Screening Gotham: When Bollywood Came to Times Square

Some of today's movie news of notes from around New York:

--Breaking news: “There is a huge interest in the world in India, things Indian and in Indian cinema.” So says the producer of Guru, a new Bollywood extravaganza whose stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai attended the film's US premiere Friday in Times Square. More stating of the obvious this morning from Reuters: Bachchan and Rai are engaged! Can you blame them? The romance of the AMC Empire would send any romantic over the moon.

--Alec Baldwin's directorial debut The Devil and Daniel Webster, whose extraction from a very, very deep shelf made minor waves here in October, is indeed to be released sans Baldwin's name and evidently sans any real chance of being seen; producer Bob Yari will package it on Starz with his better-received theatrical entries The Illusionist and Find Me Guilty.

--"(T)he director just tries to show the despicableness of men," reports Rosemary T., a Children of Men viewer polled alongside a handful of other attendees exiting a recent screening. She should know: She read the book. Also noted: Strong art direction; killing Julianne Moore takes "balls."

--Robert Wilson takes to the Post hawking video portrait commissions for $150,000. Wallet-size prints not included.

Posted at January 15, 2007 7:52 AM