Eric Althoff

‘Mistress America’ stars Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke on myths of college life

Chances are, you've had a friend like Brooke: proactive, loquacious, prone to exaggeration, the life of the party. Someone you know you might do better to avoid but whom you cannot help but be drawn to. For Greta Gerwig, who plays the high-maintenance Brooke in the new film "Mistress America," she didn't have to look far for the character's inspiration.

August 19, 2015

Baltimore writer returns overdue library book 34 years late

While rooting through a cabinet over her mother's refrigerator, Baltimore-area writer Michele Wojciechowski discovered an old paperback copy of "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," adapted and illustrated by Alice and Joel Schick. The thrill of an unexpected find was quickly tempered by a horrific realization: Ms. Wojciechowski had checked out the book in 1981.

August 19, 2015

‘10,000 Saints’ film examines 1980s New York punk culture

The new film "10,000 Saints" is really and truly about sinners. The film, from directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, which opens at the District's Angelika Pop-Up Friday, takes a detailed look at the New York punk culture of the late 1980s, as well as the missteps that young people make -- both then and now.

August 17, 2015

Stevie Wonder promotes ‘Songs in the Key of Life Performance’ tour with free D.C. concert

Recording artist Stevie Wonder gave a free performance Monday morning at the Armory Mall in Washington, D.C., the first stop on a three-city mini-tour to promote the remaining dates on his "Songs in the Key of Life Performance" tour.

August 17, 2015

Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill opens Washington, D.C., location

While the DMV has no shortage of BBQ joints, it was always going to take a major player to up the ante here in the nation's capital, and thanks to the California-based Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill chain extending its reach to the East Coast at long last, the gauntlet for rib-sticking goodness in the major capital corridor has been thrown a step further.

August 16, 2015

Toon Goggles, ‘Netflix for kids,’ puts children in control of good, clean fun

Think of it as Netflix for kids: clean content with no violence, no swearing, no "adult situations."

August 13, 2015

‘Diary of a Teenage Girl’ director Marielle Heller wants to portray children accurately

"I feel like, in some ways, we're not actually [truthfully] paying respects to the experience of what it is to be a teenager when we write teenagers with the voice of adults just kind of put into their mouths," said Marielle Heller, writer/director of the new film "The Diary of a Teenage Girl," which opens Friday.

August 13, 2015

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows interview: ‘People are open to our weirdness’

Counting Crows' song "Mr. Jones" put the band into the pop stratosphere in 1993, but if frontman Adam Duritz had his way, he wouldn't be fielding constant requests for the hit on a nightly basis.

August 10, 2015

Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ set headed to Washington, D.C.’s Newseum

Jon Stewart bids his audience goodbye Thursday evening after 16 years as host of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, but the set from his long-running news satire show will soon be headed to Washington, D.C.'s Newseum.

August 6, 2015

Jason Segel discusses David Foster Wallace and ‘The End of the Tour’

Jason Segel knows he's getting older, and he also realizes that what he found funny in his twenties just won't cut it in his midthirties.

August 6, 2015

Keith Richards calls Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s‘ a ‘rubbish’ record

In a new interview with Esquire, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards calls The Beatles' iconic 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" "a mishmash of rubbish."

August 5, 2015

Gwen Stefani announces split from husband Gavin Rossdale

No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani has filed for divorce from husband and Bush singer Gavin Rossdale, TMZ is reporting.

August 3, 2015

‘Best of Enemies’: William F. Buckley, Gore Vidal TV debates brought out intellectuals’ worst

As quaint as it may now seem, there was a time when the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees were unknown until the conventions. The "big three" TV networks offered gavel-to-gavel coverage, and the parties' eventual contenders emerged slowly and methodically as ballots were cast.

August 2, 2015

David Koechner of ‘SNL,’ ‘Anchorman’ performs stand-up at Arlington Drafthouse

David Koechner wants you to know that when you see his stand-up act, it won't be him in character as Champ Kind, his "Anchorman" persona, for two hours.

July 31, 2015

Michael Giacchino, ‘Star Trek’ composer, will watch NSO performance as audience member

It takes tremendous humility for a composer to sit out writing music for the new "Star Wars" movie, but that is precisely what Michael Giacchino is doing -- and happily so.

July 30, 2015

Rufus Wainwright’s music reflects dark past, love and loss

Rufus Wainwright was born into rock 'n' roll royalty. As the son of Loudon Wainwright and folk singer Kate McGarrigle, Mr. Wainwright had the spirit of rock instilled in him from Day One. But a troubled youth -- and his famous dad being mostly absent after his parents' divorce -- gave him the fuel for his own musical legacy.

July 28, 2015

Sylvester Stallone says Rambo will not fight Islamic State in new film

As Congress and the president continue to weigh precisely what measures of face to take against the Islamic State -- also known as ISIS and ISIL -- one force that will likely not be employed is John Rambo.

July 23, 2015

Michelle Obama Reach Higher initiative: Making school cool an ingredient to success

First lady Michelle Obama knows how fortunate she was to go to college, as her parents were never educated beyond high school.

July 23, 2015

Women comics talk sex in ‘Awkward Sex … and the City’ show in D.C.

Sex invariably sells, and the producers of the show "Awkward Sex... and the City" are hoping to sell tickets.

July 22, 2015

Ian Ziering, ‘Sharknado’ star, ready for latest storm of SyFy movie fans

Of course there would be another one -- and this time, the nation's capital is in the crosshairs, er, fish eyes. "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No" premieres on SyFy at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

July 21, 2015