the "There Will Be Oscar" or "Oscar Country for Old Men" type headlines. You can prep yourself with the Oscar nominees list as you watch (or avoid) red carpet coverage. You could read NY Times......

Ooh, a fun update about the remake of The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three. AMNY's Subway Tracker reports that location scouting is well under way, "Crews were at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station today...crews will be doing a camera test near Jerome and Tremont in the Bronx tomorrow some time (near the 4 line)." Transit officials even confirmed that crews were scouting today! Last September, the remake plans were announced, with Tony Scott directing and Denzel Washington reprising......

A man posing as Heath Ledger's father managed to get free hotel rooms and talk to Tom Cruise and John Travolta after the actor's death last week. The Post reports the "twisted impostor" got Tom Cruise to console him on the phone and almost "got John Travolta to buy him a plane ticket to the United States." Why does this sound like a radio shock jock prank? With Ledger's father Kim (pictured) rumored to arrive......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A murder-suicide on East 176th Street in the Bronx, a confined space rescue at 680 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and a sexual assault at Victory Blvd & Bay St. in Staten Island Breaking: The city and families of September 11 victims have worked out a compromise for this year's anniversary events; the city will allow families to enter the pit at Ground Zero. The Dow dropped 387 points today......

300 (directed by Zack Snyder) As digital technologies get more savvy, it seems as though the line between video game and movie gets even more blurry. A prime example is the adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.E. 300, which is out on DVD this week. Everything about this movie is overblown and over-the-top from the "brave few against the demonic many" plot line to the actors' chiseled......

If you haven't heard about Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Timberlake's Southern Gothic exploitation movie, Black Snake Moan, you may have been living under a movie-free rock. Ricci plays a bad, bad girl who must learn to mend her ways under the racially and sexually fraught tutelage of jazz musician Jackson. How shall he do that? Why chain her to the radiator until she repents of course. One of this movie's key words......

READING: Mira Jacob and Alison Hart host yet another of Pete's Reading Series. Tonight they welcome Nell Freudenberger, author of "The Dissident" - which sounds almost like a Tom Robbins novel, with a Chinese performance artist and former political prisoner accepting teaching fellowships at a girls school. Also reading tonight will be Dana Spiotta, author of "Eat the Document", which focuses on lives in the aftermath of 1970s radicalism. 7:30pm // Pete's Candy Store [709......

Gothamist was a bit underwhelmed by this year's Golden Globe nominees, and we were thinking of not liveblogging. But, gosh darn it as we watched the E! preshow and saw the starlets sparkle their way down the red carpet, we realize it was hopeless, so here we are. Let it be known that: - Keira Knightley looks gorgeous in her white Valentino - and there's something surprisingly youthful about the dress, even though there's that......

Good lord. It's not even five minutes into the Emmys and Gothamist (and friends Aaron Dobbs of out of focus and a Gothamist contributor, and Margaret Lyons, formerly of Chicagoist) is very very frightened. There is no reason why Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas should force Doris Roberts to dance with them. Doris needs to get the AARP to fight the fight with her. Welcome to Gothamist's attempt to liveblog the Emmys, until the......

Months after the poster incident, the NY Times heads to the bowels of the Times Square subway station where the Scientologists are trying to de-stress New Yorkers. Whatever you may think of the Scientologists (Tom Cruise! Aliens! John Travolta! More aliens!), Gothamist has to give it up to them for picking one of the more insane subway stations to prey upon traumatized commuters and naive tourists who think "Wow, the secrets to a stress-free life......

President Bush celebrates 100 years of flight with the most logical celebrity: John Travolta. Gothamist is split between a Scientology reference and a John Travolta's Clintonesque portrayal in Primary Colors reference. And speaking of Bush preisdents and flight, check out this statue of elder George Bush at Houston Intercontinental Airport.......

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......

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

I saw Laurel Canyon this weekend, and besides finding it a really good (it's been getting mixed reviews, but it really drew me in and involved me...it's richly atmospheric and has great acting...some things are a little clumsy, but overall, it worked), it has a fantastic soundtrack. The songs help you sink into the neo hippie lifestyle of Laurel Canyon and the Frances McDormand character, a free-living record producer. Songs for the band in the......