The 31st Starz Denver Film Festival is in full swing and, this year, I’ve had a very inside look at all the behind-the-scenes action. With my new job at the Denver Film Society, I’ve been able to watch this year’s fest grow from a tiny seed into a gigantic tree of cinematic enjoyment.

All spotlights seem to be focused squarely on Tina Fey every weekend as America fervently tunes in to see her portray Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. But is this good for the Obama/Biden campaign, or simply adding more fuel to the Palin media mania sweeping the nation?

Watching the VMAs last night was, in a word, torture. The only saving grace was Russell Brand, who managed to actually be entertaining during the ignominious joke of a ceremony we were all watching. Read Pat Sue Gentry’s write-up about the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards here, or on the Trashwire Blog.

The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington D.C. can be one of the most bizarre and surreal events of the year. Where else are you going to be able to chat with Henry Kissinger and Heidi Montag in the same room? This year’s event marked the fourth time Trashwire has covered the pre-party scene and, as usual, it didn’t disappoint.

Trashwire MySpace friend Anne Rakowiecki got to realize a dream when she met Johnny Depp on the Chicago set of his new film Public Enemies. Read her firsthand account and check out her pictures in this special guest contribution.

It’s hard for me to write a review of a My Chemical Romance show without filling it with hyperbole and grand statements about how they are the greatest band ever. This is simply because they are, hands down, my favorite band of all time. After seeing them last March at Magness Arena during their giant tour supporting The Black Parade, I was beyond excited to get another chance to bathe in the awesomeness of MCR.

An astounding nine regional movie premieres will be taking place at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival in Austin, TX. All of these premieres are early screenings of new mainstream movies that will serve as a testing ground for how the films will be marketed and distributed to the rest of America. The only major difference from a regular trip to the movies is that, at these screenings, there is a major opportunity to see the cast of the films and chat with them about each production.

Trashwire writer Wil Chinchilla will be covering SXSW for Trashwire, so keep checking back for more from the fest.

CBS reality show Big Brother will return earlier than expected due to the WGA strike and Trashwire will be your source for updates, screencaps, video, and commentary on the 9th season. Last year, our blog about Big Brother 8 was the most popular section in Trashwire history, so this year we have created a permanent home for all our future Big Brother coverage. Go directly to the new section at trashwire.com/bigbrother.

The dollar store can be a magical place. At first glance, it can seem like a shop filled with cheap crap that was probably made by little slave children in some foreign country, things that didn’t sell when they were in a real store, damaged or slightly askew goods, and lame little trinkets that make you ask, “Who would buy this?!” But, if you look a bit closer at dollar stores, you will see that they can be a bizarre wonderland of crap-tastic items.

Anton Corbijn’s Control, the biographical cinematic journey of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, takes story telling and filming making to a new level. From scene to scene, “Control” is framed in such a way that individual shots are piece of art. Corbijn’s background as a professional photographer and use of symmetry, as well as, an eye for detail set a new standard for black and white films.