I saw World War Z last night at a small screening at the MoMA. There were a few journalists, some industry types and a pretty large collection of celebrities: Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma Heming; Sting and Trudie Styler; Kevin Bacon; Jemima Kirke; one of the Olsen twins (I...

On April 24, 1989, Tom Petty released "Full Moon Fever," his first solo album. I had just turned 14, and I can still remember the complicated emotions the album summoned in me. Fourteen is a funny age -- you're not a kid anymore but your ticket to teenagerdom hasn't really...

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 8 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "Second Sons."

"Game of Thrones" can be a relentlessly dark show, one where evil always seems to find a way to eke out a victory over good. Though this...

When this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony airs on HBO Saturday night, Rush, Heart, Public Enemy, Donna Summer and Randy Newman, among others, will be seen joining those already enshrined in the Cleveland museum. But one group that won't be represented, yet again, is...

Baz Luhrmann was ready to take the blame if "The Great Gatsby" flopped.

Now that it's a hit, he has every right to take the credit.

Luhrmann and his wife, Catherine Martin, spent three years "living and breathing" F. Scott Fitzgerald's life and works in preparation for this film....

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 7 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "The Bear and the Maiden Fair."

We have to start with the bear, right?

That claw mark on Brienne's neck looked pretty fierce. She's gonna feel that in the...

"You look around this room and ask, 'What binds the people in this room together?'" New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at Casa Lever on Park Avenue Thursday night. "It's that they're all creators, they're all doers."

Those words certainly applied to...

Alex Gibney has directed his share of controversial documentaries. But only when he took on Wikileaks did he get his very own abusive hashtag.

"The Wikileaks organization and its followers are very much part of a propaganda machine," Gibney says. "Anything you say critically, you'll get slammed. It's not, like,...

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 6 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "The Climb."

A look at the title of this episode tells you this week, it's all about climbing....

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 5 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "Kissed by Fire."

You gotta serve somebody, as Bob Dylan sang, and that unpleasant fact of life is bringing misery to all...

"D.C. has always been sexy!"

That's what "Scandal" star Kerry Washington said when I asked if she thinks Washington is especially hot right now, given the convergence of buzz-worthy television shows set here now.

In addition to "Scandal," there's "House of Cards," "Homeland," "The Americans" and "VEEP," and their...

If there's one thing that can fill a room full of journalists with envy, it's a great, original question.

Director Tom Berninger came up with an instant classic for "Mistaken for Strangers," his new documentary about Brooklyn indie-rock band The National. He asks a member of The National -- whose...

In his new comedy special, "Oh My God," the comedian Louis CK ridicules young viewers who think they've experienced political drama in their lifetimes. His generation, CK brags, watched the president resign on live TV -- and had no idea what was going to happen next!

That piece of...

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 4 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "And Now His Watch Has Ended."

Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind."

But Muhammad Ali spoke for the characters of "Game...

Actors' memoirs come and go, but when a filmmaker tries his hand at writing a book, the results can be enlightening indeed. William Friedkin, the director best known for "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist," didn't even bother hiring a ghostwriter. Instead, he filled one Moleskine notebook after another with...

Willie Nelson turns 80 this month, and the country music legend is celebrating -- you guessed it -- by going on the road again in support of a new album. Out April 16 from Legacy Recordings, "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is heavy on covers from the...

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 3 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "Walk of Punishment."

Actions speak louder than words in this week's episode of "Game of Thrones," which unfurls at a slightly less stately pace than the season's first two...

If you've heard anything about "Disconnect," the new feature by "Murderball" director Henry Alex Rubin, it's probably one of two things: it offers a cautionary look at our modern methods of communication (or lack thereof) and it features the first on-screen acting performance by fashion designer...

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 6, Episode 1 of AMC's "Mad Men," titled "The Doorway."

Man, that was one saddening episode of "Mad Men."

Mostly because of the giveaway in the final minutes, which retroactively explains so much that happened in the previous...

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 2 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "Dark Wings, Dark Words."

No fire, no dragons, no Others, no Khaleesi, no Melisandre, no gratuitous nudity. I'll say one thing for this episode: It'll be a cinch to...