Angels have a pretty rough time of it in the movies. They get assigned odd menial tasks on Earth, like wandering around listening to the thoughts of people with whom they can never interact (Wings of Desire), keeping suicidal drunks from offing themselves (It's a Wonderful Life), and trying to get notoriously fickle humans to fall (and stay) in love (A Life Less Ordinary). And when they screw up, they're forced to wander Wisconsin for all eternity (Dogma). I'd say they need a union, but we all know what happened the last time they tried to organize in large numbers to address grievances with management. more ›

Most people would probably look at the story of Mark Whitacre, the Archer Daniels Midland executive who donned a wire for the FBI in the early '90s and became the most famous (and highest ranking) corporate whistleblower in history, and see it as a tragedy. Between what it has to say about willful corporate corruption as well as about the ravages of mental illness, a film treatment of Whitacre's story could have easily been a dark and sobering look into international conspiracy and one man's precipitous downfall. But Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns looked at the story, as told in Kurt Eichenwald's bestselling book, and decided it was a laugh-out-loud comedy. Though they did keep the "dark" intact. 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 ›

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti... 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 ›

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. Getting on the wrong train sucks. Getting on the wrong train and becoming the victim of what will later be described as a "stabbing spree" really sucks.... more ›

First Matt Damon dumps Minnie Driver on Oprah, and now Laura Bush goes on ABC's "Good Morning America" to gossip about daughter Jenna's new flame? The NY Daily News picked up on some comments that the first lady made to GMA host Charlie Gibson, regarding Jenna's new BF Henry Hager. Take heart you good looking, rich, single, male Republicans! Apparently, Hager isn't a "serious" boyfriend, and it seems Jenna's still on the prowl. Despite Hager's... more ›