To kick off the weekend, Richard Simmons visited the team of folks participating in the movie-watching marathon (check out Crazy Legs Conti!). Simmons served up some "heart-healthy energy foods" and taught them how to do exercises while seated in their lounge chairs. Since Thursday the eight contestants have been slackin' off and watching flicks in an attempt to break a world record, and take home some cash. So far, 50 or so movies have......

W Magazine has a feature on the famous spawn of celebrity, currently rocking out in the dim spotlights of downtown clubs. Amongst them are CBS CEO Les Moonves's son (Chief), Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbin's son (The Tangents), Michael Keaton's son (The Hatch), Jann Wenner's son (The Ellis Unit), Ellen Barkin and Gabriel Byrne's son (also in the Ellis Unit), and...you get the picture. Susan Sarandon, who makes an attempt at attending all of her......

Barry Manilow, who is out promoting his Greatest Songs of the Seventies, has refused to share a stage with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who was barely walking in the 70s. The crooner left a little message on his website yesterday for his fans letting them know he wouldn't be on The View today, saying "I had made a request that I be interviewed by Joy, Barbara or Whoopi, but not Elisabeth Hasselback. Unfortunately, the show was not......

Hear about that movie Romance and Cigarettes that premiered last night? You know, the one directed by John Turturro, starring Chris Walken, James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Kate Winslet, Mary Louise-Parker, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Elaine Stritch and Amy Sedaris? Well, don’t feel bad if you didn't – that fact that two years since it wrapped the film’s been released all over the world except the town where it was shot speaks volumes......

Coffee Shop was closed for a few days when the Department of Health tallied up 102 points of violations - 28 or more requires a closure - at the restaurant, finding "Cooked or prepared food is cross-contaminated" and issues with plumbing among the concerns. The Union Square eatery posted a snippy sign explaining the closing, and owner Charles Milite went to the NY Times and said Coffee Shop was "caught in the cross hairs of......

With just 55 days left, the dance cards are set for the general election. As expected, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Senator Hillary Clinton won their respectives primaries for governor and Senate. The NY Times noted that Clinton's reosounding win showed that her support of the Iraq war did not affect voter sentiment:“Clinton’s work ethic, her lack of enemies, and her fund-raising help for other Democrats have insulated her from party criticism, including on......

- The NY Times' big NY Region story is the heartbreaking lives in the murder of the Bronx 15 year old by two 13 year olds - Trekkies, mark your calendars: Christie's will auction Star Treak memorabilia October 5, 6, and 7; the items will be on view from September 29 - October 4 in New York, and admission is allowed with ticket (puchase a catalog) - and you can also pre-order your catalog......

Mark Kassen, writer and producer...

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......

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, playwrights...

A great all-star cast is participating in benefit readings this weekend of 110 Stories, a play by New York playwright Sarah Tuft, which uses personal stories recorded in the aftermath of September 11th to reveal personal experiences and truth. Alec Baldwin, Edie Falco, James Gandolfini, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Hayden, Elias Koteas, Mary Stuart Masterson, Chazz Palminteri, Jay O. Sanders, Susan Sarandon, and John Turturro are among those scheduled to appear. The......

Even the most jaded New Yorker can be thrilled by the sight of a movie being filmed on our streets, because, even the crappiest of movies with New York scenes can still be amazing if there's that one stunning vista of the city or you can say, "Yeah, that street really is that dirty." This picture of Steve Buscemi and some off-duty firefighters (playing firefighters, natch) gathering around the craft service table was taken......

If it involves movies or television, Gothamist is interested. And if it's the tiniest bit related to the Oscars, then we're all over it. That's why Gothamist has produced a Golden Globes commentary similar to our Oscar commentary from last year. Yes, awards shows are self-congratulatory and ridiculous, and the Golden Globes are not a reliable predictor of the Oscars (which aren't that great anyway but their usefulness as a marketing tool cannot be denied),......

Tonight, the 92nd Street Y has a screening of the documentary, The Party's Over, which follows Philip Seymour Hoffman as he looks inside the political process during the 2000 Republican and Democratic conventions, with a post-screening question & answer session with Hoffman as well. The film was directed by Donovan Leitch and Rebecca Chaiklin, (produced by Robert Downey Sr., Stanley Buchtal, Robert Downey Jr. and Leitch) and features Susan Sarandon, Bonnie Raitt, Eddie Vedder,......

With last week's release of Seabiscuit, the Palm Beach Post's sports writers come up a list of the best sports movies ever made. Not surprisingly, the list skews towards more recent films, but Gothamist was surprised to see how much we agreed with the selections. We were especially glad that Hoop Dreams, one of the best films ever made, period, made the list, thereby not getting the short shrift for being a documentary. The top......

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