Kevin Spacey

Today in history: March 26 In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna. In 1875, poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco. In 1892, poet Walt Whitman died in Camden, N.J. In 1911, playwright Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Miss. In 1982, groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington, D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. One year ago: "American Beauty" won five Oscars, including best picture; its leading man, Kevin Spacey, won best actor, while Hilary Swank won the Oscar for best actress for "Boys Don't Cry."

The largest crowd in Preakness Stakes history watched the thrilling victory of a horse that's now on a Triple Crown hunt, jammed to pop band Maroon 5 and basked under a Saturday sky whose only clouds were the wispy letters of an advertisement sprayed from a plane. Bettors in the Turfside Terrace, a massive white tent along the home stretch at Pimlico Race Course , watched anxiously as the 137th Preakness ended just as many had predicted - with Derby champ I'll Have Another and also-favored Bodemeister vying for the win. When I'll Have Another surged late to win by a nose - and continued his bid for what would be the first Triple Crown triumph since 1978 - they erupted into cheers, clutching their betting tickets and hugging.

BEST PICTURE "American Beauty" "The Cider House Rules" "The Green Mile" "The Insider" "The Sixth Sense" BEST ACTOR Russell Crowe "The Insider" Richard Farnsworth "The Straight Story" Sean Penn "Sweet and Lowdown" Kevin Spacey "American Beauty" Denzel Washington "The Hurricane" BEST ACTRESS Annette Bening "American Beauty" Janet McTeer "Tumbleweeds" Julianne Moore "The End of the Affair" Meryl Streep "Music of the Heart" Hilary...

On Thursday, Netflix announced a Feb. 1 release date for "House of Cards," the Baltimore-made political drama starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. All 13 episodes of the first season will be available to subscribers on that date. The whole project is a huge risk with a new business model, and it will be fascinating to see how it works out for Netflix with this distribution formula. Here's the release: The Netflix original series, from Media Rights Capital, “House of Cards,” starring Academy Award ® winner Kevin Spacey (“Horrible Bosses,” “American Beauty”)

The folks at "House of Cards" sure love the Baltimore area. Not only is the majority of the political thriller filmed in and around the city (and, full disclosure, in The Baltimore Sun newsroom), now the show's head honcho, Beau Willimon, is slated to come to Towson University on Wednesday (April 24) to discuss how he developed the addictive series. According to a Towson University press release, Willimon will speak at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Van Bokkelen Hall, Room 204. The event is free and open to the public.

"House of Cards," a Netflix political drama starring Kevin Spacey, returns to Mount Vernon to finish filming scenes postponed by severe wind and rain last month. According to a notice the producers sent residents and businesses in the Mount Vernon area, filming will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday and end at 10 a.m. Thursday. E. Centre Street will again be closed during part of that time for filming of a crowd scene. "We are filiming  at Peabody Institute and will be closing a portion of E. Centre St. during filming," the notice says.

With "VEEP and "Game Change" produced here, I have been writing a lot about Baltimore standing in for Washington. But Wednesday afternoon, the TV sleight of hand hit a little too close to home when the Calvert Street entrance to the Sun said in big bold letters "The Washington Herald. " Happily, it was not real institutional change -- just a little more TV magic as the crew for the $100 million Netflix series "House of Cards" had "dressed" the building for scenes to be shot later this week.

Talitha Simeona-Stewart flicked her pen across a student's paper as she stood in the line of people in dark suits. She didn't look it, but the eighth-grade English teacher from Millersville was nervous because she had never even tried out for a play, much less a TV series starring Kevin Spacey. She was just a Shakespeare lover hoping to show her students the value of reaching for new experiences. A few feet away, Dude Walker (yes, that's his professional name) cracked jokes about the actor's life.

Lawmakers approved $25 million in tax credits for the film industry Tuesday, expanding and extending a program that was set to expire in 2014. Tuesday's vote sends to Gov. Martin O'Malley a bill that increases subsidies to film companies by $17.5 million over this year. O'Malley proposed the increased tax credit, along with credits for biotechnology and cyber security industries. Since the credits were first approved in 2011, they have gone to several projects including the popular Netflix series "House of Cards" that stars Kevin Spacey and was filmed in Baltimore.

Netflix today released a stylish trailer for "House of Cards," the Baltimore-made political thriller starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. The opening suggests that screenwriter Beau Willimon has successfully re-imagined the tricky form of address featured in the BBC original with the lead character talking directly to the audience at key moments. Spacey nails the technique and it seems perfectly apt for American politics in this trailer. Check it out. I love the answer given when one character asks what will happen if he doesn't play ball: "Then we'll cleave you from the herd and watch you die in the wilderness.