In advance of an official press conference at The Palace Theater today, The Times and The Post have reported that Spike Lee will be make his Broadway debut next spring with the 1951 play Stalag 17; a dramedy about camaraderie and betrayal between American airmen stuck in a German P.O.W camp (later made into a film by Billy Wilder.) Sources say that Clive Owen will once again be Spike’s inside man on the project. (Though Mark Wahlberg is also in the running.)
Results tagged “billywilder”
New York mid-December always smells vaguely of pine and peppermint, despite our recent springtime temperatures. Bring that cozy holiday feeling with you into the cineplex for a couple of new feel-good holiday movies.
The Devil may wear prada and Superman may wear tight red briefs but what's really should get you hot and bothered on a long holiday weekend is Amy Sedaris in prosthetic teeth and high rise pants. Wooh-wee, that's some sexy stuff.
You have the long stem roses and box of chocolates on tap, but what else? What else to plan for your cinema-lovin' sweetie? Hey, nothing spells l'amour like dinner and a movie.
Don't get confused – today is Friday. Gothamist has been a bit under the weather, hence our little weekend movie preview showing up today rather than on its usual Thursday. And while we all anxiously count down the minutes until Monday's Golden Globes, there are a lot of great movie options available without even considering all the 2005 films hoping to take home a prize.
Let the floodgates open. A bounty of movie gifts arrive just in time for Christmas and Hannukah, but it's only fair to warn you that many may resemble fruitcake. As the days tick down toward the end of the year -- also known as the deadline for Oscar eligibility -- and people start taking time off for the holidays, distributors are squeezing new releases into theaters trying to grab a piece of the box office and Awards season pie. The calendar conspires against the big studios this year who love to release films on Christmas day, and this year is no exception even though with the holiday falling on Sunday, that means a one-day weekend.
Now that we're into November, awards season kicks off in earnest with big new releases such as
seem enticing. But as is often the case, the city's alternative houses really steal the show this week.

David Schwartz, Museum of the Moving Image
Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar.
The other Times Talk panel I went to was "Films that Deserve a Second Look" - films that New York Times film critics Stephen Holden, Elvis Mitchell, and A.O. Scott felt audiences missed the first time around. Many of the films they mentioned were victim to just being dumped by their distributors because they were not easily marketable as a teen comedy or date movie. Another problem is that films live and die in one weekend, whether a would-be blockbuster or arthouse film...word of mouth buzz no longer works as well as it used to and the fascination with box office grosses is not helping any. While most films were recent, there were some older films, and by master directors, proving not everyone gets a fair shake based on name alone. There were a few funny questions - one person asked what actors did not deserve to be on screen. A.O. Scott said, "You want us killed, don't you?" before Stephen Holden remarked about the difference between being a good actor and a movie star (some people have that charisma and may not be a good actor, but are movie stars; some of the finest actors don't have that charisma and thus are not stars). Sartorial gossip: Stephen Holden looked like everyone's kind of cranky uncle, in a polo shirt, sport jacket, khakis, and New Balance sneakers; A.O. Scott looked the rumpled academic, white shirt, sport jacket, wrinkled khakis with the cuffs rolled up and brown shoes; Elvis Mitchell looked like a mod rocker in a Prada suit and black boots. Here are the movies they picked - all I wish is that more people, outside of major cities, would be able to hear about these films and watch them.
Court TV's extensive site dedicated to the Robert Blake trial.


