Tonight marks the beginning of the Film Society at Lincoln Center's 45th annual New York Film Festival and oh what a jam-packed fest it is. A panel of film critics chose 30 of the best new international movies to show to New York's discerning audiences and they picked hometown director Wes Anderson's newest, The Darjeeling Limited (which also comes out in theaters this weekend) to open the festival. Gothamist was pleasantly surprised at how much......

The New York Film Festival doesn't begin until Friday but you can get your first taste of what will be unspooling on screens at Lincoln Center tonight at the Soho Apple Store. Director Wes Anderson and stars Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman will be on hand for a screening of Anderson's new 12 minute short film Hotel Chevalier at 9 pm. The short was shot entirely in a Paris hotel room and serves as a......

Noah Baumbach,
The Squid and the Whale...

He's an Orthodox Jewish Reggae singer that got his start performing in the parking lot at Phish shows, but don't call him a gimmick. Matisyahu's recent accomplishments include a co-headlining spot at the recent Reggae Carifest on Randall's Island and a sold-out show at Irving Plaza. Thursday night he'll pack Webster Hall. Phish fans who can't get a ticket should consider Benevento Russo Duo at Bowery Ballroom instead. "Alligator, the second album from The......

Sundance is definitely in full swing - you can tell by all the blurry-eyed revelers wandering up and down Main Street. We're trying to make all the rounds, but it's difficult because we actually have paying work to do at the festival. Today, we thought we'd serve up our report in terms of bests and worsts: Best party - Palm Pictures Like defamer, we hit the Palm Pictures party last night. We had a bunch......

While the scene in Conference Room 1 at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park for the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou junket wasn't anything like our movie conception of a press junket — ie. Audrey Hepburn interviewed by Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday — we did find out a few fun factoids about the stars and their movie. "Only when I'm asked that question." —response from Noah Baumbach when asked if he was intimidated by......

Thanks to everyone who entered our contest to win tickets to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. We received over 1500 entries, and our winners are Evan, Pilar, Bejamin, Stephen, Grace, Adam, Kevan, Lindsey, Brandon, Kelly, Dave, George, Kristen, Todd, Wade, Rebecca, Katherine, Darren, Thurston, Rupa, Monica, Sean, Patrick, Elizabeth, and Sarah, who have all been emailed. Additionally, Evan is our grand prize winner; we'll see if we get any photos of the Team Zissou......

A Talk With Wes Anderson...

- Making cupcakes that look like pandas, koalas and bears - Finding out what other species there are after hipsters: Robert Lanham's Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees and Other Creatures... - An interview with comedian Dave Gorman - NYC Transit Authority wants a ban on subway photography - The hot concerts in the city this season - Partying with Penthouse Pets - 2nd Avenue Deli provides alibi for unjustly arrested man during the Republican Convention......

Here's another reminder to enter the Gothamist Contest for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Twenty-five winners will be randomly selected to each win a ticket for two to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou next Tuesday, 12/8; also, one winner will win some fabulous Life Aquatic swag, including a poster, CD, Team Zissou red cap and Team Zissou Speedo! The contest ends Sunday night, and winners will be emailed on Monday. The Life......

Gothamist has loved Wes Anderson and his films even since we saw Dignan's Five Year Plan in Bottle Rocket, so we're happy to announce that Touchstone Films has given us twenty-five tickets to a screening of Wes Anderson's new film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, starring Bill Murray. And we're holding a contest to give them away!! Enter at Gothamist Contest: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Each of the tickets (which are......

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the lineup for the New York Film Festival 2004, and it looks like NY will again benefit from being, arguably, the world's last major film festival by getting films that have played at other festivals by the time the NYFF starts October 1. Opening the festival will be Agnes Jaoui's Look At Me (premiered at Cannes); Pedro Almodovar's Bad Education (also at Cannes) is the centerpiece, as......

Cate Blanchett and Willem Dafoe are joining the cast of Wes Anderson's next movie, The Life Aquatic. Bill Murray stars as an oceanographer, who will be the center of the film, as he and his crew go on "a series of wild deep-sea adventures, including the search for a shark" (Hollywood Reporter). The rest of the cast includes Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Stormare, and Gothamist's favorite Anderson regular, Kumar Pallana ("Man, I......

Famed Italian movie studio Cinecitta is profiled by the New York Times today, as it tries to make itself a compelling option for Hollywood's filmmakers. Directors like Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti made Cinecitta the place to be in the 50s and 60s, but up until recently had not been successful. Wes Anderson's next movie, The Life Aquatic, is filming there, and most famously, Gangs of New York, was filmed there which had Martin Scorsese......