Forget The Dark Knight – the hype is already giving way to disappointment. It’s time to start getting really, really excited about Spider-Man the Musical, which will feature a score by U2’s Bono and the Edge and direction from Julie Taymor of Lion King fame. In May, Marvel Executive Peter Cuneo announced that the show could open as soon as next year, with Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood – Taymor’s stars in Across the......

The Brave One (directed by Neil Jordan) As city dwellers and city lovers, we know living in New York can be scary. We just don't usually get reminders of how perilous our home is when we go for entertainment at the movie theater. Irish director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), with the help of one of our best and most revered American actors Jodie Foster, have constructed a randomly violent and morally ambiguous New York......

The Sanitation Chronicles, a new play by and about New York’s Strongest, premiered on Wednesday. Actor/playwright Paul Brno, who’s been moonlighting for the Department of Sanitation for the past 17 years, says “every day is still a great day to be on a garbage truck.” The “slice of life” play explores the daily prejudices, anger and violence faced by “Sanmen”, all of which is exacerbated when one of the guys shows up for work dressed......

Just like Factory Girl, Across the Universe, the $45 million hippie, trippy love story set to the music of 35 Beatles songs, is going through some rough times. Seems the director Julie Taymor and the studio are battling it out. Upon completing her version of the movie, Taymor found out Joe Roth (the film executive whose production company is making the film) had created his own version. He even tested his version last week, leading......

Most people recognize James Urbaniak as the intellectual indie-film icon from Henry Fool and American Splendor, while others probably think of him as the voice of Dr. Venture on Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros. and The Accountant from the (now defunct) series Kidnapped (not to mention the foot fetishist from Sex and the City). Theatergoers remember his critically acclaimed performance in 2005’s Off-Broadway hit Thom Pain (Based on Nothing). And bloggers around the world have......

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: The Morning Show With Mike & Juliet (Monday, 10 a.m. WNYW 5) Fox takes another stab at a morning show. Just the thought of a Fox morning show brings back memories of the insipid Fox After Breakfast from the mid 90s that had Tom Bergeron and Viki Lawremce hosting from a faux Manhattan loft. The new entry is fronted by Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy of the......

Josh Aiello, Author...

The New York Times Weddings section proves that magazine features as well as tons of money and fame can fan the flames of marriage - especially when the famous millionaire is an old/fat/bald man and the woman is much younger and hotter than the man (yes, Gothamist knows the women are accomplished, but let's face it, they're also really attractive). The featured Vows column was about the marriage of famed writer, Salman Rushdie, and model-cookbook......

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......