From her first appearance in the Coen brothers' 1984 debut Blood Simple, Frances McDormand has fascinated us with her intelligent, fearlessly unglamorous performances, which always crackle with a sly wit and unexpected grace. When we think of Frances, we think of those lucid eyes—wide open and deeply perceptive—staring through the screen at us in The Man Who Wasn't There, or as Dean Sara Gaskell in Wonder Boys, and, of course, as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1996. We make no claim to objectivity: Frances McDormand is a national treasure, and she's just one of many reasons to buy a ticket to see David Lindsay-Abaire's very entertaining new play Good People. Set in South Boston and upscale Chestnut Hill, the story follows McDormand's character Margaret as she rediscovers an old boyfriend from the projects who's made good... or so it seems. There is one big spoiler below, which we note IN ALL CAPS, but it spoils nothing to tell you that Good People is pretty much a lock for our top ten list in theater this year. more ›

Filmmaker Ethan Coen has left his big brother behind and written three short plays all by himself. Called Almost an Evening, the triptych will be produced by the Atlantic Theater Company with a terrific cast that includes Elizabeth Marvel, who was riveting in Ivo van Hove’s unforgettable revival of Hedda Gabler, and Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham. The plays “unsuccessfully tackle important questions. In Waiting, someone waits somewhere for quite some time. In Four... more ›

Start sharpening your spurs, gays and gals, because Jake Gyllenhaal is coming to Broadway! If director Mike Nichols has his way, you’ll soon have your chance to stalk the sensitive heartthrob as he flees through the stage door of Farragut North, a new play about presidential campaign hardball penned by a former Howard Dean staffer. According to today’s Post, Gyllenhaal (who made his stage debut in a Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed production of Cats in their parents’ living room) is all-but-confirmed for the cast. But before that, Nichols will shepherd other boldface names to Broadway with a spring revival of Clifford Odets’s The Country Girl, about a washed up wino actor and his beleaguered wife. With Morgan Freeman and our personal favorite Frances McDormand rumored to play the couple, this has Compelling Theatrical Event written all over it. more ›

This week's new film releases are a lovely New York melting pot: ballroom dancing teens, Arab/Israeli anxieties, motor skills-challenged geeks, neurotic female friends, and a thoughtful Polish director thrown in for good measure. Spring may have sprung outside but it's also a great time to be inside at the movie. more ›

As Jon Stewart takes to the stage this Sunday at 8 pm to host the 78th Annual Academy Awards, the movie-lovin' Gothamist will be watching with eager anticipation from our couch. The spectacle, the glamour, the bad musical numbers and cheesy memorial montages -- we love it all. In fact, Gothamist (ie. Jen Chung and movie correspondent Karen Wilson) will be live blogging the ceremony but in the meantime, here's a few predictions for the winners: more ›

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips! more ›

In the Post's latest "My Favorite Place," two of Gothamist's favorite actors, Frances McDormand and Steve Buscemi, give their picks. McDormand mentions East Village cafe Podunk, which Gothamist visited and enjoyed very much. We'd also like to note that McDormand likes to conduct many interviews at the Fairway Cafe, above the supermarket. Buscemi's favorite place is Prospect Park, that jewel of a park in Brooklyn. We also know that Steve likes the Haagen-Dazs on Seventh Avenue in the Slope; in a very Fargo moment, a friend wondered who that freaky looking guy who looked all messed up was before realizing it was Steve Buscemi, after being attacked when he tried to intervene in one of Vince Vaughn's bar brawls. more ›

Ah, slow summer days. We leave you with this image of Jack Nicholson, sweating like a hog while filming up the street from our work. (The movie sounds interesting, Jack has a young girlfriend but falls for her more age appropriate mom, played by Diane Keaton, who is being courted by Keanu Reeves. Frances McDormand plays Diane's sister. On the minus side, it's directed by Nancy "What Women Want" Meyers.) more ›

Laurel Canyon, with Lou Barlow and Folk Implosion making up the band behind Alessandro Nivola's lead singer character. more ›

">New York Times and L.A. Times this weekend, all doing these things: more ›

, which starred Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, and Frances McDormand. In David Gale, Kate Winslet is the journalist who tries to save him before "it's too late." Ahem.
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