What do The Da Vinci Code, Toy Story, and Apollo 13 have in common? [Ed. note: And Bachelor Party!] Too easy, Oscar-winning superhuman Tom Hanks, of course. According to the 826CHI prom committee, he represents the "everyman American," thus is the theme for this year's prom a.k.a. Prom Hanks. It's tomorrow night. more ›

NPR Host Peter Sagal — Again
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Forgive us for being less than enthusiastic about Independence Day this year. Oh sure, we love having a day off and all that. The fireworks are cool. But it's a little hard to muster up a whole lot of that rah-rah flag-waving patriotism; between Scooter Libby, the endless war, and the paralysis of Congress, the business-as-usual attitude oozing from Washington, Springfield and Chicago has got us mired in the blahs. We're certainly not alone... more ›

Just like Christmastime, each year Oscar season seems to start a little bit earlier. Some people were even making predictions way back in November, but we've done our best to hold our tongues. Why? Well, the Oscars are much less like a horse race and much more like just a good excuse to throw a party. If you're a film lover, it's better for your own sanity to care less about winners and losers and... more ›

Apparently there was not one but a whopping TWO fires in museums yesterday, leading us to hatch all sorts of hair-brained conspiracy theories in our museum-lovin' noggins. But as none of them are founded on any evidence, we'll just set the scene for you.* more ›

The last time we saw James McAvoy, he was Mr. Tumnus in . There was something about that half-human, half-goat thing (combined with his angelic curls and baby blue eyes) that gave us some not-very-rated-PG thoughts. Thus we are thrilled to see Mr. McAvoy return to the screen in Starter for Ten, a comedy from the UK showing as part of the Chicago International Film Festival. more ›

Remember how Memorial Day weekend used to be the official kickoff to the summer movie season? This year has thrown that conventional wisdom out the proverbial window. Three “event” films have already had their shot at a stellar opening weekend this month: The Da Vinci Code, Mission Impossible III and Poseidon. While the latter two haven’t exactly lived up to expectations (especially Poseidon), Da Vinci Code had so many people flocking to the theater, you’d... more ›

Chicagoist is a huge fan of our own homegrown media industry. We like the original stuff that comes out of this city and telling our folks things like how we walk through Gotham City on our way to work and visit County General every time we have a boo-boo. So, as always, it was a lot of fun to sit in on last night's taping of "Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me". Host Peter Sagal informed... more ›

It’s a familiar story. Boy meets girl. Boy follows girl to America. Boy and girl break up. Boy is broke and has to live in an airport. Well, sort of familiar. But it is a little bit like a movie, and everyone loves a good movie-come-to-life story. Basically, Marcel Macovei, 26, may have been living at O’Hare for about a week after spending more than a year in the country. He came here from Romania in December 2004 to get married, but the wedding never happened. With no money to get home, he ended up at O’Hare’s Terminal 5 between Feb. 21 and March 2. more ›

Through July, 15 giant, 700 lb. statues of Mickey Mouse will be on display on State Street "Cows on Parade"-stye. The 6-foot-tall mice were created to celebrate Mickey's 75th birthday. The statues debuted in Orlando in November, which was the 75th anniversary of the release of the Mickey Mouse short, Steamboat Willie. They will head to Washington D.C. and then go to New York City before being auctioned for charity. Mickey Mouse's creator, Walt Disney, was born in Chicago in 1901 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts here. more ›