Are you still mourning the loss of Les Misérables, which closed on Broadway in May 2003 following an impressive 16-year run (and was subsequently revived just three years later)? Here's some good news: a film adaptation starring Hugh Jackman is scheduled to begin filming next March with a projected December 2012 release. more ›

Since it's impossible to attend a theatrical performance these days without some bonehead's cell phone shattering the mood, this incident during a recent performance of A Steady Rain isn't exactly news. But what's surprising is how intense actor dudes Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman restrain themselves from leaping into the audience and thrashing the culprit to within an inch of his or her inconsiderate life. Also surprising is how long the friggin' cell phone rings—even after the frustrated stars stop the performance to beg the owner to shut it off. It's just so painfully awkward to watch, you have to wonder: How many celebrities have to be interrupted before we get those cell phone jammers like theatergoers in civilized Russia enjoy?! more ›

Permanent residents of the The Jane Hotel in the West Village say conditions at the shabby-chic reinvention of the old Hotel Riverview are so horrid that they've no choice but to picket outside the landlords' other establishments, which include celebrity favorite The Waverly Inn. On Wednesday night they made quite a scene outside the restaurant, and apparently won the sympathy of Hugh Jackman. The Post reports that as they chanted "Slumlords!" and "Rats!" outside, Jackman approached them to talk. Looking at photos depicting the dilapidated conditions at The Jane, he reportedly gasped, "Oh, my God." Diane von Furstenberg also showed some pity, asking, "Who are the slumlords?" That would be Eric Goode and Sean McPherson, who also run the Bowery Hotel, where the group protested last night over what publicist Ronn Torossian, their representative, calls "appalling conditions. Rats run [around] daily, asbestos lingers and 99 complaints have been filed in recent months with city housing authorities." more ›

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A look at some noteworthy (and mainly regifted) programs this week: more ›

Doesn't it seem like you no sooner put down the fork at the Thanksgiving table and the Christmas themed movies have flooded the theaters? If you're ready to start ho ho hoing your way to the cineplex, the new slapstick family comedy , or it could be that Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott have just run out of new movie ideas. more ›

but a very reliable source on comedy assures us that "it's the funniest movie ever." While the officials from Kazakhstan may not be happy about how their people are being satirized, it's just the kind of humor that appeals to us young urban professionals. So get your tickets for this weekend early, it's sure to be hugely popular at the cineplex. more ›

Yesterday, we were walking by the Loews Lincoln Square theater and noticed a huge inflatable toilet with slide on West 68th. Seriously - it was for the afternoon premiere of Flushed Away, the animated film about mice and toads and slugs and more in the London sewers. Children who were attending the premiere got to climb up and slide down the front. No one yelled "Turd!" or "Courtesy flush!" to them and they seemed thrilled. more ›

This week the box office juggernaut that is the new , there's still tons of repertory to take in instead this weekend. more ›

The Reverend Al Sharpton is not much of a speller. He joined the cast of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee during the Tony Awards telecast yesterday and participated in the bee. He was given the word "dengue," which pretty much means diarrhea to the hundredth degree, though the CDC doesn't really expound that part at length. Now, we're not sure if Sharpton was playing a poor speller or just badly spelling, but he spelled "D-E-N-K-E" or something very far off. (Gothamist guessed "D-E-N-G-H-E".) more ›

shutting down shortly after on Sept. 12th. more ›