My producers and I all made up a dream list of our favorite performers. Then we sicced Jamie Hook, my uber-gregarious, vociferous and sometimes even frightening producer, on these people. Some were charmed and accepted, some turned and ran. It’s a system with many casualties, but it worked out eventually, splendidly. more ›

Two quite controversial and buzzed about movies hit New York theaters this weekend. So far the critical opinion of raving lunatic Mel Gibson's new foreign language feature, . Now we finally get to see the film they thought was going to be such a public relations nightmare. Leo plays a South African diamond smuggler who teams up with a Sierra Leone farmer (the always excellent Djimon Hounsou) to outwit a syndicate of businessmen. From the trailers it looks pretty heartpounding, and not just because the lovely Jennifer Connelly is also in it. more ›

The New York Film Festival winds down this weekend, and what a wonderful, strange trip its been. We've been to late '90s Britain, modern day Korea and the rural area outside Madrid, but still have yet to wing our way to pre-revolutionary France and fascist Spain. Thrilling, n'est pas? Here's a few thoughts on some of the films from the 44th annual that we've sampled. more ›

Unlike last week, New Yorkers are treated to just nine new releases including three big titles ( -- about the late Arthur Kane, a member of the seminal NYC glam-meets-punk rock group New York Dolls. Elsewhere … more ›

• The Village Voice’s Best of 2004 series at BAM Rose Cinemas offers you one last chance to catch the best films of 2004 on the big screen. Tonight at 7:00 PM is Lars von Trier’s Dogville, the controversial film shot on a single set with chalk outlines, starring Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, and Nicole Kidman as a woman on the run from the mob. Also worth checking out is Guy Maddin’s Cowards Bend the Knee, an artistic film which features “autobiographical, peep-show installation” chapters. 30 Lafayette Ave and Ashland, bklyn; $10 more ›

received much critical acclaim and he's the youngest recipient of the Telluride Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. more ›

Tonight, Maddin will be at the 7:30PM screening for a Q&A. Maddin has also been contributing his shooting diary to the Village Voice over the past few weeks: "" Here are weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. more ›