Elizabeth: The Golden Age (directed by Shekhar Kapur) Ever since she dazzled audiences in 1998 with her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I, it's been hard not to think there's something naturally regal about actress Cate Blanchett. Now Blanchett has returned to her Oscar-nominated role in a sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age with the same director and a similar cast. But will lightening strike twice? Maybe the expectation level was too high, but while Elizabeth the......

You may not yet have heard of Marco Pierre White, unless, of course you are one of the untold numbers of commis cooks and line jockeys in restaurants all over the world for the last twenty years for whom the iconoclast British chef changed the food game entirely. White's new memoir The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness and the Making of a Great Chef (published in the U.K. last year as White Slave)......

Garrison Keillor noted during his opening speech for last night's National Book Awards that this week is the opening of another Harry Potter film. He said, "Most of us have stood in Barnes & Noble and opened a Harry Potter book, read a few pages and said: 'I could have done that. I could have done that while doing all the other things that I do. Why didn't I?'" An always curmudgeonly and brilliant Norman......

It’s that time of the year again – that special time you brave New York’s notoriously humid and sticky summer to battle for one more blanket inch on a crowded park lawn. This year’s free outdoor movie festivals – RiverFlicks, Riverside Park Movies Under the Stars, Brooklyn Music & Movies Series, and HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival–offer a wide range of musicals and old favorites, from The Sound of Music to The Big Lebowski......

Nancy Bass, Bookseller...

Recent production sightings here in Gotham (reg required for full size pics) have drummed up a renewed buzz about the upcoming film, The Weather Man. Directed by Gore Verbinski, the film stars Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine. Cage plays a divorced Chicago weatherman who is offered a job on a network morning show in New York. Before leaving he attempts to make peace with his ex-wife and kids. The movie is described as being in......

Gothamist can't help it: News that Ken Watanabe is joining the cast of Batman: Intimidation as villain Ra's Al Ghul does make us excited, as does the news of the rest of the cast: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as butler Alfred, Katie Holmes as childhood friend "Rachel," Liam Neeson as Wayne's mentor Henri Ducard, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, "a former board member and sidelined employee of Wayne Enterprises," Cillian Murphy as......

The evening is over, while Gothamist will be following up with extensive commentary about the actual Oscar telecast, here are the winners and some post-game analysis: Best Picture: Chicago - Marty Richards Not a huge surprise given the momentum Chicago's had since the Golden Globes, but there was an outside chance of a Pianist upset with The Pianist's acting, directing, and screenplay awards. But in the end, Harvey got his best picture. Best Actor in......

There are many reasons to love Fametracker, but the Mediator is one very important one. Fametracker takes a celebrity magazine and dissects it, fully understanding that there are methods to the madness of the celebrity magazine and analyzes it. The sad truth is that celebrity magazines blow but it makes for great Mediator features. This month, Mediator looks at GQ. At taste: The article, on the other hand, is, like all the profiles in this......