Did you know that the United Nations has a specific office dedicated to the "peaceful use" of outer space? Not only is the Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) real—they're set to appoint the first Earth ambassador to aliens. And she shall be our Jodie Foster! more ›

The award-winning Broadway comedy God of Carnage (which we loved!) is being made into a movie, directed by Roman Polanski. The original NYC ensemble was excellent: Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden. Subsequent extensions of the show with different castmembers (Dylan Baker, Jimmy Smits) were all right, too, but Polanski is "going in a different direction," as they say in the biz, and has cast Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz (who won an Oscar for scenery-chewing in Inglourious Basterds), and, um, Matt Dillon. more ›

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! more ›

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For New York moviegoers, this is a good week for those who worship at the cult of the director. In both the theatrical releases and the repertory columns, film fans of various established and up in coming auteurs will surely get their fill. more ›

"I grew up in Brooklyn—first in Crown Heights and then we moved to Cobble Hill," Mr. Lee said. "My late mother had the vision to say, 'We should buy a home.' We were one of the first people to buy a brownstone in Fort Greene—this was when the getting was good," he said. "Back then, Atlantic Avenue divided Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights like opposite sides of the train tracks. Now when you see young white professionals walking down Myrtle Avenue," he cracked up, "there are white linen tables on the sidewalk! I never would have thunk it."Who knew sidewalk dining could be so funny? Spike is promoting his new film, The Inside Man, which does have an irresistible combination of Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen and NYC (the posters, which are crisp and graphic, help). more ›

(opening tomorrow). We highly recommend you check out both of these films which have a great chance of making our own Best of 2005 list. more ›

Once again, movie lovers have plenty to rejoice about over the next week. Three international heavyweights have new releases and we're not including Jodie Foster going crazy on an airplane in that equation. One of New York's most important production companies gets saluted at MoMA plus there's this little thing starting at Lincoln Center tomorrow night which should dominate much of the city's film landscape for the coming fortnight just as it does this week's . more ›

A.O. Scott calls Man on Fire partly a "moody, foreboding adventure in high-risk baby-sitting" and also a way for director Tony Scott to exhibit a "borderline creepy fondness for filming [little girls] in bathing suits." more ›

Gothamist is reminded of a chapter in David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day: Sedaris, living in Paris, tries to explain why Jodie Foster is carrying a bag of dog poo, because, in France, picking up after dog poo is unheard of, and Sedaris realizes why America is so great. Yes, God bless America's pooper scooper laws.
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Manuella's IMDB entry which includes stand in work for Robert DeNiro. more ›