1. A creepy new promo for season six of Dexter dropped online yesterday. Watch it here, and starting counting the days until fall. [via Pop Candy]

2. Patti Smith will make her acting debut in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent that’s based on all of the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark injuries. Apparently she’s a big fan of the series. [via AOL]

3. There’s currently a rumor floating around that Terrence Malick is prepping a six-hour version of his Palme d’Or winner, The Tree of Life (which currently runs at 138 minutes), but as Slashfilm points out, these stories are often “a fantasy cooked up in the imaginations of hopeful audiences.”

4. Woody Allen’s latest film Midnight in Paris — which has been positively received by critics — is expanding to more cities! According to Sony Pictures Classics it will soon be playing on 1,038 screens, making it the widest release of any of his films. [via ArtsBeat]

5. This sounds promising: Darren Aronofsky has signed on to direct the pilot episode of Michael Chabon’s new series for HBO, Hobogoblin, which tells the story of “a group of magicians and con men trying to take down Hitler.” [via Vulture]

Bonus link: Where Are the Famous Album Cover Kids Now?

1. Some bad news for your Oscar pool odds: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has officially changed the rules so that at least five but no more than ten films can be nominated in the Best Picture category. [via Collider]

2. Danny Cohen, Controller of BBC One, has confirmed that even though Matt Smith is on board, Doctor Who will not be coming back for a full 14 episodes next season; instead, there will be a “special run for the anniversary in 2013.” [via io9]

3. The Weinstein Company has named Christmas Day 2012 as the release date for Quentin Tarantino’s next movie, Django Unchained, which just so happens to be the fifteen year anniversary of Jackie Brown. Now he just needs to figure out who’s going to star in the Western-influenced film. [via Slashfilm]

4. This is surprising: Debunked director Julie Taymor not only walked the red carpet last night at the official opening of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, she also got a standing ovation from the audience and smooched Bono multiple times. [via Vulture]

5. Natalie Portman had her baby yesterday, and while we don’t know the kid’s name yet, we do know that it’s a boy and that he’ll definitely be a good dancer! [via People]

Bonus link: ‘America’s Next Top Restaurant’ Already Closed in New York

1. That free Black Eyed Peas concert that was supposed to happen in Central Park last night to raise money for the Robin Hood Foundation was cancelled because of the weather, making an estimated 60,000 people really mad. Given the fact that Will.i.am has been forgetting his own lyrics lately, maybe this was a blessing in disguise. [via ArtsBeat]

2. 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan is in hot water again over some seriously homophobic material in a recent stand-up performance in Nashville. A sample from his act: “Gays need to quit being pussies and not be whining about something as insignificant as bullying.” According to TMZ, Morgan later told the crowd, “[I don't] fucking care if I piss off some gays, because if they can take a fucking dick up their ass… they can take a fucking joke.” Lovely.

3. The union that represents theater directors is suing Spider-Man: Turn Off for an estimated $300,000 in unpaid royalties owed to Julie Taymor. Considering that she worked on the project for nine years, and the show — which hasn’t even officially opened yet — is making more than $1 million at the box office every week, we think the producers can afford to make good. [via CNBC]

4. Warren Beatty told a crowd at the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival last night that he’s planning to make a sequel to his 1990 film Dick Tracy. As long as Madonna agrees to reprise her role as Breathless Mahoney, we’re game. [via Slashfilm]

5. After leaving Brown earlier this year to focus on Harry Potter and other projects, Emma Watson is reportedly enrolling at Oxford University. [via Contactmusic]

Bonus link: Thieves Axe Tree To Steal Cheap Brooklyn Bike

1. The new self-titled Bon Iver album, which isn’t officially due out until June 21st, is currently streaming online. Justin Vernon has said that “Beth/Rest” is his favorite song on the LP because, “It’s definitely the part where you pick up your joint and re-light it.” What’s yours?

2. That girl we told you about earlier in the week, who had all 156 of her Facebook friends tattooed on her arm, was pulling one over on us. The video was actually an advertising stunt for Rotterdam tattoo artist Dex Moelker. [via Gawker]

3. As of Wednesday night’s preview performance, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is officially “frozen,” meaning that no more major changes will be made to the musical’s script, lyrics, or choreography. If all goes according to plan, the show officially opens next Tuesday. [via ArtsBeat]

4. Indie filmmaking duo The Duplass Brothers (Cyrus, The Puffy Chair) are working on a new dramatic thriller called Pitchfork, that’s about “the middle-aged mother of an indie rocker who, after her son is killed in a car accident, seeks vengeance on an online blogger who had peddled snark about her son.” Sounds promising, no? [via LAT]

5. Following in the esteemed footsteps of Lauren Conrad, Glee star Chris Colfer is launching a second career as a YA author. He just signed a two-book deal with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, with the first novel, which draws from the world of classic fairy tales, due out some time next summer. [via EW]

Bonus link: Record a song with today’s Google Doodle, a tribute to Les Paul

1. We’re not sure what to think about the fact that Lenny Kravitz has been cast as Cinna, Katniss Everdeen’s subversive stylist, in the forthcoming film adaption of The Hunger Games. Says director Gary Ross: “When I saw Lenny’s work in Precious I was just knocked out. It was quiet and strong and understated and open hearted; all qualities which define this character. I’m really looking forward to this ride.” [via THR]

2. Bono and the Edge are set to perform songs from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on tonight’s American Idol season finale alongside cast members of the Broadway musical. What we’re wondering: Do you think there’s any overlap between the kind of people who like U2 and the ones who care whether Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina wins? [via Billboard]

3. In case you missed the awkward flirting last night, find the best parts from Lady Gaga’s first ever interview with David Letterman here.

4. The History Channel has given the go ahead to The Bible, a “10-hour, CGI-heavy miniseries” from Survivor producer Mark Burnett, making it his first scripted TV project. Considering what the network did to The Kennedys, we’re betting that poor Charlton Heston is turning over in his grave. [via USA Today]

5. The dangers of Middle Earth: Two people have been hospitalized after an accident on the set of Peter Jackson’s much beleaguered two-film adaptation of The Hobbit. According to a publicist for the movie, it occurred in a production workshop when “a couple of the guys” were drilling on a statue, and they sustained “mild burns but nothing serious.” [via ArtsBeat]

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1. Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver — who were introduced by Tom Brokaw at a charity tennis tournament in 1977 — have announced that they are separating. From their prepared statement: “This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together.” [via The Daily What]

2. Google is set to launch an unlicensed test version of its digital music service in San Francisco this afternoon; Music Beta will allow users to upload their personal music libraries to their own account on Google’s servers. [via NME]

3. In order to avoid the kind of gallery rage caused by blockbuster exhibits packed with patrons, The National Gallery has announced that its forthcoming Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan show will reduce the number of admissions from the 230 per half-hour slot it is allowed under health and safety rules to 180. Hopefully museums stateside will take note. [via The Guardian]

4. “What was great about ‘Turn Off the Dark’ 1.0 was unusual and rare: magic, a pop-up Pop-Art opera with a bit of rock ’n’ roll circus thrown in. What was not right about it was a catalog of commonplace problems — story knots, bad sound and finally a failure to cohere, meaning that the whole was not greater than the sum of the parts, as wonderful as some of those parts were.” – Bono — who was notably mum during its previews — explains why the original version of the Spider-Man musical failed

5. Spinal Tap star Tony Hendra has created a New York Times parody site called The Final Edition with writers like Terry Jones, Peter Sagal, and Mike Meyers, along with staffers from Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Onion, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Check it out here.

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1. Ricky Gervais and Will Arnett will be among the guest stars in The Office‘s season finale. Should we take this as a sign of a David Brent takeover? [via EW]

2. The latest high profile firing from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark: veteran choreographer Daniel Ezralow, who is being replaced by Chase Brock, a little known dancer from Brooklyn. [via NYP]

3. Tommy Lee is hosting a new reality series for SyFy in which he’ll “attempt to uncover various rituals, symbols, and other mysteries of secret societies.” Says Lee: “This is the first show that I’ve been a part of that will blow our minds and reveal things that will explain almost all our questions.”

4. Unless Paramount can find a co-financier, Brad Pitt’s super expensive zombie apocalypse movie World War Z (which is based on the popular Max Brooks book of the same name), may be dead. [via Vulture]

5. The Tribeca Film Festival is taking its digital strategy to the next level by introducing the Tribeca (Online) Film Festival this year; you’ll be able to reserve free tickets for any of the six feature films that will be offered online beginning on April 12th if you’re an American Express card member, and April 18th if you’re not. [via Mashable]

Bonus link: Watch the video that proves Rebecca Black ripped off Conan O’Brien

1. This is the most exciting news we’ve read in a while: Starting this fall Nickelodeon will air old episodes of shows like Rugrats, Kenan & Kel, Pete & Pete, The Amanda Bynes Show, All That, and Clarissa Explains It All in a new midnight-to-2 am programming block dubbed “The ’90s Are All That.” [via EW]

2. Julie Taymor will be replaced as director of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark by Philip William McKinley, the former director of the Hugh Jackman hit show The Boy from Oz; while she hasn’t technically been banished from working on the project, producers say her role moving forward will be limited. [via NYDN]

3. Today the critics weigh in on the iPad 2, which hits stores tomorrow. David Pogue at the New York Times seems most concerned with how wrong critics were about the original iPad; Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal says it “offers an excellent balance of size, functionality and price”; and Joshua Topolsky from Engadget says while this “thinner, sleeker, faster variant of the original may not be breaking lots of new ground,” it beats most other tablets on the market.

4. By now you’ve probably heard that Vivian Schiller, the president and chief executive of NPR since January 2009, resigned yesterday when a hidden camera video featuring incendiary comments by the network’s fundraising chief surfaced. But the Wall Street Journal gets our vote for best headline on the story: “Video Kills the Radio Czar.”

5. Yesterday’s news that Cap’n Crunch was being forced to retire simply weren’t true. Says an official statement from Quaker Oats: “Reports of Cap’n Crunch’s demise are greatly exaggerated. In fact, we just launched an official Facebook page for Cap’n Crunch. Now that our Cap’n Crunch brand is in the social-media space, our adult consumers can stay up to date on all things Cap’n Crunch.” [via The Daily What]

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1. According to the New York Times, Bono, who was “away for much of the show’s preview period,” has now “taken a direct role” in talks about whether Julie Taymor should stay or go as director of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The super-delayed musical was set to open on March 15th, but it looks like there’s no way that’s still happening.

2. Warner Bros. has become the first movie studio to offer movie rentals through Facebook. Currently the only film available is The Dark Knight (at the cost of 30 Facebook credits or $3), but they’re planning to offer other titles in the not-so-distant future. [via The Wrap]

3. Now that he’s been officially fired from Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen met with executives at Live Nation Entertainment about the possibility of doing “a series of live theatrical shows.” Says Sheen: “I need to gobble up all these fuckin’ posers and bootleggers and make them go away. Then we’re gonna deliver the real fuckin’ t-shirts and mugs and hats.” [via Deadline]

4. As if yesterday’s spoilers weren’t exciting enough, you can now see the first clip from Season 4 of True Blood, and Alexander Skarsgård is half-naked in it. [via Vulture]

5. “I love these sophisticated cities. It’s fantastic to have the possibility to work there, like when I shot Manhattan in New York, Match Point in London and Vicky Cristina Barcelona in Barcelona … Each time, it’s like a declaration of love for certain places. I project onto the big screen my feelings for places which count a lot in my life. I hope to do the same thing with Rome.” – Woody Allen is shooting his next project in Rome.

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1. The new Liam Neeson action thriller Unknown took the top spot at the weekend box office, making $21.7 million. I Am Number Four came in number two with $19.5 million, and was closely followed by Gnomeo and Juliet 3D, which made $19.4 million. [via Deadline]

2. Remember when New York Times classical music critic Anthony Tommasini set out to identify the ten greatest composers of all time? Now Dean Rader of the San Francisco Gate is hoping to do the same thing with poets. Weigh in with your opinion here.

3. It’s official: Baz Luhrman is shooting The Great Gatsby in 3D, with filming to begin in Sydney (apologies New York!) this August. Leonardo DiCaprio has already signed on to star as Jay Gatsby while Carey Mulligan has been offered the role of Daisy Buchanan. [via THR]

4. Over the weekend a rumor surfaced that Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark producers were looking to find Julie Taymor a co-director for the beleaguered project, but as the show’s spokesperson told Vulture, “There is no truth to the rumor of a co-director. The production has not brought anyone on and the original creative team remains firmly in place, with Julie Taymor at the helm.”

5. Adele has become the first living artist since the Beatles in 1964 to have two albums and two singles in the top fives of both album and singles charts in the same week in the UK. (If you have no idea who she is, we recommend you check out this clip of her covering Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman” for an upcoming episode of VH1’s Unplugged.) [via Billboard]

Bonus link: Watch a “psychotropically influenced pseudo-documentary” directed by Matt Groening’s dad Homer