Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro.

As the co-founders of the Tribeca Film Festival, we are thrilled to share our plans and recommendations for the coming week. This year’s TFF will display the enormous creativity of filmmakers, storytellers and artists from around the city and the world. As the late Roger Ebert would have said, we’ll see you at the movies.

WEDNESDAY, April 17

The festival opens its 12th edition with the world premiere of Mistaken for Strangers, a documentary from first-time director Tom Berninger, a heavy metal- and horror film-loving roadie who follows his brother Matt Berninger, front man of the indie rock band The National, on the band’s biggest tour to date. We didn’t know who this amazing Brooklyn-based band was until we saw the film, which is a great story about family, music and aspiration—isn’t that really what life’s about? Then it’s on to the Highline Ballroom where the band will play. Afterward, get a late-night bite at The Odeon, a longtime haunt of writers and movie stars.

Screening and concert by invitation only, for more information, visit tribecafilm.com/festival. The Odeon, 145 West Broadway, (212) 233-0507.

THURSDAY, April 18

There are close to 90 films premiering at the festival, and tonight marks the opening of the feature film sections. We are going to try to stop by and see the documentary competition opener Big Men, an exposé on Africa’s oil companies and American corporate interests directed by Rachel Boynton and executive produced by Brad Pitt. Other exciting debuts include the narrative competition title Bluebird, directed by Lance Edmands and starring Amy Morton, Girls’ Adam Driver and John Slattery; Flex Is Kings, a story about Brooklyn and street performance directed by Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols that will open the Viewpoints section; and Dark Touch, the opener of the Midnight section, directed by Marina de Van. We haven’t see all of these, but they sounded interesting to us!

Beetlejuice

Later we’ll stop by our Tribeca Drive-In (it’s actually a sit-in) on the Hudson River—a series of free, outdoor screenings at Brookfield Place (the World Financial Center Plaza). We are bringing back Hitchcock’s classic The Birds—for its 50th anniversary! (Jane says: “You have to check out the introduction on our website before you come—it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen!”) We are going to try to come back tomorrow too, for Tim Burton’s beloved comedy Beetlejuice, a great movie for kids of all ages. And on Saturday there will be an additional screening of the TFF 2013 film Lil Bub & Friendz, featuring the famous Internet cat sensation. And for dinner tonight it’s Locanda Verde—gotta get some of the ricotta.

Feature screenings throughout the festival, tickets at www.tribecafilm.com. Drive-In screenings are free and open to the public. Locanda Verde, The Greenwich Hotel,  377 Greenwich Street, (212) 925-3797

FRIDAY, April 19

We have a new section in the festival this year: Storyscapes, which opens today and runs through April 21. We are going to meet the creators of the transmedia projects at the Bombay Sapphire House of Imagination. Jane wants to take one of the robots from the interactive Robots in Residence installation around with her to all the events—she is curious to see what kind of film she’ll end up making.

We will both be on hand to celebrate the graduation of our Tribeca Film Fellows. These 20 young NYC filmmakers have been learning from some of the most skilled industry insiders in making their own independent films, and tonight they will premiere their projects. Congratulations to this year’s class!

Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela opened the festival in 2002 and reminded all of us about the healing power of film. Tonight we celebrate his legacy, words and wisdom. The Power of Words, a new short film using his quotes and teachings, will be playing nightly on screens in Times Square from 11:57 p.m. to midnight starting tonight and continuing throughout April. We’ll join the hundreds of others on the Red Steps of Duffy Square to watch the film take over all the screens, and then we’ll celebrate with live music.

The Bombay Sapphire House of Imagination, 121 Varick Street, seventh floor, free and open to the public with a reservation. Tribeca Film Fellows graduation by invitation only. The Power of Words screening, Duffy Square, free and open to the public.

SATURDAY, April 20

One of our favorite films at the Festival is Alberi, a mesmerizing homage to mythology and nature from director Michelangelo Frammartino. The film will play as a cinematic installation at the VW Dome at MoMA PS1. After you’ve been thoroughly dazzled by this cinematic treat, come join us for a special celebration. It’s definitely worth the trip, and don’t worry about being late—the film runs on a continuous loop!

In the vein of “30 for 30,” ESPN is presenting “Nine for IX,” nine documentary films about women in sports, each directed by a female filmmaker, in recognition of the 40th anniversary of Title IX. We have four of them premiering at the festival, and we plan to go see Pat XO, directed by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters, and Let Them Wear Towels, directed by TFF alums Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg.

Whoopi Goldberg has been a part of the Tribeca family since our very first festival, so it’s fitting that we premiere her directorial debut, I Got Somethin’ to Tell You, a profile of the late pioneering comic Moms Mabley.

Alberi screening, VW Dome at MoMa PS1, 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, open to the public. Screenings of “Nine for IX” and I Got Somethin’ to Tell You throughout the festival, tickets at www.tribecafilm.com.

SUNDAY, April 21

We’re already exhausted. We’re sleeping in today and then spending time with our families. But if you need a pick-me-up, try Blue Bottle Coffee at All Good Things.

Ben Stiller.

Its great to have our Focker family at the festival this year. Jay Roach (Game Change) and Ben Stiller are doing one of our Tribeca Talks: Directors Series panels at BMCC’s Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Later in the festival, we will catch the talks with Clint Eastwood and Richard Linklater.

We are taking a detour from films to stop by the Apple store on Prince Street, where all week Apple has been hosting exclusive Meet the Filmmakers sessions, in which the film industry’s leading actors, writers, directors and producers discuss their latest projects. At 6 p.m. tonight, Alastair Siddons, Emile Abinal and other special guests will be on site to talk about their film Inside Out: The People’s Art Project, which tracks the evolution of the world’s largest participatory art project, spearheaded by French artist JR. Check out his work and be part of it!

All Good Things, 102 Franklin Street, (212) 966-3663. Tribeca Talks: Directors Series panel, BMCC’s Tribeca Performing Art Center, 199 Chambers Street, (212) 220-1459, 3pm, tickets at www.tribecafilm.com. Meet the Filmmakers session, Apple Store, 103 Prince Street, (212) 226-3126, 6pm, free and open to the public.

MONDAY, April 22

At lunchtime today, we’ll be at our Future of Film Live series at 92Y Tribeca, where Joshua Topolsky (editor in chief of The Verge) is talking about nontraditional storytelling with video game creator Dan Connors, Yoni Bloch of Interlude and Nate Mitchell of Oculus Rift. The series, which runs from today through April 25, covers the ever-changing world of film distribution and features key voices from noted industry players. We will definitely be back later in the week when Todd Wagner speaks.

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Midnight.

This is one everyone has been asking us for tickets for: Richard Linklater will premiere Before Midnight, the eagerly anticipated third chapter of the star-crossed tale of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) tonight at BMCC’s Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

Future of Film Live panel, 92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, (212) 601-1000, free and open to the public, register online at www.tribecafilm.com/future-of-film. Before Midnight screening, BMCC’s Tribeca Performing Art Center, 199 Chambers Street, (212) 220-1459, premiere tonight at 6pm, screenings continue throughout the festival.

TUESDAY, April 23

The Directors Brunch with Persol is the one point in the festival where all the filmmakers get to meet. You can feel the international breadth and scope of the whole festival in the room. And this year there are 26 women directors, a larger percentage than are represented in the U.S. Congress!

Speaking of filmmakers, during the festival the Tribeca Film Institute works closely with filmmakers in various stages of production to help them with their projects. TFI hosts workshops and networking sessions connecting filmmakers with industry leaders who mentor and provide guidance on everything from fund-raising to production.

Director Paul Verhoeven, the visionary behind the box office blockbusters Basic Instinct, Total Recall and RoboCop, will screen his crowd-sourced film Tricked at his Tribeca Talks: After the Movie event, where he’ll discuss how doing something so unconventional has pushed his creativity. We can’t wait to hear how he was able to incorporate ideas from hundreds of film enthusiasts across the world.

For dinner tonight: the Tribeca Grill. Can’t decide what we are in the mood for—Drew has the best burger with onion rings, crème brulée and sautéed spinach in the city.

Directors Brunch, by invitation only. Tribeca Film Institute, by invitation only. Tricked screening and talk, 6:30pm, tickets at www.tribecafilm.com. Tribeca Grill, 375 Greenwich Street, (212) 941-3900.

WEDNESDAY, April 24

Tonight is the annual Chanel dinner at the Odeon, celebrating the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Awards program. What could be better than celebrating all of our artists while enjoying some of the best french fries? The night is an A-list mix of socialites, movie stars and artists including William Wegman, Joyce Pensato, Dustin Yellin and Gillian Laub, who have donated artwork that will be awarded to the winning filmmakers in each of our competition categories next week.

The Tribeca Film Institute is our year-round programming, and tonight we will honor the projects and filmmakers who have received support from TFI’s artist programs, including Tribeca All Access—the Institute’s first program for underrepresented filmmakers, which turns 10 this year and has supporting 227 films by over 500 filmmakers who identify as members of a minority group. We are really proud of this program, which has helps diversify what is seen on screens.

Möbius.

There’s nothing better than springtime in New York, but Möbius, Eric Rochant’s sexy spy thriller, comes close with its Monaco backdrop. The Belgian beauty Cecile de France is in town along with the director to premiere the film. And we are both looking forward to meeting Dr. Mathilde Krim at tonight’s screening of The Battle of amFAR, the story of how she and Elizabeth Taylor launched the country’s first AIDS research foundation.

Chanel dinner by invitation only. TFI Awards by invitation only. Möbius, screenings throughout the festival. The Battle of amFAR, 5:30pm, tickets at www.tribecafilm.com.

The Best Picture category isn't the only thing that bulked up.

What is it about the Academy Awards? Intellectually, it's hard to muster up that much enthusiasm about who "wore it best" (Ang Lee) or how modest Katniss will be in her acceptance speech, hopefully avoiding a First Wives' Club reference that sounded like she was hating on Meryl Streep this time. And yet ... we still feel compelled to watch. Maybe it's because secretly, deep down, we still find it fascinating that the guy who does the voice of Stewie looks like the host of a reality game show about finding true love by having a dance-off on a stripper pole.

Or maybe it's because we're just suckers, who deep down believe that Beasts of the Southern Wild might still possibly have a chance against Argo or Lincoln.

Come join us, will you, on this the most magical of evenings for producers, people who are married to movie stars, and dress designers? We'll be hosting a live chat below. Just click the big countdown button and you're all set. Got it?

Great.

This year we're making our predictions in order of the film and/or celebrity, not the award. That's because this time ... it's personal. No, seriously: between Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck being iced out of Best Director, the Weinstein Bros. not having a snowball's chance in hell of scoring a big win and the fact that we're practically giving an award to Anne Hathaway just to make her stop sing-crying, there's going to be a lot of sore losers tonight. But don't worry; we're using a time-tested formula for predicting the bitter ceremonies, including taking all of the guesses on Twitter and averaging them against Nate Silver's predictions. Then we throw those out the window and  get ourselves angry over Lincoln’s inevitable windfall of awards that should be going to that movie that had all those great New Yorker articles written about it and stars a 9-year-old who wasn't even an actress when she started the film, which is about 50 percent more method than Daniel Day-Lewis's decision to become an Italian cobbler every time he's taking a hiatus from Hollywood.

So enjoy, and don't forget to tune into our live chat on the Oscars, starting at 7 p.m.!

Guy Fieri is so upset! (NBC)

– Jay Z was not "right next to De Niro" the other night at Leonardo DiCaprio's birthday. The Taxi Driver star gave the Jigga a Meet the Fockers-level awkward greeting when Jay-Z tried to approach the King of Comedy only to get rebuffed because he had never returned Bob's phone calls. Even Beyoncé couldn't calm De Niro down. We're not sure whom we would less like to be mad at us, but that sounds like a party-stopper if there ever was one.

- If you want to get angry, here's a video of Gwyneth Paltrow talking about her "writer" personality in a behind-the-scenes look at her new Max Factor ad. Why do we need a behind-the-scenes look at an ad? STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!

- Hilariously, Guy Fieri thinks that The New York Times’s restaurant critic had "another agenda" when he wrote his hit piece about Fieri's Times Square palace of shitty food. We're pretty sure the agenda was just a good Samaritan's public service announcement.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

– Yikes, the Matt Lauer story just keeps getting worse. Like apparently Izzy Povich was passed over for Jim Bell's job because Lauer didn't like her? Steve Capus says the $25-million-a-year host doesn't have that kind of editorial control, but these rumors are getting a little more spiky every day.

– Oh, boo! Aaron Sorkin will not be addressing the Petraeus scandal in next season of The Newsroom, even though he really, really wants to!

You don't own Lena! (YouTube)

- Here's Alexa Chung, Tavi, and Lena Dunham lip-syncing Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" like they were in The First Wives Club or something. For feminism and Obama!

http://youtu.be/_M_hcioeOyk
- Mark Sanchez and Eva Longoria are no more after a month of dating. We have to call our lawyers on this one; celebrity relationship whiplash is real and it hurts, people!

- Anderson Cooper is scared Lindsay Lohan is going to steal his job, just like she stole $5,000 worth of clothing from the Scary Movie 5 set. (They had $5,000 worth of clothing on the set of Scary Movie 5?)

- Meanwhile, Robert DeNiro KNOWS that Leonardo DiCaprio is stealing all of his jobs.

- Jay-Z and Beyonce were unable to trademark the name of their child, Blue Ivy. And when you can't copyright your baby, what's the point of having one, right??

Mr. Nicholas, a director of medical behemoth Boston Scientific who was ousted as the co-chief of Time Warner in the early 1990s, created the combined unit after he bested Mr. DeNiro in a bidding war for the $4.6 million unit back in 2007. But now he's sold the whole five-bedroom shebang for $19.5 million, according to city records.

Mr. Nicholas, who owned an eighth floor apartment and Mr. DeNiro, who still owns a spread on the fourth and fifth floors, both wanted the apartment that belonged to Stribling broker Kirk Henckels and socialite wife Fernanda Kellogg.

Mr. Henckels returned to familiar turf when he got the listing for the five-bedroom duplex back in January. The property spent three months on the market at $22 million before being scooped up by the 88 CPW Revocable Trust.

With Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Henckels back in the game, we couldn't help but wonder if the third party from the 2007 sale also made an appearance. Could Mr. DeNiro be the man behind the mystery trust? He did just sell his West Village townhouse for $9.5 million. Maybe he's consolidating real estate holdings? The townhouse and the spread at 88 CPW did seem like more than one very busy man could be expected to maintain, as the recent lint fire at his 88 CPW apartment seemed to illustrate. Perhaps he's finally scratching the itch for an gracious pad with enormous windows overlooking Central Park and a 30-foot by 20-foot living room?

kvelsey@observer.com

No close-ups, please! DeNiro's house requires a full renovation.

Celebrity connections may draw some buyers like moths to the flame, but it seems that Robert DeNiro's townhouse at 14 St. Luke's Place lacks that kind of magnetism.

The five-story house has sold for $9.5 million, Curbed reports, a good deal less than the $14 million that Mr. DeNiro was asking when it hit the market a year ago. The buyer, 14 St. Luke's LLC., is clearly not a fan of the spotlight, so we doubt that was a selling point. But the star seems to be having a streak of bad housing luck lately—taking a big hit on his asking price, setting fire to his Central Park West apartment building.

But we doubt it has all that much to do with luck. Fourteen million was an ambitious ask given that the house requires a full renovation, according to the listing, held by Mr. DeNiro's son, Prudential Douglas Elliman broker Raphael DeNiro. 

The listing included no interior shots of the three-bedroom property, which Mr. DeNiro has owned for more than 30 years. Perhaps he didn't want the public snickering over his outdated wallpaper, but really, could it have been that bad? Then again, maintenance, as evinced by the lint trap fire fiasco, may not be Mr. DeNiro's strong point.

In any event, the home has 12-foot ceilings on the parlor floor, "incredible sunlight" and a private terrace off the master suite. And it's located "on New York City's most beautiful, storied townhouse block." No Mean Streets are these.

kvelsey@observer.com

Not a speck of lint on that black buttondown.

Lint: scourge of common folk and stars alike. Not only has it brought down many a beautiful garment, but on Friday it nearly destroyed Robert DeNiro's building at 88 Central Park West.

A lint buildup in a clothes dryer set the posh building on fire, damaging not only Mr. DeNiro's apartment, but every other apartment on the fifth floor, as well as those on the fourth and sixth, reported the New York Post.

“Right above my head these 12-foot-tall flames exploded out of the fifth-floor window,” passerby Nathan Bear told the Post.

No wash and fold for Mr. DeNiro! Although the star is, apparently, out of the country, so it's not like he was doing his own laundry. Which brings up one of the more pressing social issues of our time—who bears responsibility for lint traps in the days when household staffs, a la Downton Abbey, have gone the way of washboards? A patchwork of service professionals—housekeepers and maid services and personal assistants—while more palatable to our modern sensibilities, can leave dangerous gaps in domestic duties.

Fortunately, Mr. DeNiro's broker son Raphael can almost certainly find a place to put his dad up when he returns. And, in the spirit of neighborliness, we would also suggest finding rentals for the other displaced residents, although preferably on the ground floor. Along with cleaning lint traps, the residents of 88 CPW seem to have missed the first rule of fire safety.

“I’m lucky the elevator still worked," a sixth-floor resident who said she found it difficult to breath in the dark, heavy smoke told the Post. "That’s how I was able to get out.”

kvelsey@observer.com

Big news, though: Ben Stiller has made the leap from Artist to Hero because of his Web-based effort to build temporary schools in Haiti, StillerStrong.org. Robert De Niro explains:

When Ben recognized the need to provide schools for Haitian children, he found a way to do it by combining humor with humanity. He founded StillerStrong.org with the slogan "Stealing great ideas from other charities." You log on for the jokes, then stay because Ben has moved you; and before you know it, you've made a contribution, and the world's a slightly better place. What a pain in the ass.

You think that's harsh, you should see what Ben Bernanke wrote about Paul Volcker.

Selections from The 2010 Time 100.

Leaders

1.            Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

2.            J.T. Wang

3.            Admiral Mike Mullen

4.            Barack Obama

5.            Ron Bloom

Heroes

1.            Bill Clinton

2.            Kim Yu-Na

3.            Mir-Hossein Mousavi

4.            Ben Stiller

5.            Temple Grandin

Artists

1.            Lady Gaga

2.            Conan O'Brien

3.            Kathryn Bigelow

4.            Oprah Winfrey

5.            Valery Gergiev

Thinkers

1.            Zaha Hadid

2.            Elizabeth Warren

3.            Douglas Schwartzentruber and Larry Kwak

4.            Michael Pollan

5.            Atul Gawande

Tuesday: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Based on the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of French Elle, who after suffering a massive stroke has to live with "locked in syndrome," a rare disorder that leaves him completely paralyzed except for his left eye, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is simultaneously heartbreaking and life affirming while being totally sans shmaltz. Matthieu Amalric is a big reason why. As Jean-Do, he has nothing to work with but his left eye and a striking voice-over, and yet he gives a performance that would make even the greatest actors jealous. [Starz!, 6 a.m.]

Wednesday: Dirty Sexy Money
The second season of Dirty Sexy Money promises to be dirtier and sexier than last year, which is certainly a step in the right direction. Did Dirty Sexy Money mean to be a surrealist comedy like Arrested Development or did it want to be a glossy trash-fest like Dynasty? In trying to be both, the show in its first season didn't succeed at being either. There should be a place in the market for show like Gossip Girl about adults. With better writing, that show could be Dirty Sexy Money. Maybe. [ABC, 10 p.m.]

Thursday: Miller's Crossing
If Alfred Hitchcock thought actors were cattle, then the Coen brothers think characters are. That's why we're too often left feeling cold at the end of even their most entertaining films. But Miller's Crossing is the exception. Their twisty Prohibition-era gangland menagerie is our favorite Coen bros movie, partially because it's anchored by Gabriel Byrne's totally human turn as a mob enforcer. Think Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men. Except here, Mr. Byrne stays alive the entire time. [IFC, 2:30 a.m.]

Friday: The Ex-List
On paper, The Ex-List sounds pretty endearing. A woman in her early 30s (Elizabeth Reaser) finds out from a psychic that she's already met and dated her future husband, only if she doesn't find him again within the next year, she's doomed to be alone forever. (Cue ominous thunderclaps!) We can buy into that concept, but there are some concerns. … Executive producer Diane Ruggiero already quit because CBS wanted her to take the show in a different direction. Eek! That doesn't sound promising. So catch The Ex-List now, because by the time November rolls around it could be a distant memory. [CBS, 9 p.m.]