Jean-Luc Godard (whose Contempt, starring Brigitte Bardot, is at Film Forum now) famously said that to make a movie all you need is a girl and a gun, and the marketing team for Boarding Gate are banking on it: the print ads show wild Italian actress Asia Argento armed with nothing but a pistol, heels and panties. Times film critic Manhola Dargis thinks French director Olivier Assayas made the movie just so he could......

Salt & Samovar are a Brooklyn band that sound more like they're just visiting here from Upstate...or a Coen brothers film. Their live shows are described as "pentecostal revival-like performances that evoke the musical and spiritual heirlooms of a cherished American past." A simpler and simply transporting sound that'll have you pining for the past. Come check out their revival-rock this Friday at Mercury Lounge -- get your tickets here. Where did your band name......

There are plenty of cities out there that provide bike share programs, and this week has been New York's chance to try one out. NYC Bike Share has provided bikes (courtesy of Metro Bicycles) from 10am to 6pm each day for the past three days. The bikes can be picked up at the The Storefront for Art and Architecture (97 Kenmare Street) and can be dropped back off there, or at another location which......

Last summer, audiences fell hard for Owen Wilson's aging frat boy with a heart of gold routine in The Wedding Crashers. This weekend, he brings his lunkhead prat falls to the comedy You, Me and Dupree with co-stars Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson and Michael Douglas. From the previews it looks like most of the humor is scatological in nature but do you really need anything more complex in an A/C-tastic cineplex? Another movie up that......

It's Oscar Night and Gothamist is here. Tonight, it'll be a joint effort, from our resident film guru Karen Wilson and our resident Oscar freak Jen Chung. We hope you weigh in with what you think! KW: I have my popcorn, my diet coke -- I am ready for the spectacle and the excess. JC: ALL RIGHT! I just took extra Vitamin C - I'm waiting for some food delivery. 6:36PM Isaac Mizrahi has NOT......

This month InFocus has a good interview with Harold Ramis, the polymath actor/writer/comedian behind Caddyshack, Stripes, and our favorite NYC movie of all time, Ghostbusters, this side of anything involving the subway. Ramis discussed ideas for Ghostbusters 3, the sequel that never got made, where Peter, Ray and Egon would go to hell.He does tend to think big [referring to Dan Ackroyd's idea that hell would extremely special effect driven] when he’s writing these, doesn’t......

In L.A., Un-Cabaret has been a fixture of the alternative comedy scene for over a decade. Founder Beth Lapides started it after growing tired of what mainstream stand-up comedy was offering, and brought in friends over the years like David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, Michael Patrick King, Scott Thompson and Patton Oswalt to break new ground and showcase their material. Today it has grown into a tiny empire with live shows, writing classes and contests......

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......

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......

Tamar Adler, Editor at Harper's...

- Some think Clinton's book is boring - Who knew Jay-Z liked Phish? - Making NYC jury duty better - Owen Wilson in a film of a beloved New Yorker short story - What went wrong with Lollapalooza? - Leaning on a subway pole is a no-no (or at least that's what most readers think) - Subway incidents: Shootings at Chambers Street and Chelsea, track death at Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall - Cyclists circle conservatives -......

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......

USA Today has a look at Meet the Fockers, the sequel to Meet the Parents, which feature not only Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, and Blythe Danner returning, but Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand as the parents of the situation-challenged male nurse groom played by Stiller (honestly, he may get paid a lot, but Ben Stiller is caught in the ghetto of playing characters who horrible things happen to). It seems that Streisand's character......

The big movie opening this weekend is the movie version of Starsky and Hutch starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, and Gothamist has to say, if you love Ben and Owen's chemistry (think Meet the Parents... Zoolander...), go see it (or just go because Snoop Dogg steals the film). E! Online has a great question and answer with the pair in their feature, "Guffaw and Order"; E! asked Wilson about singing the David Soul......

Now, Gothamist loves us some Mr. Darcy, but why is Colin Firth hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend? Anyone? His last movies came out late last year (The Girl with a Pearl Earring, Love Actually), and in his last big American movie, he had to settle for billing after Amanda Bynes. We are all for a Bridget Jones spoof, or some sort of acknowledgement that Firth keeps playing the cuckold (Bridget Jones, Love Actually, Shakespeare......

Benjamin Bratt will be playing Detective Tom Lone to Halle Berry's Catwoman in the upcoming Catwoman film; Sharon Stone is still slated to be play the villainess. While Gothamist is disappointed Owen Wilson won't be in the role, Bratt is a good choice, as he's had experience playing a detective as well as dealing with one of the biggest actresses in the world, whereas Wilson probably would have stolen the film. Note to director Pitof:......

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......

There is really no movie out there right now that Gothamist can recommend more highly than simply renting or buying Shanghai Knights. Hysterically funny, it features some beautiful stunt set pieces by Jackie Chan and nonstop charm and sexiness from Owen Wilson. Salon's Charles Taylor and the Time's Elvis Mitchell loved it. And really, the two thumbs up from Ebert & Roeper means something! Roger Ebert's review. Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson must have gotten......

Sai R. Gunturi, an 8th grader from Dallas and four-time spelling bee veteran, won the 2003 Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee by spelling "pococurante" correctly. According to Merriam Webster's Dictionary, pococurante suggests indifference and nonchlance, from the Italian poco curante, and is pronounced "poko-kyu-ranty." The Times coverage includes tidbits like Gunturi saying "I'm going to buy a lot of video games, like, a lot," with the $12,000 prize and calling Samir Sudhir Patel snaggle-toothed though endearing.......

Further confirmation Imitation of Life head-actress Tara Subkoff and Bottle Rocket and Rushmore director Wes Anderson are dating: - Photos of Wes's posse at the Imitation of Life show in L.A. - L.A. Times reports: "Designer Tara Subkoff's Hollywood connections must rival Kevin Bacon's. Reese Witherspoon came out to support the designer who was once her roommate. And Wes Anderson, Subkoff's current beau, was able to reel in pals Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Sheryl Crow......

As a fan of the New York Times film reviews, I am very aware of all of the nuances of the reviews. One of the best things is the blurb that's written after the rating at the very end of the review, to call out any violence or nudity or language. The Times reviewers A.O. Scott and Elvis Mitchell are very funny. Check out these: The Safety of Objects "has many sexual situations, both overt......

Entertainment Weekly tries to offer ways to fix Owen Wilson's movie career. Another idea: Romantic comedy, best written by Richard Curtis or someone British. Female lead should be equally original, like Zooey Deschanel (okay, she's the It Girl du jour, but I'm tired and can't think). Directed by someone with a light touch, like the Weitz brothers. Now that I'd see THAT opening day. And I think fix is a strong word. "Better position" would......

Hollywood is all aflutter about the future of a Catwoman movie. Ever since Tim Burton's moody Batman Returns gave us Michelle Pffeifer slinking around with a whip, Catwoman seemed ideal for a franchise spin-off. Nine years later, Ashley Judd was tipped to be Catwoman last year, but now it officialshe won't be. Who's the next in line? Why Oscar nominee Nicole Kidman. (Yes, she was Chase Meridian in Batman Forever, but that was directed by......

As a hopeless cinephile, I feel that the year I spend watching movies is like having a crush on some unattainable person. It makes me feel alive, with all the planning and dreaming and effort I put into it, and somehow, even when I see a bad movie, it’s okay, because it’s one of the knocks I take in wishing that maybe this in time, after paying $10+ for a movie, it might reward my......

My love for Owen Wilson continues with the opening of Shanghai Knights(check out the cool interactive kung fu) this weekend. It's directed by David Dobkin, not David Dorkin. Buy Shanghai Noon, but it's not critical to have seen Shanghai Noon in order to see Shanghai Knights; however, Noon is pretty damn funny. Read the lovefest of reviews for Knights by Elvis Mitchell, Charles Taylor, Jack Matthews and Roger Ebert. The latest film from Olivier Assayas......