‘Dear John,’ the latest movie based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks (of ‘The Notebook’ fame) stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried playing what they play best. He plays a rough and tumble solider called back into service in Iraq, while she plays a damsel-y Juliet to his Romeo. Oh…and they’re both beautiful.

Spec: You guys are both playing pretty important roles which are representative of what many couples are currently going through. How do you guys feel about playing these roles and have these roles had an impact on you?

Spec: Have you ever received a Dear John letter of any sort or a just a love letter in general? (more…)

What do you get when you mix couture style with Columbia tradition Glass House Rocks? According to CU Couture, a whole lot of attitude. The club, the first fashion organization on Columbia’s campus, will be debuting their first full-fledged fashion show on Lerner’s ramps Thursday night at 11:30.

The theme is punky, funky, and a little bit “rock and roll.” SoHo designer OME has sponsored the show with upcoming designs of flirty party dresses, and Alice Zhang, CC ’12, founder of CU Couture, choreographed and organized the show. All the models are CU Couture members and volunteers from the Columbia community. They will be strutting their stuff to Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” decked out in sunglasses and red lipstick.

This summer, when her film “The Hurt Locker” was just beginning to make waves, alum Kathryn Bigelow (SOA ‘81) discussed the gender gap in cinema with the Spectator: “If the politics of gender are at work, I am not dignifying them or acquiescing to them—I’m just moving forward at what seems right.” Bigelow, whose film was nominated for an impressive 9 golden statues this morning,  is certainly moving forward — if she wins Best Director during this year’s telecast, she will be the first woman to ever win the statue.

The Hurt Locker, which follows an explosives tech squad in war-torn Iraq whose main goal is to deactivate enemy bombs, has been shocking and exciting audiences since its summer release, and hasn’t let go of the critics’ hearts since. Aside from the directing honor, The Hurt Locker has been nominated for Best Picture, Actor (the fantastically understated Jeremy Renner), Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Score, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.

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A graduate from Columbia’s School of the Arts, Kathryn Bigelow just scored a historic Oscar nomination, which could make her the first woman to win “Best Director” at the movies’ most prestigious awards ceremony.

Check out an interview with the director that ran in Spectator.

Columbia’s very own Vampire Weekend nabbed the top spot on the charts today with their new album “Contra,” according to The New York Times. Somewhere SuBo is wishing she had taken the Core.

“Boardwalk Empire,” an HBO TV series directed by renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese, is filming on Claremont today only.

The sleuthing required to find this was very little. When filming in a public area, all production companies must post signs stating the name of the production and its company as well as the dates that it films in the location. Occasionally, an alias is posted for the show title so as to detract from on-lookers.

That was what I thought had occurred this time. “Boardwalk Empire” doesn’t sound like it would take place in a cold climate, but it was in fact the real name of the show. The series itself is supposed to take place in Atlantic City, where there is a popular boardwalk, so I was obviously mistaken.

According to the Internet Movie Database, the show “Chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster.”