Arts & Entertainment

Robert Iler never wanted to be an actor, but for the last 10 years, we’ve seen him grow up on camera as Anthony “A.J.” Soprano Jr., the trouble-making son of mob boss Tony Soprano. From the set of “The Sopranos,” Iler took a few minutes while filming his final scenes to talk to the Resident about being part of TV history.

ART
Minimalist master Walter De Maria brings his industrial, highly geometric sculpture to Gagosian Gallery, in an exhibition so big that it takes up two of the gallery’s Manhattan locations. Through May 5. gagosian.com

As Tony Soprano, He did the impossible by Making a mobster loveable.

By Heather Corcoran

He has been a pornographer, an enforcer, a stuntman and a gay hitman. Now he’s holding court as a mob boss. But really, James Gandolfini is a sensitive guy.

Comedian Chris Rock Talks About the Pitfalls of Filming His New Movie In The City

By Ian Spelling

Chris Rock cracks up in that way he cracks up. It’s almost like watching glaciers split apart. His voice gets all high-pitched in that way and more white teeth than you think are practical start flashing. It happens when he recalls shooting one of the funniest bits in his latest movie, “I Think I Love My Wife.” In the scene, Rock’s character fantasizes about hitting on practically every woman in Bryant Park, using the rudest and crudest pickup lines imaginable.

Author Paul Auster Turns Again To Film With “The Inner Life of Martin Frost”
By Heather Corcoran

Brooklyn novelist Paul Auster first wrote the story of Martin Frost as a short film in 1999. The project was scrapped, but the story appeared again, in the author’s 2002 novel, “The Book of Illusions.” Still, it was an idea he couldn’t shake.

By Christy Lemire
The name of the movie is “Shooter,” and for a while director Antoine Fuqua is right on target with this claustrophobic tale of conspiracies, lies and double-crosses.

By Elizabeth Valerio

Pablo Schreiber is riveting. And as a result, “Dying City” should not be missed.
“Dying City,” a new play by Christopher Shinn, narrates the story of Kelly, a New York City therapist and a war widow to Craig, killed while serving in Iraq. The play flip-flops between snippets of Kelly’s last night with Craig and a confrontation with Peter, Craig’s identical twin brother. Peter is an actor with a troubled career and he has not spoken to his sister-in-law since Craig’s death. Seeking closure, he turns up at Kelly’s apartment unexpectedly, something Kelly has been dreading.

ART
The influential painter Carroll Dunham’s fantastical paintings combine anatomical imagery, abstraction and cartoonish style. “Carroll Dunham: Paintings” at Barbara Gladstone Gallery through April 21.

The ultraviolent action extravaganza “300” is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, but did it have to be so cartoonish?

Director/co-writer Zack Snyder (the “Dawn of the Dead” remake) painstakingly recreated the comic-book panels by placing actors in front of virtual backgrounds, similar to the technique used in the superior film version of Miller’s “Sin City” in 2005. Clearly, he’s not aiming to reflect reality on any level. But Snyder’s depiction of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartans fought off a much larger Persian army, is so over-the-top it’s laughable —so self-serious, it’s hard to take seriously.

By Ibby Caputo

It seemed slightly unusual as the lights dimmed in the off-Broadway theater on 50th Street in Manhattan for the two principal actors to walk out on stage, introduce themselves to the audience and get a warm greeting right back. “Hi, Bill,” the audience called out in unison. “Hi, Bob.”