John Gotti Sr.'s ex-BFF is opening up a big bottle of Haterade all over the upcoming Gotti biopic, aka the Greatest Movie Never Made , calling out producers for casting it wrong, all wrong. more ›

The continuing saga of the John Gotti biopic, aka best movie never made, gets one degree weirder today, with the news that John Travolta flew to Queens to kiss John Gotti's ring in preparation for his role as the titular gangster. more ›

Talk about keeping it in the family! The seemingly endless saga of upcoming mob biopic "Gotti: Three Generations", which hasn't even started filming yet, takes two more strange turns this week, as more details about the cast and crew come to light. more ›

John Travolta has officially signed on to star as John "Teflon Don" Gotti Sr. in the upcoming indie film Gotti: Three Generations (which was better than the working title: Gabagool Lasagna Bang Bang). The movie has been the passion project of John "Deadlock Don" Gotti Jr. ever since he escaped four hung jurys, retired from the mob, and realized he needed something to do besides being a professional defendant. Now the question remains: who will play him? more ›

Members of NY's Urban Search and Rescue team used power tools to help pull four Haitians from the rubble of Port-au-Prince this weekend. Among them was a young girl who survived four days trapped in a grocery store. Another group, the Church of Scientology, used the texts of L. Ron Hubbard in their rescue efforts. more ›

Yesterday, police in the Bahamas said that the 16-year-old son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston was found unconscious in a hotel room, after apparently having a seizure and hitting his head on a bathtub. The hospital was unable to revive Jett Travolta, who had, the Post reports, "a long history of seizures and other medical problems, including complications resulting from Kawasaki disease, a rare lymph-node disorder." People adds that Preston blamed household chemicals on Jett's health issues and "credited a detoxification program" based on Scientology found L. Ron Hubbard's writings for helping. Police said that Jett was last seen going into the bathroom on January 1, but wasn't found until yesterday by his nanny—prompting Travolta's lawyers to speak out and disagree with that version of events. They told TMZ "it appears Jett's fatal injury was the result of hitting his head on the bathtub, toilet seat, or both" and "say the intimation that Jett went undiscovered for hours is absolutely false." An autopsy will be performed and then the body will be flown to Florida for burial; a lawyer said Travolta and Preston's pain is "unimaginable and unquantifiable." more ›

Following an announcement last September of the film getting the remake treatment, The Taking of Pelham 123 started scouting NYC nooks and crannies to film in. Now shooting has commenced, and today Denzel Washington & Co. can be found in DUMBO. Unless, of course, this is a set for The Talking of Telham 123, as the sign suggests -- in which case, don't expect to spot John Travolta in the 'nabe. more ›

At 8:30PM (following a half-hour red carpet special), the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony will begin, finally putting an end to the "There Will Be Oscar" or "Oscar Country for Old Men" type headlines. more ›

Ooh, a fun update about the remake of The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three. AMNY's Subway Tracker reports that location scouting is well under way, "Crews were at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station today...crews will be doing a camera test near Jerome and Tremont in the Bronx tomorrow some time (near the 4 line)." Transit officials even confirmed that crews were scouting today! more ›

A man posing as Heath Ledger's father managed to get free hotel rooms and talk to Tom Cruise and John Travolta after the actor's death last week. The Post reports the "twisted impostor" got Tom Cruise to console him on the phone and almost "got John Travolta to buy him a plane ticket to the United States." Why does this sound like a radio shock jock prank? more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A murder-suicide on East 176th Street in the Bronx, a confined space rescue at 680 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and a sexual assault at Victory Blvd & Bay St. in Staten Island
• Breaking: The city and families of September 11 victims have worked out a compromise for this year's anniversary events; the city will allow families to enter the pit at Ground Zero.
• The Dow dropped 387 points today - causes included worries about funds and subprime lending.
• Lenora Fulani repudiates her 1989 remarks calling Jews "mass murderers of people of color" and thinks about running for mayor in 2009.
• After three women rejected three Staten Island guys, the guys allegedly bashed in the ladies' car windows, possibly confirming why the women rejected them in the first place.
• The John Travolta connection to yesterday's tornado.
• Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens is being suspended for five games, after intentionally drilling a Toronto Blue Jays player. Question 1 : Will the Yankees have to pay him for those missed games? Question 2: Did you see him on Mythbusters' Baseball Myths show last night?
• Since the Money Honey loves the fur coat she wears in More magazine, PETA calls her "morally bankrupt"
• Police arrested the man accused of stabbing a Brighton Beach father on his way home from buying milk.

(directed by Zack Snyder) more ›

If you haven't heard about Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Timberlake's Southern Gothic exploitation movie, . more ›

READING: Mira Jacob and Alison Hart host yet another of Pete's Reading Series. Tonight they welcome Nell Freudenberger, author of "The Dissident", which focuses on lives in the aftermath of 1970s radicalism. more ›

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

Good lord. It's not even five minutes into the Emmys and Gothamist (and friends Aaron Dobbs of out of focus and a Gothamist contributor, and Margaret Lyons, formerly of Chicagoist) is very very frightened. There is no reason why Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas should force Doris Roberts to dance with them. Doris needs to get the AARP to fight the fight with her. Welcome to Gothamist's attempt to liveblog the Emmys, until the show drains every single molecule of life from us, which we believe will happen in the 10PM hour. more ›

Months after the poster incident, the NY Times heads to the bowels of the Times Square subway station where the Scientologists are trying to de-stress New Yorkers. Whatever you may think of the Scientologists (Tom Cruise! Aliens! John Travolta! More aliens!), Gothamist has to give it up to them for picking one of the more insane subway stations to prey upon traumatized commuters and naive tourists who think "Wow, the secrets to a stress-free life are in that folding chair with those overeager people." Also lucky for the Scientologists in Times Square: The public toilets are right around the corner. Anyway, the police have decided that the Scientologists' sale of Dianetics (we can't help but think of the Dianetics TV commercial music when we see the word) violates New York City Transit rules about vending (there is none) in the subways - the NYPD used plainclothes detectives and ejected some Scientologists from the station after issuing them summons. The Scientologists say the $8 they charge is not for the cost of the book but simply a "fixed donation," emphasizing that they are not a "commercial operation." The MTA scoffs at that, but Gothamist laughs at the MTA because it's not like the MTA knows what a sustaining money-making operation looks like. more ›

President Bush celebrates 100 years of flight with the most logical celebrity: John Travolta. Gothamist is split between a Scientology reference and a John Travolta's Clintonesque portrayal in Primary Colors reference. more ›

NY Post follows up the birth of Carys Zeta Douglas with wondering about the insane names that celebrities give their children. They offer up: more ›

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar. more ›

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