Normally, the Hollywood insider's baseball game is too convoluted and self-involved to bother paying attention to, but every once in a while, something juicy enough for the mainstream comes along. Today's gossip involves dry-as-chalk New Yorker critic David Denby breaking a press embargo on reviewing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and the hoopla that's ensued as a result. more ›

Rumor has it that Spike Lee is taking a class at Columbia this fall. Ivy Leak says he may be at a Tuesday/Thursday night class in Hamilton, and BWOG thinks he could be taking a Literature Humanities, "brushing up on his dead white men." Oh, we suppose Spike couldn't be content reading David Denby's Great Books, which is about Columbia's humanities classes - or attending a class at his alma mater, NYU (is he still on sabbatical from the graduate film program?). Maybe Spike is researching the college life for a new movie! more ›

Remakes and sequels and genre formula, oh my! February is a great month for releasing exactly what the studios think the people will pay to see and this week's release schedule is a textbook example of this development by marketing focus group strategy. Oh well, doesn't mean Gothamist is ready to give up on moviegoing quite yet. Here's a few suggestions to guide your weekend viewing. more ›

We'll stick to the fun adaptation that Pasolini did of The Decameron in the 1970s. Brown University has a great website about The Decameron and Boccaccio Decameron on Amazon. And speaking of Columbia's core curriculum, check out David Denby look at the core, Great Books. more ›

After seeing Johnny Depp's bravura peroformance in Pirates of the Caribbean and agreeing he is what makes the film, Gothamist started to think about his portrayal of Jack Sparrow. Who is it is based on? Critics have been tripping over themselves tyring to deconstruct it. Some say Keith Richards, who Depp admits he used as inspiration, but Keith meets Pepe Le Pew. Some say drag queen. David Denby offered W.C. Fields, Toshiro Mifune, and Keith Richards. Gothamist thought it was a little like Nathan Lane in The Birdcage as well, hence the drag queen. We must say this: Depp's tan and eyeliner looked really hot. more ›