Not many people would leave a role as Natalie Portman's husband in a film, but Williamsburg resident Abe Karpen has to do just that. Karpen, who is a Hasidic Jew, told the Daily News, "It's not acceptable in my community. It's a lot of pressure I am getting. They [the rabbis] didn't like the idea of a Hasidic guy playing in Hollywood." Portman and Karpen had been filming a short called "Kosher Vegetarian" for New......

Another Will Ferrell sports flick will inflate this weekend, capping off a nationwide “Funny or Die” promotional tour that brought him to Radio City Music Hall Sunday night. The movie is Semi-Pro, which stars Ferrell as Jackie Moon, owner of the 1976 Flint Michigan Tropics, a team in the maverick ABA basketball league. To keep his career alive against all odds, Moon initiates off a series of increasingly desperate publicity stunts to attract fans –......

With Craigslist becoming ever-increasingly creepy, this smitten young man has gone and purchased his own URL to find the girl he ogled on the subway last night. NYGirlOfMyDreams.com has a simple mission, it's "skinny, tall, not insane" creator would like to meet the the "fancy-braided, rosy-cheeked, journal writing" girl he saw on the the 5 train at 9:30pm last night. And if it doesn't work out, we're sure he has that URL for at......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A "large dispute" at JFK Airport; a school bus accident at Broadway and 37th Street in Manhattan; and a car-into-a-house on Murdock Ave in Queens. Rudy Giuliani says people giving him a hard time about rooting for the Red Sox "should give [him] a break." People to Giuliani, "No way, not when you make it so easy!" Awesome Halloween decoration in Greenpoint. A different kind of customized candy to......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out and......

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......

Clap Your Hands Back in Town After several months of playing massive festivals around the world, The original blog-band returns home. And you know, just because blogs don't follow these fellas' every move anymore doesn't mean that the DIY posterboys aren't still out there selling out clubs and supporting their sophomore album. They played a few local shows this week and their ever-improving live act was tight and on point at the Music Hall of......

It isn't very often a Beatle takes a small stage for an intimate show in New York. Last night, this very thing happened...and lucky for those in attendance, that Beatle wasn't Ringo. Paul McCartney played to a crowd of about 700 fans, press folk and a few celebs (Elijah Wood and Whoopi Goldberg) at the Highline Ballroom. While Macca was there promoting his new album, Memory Almost Full, his set list was full of oldies......

Paris Je T'Aime (directed by various filmmakers including Olivier Assayas, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Chistopher Doyle and Nobuhiro Suwa): There have been nearly as many cinematic love letters written to Paris as there have been to New York, but that doesn't mean that moviemakers aren't still falling hard for the city of lights. 21 directors made 18 short films for the new omnibus movie Paris Je T'Aime which comes to New York theaters this Friday.......

There was a lot up on the auction block this week at Christie's. Yesterday was their Rock & Pop Memorabilia auction. Beatles lyrics penned by Paul McCartney (that's Sir Paul McCartney, to you) went for $197,000. The song? An early version of Maxwell's Silver Hammer from 1968. Jimi Hendrix's 1968 Fender Stratocaster (modified to accommodate his left-handed use) sold for $168,000. Meanwhile, a page of Britney Spears's homework went for $240 (less than an iPod!).......

This week's new film releases are a lovely New York melting pot: ballroom dancing teens, Arab/Israeli anxieties, motor skills-challenged geeks, neurotic female friends, and a thoughtful Polish director thrown in for good measure. Spring may have sprung outside but it's also a great time to be inside at the movie. If you saw last year's documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, you're already familiar with dancing teacher Pierre Dulaine and his work with children around the country.......

Today is an exciting day for anybody under the age of five...well, and for some of us bigger people too. Today, Sesame Street launched its 35th season with the first of 26 brand new episodes! Gothamist is stoked. For more than three decades, Sesame Street has been teaching kids letters, numbers and important life lessons. Like just the other day, Sesame Street taught us that even someone as big as Snuffy can do ballet...a......

This week’s repertory options want to take New York moviegoers around the world and back again via the silver screen. But spring has finally sprung like so many daffodils in the new theatrical releases category as well, so there are lots to see all over the city this weekend. Aaron Eckhart, an actor who’s been building his career on playing delightfully dimpled bad guys continues his dastardly trend with the tobacco industry satire, Thank You......

Gothamist was a bit underwhelmed by this year's Golden Globe nominees, and we were thinking of not liveblogging. But, gosh darn it as we watched the E! preshow and saw the starlets sparkle their way down the red carpet, we realize it was hopeless, so here we are. Let it be known that: - Keira Knightley looks gorgeous in her white Valentino - and there's something surprisingly youthful about the dress, even though there's that......

On Sundays, Gothamist runs opinion pieces on issues vaguely related to New York. The views expressed below are solely those of the author. Somewhere in the late high school-early college era, some female friends and I discovered a truly wonderful film genre: two beautiful foreign boys (not, like, toddlers, but maybe 19-year olds, definitely not 30 year olds, you get the idea) fall in love in front of a beautiful backdrop (beach, snow, any breathtaking......

If the lead of a play or musical is sick and an understudy performs instead, can you ask for your money back? I'm especially interested in knowing about cases where the lead performer is a big star. It all depends on how that star is billed in the show, so check your Playbill or the theater's marquee for clues. For example, both Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane are listed above the title in the......

TONIGHT: You can catch former Get A Life creator/star Chris Elliot present his semi-forgettable slapstick movie, Cabin Boy, as well as partake in a Q&A at The Anthology Film Archives at 8PM. Featuring the likes of Andy Richter, David Letterman, and Ricki Lake, Cabin Boy is a film that people either love or absolutely can’t stand watching. Either way, we still think observing Chris Elliot is worth the trip. And if you’re planning a night......

Elizabeth Shapiro, Founder of Politipunk...

Gothamist doesn't normally touch on subjects like, say, New Jersey. It's the nature of our being. However, last night we found ourselves staring wide eyed and drop jawed at the film Garden State. We would like to take this time to state that Zach Braff is a genius. We admit, we haven't watched more than 2 episodes of Scrubs, but we're going to start immediately. Braff, who we understand plays some sort of goofy doctor......

Ooh, it looks like Owen Wilson is taking the male lead opposite Natalie Portman in The Smoker, based on David Schickler's short story that appeared in the New Yorker four years ago (read The Smoker here). The Hollywood Reporter also reports that Richard Linklater is directing the film, which seems brilliant to Gothamist, since Linklater has shown a great hand at delicate philosophy and love stories (Waking Life and Before Sunrise) as well as humor......

There's nothing Gothamist likes free movies and a gimmick, and Rockefeller Center has both next week: Rockefeller Center is turning into a drive-in movie theater for screenings of three anticipated independent films. Garden State, directed and starring Zach Braff, co-starring Natalie Portman and Peter Saarsgard, will on Tuesday, June 8th, followed by Napoleon Dynamite (you've seen the trailer with the extremely geeky and/or mildly autistic kid in it) on Wednesday and Danny Deckchair (Rhys Ifans,......

With the opening of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Gothamist takes the opportunity to say thank God it was not made with Ricky Martin and Natalie Portman in the leading roles, because our eyes might bleed in four different colors. But at least the mention of Dirty Dancing makes us think of the original 1987 film. Pre-nose job Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze...Jerry Orbach and Kelly Bishop at the disapproving parents...a cheesy song by Bill Medley and......