A group of masked ATM burglars who are accused of perpetrating 62 thefts in Brooklyn and Queens over the last 14 months have been caught. Four suspects (a fifth one was already in custody) are accused of stealing over $200K; police say they used a signature "splash and dash" technique, splashing the crime scene with bleach, to destroy DNA evidence. And just as we predicted, the robbers admitted to cops that they were inspired in that respect by the 2010 Ben Affleck movie, The Town. more ›

One of the strangest stories in Yankee history may be coming to the big screen soon, courtesy of two of the world's biggest Red Sox fans. Ben Affleck and brother Casey are in the middle of rewriting a second version of the script for the movie-in-question, The Trade, which may be directed by Matt Damon. The film is based on the true story of two Yankees pitchers who swapped wives in the early 1970s. And one of those pitchers is desperately trying to block the film from being made. more ›

With less than 48 hours left before the election, John McCain stopping into Saturday Night Live to perform in a couple of sketches seems like it should be huge news. But with so much attention being showered on the show this year throughout the campaign season, somehow it just felt par for course at this point in a period that Tina Fey for one calls "the weirdest time in my life." more ›

Baby, it's cold outside—go see a movie, why dontcha? Werewolves, comic books and hot girls who prowl the streets of Bucharest in high heel boots should be the stuff of great geek cinema. Unfortunately, strives to spoof every bloated popular movie that's come out lately. Of course punch line bombshell Carmen Electra is in it, but so is Kal Penn, Jennifer Coolidge and Crispin Glover of all people, so it could be fun for some chuckles. more ›

MOVIE: In their ongoing series about The Next Generation of Film, the Film Society at Lincoln Center has been bringing award winning filmmakers to the Upper West Side to discuss the behind the scenes of their work. This newest installment features Ben Affleck, the Oscar winner who seems to be on the road back from being a celeb couple punch line with his work in the recent film, , it's rude. - Karen Wilson more ›

You know it's the fall movie season because it's all about actors and their performances. In the noir-lite period film, prequel, and now he's trying his hand at horror targeted towards the myspace demographic. Should be chilling, but not really in a good way. more ›

Gawker is launching their new map feature today. It's a pretty simple concept: each day they'll have an intern manning an email address, and as "Gawker Stalker" missives come in, the intern will plot them on a map. This way, you can stalk your favorite celebrities in real time. Why you would want to stalk Lindsay Lohan is beyond us-- but that's an entirely different story. The new map feature brings up some obvious security and privacy issues. The Daily News gets the requisite PR flack quotes: more ›

So, Boston native Matt Damon got married to his fiance, Miami resident Luciana Bozan, on Friday morning at City Hall - and Mayor Bloomberg was present. Damon and Bozan were able to bypass the Municipal Building wedding. We thought, "Why would Mayor Bloomberg attend the wedding?" Is it because Damon is filming a movie in NYC? Or because Damon is from Boston, the Mayor's original haunt? Or, perhaps, it's a returned favor, after Damon attended one of Bloomberg's "2012 Olympic Committee, pick us!" dinners at his townhouse this summer. Then the Post confirmed that the Olympic connection was why Hizzoner was there. But he didn't perform the marriage - a city clerk did - and the couple was married BEFORE the press corps arrived. Nice work, Bloomberg, to further distance yourself from your press corps - they would have loved a little celebrity. more ›

you into drinking. Superhero style.

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In the spirit of this weekend's Yankees-Red Sox series, Gothamist suggests you go to the First Street Gallery in Chelsea to visit sculptor Daniel Edwards's death masks of Ted Williams. The Baseball Hall of Fame Red Sox legend who batted .406 in the 1941 season became more famous in his after life when it turned out his head had been cut off when he was cryogenically frozen. Edwards had spent time with Williams (while he was alive) and felt the decapitation was a horror. So he decided to create three death masks of Williams, plus show them with various other paraphenalia (a Life magazine, a jersey) and call it the "The Ted Williams Memorial Display with Death Mask from The Ben Affleck 2004 World Series Collection." The NY Times interviewed Edwards earlier this week and the Boston Herald reports that there are bidders for one of the death masks. It's unclear is the death masks will travel to Boston. more ›

Hello, nurse: It's the Age of Fey and Poehler, as they are the first all-female Weekend Update team on Saturday Night Live. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon had a nice chemistry - you know, sharp, caustic and riffing on how Jimmy was stupid and pretty and Tina was slutty and angry - but we were feeling Fallon Fatigue, as he couldn't really keep his shizzle together during skits, especially ones with Horatio Sanz. So Gothamist was terrifically excited to see Amy Poehler's blond, twinkling yet semi-maniacal eyed. face next to Tina behind the desk. And, for the boys (and girls), there is the promise of lots of lesbian flirting this season. more ›

The pundits are talking about how Senator Kerry seemed "presidential" and how President Bush only had thirty minutes of material, as the respective presidential aides are trying to spin that their candidate won the debate. Our thoughts: John Kerry was solid, strong and articulate, even if he's kind of a bore, while President Bush, though very approachable, unraveled towards the end - he was Pausey McPausepants. Not that everyone can be a smooth talker, but it'd be nice to have confidence in the person speaking. President Bush will need to find at least his B-game if he wants to be competitive in the debates. Newscoverage from the NY Times and Washington Post (WP TV critic Tom Shales quotes a politico saying "It was Andy Griffith meets Barney Fife.") ; the NY Post headline is "Toe to Toe," though in the article, they do note Kerry was more prepared and the President was repetitive and seemed unsure. And check this out: The NY Times' Katherine Seelye basically blogs the debate; no mention of any drinking games played. [Per a reader's comment yesterday, we'll work on a drinking game for the next debate, but some early thoughts: 1 drink if Bush smirks; 1 drink if they mention Osama; 1 drink if Kerry's face looks more melty than usual; 1 drink if Bush breaks a rule; 1 drink if Kerry can't really smile because he's using some of Theresa's Botox; 2 drinks if the candidate compliments the opponent; 2 drinks if they invoke September 11; chug if there's substantial domestic policy debate; chug if Bush has a coherent response...and if Bush starts speaking in Spanish, go to your local bar and drink and drink and drink...yeah, you might not chug, but you'll still get ass-drink.] more ›

The auction begins tonight at 8PM EST, ending on October 3. more ›

Buboo Kakati, Filmmaker more ›

Gothamist hasn't picked up a Rolling Stone magazine in a long time, we know what we like and we know we aren't likely to find it in this music rag. That's okay though, because Rolling Stone has always pretty much been a snapshot of what the mainstream is listening to right now, and we appreciate that. We read magazines like Resonance for articles on bands we listen to, topics that interest us and foresight into what we may want to check out. more ›