Kevin Spacey is on board to star in and executive producer “House of Cards,” a political thriller based on a novel and a BBC miniseries.

Actor Kevin Spacey is seen at the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar party in West Hollywood, California February 27, 2011. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

No network is currently attached to the project. The pilot will be directed by David Fincher, who shot “The Social Network” on which Spacey was also an executive producer.

The “House of Cards” novel was written by Michael Dobbs, former Conservative Party chief of staff.

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The elements of a Chicago-style hot dog. (photo:Vienna Beef)

So, you gotta like tradition. Take the Chicago-style hot dog, for example. Chicagoans love their hot dogs. In fact, according to one recent survey, there are more than 1,500 hot dog stands in the Windy City—far more than the sum of McDonald’s, Burger Kings and Wendy’s combined. Some

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PARIS — Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman says she is “shocked and disgusted” by a video in which designer John Galliano says he loves Adolf Hitler.

Portman says in a statement that “as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way.”

Both stars work with Christian Dior. Portman is spokesmodel for Miss Dior Cherie perfume. G

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Teju Cole’s first novella, “Every Day Is For The Thief,” chronicled a trip to Nigeria broken up with photos, garnering inevitable comparisons to German author W.G. Sebald. Even without the photos, Sebald’s influence can still be felt in Open City’s narrator, Julius, a Nigerian psychiatrist performing his Harlem residency. Julius muses about paintings or historical trivia far more often than he addresses what’s actually before him. Where Sebald forced readers to construct a narrative out of nothing more than thematic tissue, Cole eventually undermines Julius’ reticence with a twist that breaks through his chilly facade: He’s given the expedient identity of an unreliable narrator.

The last-minute revelation of a suppressed past event helps explain a voice whose aloof reserve may annoy readers. But that distan

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Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving founding member of the Four Tops, brought nostalgia to the latter-day Four Tops concert Saturday in Kleinhans Music Hall.

The last time the group was in town, about 10 years ago, three of the original four were there. Now, two more have passed over. It was touching to hear Fakir, alone in the spotlight, describe his dead band-mates: Renaldo “Obie” Benson, with the sunny childlike smile; Levi Stubbs, who with his deep voice was the soul of the group; and Lawrence Payton, the skilled musician who created the Four Tops sound.

His admiration went beyond music: “These men were great fathers, uncles and grandfathers.”

Fakir then sang “My Way,” finessed into “Our Way.” In the song he repeatedly thanked God for the Four Tops’ joy, longevity and success. The last original Top Full Post…

The “little monsters” huddled inside Consol Energy Center on Saturday night were starting to wonder if maybe Lady Gaga got stuck in her egg.

Openers The Scissor Sisters did their thing and were off by 8:30. The expected half hour of Michael Jackson jams between sets turned into an hour, then almost an hour-and-a-half, at which point those meat dresses were shot.

Before the booing got too serious, the lights finally went down and the Lady appeared in silhouette doing her spastic “Dance in the Dark.”

From there, Lady Gaga, in a pretty wacky mood, proved again to be bigger than the Monster and more powerful than the production surrounding her. Full Post…