Photograph of Kathy Bates and AMPAS President Sid Ganis announcing the nominations by Chris Pizzello/AP While the writers' strike continues and prospects of an awards ceremony are unclear, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went ahead and announced the contenders for their 80th annual back-slapping ceremony. Oscar-winning friend of the academy Kathy Bates was on hand to announce this year's golden picks. From Bob Dylan to Michael Clayton, many of the nominations......

During the 80s golden era of Late Night With David Letterman, Chris Elliott was one of the people most responsible for the show's distinctively bizarre style. Playing characters like "The Guy Under the Seats" and "The Regulator Guy," Elliott's contributions were sometimes hilarious and sometimes baffling, but always memorable for their absolutely unadulterated weirdness. He went on to cultivate his peculiar "Chris Elliott" persona in cult classics like the TV show Get a Life and......

FUNDRAISER: It's the 3rd Annual Summer, Sex and Spirits cocktail and shopping extravaganza. Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC), in conjunction with Brooklyn Indie Market join forces for the fundraiser, "an evening of mixing and mingling with retail therapy!" There will be $4 drink specials, 1/2 price sangria pitchers, a deejay and a giveaway...we're also guessing everyone will walk away with at least one free condom. 5 to 8pm // Sugar [311 Church St]......

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......

After Michael Moore's newest documentary, Sicko, leaked onto the internet last week, the movie's distribution companies Lionsgate and Weinstein Co. have taken an unusual tactic to turn unauthorized distribution lemons into viral marketing lemonade. Originally set for a wide release on June 29th, Sicko will now unspool at the Loews Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side starting this Friday, in addition to screening it for preview audiences around the country throughout this week, according......

MOVIE: Michael Moore is in town with his latest film that's pissing off the government while informing the nation, Sicko (trailer here). Get ready to be filled with rage as the carpet is pulled back on the American healthcare system and much, much more. 7pm // Museum of the Moving Image [35th Avenue at the corner of 36th Street, Astoria] // $10 * Moved to June 28th! * THEATER: Prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn has......

Recipe for a Cuban Molotov cocktail: Michael Moore, Harvey Weinstein, a documentary about U.S. healthcare and a federal investigation. No need to mix, because it'll stir into a frenzy on its own. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and his distributor, Harvey Weinstein, appeared at a press conference yesterday to question why the government is investigating Moore's trip to Cuba for his upcoming film, Sicko. The film, which premiered at Cannes and is scheduled to open......

Wallace Shawn has long enjoyed a fruitful career as a character actor in mainstream movies (Clueless, Princess Bride, Chicken Little). He also happens to be one of the world’s most significant dissident writers. His plays The Designated Mourner, Aunt Dan and Lemon and The Fever – to name just a few – have garnered much praise (and controversy) for their unflinching examinations of brutality. Shawn’s plays are political but not polemical; through his writing he......

Even though we are way way past school age, we still get a little melancholy at the close of summer. Fortunately, our friends across the -ist network know that the shenanigans don't need to end just because the big yellow buses are back on the roads. So, grab your sunscreen and your favorite hangover cure, as we take a tour of end of summer fun from -ist cities all over the damn place. SFist Tourist......

Dan Gregor, Comedian, Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz...

Today marks the beginning of the 43rd New York Film Festival, and the program looks to be one of the strongest The Film Society of Lincoln Center has put together in years, beginning tonight with Good Night, and Good Luck, a new film directed by George Clooney depicting the battle between legendary CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow and Wisconsin Senator and self-appointed commie-hunter Joseph McCarthy. Gothamist has been attending as many of the press screenings......

We are back from planet Sundance and slowly recovering from our intergalactic journey. When you are at the festival it feels like everyone is complaining about how tired they are or how they cannot get into the films and parties they want, about feeling overwhelmed by all the options, how they feel the festival isn't truly about "independent film" anymore, the declining swag, the celebrities, etc. In retrospect, it all seems so silly. So yes,......

Yesterday, the Department of Health unviled the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Basically the government thinks Americans are fat and wants Americans to do something about it. Could it be a Bush administration jab at Michael Moore? Or just Big Brother looking out for our best interests. Anyway, here are some highlights: - Eat more fruits and vegetables - Drink more low-fat milk - Eat more whole grains - Exercise at least 30, even......

Eugene Hernandez, Editor-in-Chief, indieWIRE...

Randy Cohen, The Ethicist...

The Republican National Convention opened yesterday with two of its more liberal politicians, Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, taking the stage. Senator McCain, whose dalliances with the other side have confused the more right-leaning conservatives, won the affection of delegates by "mauling" Michael Moore, who was at the convention under the auspices of writing for USA Today. On the Today Show Tim Russert called Moore the GOP's favorite pinata; Moore, for his part, seemed......

There are tons of cultural events going on this week as a response to the convention, such as this past weekend's Margaret Cho performances at the Apollo, the giant red megaphone at 60 Centre Street here all this week, or the Thalia Follies revue at Symphony Space every night of the convention. Check out what the Imagine Festival has planned for tonight, and we must tip our hats to tomorrow's panel discussion on The State......

The big protest march organized by United for Peace and Justice has its swelling mass of people heading around Madison Square Garden, where convention preparations are underway. Rabblerouser and USA Today guest columnist Michael Moore is marching near the front with Rev. Jesse Jackson and UPJ's Leslie Cagan, and CNN showed actor Danny Glover also in the crowd; Glover was arrested earlier this week during a protest in Washington D.C. about humanitarian efforts in Sudan.......

A few major telelvision critics weigh in about the Democratic National Convention coverage so far: The Daily News' David Bianculli like old footage of Tom Brokaw on the convention floor in 1976 (the election is Brokaw's swan song, before he retires) but didn't like how CNN showed the empty seats at the Fleet Center; he also notes that Fox News covered the disappearance of pregnant Lori Hacking a lot. The Washington Post's Tom Shales thought......

- Last weekend was the Mermaid Parade. - Fahrenheit 9/11 sparked the box office, and Michael Moore took to the NYC theaters. - Finding a catsitter in NYC. - What of NY's new self-extinguishing cigarettes? - City schools are out! - Joel Steinberg is released and the city remembers the terrible murder of Lisa Steinberg - The Real World should stay in NY - Dick Cheney is booed at Yankee Stadium - Penn Station's......

Another documentary that features Michael Moore, The Corporation, opens today at the Film Forum for a two week run. Gothamist hasn't had a chance to check it out yet, but the reviews have been positive and it walked away with an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. Based on Joel Bakan’s The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, the film examines how corporations control the world. Joel Bakan and directors Mark......

Gothamist is relieved that Movies > The Political 'Fahrenheit' Sets Record at Box Office" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/movies/28BOX.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1088395240-jj1JalxlyVRzXxL6M/VXig">Fahrenheit 9/11 took box office honors this weekend, because, quite frankly, the idea of White Chicks winning the box office derby was illin'. Sure, Fahrenheit may be polemical, more of a personal journey than an objective pros-and-cons examination, but at least it will get people thinking about issues that matter. Of course, the most brilliant thing about the conservative opposition to......

The Michael Moore film, Fahrenehit 9/11, which has kicked up controversy here in the United States, has won the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Part of director Moore's acceptance speech:I want to dedicate this to my daughter, and the other children of the world, the children of Iraq, who suffer as a result of our actions. I believe, I have this great hope, that things are going to change. I'm......

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......

The second most interesting thing Gothamist found about the Oscars last night was that Oscar-nominated Seabiscuit cinematographer John Schwartzman is Jason Schwartzman's brother, which means he's cousins with Sofia and Nic, nephew of Francis... The first most interesting thing was how bored we could be watching the Oscars. BORING BORING BORING. Gothamist hates your producing, Joe Roth. Hate hate hate! A few moments before the show officially starts, Billy Bush makes Keisha Castle Hughes......

The Times' new public editor, Daniel Okrent, writes to introduce himself to readers in today's Op-Ed section. "An Advocate for Times Readers," Okrent finds it important to tell us these things about himself: –Lives on the Upper West Side –Has hated the Yankees since age 6 –Registered Democrat, but is more "right" than most (e.g., gays are okay, so is abortion choice, and Cardinal O'Connor "was a great man") –Was lazy during college newspaper days......

The Washington Post's Peter Carlson digs into Radar, the super-hyped post-Talk, supposedly better than Us-Weekly and funny-like-Spy celebrity news hybrid. Carlson is disappointed: ...is anybody really surprised to learn that Courtney Love is nasty? Or that Suge Knight is vicious? Or that Rosie O'Donnell and Michael Moore are obnoxious? Or that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is nasty, vicious and obnoxious? I've got news for Roshan: Trashing celebrities is neither new nor courageous. The National......

Michael Moore, everybody's favorite liberal punching bag these days, is featured in a pretty negative Film Threat article. It wonders if his style of documentary (as in, the kind where he inserts himself into the story) is really good truthful storytelling. Well, truth and storytelling are different. A story can be edited in a number of different ways to say different things. The fact that Michael Moore won the Writers' Guild Award for his screenplay......

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

Kudos to Jen for her recap of Oscar night. My winners: - The Hollycaust. Because the film industry can't get enough of it. It was a totally horrific event in world history. But it somehow makes Hollywood think they're relevant. I haven't seen The Pianist, but intend to, so I can't compare it to the ultimate in holocaust schlock, Schindler's List. But still, I'm a little suspicious of any film about such tragedy and horror.......