WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE

• Comics. Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. Watch for special signings and events.
• Kentucky Derby. Wet and sloppy conditions are forecast for Churchill Downs. Orb and Verrazano are the co-favoorites.
• Adam Yauch. Beastie Boy has Brooklyn playground renamed for him, a day before the one-year anniversary of his death.
• Boston Strong: An Evening of Support and Celebration. Aerosmith and James Taylor will headline May 30 benefit show at the TD Garden.
• LeBron James. Fourth NBA MVP award ties him with Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and WiltChamberlain.
• Reese Witherspoon. The actress’s arrest video goes viral. “You’re about to find out who I am.”
• Lil Wayne.PepsiCo cuts ties with rapper over his crude lyrical reference to civil rights martyr Emmett Till.

The summer movie season is underway. Here are 27 films that interest us… plus a calendar from Movie Insider.

MAY

Iron Man 3 (May 3) — Tony Stark vs. Mandarin. Did blockbuster business overseas. May be the best of the Marvel series

The Great Gatsy (May 10) — Baz Luhrmann’s take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic. In 3-D with a hip-hop soundtrack.

Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17) -- J.J. Abrams has refreshed the franchise. Looks like his second movie will be another hit.

The Hangover Part III (May 24) — The sequel was terrible but made a lot of money. Fans might want to wait for this one to hit cable.

The Fast and Furious 6 (May 24) — No. 4 most anticipated movie in the Fandango poll. Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel are summer heroes.

Before Midnight (May 24) – Two decades after meeting in Vienna, Jesse and Celine reunite in Greece. Strong early reviews.

After Earth (May 31) — Will Smith and son Jaden in a futuristic thriller from M. Knight Shyamalan. Beware.

(more…)

The wonderful TV revolution continues this month with Amazon presenting eight original comedy pilots for free and asking viewers to decide which ones get multi-episode shows. We checked out “Alpha House,” a polished political comedy written by Garry Trudeau and starring John Goodman, and loved it as much as we love “Veep.” Worth watching alone for Bill Murray’s rip-roaring cameo in the first scene. Check it out, and don’t forget to vote.

Amazon synopsis: Alpha House was written by Academy Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury, Tanner ’88) and features John Goodman (Roseanne, Argo, Treme), Clark Johnson (The Wire), Matt Malloy (Six Feet Under, Law & Order), and Mark Consuelos (American Horror Story: Asylum, Guys with Kids). Alpha House follows four senators who live together in a rented house in Washington DC.

Her name is Marchesa, and she’s from California. Voting is almost over.

PETA’s Sexiest Vegan Next Door 2013

WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE

• Bob Newhart. Shows why he’s an American comedy treasure on The Big Bang Theory. Professor Proton, indeed!
• Warren Buffett. The world’s most famous investor joins Twitter. Racks up 45,000 followers in just under 45 minutes.
• Spice Girls.Viva Forever, the lambasted musical based on the British pop band, is closing six months after its premiere in London.
• By the Way: In Conversation with Jeff Garlin. Flavorwire hails these L.A. podcasts as “genuinely wonderful, sharp and funny.”

WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE

• Inside Amy Schumer. Comedy Central has a new star. Check her out.
• John Grisham. Sycamore Row, which will be published Oct. 22, is a sequel to A Time to Kill.
• Veep. As we enjoy a sensational second season, HBO commits to a third.
• J.J. Abrams.Playboy interview is good read for Star Trek, Star Wars fans.
• Glee. Stevie Wonder songs in the spotlight Thursday.
• The Testament of Mary. Three Tony Award nominations not enough to prevent one-woman show from closing after 43 performances.
• Lindsay Lohan. The actress packs 270 outfits for her 90 days in rehab. Hope she doesn’t think she’s getting a walk-in closet.
• Shake Shack. Possibly coming to Harvard Square next.

If you’re a Mitch Albom fan, and you’ve had to endure the long stretches between his books, we have great news. Albom will have a new book out this fall — “The First Phone Call From Heaven” — marking the first time the author will be releasing novels in consecutive years. It’s part of a new, three-book deal Albom just signed with Harper. Albom’s previous publisher was Hyperion, which released his current book “The Timekeeper” last summer.

Albom discussed “The First Phone Call From Heaven” (due Nov. 12, 2013) on his website:

“It’s a magical story about what happens when one little town, way up north, starts getting calls from souls in heaven. Who believes, who doesn’t? Who flocks to join them? Who points fingers and calls them fools? And ultimately, what happens to the world when the biggest mystery of life seems suddenly solved?”

Albom told the AP that the new novel “is maybe my favorite story yet, a tale of belief, love and mystery.”