Who: Natalie Portman interviewed by Patrick Healy
What: The New York Times Arts & Leisure Weekend
When: January 9, 2009
Where: The Times Center
Thumbs: Down

The crowd exited the New York Times conversation with Natalie Portman buzzing, but it wasn't because of anything she or moderator Patrick Healy said. The cause was an unexplained, bizarre disappearance. Forty five minutes into the panel, at the beginning of the viewing of a clip from her new film Brothers, Portman quickly ran off the stage. Healy, without offering justification, then announced a delay in the panel. The audience sat awkwardly for a few minutes before Healy said that they'd show another clip. As soon as the lights dimmed, security came out and removed a gentleman from the first row of the audience. Only then did Portman return to the interview. (more...)

The newest trailer for the upcoming comic book adaptation "Kick-Ass" is getting a lot of attention on Twitter today, thanks to tweets and re-tweets by the likes of Rob Corddry, Jake Tapper, and TV's Andy Levy. The R-rated trailer features copious violence and profanity, but the clip's heat is generated by the source of the mayhem: 12-yr-old vigilante Hit Girl.

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First, as far as I can tell, there was "Bad Shiksa" (FIRST!). Next there was "Eight Days of Hannukah" by Orrin Hatch, followed by a cover of Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song by Neil Diamond. Then there was Eli Roth and Harvey Levin looking ready to take their act to the Catskills — and now, not even halfway to a lit Menorah, comes "Kosher Face," the latest take on Jews and Lady Gaga and Jews and Hanukkah and Jews and media and Jews and comedy and Jews. And they call Hanukkah a minor holiday. Ha! (more...)

I've written before about Funny or Die as an essential platform for established artists looking to present a different side of themselves, send a message or just have ridiculous fun. But what I realized just now after clicking on a video from their newsletter is that they are the only platform — besides maybe YouPorn — where the actual platform is synonymous with the type of content you'll find there. I'm not talking about channels on YouTube or Blip.tv or Kaltura, which are all certainly impressive — I'm talking about branding. Funny or Die is now the Kleenex of comedy videos — instant shorthand for what you're getting. It's like how for a while we all said "YouTube" even if we were referring to a video on, say, Vimeo ("Let's Vimeo this!" never quite made it into the popular lexicon.) (more...)

After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival more than a year ago, the long awaited New York, I Love You is finally being released in New York theaters this Friday. A collaborative effort, New York, I Love You is an anthology of 10+ shorts directed by the likes of Brett Ratner to Natalie Portman, and starring almost every actor in the world. To celebrate its arrival -- and the arrival of glorious Fall in New York -- we've nostalgically compiled a list of the cheesiest, most romantic, most epic and irresistible movies starring our favorite city. (more...)

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We've all witnessed the rise, fall and rebirth (repeat) of those special creatures who have been famous since childhood. Classically, there's Judy Garland and Michael Jackson, and more recently Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. Each have their misfires, quirks, and claims to fame, and occasionally the train wreck aspects of their careers overshadow the good times. This fall, a few glossy magazines have reserved their cover spot for women who came of age under the spotlight, but with new projects (and new bodies!) they seem to be doing all right. But which cover most successfully documents the embattled maturation of a child star? Cover Wars decides. (more...)

The Internet has been crackling with weird, random celebrity death rumors since last Thursday, when Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. Thursday night rumors of Jeff Goldblum's demise were greatly exaggerated via Twitter (trending topic!); the actual death on Sunday of TV pitchman Billy Mays seems to have added to the actual celebrity-death trend (begun earlier last week by Ed McMahon), and exacerbated the trend-watching hysteria online (really, Al Roker?) So far, these are the false celebrity death rumors that have circulated: (more...)