Four years ago, German director (and owner of the coolest name in all of cinema) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck directed his first feature -- a complex, smart, completely engrossing examination of cultural repression and spying in Cold War-era East Germany. That film, The Lives of Others, skyrocketed von Donnersmarck into the arthouse spotlight, earning the director enough accolades and awards to require a mantle as long as his name to hold them all. He went to Hollywood to try to land a high-profile project to lift his star even higher, and ended up stuck with everyone else's leftover: a remake of a French romantic thriller that had already been dumped mid-development by two other directors and at least three stars. more ›

Maybe it's just that I was spoiled by Inception, by the notion that a summer action flick could be both thrilling and smart. But then again, that's also been the attraction of the Bourne series: the notion that adrenaline-based cinema doesn't have to come with the caveat that one has to check their brain at the door. Not that action films are universally smarter these days, but the mindless and the thoughtful are generally easy to separate: the A-Team? No frontal lobe required. A spy flick starring Angelina Jolie and directed by the (generally) thoughtful Phillip Noyce? There's a reasonable expectation of smart thrills going in. more ›

You win! After receiving 47 different emails over the last two days begging us to "report" on the fact that there is a movie crew in town, we are now complying. The movie in question is called Salt, which stars Angelina Jolie wearing not one, but two different wigs, and also Liev Schreiber. The film is described as a spy thriller about a rogue CIA operative who must clear her name after she is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent. more ›

Straight women and gay men all across D.C. were presumably disappointed by the news that came out over the Thanksgiving holiday that Brad Pitt had dropped out of the production of State of Play, a big-budget political thriller set to begin filming here in Washington this winter. You may recall that Pitt had stopped by the Washington Post newsroom in September to do some research on the character he was slated to play in the... more ›

Would you be willing to pay $25 for a photograph of yourself standing next to someone who looks eerily similar to your favorite celebrity? That's the question you'll want to answer before venturing in to the new Madame Tussauds wax museum at 10th and F Streets NW, which opens to the public today. Last night, DCist attended the opening party for the attraction. We say attraction purposefully, because Madame Tussauds isn't a museum at... more ›

So who do you turn to if you're an embattled administration facing an unpopular war, bitter criticism both at home and abroad, an exodus of senior staff, and the barrel of a long year's worth of lame ducked-ness? A retired general? Nope. A political mastermind? Nah, that would be too easy. Perhaps a captain of industry? They're too busy starting and running multi-billion dollar foundations. Well, then how about someone who made his name by... more ›

With Congress in recess, it's officially the August doldrums here at Reader, Meet Author. If you have any tips, feel free to drop us a line. Otherwise, read some good books and stay cool. MONDAY: Pushcart Prize-winning author Katherine Taylor will be at Olsson's Books & Records in Dupont Circle to talk about her debut novel Rules for Saying Goodbye, a coming-of-age tale that straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction. 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Man... more ›

Dear Hillary Clinton and Dick Cheney: feel free to do embarrassing things in public today. D.C.'s celebrity (and we use that term loosely) photogs are probably following around real celebs -- well, at least Angelina Jolie. Yesterday the Examiner gave us the heads-up on a litany of famous-outside-the-Beltway folks traipsing around town this week. So if you're a little tired of running into Nicolas Cage filming National Treasure 2, keep your eyes peeled for these... more ›

> > Deadline worth noting! Anyone interested in participating in this year's DC Idiotarod has until tomorrow, Thursday March 1, at 11:59 p.m. to register your team for the big race on March 3. Don't miss out on this opportunity to bring wanton chaos to the streets of D.C. [DC Idiotarod] > > Fans of soccer, wine, photography, and philanthropy will descend upon the JW Marriott tonight for the Goals for Girls Auction & Wine... more ›

Remember that tingling sensation running rampant in the city this time last year? No, not that one. It was the anticipation of Washington getting an honest-to-goodness A-list power couple. Well, those halcyon days are officially over with the news that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt won't be moving to town any time soon. Washingtonians dying to bump into Brangelina in the baby formula aisle of Whole Foods will have to look about 1,000 miles southwest.... more ›

It feels like it's been a while since anyone truly famous has graced our fair city with their presence, but it looks like that drought comes to an end today. According to an email we received yesterday, Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro are in town (actually in Fairfax, Virginia) today taping a special episode of Chris Matthews' Hardball. Before you berate us for not passing this tip on earlier, tickets were only available to Mason... more ›

About as close to celebrity-status as the District gets is when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt decide to buy a house here and Woody Harrelson spends a few days filming a few shots for an upcoming movie. That might soon change. Well, kind of. NBC 4 is reporting that the owners of the world famous Madame Tussauds wax museum are in talks with the District over the possibility of opening a museum in downtown D.C.... more ›

Yeah, we heard the rumors last week too. By the looks of the constantly churning rumor mill, it appears that the cutely coupled Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (or Pitt-Jolie) just bought a house in Kalorama. Now, we'd love to get excited about the prospect of honest to God A-List celebrities being our new neighbors, but DCist has been burned once too often. The couple's real estate dithering, which began around the Thanksgiving holiday, is... more ›

Washington has traded up in the area of celebrity worshiping, it seems. Gone are the days of grudgingly admitting that someone is "famous for D.C." Nicole Kidman, Kiefer Sutherland and Eva Longoria may have left town but media darlings, humanitarians and the preternaturally pretty Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are ready to move in. Literally. A faithful DCist reader tipped us off to a People Magazine report that Brad and Angelina were seen leaving the... more ›

Local singer-songerwriter Andy Zipf calls himself "a mood pop artist who sings songs for the lonely," but with his popularity on the rise, we can't imagine he'll stay solitary for too long. Zipf took the time to chat with DCist about his music, taping a segment with the Today Show, and what the hell "pod-jacking" is. VITALS: Full Name: Andrew Zipf Age: 24 Hometown: Indianapolis How long have you lived in Washington: 4 or 5... more ›

No, Angelina Jolie (seen here in a Paramount shot from "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow") is not in a blimp protecting the capital from an aerial attack (however wouldn't it be interesting if she were on the payroll of the Military District of Washington), but if you look up, as the Post did this morning, there is a blimp hovering above the city. Apparently, the craft, which has been used in Afghanistan and... more ›