Rarely can a film’s success be more appropriately attributed to an actor instead of its director. But for all the big names behind Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon,” the film might better be called Frank Langella’s “Frost/Nixon.
The highly interactive Grammy Museum in the L.A. Live complex opens Saturday.
It’s dark and cool in the brand new Grammy Museum’s theater, smelling faintly of sawdust and wood varnish. The screen rolls down, and “The Making of a Grammy Moment” begins, a 17-minute film that captures the coming together of two ultimate divas, Tina Turner and Beyonce Knowles, for the 2008 Grammy awards.
The film industry is like an eclectic and complex jigsaw puzzle. As soon as the pieces are in order and the puzzle is seemingly complete, the industry is shaken up by a series of unexpected hits, misses and financial woes. While many believed Hollywood would remain strong despite the nation’s horrendous financial crisis, the infrastructure of several prominent production companies have gradually crumbled, revealing that these high-profile moguls are anything but invincible.
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Nominations announced at premiere concert.
MIA, Adele and Lil’ Wayne: all artists one wouldn’t expect to see on the nominations list for an awards show celebrating its 51st year. But the Grammy Awards decided to do some things differently this year. On Wednesday night, the Grammys hosted its first-ever televised nomination ceremony.
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THURSDAY, Dec. 4 Oasis The Staples Center, 7 p.m. Yes, the same Oasis that brought us “Champagne Supernova,” “Wonderwall” and plenty of beautiful ’90s teenage angst has put their differences aside and united once again for 2008’s Dig Out Your Soul.
Tumultuous 2008 had its fair share of hits and misses. Here’s a collection of the top 10 music album
For an industry that is constantly prematurely declaring their own demise, the music business in 2008 was looking pretty swell. While you still had your ringtone one-hit wonders like Flo-Rida’s “Low,” (a song made 1,000 times better in Tropic Thunder ), and more prefabricated pop by the likes of Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, 2008 was a pretty awesome year for music lovers, and a soothing antidote to the madness of an election year.
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Washed-up action star Jean- Claude Van Damme comes back in new snappy film.
They don’t make action stars like they used to. From the late 1970s to the early ’90s, action film superstars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger ruled cinema and, unlike any other time in history, ridiculous and over the top action films controlled a great deal of attention and wealth.
‘Australia’ Rating: PG-13 Length: 165 min. Now playing Cue stereotypical indigenous child voice, introducing the setting and characters. The voice tells the audience in endearing pidgin that the story will unfold in a far away land called “Australia” with the backdrop of an impending World War II.
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1 What is the name of the fast food establishment that the guys used to work at? a) Senior Taco b) The Pink Belly c) Dave’s Bar & Grill d) The Bearded Clam 2 Which of the following was NOT a band name suggested by the guys when they formed their own rock band? a) Asian Love Candy b) Dr.
‘Milk’ Rating: R Length: 128 min. Now playing “Milk,” like all great dramas about modern history, made me forget I wasn’t watching a documentary. Here is a film whose historical setting is so carefully constructed, so well bolstered by an infectious performance as a famous figure, that losing yourself in its recreated timeline becomes easy.
Now that the remnants of this year’s Thanksgiving turkey have subsided, Black Friday hijinks have passed and holiday decorations are appearing all over dorm rooms/apartments, life without the nagging responsibility of having to wake up at the wickedly early hour of 9 a.
Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy 14 Tracks Now Available To say that Chinese Democracy has been a work in progress is a bit of an understatement. As many have heard countless times by now, hard rock icons Guns N’ Roses began work on the album in 1994 and by the time the dust had cleared, lead singer Axl Rose was the only original member left standing.
‘Four Christmases’ Rating: PG-13 Length: 82 min. Now playing When you go to see a holiday movie, namely one with the word “Christmas” in the title, you hope to walk out with a certain warm, fuzzy eggnog buzz. So when you leave the movie dreading the impending holiday season, the eggnog must have been, well, a little funky.
Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak 12 Tracks Now Available 808s & Heartbreak is a far cry from what many have recently come to expect from Kanye West recently. Dropping the thematic progression of album titles in response to his newfound fame and recent personal tragedies, West seems to be trying everything possible to differentiate himself from the old Kanye.
Shows reveal the sexual and humanistic similarities of men and women in modern world.
There is something about four friends from New York that just seems to captivate television audiences, and the charisma found among a group of four seems to express much more about society, sex and especially gender than anyone could have expected. Whether portraying men or women, television has established itself as a substantial medium for acknowledging human mentality and behavior, even if it does so through fictional means.
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Here’s a proposition for you: Raise your hand if you’d like to see a television adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling “Twilight” vampire book series. Who wouldn’t mind tuning in every week to watch the 21st century version of the Shakespearean tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet?” Would you be willing to indulge yourself in the treasured lives of Manhattan’s elite from the Cecily von Ziegesar young adult series, “Gossip Girl?” Oh wait, that’s already been done.
Revitalize your Thanksgiving leftovers with these simple recipes.
There comes a time about halfway through November when I am suddenly overcome with an overwhelming urge to spend hours watching Food Network holiday specials, scour the archives of Epicurious.com and pore over old family recipes. Sometimes this urge becomes so all encompassing that it hinders my ability to complete my homework on time, keep track of my social obligations and otherwise maintain my status as a functioning member of society.
The Killers Day & Age 10 tracks Released Nov. 24 The Killers have always been masters of imitation; their excellent debut Hot Fuss was New Wave synth-pop at its best — an eerie, slightly dark New Order/Duran Duran for the new millennium, while follow-up Sam’s Town was an ill-advised stab at Springsteen-ian rock with “deep” lyrics and a bigger sound.
‘Twilight’ Rating: PG-13 Length: 122 min. Now playing A low rumble broke out among the crowd as the lights dimmed, quickly followed by a spurt of bubbling giggles and then a deliberate hush. Excitement and expectation filled the room as the opening credits began and the movie opened.
‘24’ gets a promising start for a series that lost its way in previous seasons.
Jack is back. That’s right — The Jack Bauer, the ultimate badass, ear-chomping, head slicing action hero returned last night in a two-hour television special. Although Jack Bauer might have redeemed himself in “24: Redemption,” a TV movie created to bridge the gap between seasons six and seven, but there is still much to prove when the series returns in January.
Ahh, the end of fall semester. Autumn melts into winter snows (everywhere but Southern California) and finals finally creep upon us. Besides ushering in cold and flu season, winter carries with it the infamous disease especially infectious to college students across the nation — the viral bout of procrastination.
For those of you not lucky enough to make it home for the holiday, no fear, restaurants have you cov
Thanksgiving is supposed to be about celebrating history and tradition, a perfect opportunity for families to bond at the dinner table, but we all know it’s really about the food. In honor of those who will not be going home for Turkey Day, we’ve taken the liberty to find you some tasty alternatives to your grandma’s home cooked meal.
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“Bolt” Rating: PG Length: 96 min. Now playing Fade in to new-age title design — square, rigid and “Matrix”-esque — flashing onto the screen. It is accompanied by a slightly melodramatic soundtrack, complete with the resounding bass and heavy drum beat.
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FuelTV, Mammoth and the USC Ski & Snowboard Team sponsor rail jam in the quad.
A curious crowd gathered in McCarthy Quad on Thursday afternoon. Right in the middle of USC’s gloriously warm, grassy field, in front of Leavey Library, was a hill — of snow. That’s right — snow, in Southern California, complete with a ragtag gang of snowboarders with baggy pants, hipster skiers, cleverly marketed corporate sponsors and bystanders getting their sandaled feet wet with the melting slush.
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It’s been one heck of a natural disaster week for Los Angeles. First, there was the Great ShakeOut drill last week to teach us how to appropriately react to a major earthquake — which, naturally, we would remember in the event of the entire city falling apart around us.
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Graduate students put on repertory productions of ‘The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’ and ‘A Midsumme
For anyone who has ever harbored an uncontrollable jealousy toward actors, prepare to feel a hell of a lot better about yourself. It’s easy to envy actors — these people (if you can even call them that) who seem to work so much less and get so much more in the way of fortune, fame, fashion and foxy arm candy.
Trenchantly nuanced Elizabethan-era drama an intellectually stimulating treat.
As I meandered out of Mark Taper Forum after the first act of Peter Whelan’s “The School of Night” — a play that takes place in Elizabethan England — classy theater-goers whispered among one another. There was a buzz of bewilderment — “Do you know what’s going on?” one woman whispered to her husband.
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In the humidity stricken month of July, I began counting the days until November. Not because I was looking forward to chilly breezes and sweat-free afternoons, which are apparently unheard of in Los Angeles. And not because I couldn’t wait to have a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, although in the midst of papers, projects and exam hell, Thanksgiving couldn’t come soon enough.
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Thanksgiving is right around the corner — have some cultured things to talk about with your (or your
Today Culture Clash University Park Campus, students $5, 7 p.m. Latino/Chicano comedy troupe Culture Clash has been making political and social commentary by blending stand-up and theater since 1984. Citing influences such as the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin, the trio will bring their satire to USC for a night of thought-provoking and politically incorrect entertainment.
It’s hard to hate on an “American Idol” winner when said winner is dyed-in-the-wool Midwestern rocker David Cook. He cruised to a fairly dominant victory over standard-pop crooner David Archuleta with his nicotine-stained, husky vocals, his bar-rocker good looks and most importantly, his ability to actually play guitar and create some truly out-of-left-field song arrangements.
Beyoncé I Am... Sasha Fierce 13 Tracks Released Nov. 18 Everyone’s favorite Destiny’s Child and American gangsta wife has always had sort of a split personality: from the naïve singer from “Dreamgirls” to the vivacious lovestruck woman in “Crazy in Love” to the defiantly independent ex on “Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé has always been able to fit into many different personas.
