Photo via Annulla's Flickr. Within the 843 acres of Central Park one will find 9,000 benches, and many of them tell a story (or at least a name). In 1986 the Central Park Conservancy began their Adopt-A-Bench program to raise money for upkeep. For $7,500 (way less than your yearly rent, and this is forever!) you will get an engraved plaque on one of the benches. There are also select locations with rustic handmade......

- Lawyers for Paramount and Columbia Pictures are suing a 63-year-old teacher's aide for allegedly downloading a copy of "The Longest Yard." Yes, the Adam Sandler movie. - The man fired by Bloomie for playing Solitaire hasn't quite left the news yet. The Times looks at his impressive name while one radio host teased Mike about it. - You hear the one about the X-rated fortune cookies? - A company in the United Arab......

Spiderman 3 Director Sam Raimi announced that lanky 70’s Show guy has just joined Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunset in the cast of Spider-Man 3. "Topher Grace is an extraordinarily talented actor," said Raimi, "and will be perfect for the complexities of the role we are developing." Columbia Pictures has not yet confirmed his specific role, but many speculate that in addition to Sideways' Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman, Topher will play a villain.......

A little bird in L.A. tells us that Elvis Mitchell is going to be running the NY office of Columbia Pictures (or something like that). Can anyone confirm this? (Guess it pays to be friends with Amy Pascal...) And if so, Elvis, have fun promoting Spidey 2! Gawker has the Times memo announcing Elvis' departure, as well as extensive reports on his Times status. Gothamist on Elvis Mitchell.......

If you wanted any further proof Hollywood is stupid, it seems that Neil Strauss' Times Styles story about being taught the secrets of the pick-up (wickedly dissected in New Yorkish) was optioned by Columbia Pictures. Oh, sweet Lord. Next thing Gothamist knows, David Spade or Rob Schneider or DJ Qualls will be cast as the "average frustrated chump" who will uses "negs" to "momentarily lower a woman's self-esteem and to suggest an intriguing disinterest." This......

Michael Bay, one of the many part-time banes of Gothamist's existence, brilliant auteur he is, has a scene in Bad Boys II involved rats. As he recounts telling Columbia Pictures president Amy Pascal to the Hollywood Reporter, "And I was like, 'Amy, trust me, it's going to be funny. I found where I can train rats to f--- for $3,500!" Gothamist is restraining itself from cracking a joke about how these rats are more......

From the eviscerating reviews newsdesk, Gothamist likes these two. - The Times' Bruce Weber on the Hal David-Bruce Bachrach musical, The Look of Love: Alas it has, in "The Look of Love," the revue of the work of the Bachrach-David songwriting team, which opened last night at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, and which just goes to prove you can have far too much of an O.K. thing....As theater "The Look of Love" is breathtakingly uninspired.......

As someone whose love of movies extends to how the movies get made, this excellent article in Variety by Claude Brodesser and Dana Harris about trying to get Spiderman 2, the Michael Chabon scripted sequel to 2002's most successful film, off the ground is fascinating. Though people have been hearing most recently about Tobey Maguire dumping his representation, the studio, Columbia Pictures, did in fact make an offer to Jake Gyllenhaal, because Tobey was being...might......