By Hunter Walker 2/12 6:43pm

Church & State

Eric Ulrich (Photo: Facebook)

Councilman Blasts ‘Blatant Bigotry’ in HBO Documentary on the Catholic Church

This morning, Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich took to his Facebook page to post a scathing review of Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in The House of God, an HBO documentary on the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church. Mr. Ulrich had several issues with the film, which he characterized as “an exploitive and biased account of a dark chapter in the history of the Catholic Church.”

“As a proud Roman Catholic, I am truly offended by the blatant bigotry contained in HBO’s so-called documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in The House of God,” Mr. Ulrich wrote. “It accuses His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI of being complicit in covering up sex abuses cases involving Catholic priests and unfairly criticizes the late Pope John Paul II. Above all, its chock full of anti-catholic rhetoric and demonizes members of the clergy (most of whom are dedicated, compassionate and pious men).” Read More

By Hunter Walker and Colin Campbell 2/07 1:53pm

democracy

"Girls" Greenroom Photo Op - 2012 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival

Lena Dunham May Have Voted After All

Lena Dunham, the star and creator of HBO’s zeitgeisty comedy Girls, took to Twitter this afternoon to fight back against reports she did not vote in the presidential election last year despite filming a controversial ad urging others to cast a ballot for President Barack Obama. According to officials at the Board of Elections in Brooklyn, Ms. Dunham’s claim she voted by affidavit ballot may have merit. Read More

By Hunter Walker 1/18 6:23pm

Ancient History

koch7

How Ed Koch Helped Make Nikki Finke a Reporter

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch has had an influence in Hollywood as well as the Big Apple. Before coming to City Hall, Mr. Koch spent eight years in the House of Representatives. One of his staffers was Nikki Finke, who went on to become one of the most influential and feared reporters in the entertainment industry and, according to Ms. Finke, her time working with the future mayor in Congress helped inspire her to become a journalist.  Read More

By Hunter Walker 11/13/12 1:31pm

Too Hot For TV

David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell. (Photo: PaulaBroadwell.com)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Writers Overwhelmed by Petraeus Scandal

Writers who craft the infamous “ripped from the headlines” plots on Law & Order: SVU are apparently having trouble keeping up with the ongoing scandal over former CIA Director and retired general David Petraeus’ affair with his biographer. Now that the story has grown to include another general and an FBI agent accused of sending shirtless pictures of himself to a woman the man in charge of the sex crimes-focused cop show sent a tweet begging for mercy. He also threw in Sesame Street muppet Elmo, who had a sex scandal of his own break this week.

“Memo to:FBI/CIA/NATO/SesameStreet From:SVU Writers’ Room–Please slow it down, we’re having a hard time getting this all down,” wrote SVU showrunner Warren Leight this morning. Read More

By Hunter Walker 10/19/12 12:24pm

Just Say No

alec cover

Majority of New York Voters Do Not Want Alec Baldwin to Run For Mayor

A new poll of the race to replace term-limited New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg released last night included actor Alec Baldwin, who has hinted he might run for mayor. Based on the numbers, Mr. Baldwin might want to abandon his dream of sitting in City Hall. According to the poll, which was conducted by NY1 and Marist College, 66 percent of New York voters don’t want Mr. Baldwin to even try running for mayor.  Read More

By Hunter Walker and Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 10/01/12 5:52pm

Hasta Nolita Baby

Arnold Schwarzenegger mugging for the cameras at McNally-Jackson (Photo: Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke)

Schwarzenegger’s Signing: Fans Flock Downtown to Meet Action Hero-Turned-Author

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held an impromptu book signing at indie bookstore McNally-Jackson in Nolita this afternoon. Mr. Schwarzenegger announced the surprise signing via Twitter and in a note on Facebook leading a crowd of over 100 almost exclusively male fans to rush downtown to shake the Governator’s large hand and have him sign copies of his tome Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. Read More

By Colin Campbell 9/27/12 4:01pm

Wishing and Hoping

Ed Koch (Photo: Getty)

Ed Koch Would Have Liked to See Justin Timberlake Nude in New Movie

Former Mayor Ed Koch is an avid movie watcher who maintains an email list where  he sends out his reviews. His review of the news sports drama “Trouble with the Curve” was released earlier today and it is particularly amusing. Mr. Koch, who labeled the film “really bad,” was clearly not a fan.

Specifically, he was upset with the lack of on-screen romance between the film’s two younger stars. Read More

By Hunter Walker 7/09/12 10:19am

At The Movies

Spike Lee (Photo: Getty)

Spike Lee on Mayor Bloomberg’s Soda Ban And The Time He Said ‘What’s Up’ to Mitt Romney

Director Spike Lee gave a lengthy interview to New York magazine to promote his upcoming film Red Hook Summer and he shared his thoughts on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial soda ban and the presidential election. Initially, Mr. Lee’s only comment on the mayor was that he’s a “fellow New York Knicks season-ticket holder,” but after some prodding from New York contributing editor Will Leitch, Mr. Lee went on to say he thinks Mr. Bloomberg’s legacy “took a blow” with his pursuit of a third term. Though Mr. Lee didn’t seem too supportive of Mr. Bloomberg maneuvering around the old two term limit, he gave the soda ban a much more positive review.

“I’m in favor of it. Look, when I was growing up in Brooklyn, we had gym, and you had to run. You had some physical activity. Children today in public schools across the country are not being taught art, are not being taught music, and they have no physical ed. Obesity is a major, major problem in this country,” Mr. Lee said. “Americans—we’re just obese. It’s crazy. Ask ­African-Americans. We are way over ­index on obesity, which means we are over index on diabetes, heart disease, and it goes down the line.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 6/06/12 6:30am

Green Party

Illustration by, Drew Friedman

Roseanne In The Rose Garden?

“I’m loving it,” said Roseanne Barr, recently announced presidential candidate. “I find that I can be more honest in politics than in Hollywood.”

Not that she’s ever been accused of demurring in either realm.

Seeking to run on the Green Party line, Ms. Barr’s presidential bid, she said, is primarily motivated by her dissatisfaction with both major political parties—in particular their candidates, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, whom she referred to as “total buffoons.”

“That’s what I say: I’m the only serious comedian in this race,” Ms. Barr added.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, including rollicking standup performances, a watershed sitcom and a memorable performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Ms. Barr has been at turns provocative, endearing, innovative and combative. As of February, she has turned her considerable personality toward the interests of the American electorate. In a pair of lengthy interviews with The Observer, she outlined not only her political aspirations, but the possibility of returning to television—and not necessarily in the way you would expect. Read More