Drawing on his roots in the fecund 1970s East Village avant-garde film scene, critic J. Hoberman has spent his three decades at the Village Voice introducing readers to the more adventurous cinematic worlds awaiting beyond the realm of Hollywood. He is the author of nine books, most recently The Dream Life: Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties, which was described by Slate as "an extraordinary publishing event." To commemorate his thirty years at......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an abduction on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, a double shooting at West 151st St. and Walton Ave. in the Bronx, and a pursuit/crash/bailout on 95th St. and the West Side Highway in Manhattan. The disbarred lawyer accused of murdering his wife and blaming it on a random carjacking admitted to cops that he'd sent flowers to his girlfriend that day and had various small affairs and used escorts outside......

Our mother gave us a bag of dried cherries the other day. She'd picked them up for herself, but after tasting them she decided that they weren't for eating. They were for baking, she said, and while she doesn't bake herself, she loves it when we do. In search of sustenance to get us through apple-picking last weekend (yes, it's apple season again!), we turned to those cherries at last. What goes better than......

The Invasion (directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel) Stylish, political, visually arresting and darn right freaky, The Invasion is a horror movie that taps into what really horrifies us today—namely that the people in our lives could turn into personality-less automatons influenced by some evil alien virus. It may sound like a totally fantastical premise, but in the context of the movie it really works. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig star in this remake of Invasion of......

In June of 1972 (just months after his divorce) Elvis Presley performed a 3-day run at Madison Square Garden. These shows were the first full concerts he put on in NYC, and the first since he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Excitement was in the air, and Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Art Garfunkel, all of Led Zepplin and half of The Beatles (John Lennon and George Harrison) were in the audience. Another......

Suckers may be saying they can take out Adam Horovitz, but after all these years with The Beastie Boys – it’s now two decades since License To Ill dropped! – he’s still rocking steady. Having just released The Mix-Up, a new all-instrumental album, the three are set to drive the lane like Evan Bernhard with a trio of NYC shows in as many days. Tomorrow night and Thursday they’ll do two of their more familiar......

MOVIE: This week's Bryant Park movie is All the Kings Men.... The movie follows the rise of politician Willie Stark from the rural country to the big city spotlight. "Along the way, he loses his initial innocence, and becomes just as corrupt as those who he assaulted before for this characteristic." Romance, women, intrigue, power...it's all there. 5pm seating, Movie at dusk // Bryant Park // Free READING: Alison Weaver (re)tells the story of family......

Every morning, Bobby Fish parks his busted up maroon Dodge van at the edge of a Hess Express parking lot on West 207th Street. He unloads his signs and opens his Coors Light umbrella. “Bobby Fish,” the signs proclaim, “El Rey Del Ceviche.” People call him the King- it's not just his own posterboard. The King pulls a few lawn chairs out of his van and sets them on the sidewalk. Behind him, a Harlem......

Last week the television networks had their upfronts previewing their fall lineups. So will your favorites be back and is there anything new that at least sounds good on paper? CBS Gone from the CBS fall line up are The Class, Close to Home, Jericho, and The King of Queens, but returning at mid-season are The Amazing Race and The New Adventures of Old Christine. The first new thing we will be seeing from CBS......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: 7th Heaven (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., WPIX 11) Last year when the show was on the WB it had a series finale, but was brought back by the new CW. This time the show is over, finally. Funniest Mom in America 3 (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., Nickelodeon) Despite sounding like a sequel to a bad summer comedy, this is actually a Mother's Day special of a search for a......

At its best, Michael Puzzo’s two-character comedy, The Dirty Talk, blows by with a breezy jokiness that’s laugh-out-loud funny, but my periodic chuckling proved no match for the explosions of raucous laughter that repeatedly rocked the house. It was the kind of roaring laughter one imagines pealing from a well-lubricated Borscht-belt crowd; at times the howling was so disproportionate to the one-liner that sparked it that I had to fight the urge to look back......

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. City offices, post offices and other government buildings are closed today in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Public schools are closed, as well. Some offices are closed today, too, and there are a number of events to participate in. The Brooklyn Academy of Music has its 21st Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which includes a musical celebration and special guests like Senator......

Remember the New York magazine cover story from July 2005 about the $2000/hour "escort"? Even though the escort, Natalia McLennan, was charged with money laundering, prostitution and money laundering and Jason Itzler, aka "The King of All Pimps," pleaded guilty to money laundering and attempting to promote prostitution from a Worth Street address, the story gets a second life. Former NJ prosecutor Paul Bergrin is being charged with promoting prostitution, money laundering, and conspiracy by......

Early this morning in Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator whose reign in Iraq led to horrible violence, was hanged for "crimes against humanity", specifically the 1982 killing of 148 men and boys in Dujail. The Daily News compared him to a gangster ("tyrant who ruled Iraq like a Mafia don, slaughtered his fellow citizens and led his country into two disastrous wars with the United States") and the Post noted that his death......

Maybe the new badge of infamy is how quickly your story gets co-opted by a Law & Order show. Apparently the antics of former Attorney General candidate Jeanine Pirro and trouble-making husband Al will be dramatized for an episode of Criminal Intent that will air next year. The Post has details:In the episode, a very Pirro-like politician has her eyes on becoming the first female mayor of New York. But her husband, who's described as......

Now, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has used guest star stunt casting pretty well - Amanda Plummer as a disabled rape victim, Matthew Modine as a suspected pedophile, Ludacris as Ice-T's nephew - if the plotlines are over-the-top. But news that Jerry Lewis will appear this fall, as a homeless man suspected of murder who just happens to be Detective Munch's uncle? That is GOLD - we cannot wait for some Munch and Uncle......

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to celebrate his accomplishments as a civil rights leader and to remember there is still work to be done in many areas, from racial equality to living a more peaceful, understanding existence. It was 20 years ago on January 20, 1986, that it was observed as a federal holiday. Today, government offices, schools, and banks are closed. MLK Day is also recognized as a national day of service,......

Warren Leight, Playwright and screenwriter...

Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha be damned. Just cause the foursome aren't continuing their escapades in New York's hottest bars and lounges, there is no reason for Gothamist to stop. We may find the Cosmo passé, but a well-heeled Negroni or Gimlet always coordinate with our Jimmy Choo's. Some of Gothamist's favorite haute spots for glam cocktails: - Flatiron Lounge - Bemelmans Bar - The Star Lounge & Bar at the Ritz-Carlton - Employee's Only......

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the government, school, post officer, and financial markets are closed (city subways and buses run on weekday schedules, and there is regular garbage and recycling pick up, though). One interesting MLK Day event in the city is the 19th Annual Tribute to Martin Luther King at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The tribute includes performances by Melba Moore and Lilias White with the Brooklyn Ecumenical Choir of......

Come on, if there's a TV movie about the WTC redeseign, Jerry Stiller will play Larry Silverstein, no? - The Times on Larry Silverstein's role at the center of the redesign. - Jerry Stiller is currently on The King of Queens, playing the "King"'s father. - Gothamist on the WTC redesign.......