The award-winning Broadway comedy God of Carnage (which we loved!) is being made into a movie, directed by Roman Polanski. The original NYC ensemble was excellent: Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden. Subsequent extensions of the show with different castmembers (Dylan Baker, Jimmy Smits) were all right, too, but Polanski is "going in a different direction," as they say in the biz, and has cast Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz (who won an Oscar for scenery-chewing in Inglourious Basterds), and, um, Matt Dillon. more ›

Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the U.S. to face sexual abuse charges. Today, the Swiss Justice Ministry announced, "The 76-year-old French-Polish film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the USA. The freedom-restricting measures against him have been revoked." The AP reports, "The Swiss mostly blamed U.S. authorities for failing to provide confidential testimony about Polanski's sentencing procedure in 1977-1978. The Justice Ministry also said that national interests were taken into consideration in the decision." more ›

Roman Polanski's lawyer told Swiss newspapers that the acclaimed and controversial filmmaker is not in great shape. Herve Temine visited the 76-year-old, who has been in Swiss custody since September 26, and said to one paper, "I found him to be tired and depressed," and told another, "Roman Polanski...seemed very dejected when I visited him. Polanski was in an unsettled state of mind." Earlier this week, the Swiss authorities denied his request for bail. more ›

Filmmaker Roman Polanski will have to cool his heels in a Swiss jail for a little while longer, because his request that he be released from prison was denied. Folco Galli, a spokesman for the Federal Office of Justice in Bern, said, "We are still persuaded that there is still a danger that he will escape, and that liberation on bail could not guarantee his presence through the extradition proceedings." more ›

After the French Foreign Minister denounced the Swiss arrest—by way of U.S. arrest warrant for the 1977 rape of a 13-year-old— of filmmaker Roman Polanski by saying, "In the same way that there is a generous America that we like, there is also a scary America that has just shown its face," now the French government has offered a more measured view. According to Arts Beat, a French government spokesman said, "Roman Polanski is neither above or below the law... We have a judicial proceeding underway that is a serious affair, the rape of a minor, for which the American and Swiss justice systems are carrying on their work." more ›

As film director Roman Polanski remains in Swiss custody, after being arrested on a U.S. arrest warrant for the 1977 rape of a 13-year-old, his moviemaking brethren are rallying to his side. A number of notable film notables, including Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, and Pedro Almodovar, have reportedly signed a petition demanding his release. However, it's unlikely he'll be released on bail anytime soon. more ›

Film director Roman Polanski, currently held in Swiss custody on a U.S. arrest warrant for the 1977 rape of a 13-year-old girl, will fight extradition, according to his lawyer. Herve Temine said, "Taking into account the extraordinary conditions of his arrest, his Swiss lawyer will seek his freedom without delay. He was shocked, dumbfounded, but he is in a fighting mood and he is very determined to defend himself." more ›

Film director Roman Polanski, who fled the U.S. in 1978 after being convicted of raping a 13-year-old, was arrested in Switzerland, where he was scheduled to receive an award at the Zurich Film Festival. The 76-year-old was taken into custody at his hotel. more ›

Film Forum more ›

Doesn't it seem like you no sooner put down the fork at the Thanksgiving table and the Christmas themed movies have flooded the theaters? If you're ready to start ho ho hoing your way to the cineplex, the new slapstick family comedy , or it could be that Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott have just run out of new movie ideas. more ›

The Devil may wear prada and Superman may wear tight red briefs but what's really should get you hot and bothered on a long holiday weekend is Amy Sedaris in prosthetic teeth and high rise pants. Wooh-wee, that's some sexy stuff. more ›

We got a peek at the newly named Philip Johnson Terrace, part of Museum Tower, the Cesar Pelli-designed residential building next to the Museum of Modern Art (Pelli designed the new federal courthouse in downtown Brooklyn). more ›

International cinema circles may be buzzing today about the announced line-up of films at this year's Cannes Film Festival but for those of us who won't be walking the Croisette in May, there's still plenty to be excited about movie-wise. Here's a few suggestions for your moviegoing this weekend. more ›

Legendary Director Roman Polanski (Chinatown, The Pianist), who testified against a Vanity Fair article - via video, of course, to avoid extradition in the US where that sex with a minor issue is still hanging over his head, just won his libel case in a British court. The VF's article claimed Polanski seduced a woman at a NYC restaurant en route to the funeral of his wife Sharon Tate and their unborn child, who were viciously murdered by the Charles Manson clan in 1969. So, if Gothamist gets this right, you flee a country because you're too spineless to face justice, only to seek it once a magazine dares to run some gossip - good to know that Polanski’s inability to self-examine himself is almost laughable. more ›

Julie Atlas Muz, Burlesque Star/Mermaid more ›

Will third time be a charm for Peter Jackson? Jackson's work for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, along with Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation, Clint Eastwood for Mystic River, Gary Ross for Seabiscuit, and Peter Weir for Master and Commander, is nominated for the Directors' Guild Award. The DGA nominees are very similar to the Golden Globe nominees, except Anthony Minghella was nominated instead of Ross. Guess the Cold Mountain machine doesn't fly with the directors, huh, Miramax (the Daily News is shocked that Minghella was not nominated). What this year's DGA nominees tell us is that Sofia Coppola and the momentum behind Lost in Translation are no joke and that Hollywood loves a well made studio movie like Seabiscuit, even if it's 40 minutes too long. more ›

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

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: more ›

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, the Orange BAFTA Awards, were handed out yesterday and the big winner was The Pianist, Best Picture and Best Director Roman Polanski. Other winners included Daniel Day-Lewis for Gangs of New York, Nicole Kidman for The Hours, Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago, Christopher Walken for Catch Me If You Can (I wonder what he'd rather have done - been in London to pick up his award or in NY hosting SNL as he was last night), Charlie and Donald Kaufman's adapted screenplay for Adaptation, and Pedro Almodovar's original screenplay for Talk to Her. What's funny about British awards these days is that they have corporate sponsors - Orange is a mobile phone communications company. The Booker Prize is now the Man Booker Prize, Man is an investment company. The Mercury Prize, the most prestigious music award in the UK and arguably the US, too (though the US created the Shortlist award), is the Panasonic Mercury prize. more ›

Let the games begin. The Directors' Guild has announced their nominees, and they are Stephen Daldry for "The Hours," Peter Jackson for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," Rob Marshall for "Chicago," Martin Scorsese for "Gangs of New York," and Roman Polanski for "The Pianist." The most likely nominees for the Academy Awards' Best Picture of the bunch are "The Hours," "Chicago," and "Lord of the Rings." Photos above and an article(registration required) from Variety. "Gangs" and "The Pianist" are possibilities, but Scorsese and Polanski are polarizing figures. However, as these projects are labors of love for them, especially with Polanski's personal experience with the Holocaust and Hollywood's love of reliving the Holocaust in film (see "Schindler's List" and "Life is Beautiful"), they may be nominated for Best Picture. Good will for Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks may make "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" a Best Picture contender, but I personally am done with the big fat Greek hype. Back to the directors, the DGA awards are usually good indicators of who will win Best Director at the Oscars, but more recently, there's been discrepancy: Ang Lee winning the DGA award for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," while Steven Soderbergh won the Oscar for "Traffic"; Ron Howard winning the DGA for "Apollo 13", Mel Gibson the Oscar for "Braveheart". more ›

.
more ›

Separated at Birth: A noted director-underage girl fetishist looks just like the president of our alma mater. Exhibit A: Roman Polanski more ›