Known for her smoky voice and role as Bob Newhart's no-nonsense wife in The Bob Newhart Show, Suzanne Pleshette died at age 70 last night. Pleshette had suffered from lung cancer in recent years. more ›

more ›

Coney Island may be changing a lot after its last summer with Astroland scheduled to close and redevelopment of the area, but the people over at the Coney Island History Project are doing their best to preserve memories of the old Coney Island. This season, the project inaugurates a permanent home, which is fittingly under the Cyclone. The Times reports that the space had many previous forms: a souvenir stand, a hot dog stand, and a ice cream stand and that the support pillars in the storefront shake when the Cyclone passes. The project's location has its grand opening on Thursday. more ›

characters. Franken had developed a very successful career making people laugh, but through the movie we see how his convictions wouldn't allow him to stay quiet about the direction he saw the country heading. He almost makes punditry look like a noble calling. Also good for a liberal chuckle is the footage of Franken going head to head with a very icy Ann Coulter. The fact that she doesn't lean over and pop him one in the nose shows remarkable restraint on her part. Rent this documentary and you'll walk away hoping that Franken's bid for a Senate seat turns out much more successfully than his career in talk radio. more ›

EVENT: McSweeney's Presents an all-star benefit will feature an indie-rock supergroup made up of Dante Decaro and Hadji Bakara (of Wolf Parade), Nick Diamonds and Jamie Thompson (of Islands), Amber Webber (of Black Mountain) and Syd Butler (of Les Savy Fav). Authors Joshua Davis (Underdog), David Rakoff (Fraud) and Rodney Rothman (Early Bird) will also be on hand. And that's not all! Daily Show correspondent John Oliver will be on hand for some laughs. All proceeds benefit 826NYC and 826LA. more ›

MUSIC: If the line to get in to The Good, The Bad and The Queen playing the Apple Store earlier this year was blocks long, we can only imagine what it will be like for YouTube video sensations Ok Go. The band plays there tonight, but will they bring the treadmills? more ›

There is tons of speculation all over the Internet about the Oscar nominations for films released in 2006. As an Oscars fiend, we're not going to digress about the calculus of vote-splitting. Instead, we'll point out a couple things we noticed: more ›

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association voting pool for the Golden Globes only consists of 83 members, but every year their mainstream tastes become one of the potential early prognosticators for the Emmys and the Oscars. Over in Beverly Hills today, the stylists are putting the finishing touches on the stars' couture, that long red carpet is being laid and some assistant is double checking the seals on the envelopes. Here in New York of course, we get to play the more enviable armchair critic job hashing out who might be taking home this year's statues after tonight's telecast [8 - 11 pm on NBC]. more ›

Okay, so it's been 2007 for the last four days but since everyone's doing it from the critics circles to the awards nominating pools, it seemed worth it to weigh in on last year's movies. However, constructing end of the year top ten lists can be both painful and thrilling. Looking at a long list of the year's movie releases reminds you how many films passed you by in the theaters and playing favorites amongst the pool is never easy. It's much more fun to look at a top 10 and what various moviemakers from around the world have churned out in the last 12 months as glass half full. In the midst of the dreck of horrible new releases are some very bright spots, and here are 10 of our personal highlights. more ›

It's that time of year again, when the New York Film Society at Lincoln Center and a small group of local film critics selects the entries from new world cinema they feel deserves their erudite stamp o' approval. As this year's pre-screening Festival ID tag points out, their 44 years of discernment includes a pretty elite bunch of films and filmmakers, and this year is no different. The NYFF doesn't set out to be mainstream fare, like the younger Tribeca fest, and they pride themselves on this. more ›

Years ago, we had fond memories of the horrible service, questionable food but strong drinks and lovably off waitstaff -- remember the midnight drag shows that usually ended with them eating your fries? -- all at Stingy Lulu's. The space, now inhabited by Hop Devil, a bar with twice as many beer options and half as much, on a good day, personality makes us miss Lulu. And Ivo & Lulu's isn't the same, all focused on eating and such. more ›

The city will be upgrading the NY Passenger Ship Terminal on the Hudson River to a new $150 million facility. In fact, the QM2 will be at Pier 92, which can barely fit the ship. A smaller $20 million facility will be built in Brooklyn during construction; Gothamist wonders if it will turn into a high end residential area after the project. more ›

emotional distress and lost earnings." Helmsley lawyers are saying that the lawsuit is a publicity stunt, considering they have only heard about it through the media. But what a publicity stunt it is: The Queen of Mean and bedbugs! more ›