RADCLIFFE GETS CHEEKY
Daniel Radcliffe is possessed of the preternatural smoothness sometimes found in adroit politicians, who speak of well-worn topics with a spontaneity that probably even feels natural. Six years after the release of the first Harry Potter film, he’s had some experience working a room, and he’s clearly unfazed when the conversation at an Upper East Side hotel earlier this month turns to sex. Radcliffe is currently headlining the cast of “December Boys,” an independent Aussie film that centers on the growing pains of four orphans in the 1960s, and he’s come prepared to dish on the possibilities for on-screen trysting now open to him. “I think that simply arises – if you’ll excuse that word – from the fact that I’m 18, and … around that age range is when people are exploring sexuality.” And though journalists who didn’t do their homework recently grilled him about his first on-screen kiss during the rundown to the fifth Potter movie, that moment was actually recorded for posterity in an Australian cave two years ago. In fact, Radcliffe’s alter ego in “December Boys” far outdoes the prudish Potter with a sex scene liable to send his pre-teen fans into paroxysms of ecstatic giggling. “Teresa [Palmer], having done a few of those scenes in the past, and me never having done any of them, she was sort of guiding me through it.” Induced to go further, he adds, “It was great. And it’s Teresa, I mean, you’ve seen her,” he says matter-of-factly of his pouty-lipped, golden-haired co-star. Though filming the next Potter installment will take up some of his time, Radcliffe says he’ll “hopefully” be back in New York later next year to bring his West End production of “Equus” to Broadway, and the famous nude scene will doubtless oblige him to keep talking about sex when he returns.—Cotton Delo

The 32-year-old British actor is all over the silver screen with a flurry of releases, including “The Jane Austen Book Club” this month. Dancy landed on Broadway to star in the World War I drama “Journey’s End” this year and is spotted frequently about town with girlfriend Claire Danes. But though he’s well-exposed on both sides of the pond, it’s been a struggle getting his movie about the 1994 Rwandan genocide, “Beyond the Gates,” seen by U.S. audiences. He talked to the Resident about his hope for a second life for the movie via its DVD release this month, his plunge into New York’s nightlife, and the usefulness of a British accent. —Cotton Delo

Oktoberfest, NY Style
Despite its name, Oktoberfest officially kicks off Sept. 22 and lasts until Oct. 7 this year. The biggest celebration may be in Munich, but you can still get your share of German culture and brews here. Grab your Alpine hat, throw on your lederhosen and head over to these restaurants that have the festive spirit and traditional Oktoberfest brews. – Kerri Fortune

By Hugh Spencer

The flight was a breeze… the arrival was a breeze…the cab ride was a breeze…the check-in was a breeze… and of course trade winds are a breeze. After a short drive from the airport, rising out of the ivory pure beaches of Aruba’s leeward coast is a section of high-rise hotels you would expect to see off Key Biscayne in Miami and worthy of their grandeur, but the non-pretentious Radisson is clearly the forerunner of them all.

By Ethan Gilsdorf

Chain smoking cigarettes in his tiny trailer, David Carradine stripped off his pants and shirt, revealing a silver necklace, a pierced belly button, and a faded tattoo of a dragon wrapping around his back.

By Janet Groene

So you want to take your luck on the road? Avery Cardoza, publisher of the poker and gambling e-zine cardozaonline.com, says America’s leading hotspots for gaming are Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Tunica, Miss., with its ten very active casinos, and Connecticut where he says Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are the two largest and most profitable casinos in the world. “The rebuilding of Gulf Coast casinos after the devastation of Katrina puts them back on the gambler’s map, too,” Cardoza observes. Here’s a look at some of the the country’s top spots to strike it rich.

By John Lee

Since the wine quaffing of the Roman occupation, the mead consumption of the Middle Ages and the illicit gin houses of the Victorian era, booze has flown through London like a second River Thames. The history of the city is so bound up with pints, flagons and tankards that several thousand bars still populate its labyrinthine streets, offering visitors a perfect excuse to rub shoulders with the locals in highly convivial, sometimes archaic surroundings. Here then, for those planning an afternoon of gentle bar-hopping in what is arguably the pub capital of the world, is a six-pack of great central London pubs.

Sexy Opera Stars Heat Up Staid Productions

By Philip Chaffee

At Opera Colorado in Denver, a recent production of Handel’s “Julius Caesar” was updated into the 1930s, with Cleopatra looking more like a gorgeous Claudette Colbert and Caesar like General Patton.

By Beth Hillman

A bespectacled woman sits on a rusty tractor in Nebraska holding a sign that reads, in boxy green letters, “Anni Holm.”

A bald man in dark sunglasses stands on a deserted Chicago street, lifting a yellow placard with the words “Anni Holm” in huge purple type.

By Andrew Goldberg

As presidential candidates crisscross the country seeking votes and campaign cash, they aren’t the only ones chasing the early money in politics.