Above: Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Emile Hirsch and Kick Gurry star in "Speed Racer" (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Tribeca Film Festival will go out with a bang at the red carpet world premiere of "Speed Racer," but there's still plenty to do between now and then if you're around for the weekend.

Various screenings and panel discussions will continue through Sunday, and in some cases tickets may still be available. For a complete schedule and to buy tickets, click here.

For a rundown of other events, we've got you covered ...

FRIDAY, MAY 2
It's the last day of the Tribeca/ASCAP music lounge at Canal Room, an ongoing series open to festival badge-holders, members of the industry, filmmakers, and selected members of the press. If you fall into any of those categories, head over this afternoon in between screenings to catch one or more of the following sets:

2:30-3:00 Anya Marina
3:00-3:30 Meaghan Smith
3:40-4:10 Rachael Yamagata
4:20-4:50 Joseph Arthur
5:00-5:30 Sixpence None The Richer

In other TFF music news, Webster Hall will host the Breaking the Band concert event tonight, with live performances by The Hold Steady, the Virgins, Republic Tigers and Bad Veins. Celebrity arrivals begin at 6pm.

SATURDAY, MAY 3
The Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair kicks off tomorrow morning on Harrison Street (between Greenwich Street and West Street). More than 30 Tribeca eateries, merchants and local organizations will line the streets, while a main stage showcases live performances from several Broadway musicals ("Legally Blonde," "Grease" and "Xanadu"), plus the New American Youth Ballet and the PS 150 Youth Singers. A variety of other local dance troupes, puppeteers and other performance groups will also appear. The street fair is free and open to the public.

In honor of TFF's Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day, the U.S. Tennis Association will set up two short courts and a quick serve cage for young aspiring tennis players, all on the streets of Tribeca (at N. Moore between Greenwich and West). ESPN’s Play Your Way youth fitness outreach program will be in attendance to "inspire kids to be physically active by teaching them to make up their own games and encourage creative recreational play" (per the press release). And there's more: the New York Rangers and New York Knicks get in on the action for the first time this year--though whether the Knicks actually qualify as a sports team is another question altogether. The New York Jets will also be on N. Moore Street, holding something called “Generation Jets Fest”--a "football themepark filled with obstacles and tests of skill such as the quarterback challenge and touchdown run."

And, finally, "Speed Racer" will be revealed to the world on Saturday evening at BMCC/TPAC (199 Chambers Street), with red carpet arrivals commencing at 5:45pm. Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, Emile Hirsch, John Goodman and Joel Silver are all expected to attend, so wear your finest stalkerazzi get-up and your digi-cam, and head over early to get a good view of the celebs.

Finally, an event where you don't need an official festival pass to party in honor of the Tribeca Film Festival. Our friends over at the Bloc Group are hosting the official after-party tonight for the TFF filmmaker/industry event at The Manse. No specific names (other than celebrity DJ Graham Funke) are mentioned on the invite, but "movie moguls, film industry insiders, performances and revelry into the late hours" sounds OK to me. Doors at midnight, and don't forget to RSVP.**

**We can't guarantee that RSVP'ing will get you in, and if you wouldn't be able to flex your way into Mansion on a regular night, don't expect to breeze past the doormen tonight. But as always, arriving with a harem of hot girls and a willingness to drop cash certainly won't hurt your chances of getting in.

Tribeca meets Soho at a series of filmmaking events and workshops at The Apple Store, all of which are free and open to the public, during the Tribeca Film Festival. Last week's speakers included actor Clive Owen and "SNL" / "Baby Mama" star Amy Poehler, and the fun continues this week.

Tonight at 6:30, screenwriter / director / producer Tom Kalin will discuss his latest project, "Savage Grace," starring Julianne Moore, and field questions from the audience. Stick around after that to hear from actress Isabella Rossellini (8pm), who is making her directorial debut at the film fest with a series of short films collectively known as "Green Porno," which she also wrote and appears in.  (Get your head out of the gutter--the title refers to the mating habits of various creatures).

Tomorrow night (April 30) at 6:30pm, "Superbad" director Greg Mottola stops by to chat about "Adventureland," a new comedy to be released later this year, and on Friday Beastie Boy Adam Yauch discusses his new film, "Gunnin' For that #1 Spot," currently screening at the festival (May 2, 6:30pm).

Then on Saturday (May 3) Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis ("Crash," "Million Dollar Baby") drops in to speak about his most recent opus, "In the Valley of Elah," and two forthcoming projects, "Quantum of Solace" and "Ranger's Apprentice" (6:30pm).

Finally, on Sunday (the final day of the festival), Matthew Modine--one of this year's TFF jurors--will screen his short film, "I Think I Thought," followed by a discussion and a Q&A.

(Image borrowed from Apple)

(Photo borrowed from Downtown Express)

While the film buffs are taking in the cinema, the less cultured are hatching plans to encounter as many celebrities as possible during the Tribeca Film Festival, which began on Wednesday and runs through Sunday May 4th. And though the public screening dates and locations are no secret, if you're looking for the scoop on what events will draw the celeb guests (i.e., what street corners to casually find yourself on), look no further. Here's your chance to snap a few pics of the beautiful people and live vicariously through those of us who were able to wrangle enough press clips to score a pass to the festival--and word to the wise, stick to admiring from afar, and don't even bother trying to finesse your way through the door if you're not supposed to be there.

Tribeca All Access Awards and Party
Tonight at Buddakan ... Arrivals begin at 7pm, and attendees will include Jesse L. Martin and Adam Beach (both of "Law & Order" fame), actress Joy Bryant, Damon Dash, actor Anthony Mackie, Jaime Hector ("The Wire") and more.

"Bart Got a Room" Premiere After-Party at Tenjune
As if Tenjune wasn't hard enough to get into on a Friday night, at 8pm tonight the MePa hot spot transforms into the Cadillac Lounge to host the "Bart Got a Room" after-party. There's lots of buzz about this little charmer, which stars William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines, both of whom are expected to attend the party. (If you're too excited to wait 'til 8pm, you could race over the AMC theater at 19th and Broadway to catch the red carpet arrivals for the screening at 5:20pm, but let's be honest, Macy and Hines are no Brangelina.)

"SqueezeBox!" Red Carpet Premiere and After-Party
The film debuts tonight at Tishman/ New School (66 W 12th Street between 5th and 6th), and at 8:20pm, celebs like John Waters, Debbie Harry, Jesse Malin and Patricia Field will begin to arrive. There's also an after-party later on at the Blender Theater at Gramercy.

Shorts: "Cold Feet" Red Carpet Premiere
Head to the AMC Village 7 (66 3rd Avenue at 11th Street) at 10pm to catch a glimpse of Matthew Modine and Rider Strong--yes, the same one who played Cory Mathhews' best friend on "Boy Meets World"--who was also in attendance at Wednesday night's "Big Mama" fete at the MoMa.

"Hotel Gramercy Park" and "Savage Grace" Red Carpet Premieres
Hotel aficionado Ian Schrager will be on hand at the Village East Cinemas (181 2nd Avenue at 12th Street) on Saturday, April 26 at around 6pm. (But don't bother asking him why you can't get into Rose Bar. Anyone who would ask that doesn't deserve to get in.) Later, "Savage Grace" director Tom Kalin and actress Julianne Moore will walk the red carpet at BMCC/ TPAC (199 Chambers Street), circa 8:45pm.

Mariah Carey and a Bunch of Other People at Tenjune
Technically tomorrow night's event at the Cadillac Lounge at Tenjune is an after-party for the premiere of "Tennessee," but somehow I think no one on the stalkerazzi circuit is as interested in that as in the fact that Mariah Carey, who is in the movie, will be there. Doors at 8pm.

That should be enough to keep you occupied 'til next week, when we'll be back with more  from the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival trenches.

(Photo by Peter Bixler)

The Tribeca Film Festival is off to a strong start, with the stars turning out for last night's world premiere of "Baby Mama" at the Ziegfeld. We were in attendance at the official after-party, held at the Museum of Modern Art, which could have been mistaken for a "Saturday Night Live" reunion. In addition to Lorne Michaels and "Baby Mama" stars Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, guests at the MoMa included a long list of present and former cast-members, like Jimmy Fallon (who eventually left the party with former "SNL" player Chris Kattan), Rachel Dratch, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Molly Shannon and even Chevy Chase. But the superstar of the evening was Steve Martin, who sauntered in wearing a panama hat, spent most of his time at a table with Lorne and Chevy and later departed without obliging the fans who were waiting outside for an autograph. (That said, Martin's role in "Baby Mama" is much funnier than the rest of the movie.)

Other big name guests included Poehler's hilarious husband, Will Arnett, Seth Green (of "Family Guy" / "Austin Powers" / "Robot Chicken" fame), and Dax Shepard (whom I profiled in an interview piece last year), who doted on girlfriend Kristen Bell, star of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," most of the night.

Several sad people outside were hoping to catch a glimpse of Robert De Niro, who wasn't even there. One such fan informed me he was also there to see Frank Oz (better known as the voice of Yoda), who was my next-door neighbor on the Upper West Side for many years, and who I didn't see at the MoMa. Just as I was breaking the news that the Oz / De Niro gala must have been on the other side of town, Lorne Michaels walked outside. One eager fan yelled, "Lorne, can I get a picture?" to which Lorne responded, "I'm good, thanks," and jumped in a car.

A 30-second clip from inside the party, taken on my date's cell-phone from the future, is below.

It's that time of year again--time for the Tribeca Film Festival, which was established as a means to help rebuild and rejuvenate downtown Manhattan in the wake of 9/11. Since then, it has become an institution of New York arts and culture, set apart from things like Sundance because it offers regular people, not just celebrities, the opportunity to participate. But while the average New Yorker can purchase tickets to any of the 100-odd screenings to be held this year, don't worry about the death of elitism. Thankfully, Graydon Carter and Vanity Fair still understand the value of keeping things exclusive, and they prove it tonight at their annual opening gala, a dinner traditionally held at the NY County Courthouse at 60 Centre Street. Needless to say, we were not invited.

But according to a tipster inside the courthouse, we're not the only ones.

All employees at 60 Centre Street--including all NY State Supreme Court judges--received an email earlier today, politely reminding them to slink out the back door when they leave the building tonight. After all, Vanity Fair would be none too pleased if any of their A-list guests were forced to brush shoulders with commoners ...

April 22, 2008

To:   All Justices
        All Users, 60 Centre Street

Re:  Vanity Fair/Tribeca Film Festival, Seventh Annual Dinner - Today, Tuesday April 22, 2008

 

The City of New York and the Unified Court System have authorized the use of the County Courthouse Rotunda for the Tuesday, April 22nd Annual Dinner of the Tribeca Film Festival. The dinner and festival offer the opportunity to "showcase" Lower Manhattan and promote artistic and commercial enterprise following the traumatic events of September 11th, 2001.

The dinner, sponsored by Vanity Fair, is for festival participants only. We are cooperating with Vanity Fair, which is providing equipment, decorations, meals, etc.  During this evening, the Rotunda, front entrance and the Hamill Place side door will be devoted exclusively to the dinner program. Therefore, court personnel are requested to exit the rear of the building or Pearl Street side door.

We regret any inconvenience occasioned by this worthy cause. Thank you for your cooperation.

We'll leave it to those who did make the guest list to report on tonight's gala, but for your daily dose of the Tribeca Film Festival, check back here starting tomorrow. We'll be on-hand at the opening press conference in the morning--along with Governor Spitzer Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg and others--and tomorrow night we'll be checking out the Baby Mama world premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater and the official after party at the MoMA. 

(Image borrowed from the Unified Court System)