Arts & Culture

CONCERTS

In case you were wondering what this year's official summer jam might be, wonder no more: A few days ago, People unveiled a taste of New Kids On the Block's comeback single, "Summertime," and as the title suggests, it is indeed all about the summertime, or, perhaps more accurately, meeting hot chicks in the summertime. Some of our favorite lines include, "I played it cool / The weather was hot / You had the beauty and the beach on lock" and "You wasn't lookin' for a man / When you saw me in the sand / But you fell for a boy from the city," and (here's the best one) "I was like, 'Hey girl, can i getch' yo' number?'" NKOTB plays the Meadowlands' Izod Arena on Sept. 23. (Pre-sale is on now, public sale starts Monday.) [On Sale: Monday, May 12]

The Smoking Popes never hit it much bigger than having one great song ("Need You Around") on the soundtrack to Clueless. But as far as '90s power pop bands go, it doesn't get much better. They play The Blender Theater at Gramercy on July 5. [On Sale: Friday, May 9 at noon]  read more »

It's a filthy world out there and John Waters has never been afraid to show it to us on film (see: sex scene involving chickens in Pink Flamingos). But Mr. Waters will be bringing us all the crime, fashion lunacy and extremes of the contemporary art world live, on stage, at his one-night-only, one-man show "The Filthy World" on June 26. The "Pope of Trash" will perform his vaudeville act at the Concert Hall at the New York Society of Ethical Culture. Tickets are $37.50 and $100 for FilthyVIP (which includes a meet and greet with Mr. Waters, and an autographed DVD). Get tickets here.

Watch out Keira Knightley! Ellen Page is trying to take your career as period-piece queen! The Juno star is making big moves, from quick talkin', uber-hip hipster types to one of literature's most beloved characters in BBC's new adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Reuters reports:

BBC Films has signed on to develop an adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel and has attached Page to play Jane. Moira Buffini wrote the screenplay; a director has not yet been chosen.

The role would mark the first period piece for Page, who has signed on to a number of contemporary films since her Oscar-nominated turn in "Juno," including the roller-derby comedy "Whip It!" and the dramatic thriller "Peacock." She opted out of Sam Raimi's supernatural tale "Drag Me to Hell" this year, citing scheduling conflicts.

Those queens and nerdy assistants pretending to be at a glitzy New York magazine in Ugly Betty might actually move to New York. Thanks Gov. Paterson!  read more »

Tribeca officials announced that more than 155,000 ticketed moviegoers attended the 11-day fest this year, down from 185,000 last year (over 12 days) and 203,000 in 2006 (over 13 days), according to their records. This, despite the fact that organizers lowered ticket prices by 20 percent and centralized screenings and activities in the Tribeca and the Union Square area. They estimated total attendance of just under 400,000 at the 2008 Festival. The Observer's Sara Vilkomerson wrote: "At seven years old, it’s time to ask: Can Tribeca grow up?" We're not so sure New Yorkers are willing to allow Tribeca to graduate from film festival pre-school given those numbers.

IndieWIRE news reports that the Woodstock Film Festival and the IFC Center are partnering to present three screenings as part of the Stranger Than Fiction series. The mini-fest is filmmaker/programmer Thom Powers' weekly screenings of hard-to-find documentaries and subsequent Q&As with their filmmakers. On consecutive Tuesdays in May at the IFC, directors Barbara Kopple (My Generation), Leon Gast (When We Were Kings) and Jonathan Demme (The Agronomist) will present and discuss their films. "We are thrilled to be able to show three amazing films as part of the Stranger Than Fiction film series at the IFC Center, and to offer the community a chance to meet and interact with these great filmmakers," said WFF executive director Meira Blaustein.

It's official! On May 12, NBC will finally officially announce that Saturday Night Live's Jimmy Fallon will take over next year for Conan O'Brien, who will dethrone Jay Leno on the Tonight Show gig. "Jimmy's a smart pick," one network executive told Entertainment Weekly. ''He's a young, cute guy that will draw women in.'' Um, we don't think women are all that into a giggly dude who lives in a kind of perpetual post-college adolescence, but maybe that's just us. And what about Jay? Entertainment Weekly reports:

The real question, however, is whether Leno will Jaywalk out of NBC's door when his contract expires at the end of 2009. He's said to be miffed about having to relinquish The Tonight Show, which has remained highly profitable during his tenure. (The program is TV's most watched late-night talk show, and is rumored to make in excess of $100 million in profits annually.) NBC is more than eager to keep Leno in the fold, and has already offered him several options, including prime-time specials and/or hosting another show — basically, anything that doesn't air at 11:30 p.m. (That said, Leno has made it known that he really likes that hour, and views himself as a late-night guy.)

Seems like all the pop-star ladies are making their comebacks through comedies these days. Following Britney's successful appearance on <em> How I Met Your Mother</em>, Lindsay Lohan will pop in on ABC's <em>Ugly Betty</em>. She'll appear in the May 22 finale episode and five episodes next season as an old friend of America Ferrera's character Betty Suarez. Ms. Lohan will have to tune into some of her Mean Girl roots for this role,Variety reports  read more »

David Lynch was in town last week promoting his national best seller, Catching the Big Fish, which recently came out in paperback. The book is an autobiographical account of the creative benefits the 62-year-old auteur claims to have reaped over the past three decades from practicing Transcendental Meditation, the trademarked meditation technique that rock stars like the Beatles and Donovan championed back in the late 1960s, and which has been making something of a pop culture comeback thanks to celebrity adherents like Mr. Lynch, Howard Stern and Moby. Indeed, it seems like over the past few years Mr. Lynch, whose most recent film was 2006’s epic Inland Empire, has been generating more press for his spiritual beliefs than his surreal and nightmarish brand of cinema.

But fans of creepy dancing midgets and lovers of cherry pie need not worry: Mr. Lynch, who spoke with the Culture Czar recently in his Upper West Side hotel room -- he was wearing his trademark white shirt buttoned all the way to the top and well-coiffed silver hair -- still loves Twin Peaks and a good cup of coffee. (His own Signature Cup blend is on sale at the IFC Center.) He also has a new documentary in the works that he hopes will be in theaters by the fall. But before he gets around to making another of the bewildering films his fans have come to relish, he has a slightly loftier goal to check off his to-do list: world peace. Read on!  read more »

Last we heard from Michael Imperioli, best known as Tony's made man nephew on The Sopranos, he was directing Sisters, Such Devoted Sisters at his Off Off Broadway theater. Now he'll be taking a turn behind the camera to direct his own script, The Hungry Ghosts. He'll start shooting on May 19 in New York with Sopranos pals Steve Schirripa (who played Bobby, and recently had his own New York-based food show) and Sharon Angela (who played Rosalie Aprile). They'll play divorcees attempting to keep their son off the streets.