Barbara Ernst Prey, 01/05/13

Artist; Member of the National Council on the Arts

With the upcoming release of the all-star-cast film Gangster Squad, I spoke with author Paul Lieberman about the movie and his true-life book that inspired it.

Annette Bourdeau, 01/04/13

Entertainment Reporter

Ah, celebrities. So unpredictable. After all, who'd have thought that just over a year after her over-the-top wedding to Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian would be carrying Kanye West's child?

Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin, 01/04/13

Producer extraordinaire (Ramone) and acclaimed singer-songwriter (Evin)

This week our playlist includes music by Allen Toussaint, Philip Glass, Elvis Presley, Justin Timberlake, Stephen Stills, Sade, Max Roach and more.

Dan Persons, 01/04/13

Film Journalist

Director Larry Buchanan, the mastermind behind such cinematic spectacles as Zontar: The Thing from Venus and Attack of the The Eye Creatures (Wiki it), was willing to tackle the tumult of the sixties head-on, countering the rise of women as a political force with a clutch of Martians.

Tommie Sunshine, 01/04/13

DJ, Producer and Artist

2013 is the year of the Snake and although I don't know exactly what that means, I do know it's going to be an amazing year for EDM and the emerging culture around it. We are at the tipping point. It's not the end at all. EDM is just growing up.

Wayne Anderson, 01/04/13

LGBT rights activist and gay veteran of the U.S. Army

2013 has barely begun, and it is already shaping up to be the year of the anti-gay non-apology. We've got bad-boy actor Charlie Sheen, then we've got Fantasia Barrino, and last but certainly not least, we have President Obama's apparently favored choice for Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel.

Liz Smith, 01/04/13

Columnist

In any case, an Oliver Stone movie about the greatest male singer ever -- in my humble opinion -- would be sensational. I hope it happens; that it wasn't just casual New Year's Eve talk, between the pasta and meat courses.

Steven Rosen, 01/04/13

Arts/culture writer

At age 62, responding to music is still the way I process the world, the place I feel most in my element. Evidently it's the same for these musicians, and together we're all aging if not always gracefully than certainly gratefully.

Ryan Logan, 01/04/13

Chicago-based filmmaker

A recluctant admission: I can be a little too highbrow. When presented with the opportunity to direct Fawzia Mirza's new Web series, Kam Kardashian, chronicling the day-to-day adventures of the long-lost lesbian Kardashian sister, I was less than thrilled.

Jonathan Kim, 01/04/13

Film Critic for ReThink Reviews and the Uprising Show

Quentin Tarantino is one of the rare directors whose work is identifiable without his name attached, whether it's his flair for dialogue, his inspired use of music, his love for film and its genres, or his passion for blood-splattering violence. All of these are on display in his latest film, Django Unchained.

Lelia Nebeker, 01/03/13

Co-creator, PopCultureNexus.com

I've taken the liberty of compiling a list of New Year's resolutions for TV -- just some goals to aspire to in this shiny new year, including fewer monkey and mob doctors, more love for ABC's Thursday night programming, and the end of Honey Boo Boo.

Alexis Kleinman, 01/03/13

Every night when I go to sleep, I have the sounds of Comedy Bang Bang or Doug Loves Movies flowing through my ears. As I step on the subway, I'm listening to Who Charted?.

Regina Weinreich, 01/03/13

Author, 'Kerouac's Spontaneous Poetics'

At a luncheon at "21" early last December, Jessica Chastain was relieved. Not because her new film Zero Dark Thirty was chosen as Best Film by the New York Film Critics Circle and National Board of Review, but because her secret could now be known.

Scott Mendelson, 01/03/13

Film critic at Mendelson's Memos, Valley Scene Magazine

After plenty of foreplay, it's time to actually rattle off my picks for the ten very "best" films of the year. As always, these are not the objective "best" films of the year, but merely my out-and-out favorites of the last twelve months.

Ernest Owens, 01/03/13

Communication & Public Service major, University of Pennsylvania

I will give Spike Lee his props. I will give John Singleton his respect. But directors such as Tyler Perry and many others who continue to profit from such slander and stereotype of the black population should be held responsible for such backlash that comes from Django.

Lisa Steinberg, 01/03/13

Editor In Chief, Starry Constellation Magazine

Raylan, as usual, has more than his work cut out for him, but lucky for fans of Justified, he is always up for a challenge!

Gideon Resnick, 01/03/13

Undergraduate, Northwestern

At 43, RZA has crafted a unique spot in the world of hip-hop, a prolific producer with an idiosyncratic worldview influenced by the disparate cultures of rap and Kung fu.