A while ago, we posted an article asking what you, dear readers, thought about the distinction between art and vandalism. Skating the line, with a very charged political message, is British street artist D*Face who has installed two enormous and menacing Oscar statues atop two iconic LA locations: Runyon Canyon and Mel’s Drive-In in Hollywood. Both statues have skeleton-like figures with bits of flesh missing from their arms and legs exposing Oscar’s blood and bones. The one that sat at Runyon had a placard that read “Beauty Is One Snip Away,” while the other at Mel’s Drive-In said “Beauty Is Skin Deep.” They’ve both been removed since they were spotted yesterday morning, but the whole incident begs a whole host of questions, not least of which is: really? Mel’s Drive-In? We get Runyon Canyon, but that’s a strange choice.
More importantly, what do you think of all this? The two most basic sides must be: applause to D*Face for exposing a vanity-obsessed culture at a time when it’s at its most self-congratulatory vs. how petulant of this artist to criticize a sector of popular culture that he need not participate in if he finds it so disheartening.
The Academy Awards are upon us. Like St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland or Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Oscar weekend takes over the city of Los Angeles in a joyous display of self-congratulations. Don’t get me wrong, being from Los Angeles makes it actually required (I believe it’s legally binding) that I watch and enjoy all that the Oscars have to offer each year. Going into the final stretch before the big show, I feel an annual commitment to seeing all, or most, of the nominated films so that when yelling at the TV, I will be doing so with educated qualms. The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood seems to have similar obligations, which must be why they are setting all of us up this week with a number of programs to get us good and ready for Sunday evening’s broadcast.
Before taking a look at this week’s programs, let’s just be clear – there are ten films up for Best Picture this year. See whichever ones you feel drawn to; ten is a lot. If, for example, you feel like you’ve seen District 9 once you finish the trailer, save your $10 or go see The Hurt Locker again. Don’t be hard on yourself if you haven’t seen them all, I’d bet that there really are only 5 contenders anyway.
Over at the Egyptian Theatre, though, your pre-Oscar education can get underway with Fridat evenings show of Oscar-Nominated Short Films – Animated and Live Action. You’ll get a chance to see shorts like “The Lady and the Reaper,” “A Matter of Loaf and Death,” “French Roast,” “Instead of Abracadabra,” and my personal favorite “The New Tenants.”
Head back into Hollywood on Saturday morning at 10am (no whining, this is Oscar weekend – we’ve got to get you in shape!) for their Invisible Art, Visible Artists panel with the Oscar-Nominated editors of Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, and Precious. Stop off for lunch somewhere nearby, but don’t stray too far. The panel with Oscar-Nominated Art Directors begins at 2:30pm and will give you the chance to discuss your ideas for set design with those creative minds behind The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Avatar, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, and The Young Victoria.
You’re all set and squared away. You should feel very capable of making some educated bets – not that we encourage gambling… much. Here’s to the Oscars – LA’s version of a national holiday. (Good luck making a reservation just about anywhere in town this week, too.)
Click hereto check out the Egyptian Theatre’s full calendar of events.
What do you get when you showcase the brightest and boldest of Angeleno performance artists? GUTTED. Gutted is the only word to describe Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions’ encompassing performance art-based program, which includes live performance, texts, and objects speaking of, from, and to the body.
GUTTED is Saturday, February 20 at 7:00pm, LACE. Click here for more info.
The exhibition Actions, Conversations, and Intersections at the Los Angeles Municipal Gallery in Barnsdall Art Park continues to add new participatory projects to its roster. This weekend, roll up your sleeves and join artists Edward Pine Stevens and Joseph Stuckleman with their installation Make Objects Make Marks or BikeHaus as they bike through Los Angeles as part of Cloud Lines and Chemospheres.
Check out the rest of this weekend’s programming here.
Newly purchased by Quentin Tarantino, the New Beverly Cinema is continuing its program of repertory cinema. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Election will play back-to-back not only once, but twice this Saturday because it is oh so nice. Save Ferris! Pick Flick!
The Matthew Broderick double feature starts at 3:20 and 7:30 at the New Beverly Cinema. Click here for more info.
If you’re like me and already dreading the mere idea of Valentine’s Day (and this dread may or may not have anything to do with your relationship status on Facebook), then it’s best to stop ignoring the inevitable, hunker down, and fight back! Bill O’Reilly once coined the phrase “war on Christmas.” Well I’m declaring a war on Valentine’s Day, and in the spirit of modern, American warfare, it’s going to be a preemptive attack.
One of Valentine’s Day’s strongest and most enduring weapons is music. It could be Bryan Adams, it could be Ryan Adams; either way, there’s nothing more debilitating than hearing that one song on the radio at 2:00 AM, and having to pull over the car to wipe away the tears. Fortunately, Richard Thompson never plays those kinds of songs. His eerie and oft-imitated guitar noodling, along with the deep, British hymn-like vocals can definitely be depressing, but depressing in the kind of way that a dark, full glass of Guinness is depressing. So head down to the Largo this Thursday at 8:00 PM for a special performance from Thompson and his band, order a glass of something thick, and drink in the wounds English-pub-style with one of the true greats of folk-rock music.
Earlier this year, actress/comedienne/song-and-dance-woman Charlyne Yi made a romantic quasi-documentary with her ex-boyfriend Michael Cera called Paper Heart. I hate this film, and for no other reason than it’s the one I took my ex to see on our first date (the Valentine’s Day WMD: Women’s Movie Date). But 8:00 PM this Friday at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre, Charlyne smashes those bitter memories to the stage with her live show, World of Pain (a Very Masculine Play), co-written by Yi and the hilarious, unknown Allan McLeod. Choc-full of videos, comedians, and silly music, this Valentine’s weekend installment of her monthly UCB gigs might just be the scissors to Charlyne’s paper…heart.
Did you know Quentin Tarantino owns The New Beverly Cinema? Explains a lot about their choice of films, and why it may just be the destination for a perfect Valentine’s Day Eve destruction. They’re showing The Last American Virgin, the 1982 teen sex-comedy that puts American Pie, Knocked Up, and Juno to shame, if only for being more shocking than all three put together, and at least two decades ahead. After the ending of this movie rolls to credits…well, let’s just say ‘mission accomplished.’
Come Sunday, if Valentine’s Day isn’t buried as far into the ground as Saint Valentine himself was on this day back in the year 270 AD, then we may have been defeated once again. There’s always next year. That is, unless you meet someone special on one these preemptive outings, and per chance switch sides on the whole matter. In which case… well, good luck.
On Sunday, during the Golden Globes broadcast when Martin Scorsese was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award and lauded the efforts of film conservationists, it was hard not to scroll through the prolific director’s filmography and wish you could see them on the silver screen. Of his many films that have made their way to the canon of iconic American cinema – Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas – there’s only one that saw De Niro turn into an emotionally explosive boxer named Jake La Motta. That same film has been fully restored recently by American Cinematheque and will be screened in all its black and white, prizefighting glory at the Egyptian Theatre on Friday night, January 22, at 7:30pm. That film is the one, the only: Raging Bull – you know, the one that won De Niro an Oscar as well as Thelma Schoonmaker, the film’s editor.
As you continue into the weekend, you’ll find it’s full of digitally restored masterpieces – The Godfather will be screened on Saturday, January 23 at 7:30pm followed by the original Superman (1978) on Sunday, January 24 at 5:00pm and its sequel, Superman II, made in 1980 just following it.
As if that weren’t enough restoration and conservation for you, next Friday (January 29) at 7:30pm, Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly will be screened to remind you of just how badass Clint Eastwood can be.
The Digitally Restored series will be screened starting from Friday, January 22 at 7:30pm with Raging Bull. For a full calendar, pleaseclick here.
I saw Riverdance in Dublin, Ireland during the summer of 1998, and the enthusiasm I had for it has stayed with me ever since. My family even bought a VHS tape of the performance and we played it on Saturday mornings to see who could best pretend they knew the steps. There was something infectious about this show—Riverdance rose to fame at exponential speeds. The production became a cultural obsession and its principal dancer, Michael Flatley, a household name since it premiered in 1995. Riverdance brought something to audiences that was completely new, yet familiar. Some had seen local teenage girls hop around in green skirts with ribbons in their hair and call it Irish dance, but nobody had seen traditional Irish step dance like this. It was powerful. It was technical perfection. It was sexy. And for the first time, it was showcased on a world stage. Now, fifteen years after its premier altered the world opinion of Irish dance, the Pantages Theater in Hollywood is the LA stop on the show’s farewell tour.
According to Celtic legend, Irish music owes its strong emphasis on rhythm to the Druids. Centuries later, the English occupation of Ireland in the 1700s resulted in the oppression of many Irish customs. Ireland’s national dance therefore adopted the stiff upper body in honor of the oppression of many Irish cultural outlets including dance, language, and song. Bill Whelan’s original score for Riverdance draws from ancient Druid tribal musical structures but is also enhanced by the commanding sound that comes from the tapping of the dancers. During Wednesday’s performance of Riverdance, the legacy of strong and intricate rhythm was apparent; the Pantages Theater was blissfully deafening.
The show, although primarily focused on Irish dance, provides for a well-rounded experience and is anything but a mere dance recital. Dance segments are interspersed with musical performances, notably the crystal clear voice of soloist Laura Yanez, and the distinctive sound of the uillean pipes played by Declean Masterson. The dances are also meaningfully structured. Many are linked to historical events, including the potato famine when the Irish-immigrant influence in America was explored. The dance-off between the Riverdance Tappers and the Riverdance Dance Troupe was most certainly a highlight, although Rocio Montoya’s fiery flamenco performance and the Moscow Folk Ballet Company’s impressive acrobatic display aren’t to be overlooked.
Riverdance draws much of its appeal from its star power. The show’s two lead dancers, Craig Ashurst and Melissa Convery, are captivating in their individual ability and in their chemistry onstage. However, when the fleet of dancers joins together, they perform in seemingly impossible technical unison, and produce a resounding dramatic effect that can only result from strength in numbers.
Riverdance hasn’t lost its step in fifteen years, and now more than ever is the time to remember why you loved it then, or to encounter it for the first time. Experiencing the energy live is stunning and impactful, but be forewarned: you may be spotted after the show hopping and shamelessly fluttering your way back to your car.
-by Brittany Krasner
Riverdance is playing daily at the Pantages Theater through January 24th. Visittheir websitefor ticket information.
What on your itinerary for this weekend? Snuggies? Gourmet food trucks? Some good ol’ fashioned hip-shaking? Now get your minds out of the gutter. Well, not too far!
How about Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday celebration at the Egyptian Theatre? It’s complete with music, karaoke, games, prizes, food, and a special guest appearance by actress Francine York, who had worked with Elvis on several films. Whether you are a fanatic or just a really good Elvis impersonator, we are thinking that the only way to really get a leg up on your New Year’s resolution is by eating some of those banana-peanut butter pancake bites from the Buttermilk Truck. Or gnaw on a little BBQ from Barbie’s Q before you polish off a little birthday cake.
Of course, you may start to feel like Elvis in the latter portion of his career. But if you can push through it, you can revisit his prolific youth by watching an Elvis double feature: Elvis ‘56 and Jailhouse Rock.
Afterward, you’ll probably feel the need to perfect your dance moves. Remember, its all in the hips.
The Elvis Prestley double feature is this Sunday, January 10 at 5:30 pm at the Egyptian Theatre. For more information, please click here.
The way you start off a new year is very important to the way the new year ends up going for you. At least that’s what they say. Put their theory into practice with some of January’s most promising arts events in our fair city – would you like your 2010 to look a little more Bond-like? Would you rather it looked a little more experimental than your 2009? It’s so tempting to answer those questions with: there’s an app for that, but really your city has got what it takes to kick off your new year just the way you’d like.
Mr. Bond
Friday, January 1 is not likely to be your most shining and perky day. That doesn’t mean you can’t start on a sleek, technologically advanced, Bond-like bend – from 7:30pm at the Egyptian Theatre there’s a double feature of Dr. No and You Only Live Twice. You may not be at your sharpest on Friday, but you’ll soon make a better Bond than Mr. Connery. If you’re less than interested in leaving your house that day, worry not. Saturday evening (January 2) from 7:00pm, they’ll be screening Goldfinger and Thunderball – if you don’t have a love/hate relationship with villains after a weekend like that, you’re not cut out to be the next Mr. Bond. And that’s no way to start a new year.
Please click here for the Egyptian Theatre’s full January 2010 calendar.
Barely There
At Sam Lee Gallery, just near Dodger Stadium, you’ll find local artist Jeff Gambill’s exhibit “Barely There,” on through January 23. His paintings have this generally zen, colorful feeling that convey the transient, transitional message he’s going for. Fresh from a trip to Japan, you’ll definitely see an East Asian influence in each of his works. They don’t scream out at you, but they definitely make you want to look closer. And what better message than looking closer at something that doesn’t shock and awe for a new year? Time to delve a little deeper, kids.
The Sam Lee Gallery is located at 990 N. Hill Street #190. Please call (323) 227-0275 or click here for more information.
New Year, New Music
It’s so easy to fall into an all-Mozart (or all-Beyonce) rut. Take some time in January 2010 to break out of it. It may not last the whole year, but at least you can say you tried. On Saturday, January 16 at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica,Jacaranda invites you to discover Thomas Ades, Benjamin Britten, Peter Maxwell Davies, George Benjamin, and others. The concert, called Licorice and Rosin (“licorice” is a slang term for clarinet and rosin is a solid form of resin used on string instruments), will present some of Britain’s more exciting contemporary music from the last twenty-five years.
If a church is the last place you’d like to be, Monday Evening Concerts at the Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School kicks off 2010 on January 11 at 8:00pm with a concert called “Mostly Californian.” Featuring compositions by Clint McCallum, Luciano Chessa, Michael Pisaro, and others, you will hear sounds of contemporary California. (No, that doesn’t include woeful cries for our current economic situation.) The composers in question present lyrical, theatrical works that won’t sound like anything else you’ve heard before.
Please click here for more information about Jacaranda. Alternatively, click here for information about Monday Evening Concerts.
Soundtrack for a Revolution
The Grammy Museum just celebrated their first birthday – still haven’t been? Monday, January 11 at 7:00pm they’re presenting Reel to Reel: Soundtrack for a Revolution, a documentary that looks at the American civil rights movement and the unparalleled soundtrack that went along with it. Filled with archive footage, interviews with civil rights leaders, and a soundtrack of freedom songs sung by modern day R&B, Hip Hop, and Soul legends like Joss Stone, Wyclef Jean, The Roots, and John Legend. Monday’s screening will be followed by a panel discussion chock full of everyone you’d like to get advice from for a soulful 2010 – Danny Glover, filmmakers Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, producer Dylan Nelson, and music producer Corey Smyth.
So you’ve pulled your trusty Christmas DVD collection from its dusty nook on your shelf to start getting in the Christmas mood…finally! You’ve watched Home Alone once, Christmas Vacation twice, Scrooged three times, and Love Actually four times… It’s the film version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Now it’s time to watch The Santa Clause fiiive tiiimes! No, wait, I wouldn’t want to wish that upon anyone.
Before you get around to having too much Tim Allen gracing your LCD, pay a visit to the Cinefamily for some crooked Christmas cinema that does not involve sugar plum fairies dancing anywhere.
On Christmas Day night, they will be screening Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, a screwy saga about two men from Mars with notions of our Yuletide customs and orders to kidnap Ol’ St. Nick so that their alien children can also enjoy presents! We can’t blame ‘em either. And also thrown in the pile of presents are some filmatic treasures including a specially made Christmas video mix from Everything Is Terrible amidst verité footage of department store Santas, misguided movie tie-ins, exhumed cartoons, and aborted holiday specials.
Some cinefiles would say it is better than five golden riiings…
Mondo Christmas (feat. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians) screens this Friday, Christmas Day at 8:00. For more information, please click here.
If you still haven’t felt the holiday spirit this year, you’re a little late on the uptake. The weather isn’t helping much – listening to “White Christmas” as you peel off your unnecessary scarf, for example, doesn’t encourage drinking hot chocolate and singing carols. Well, where the weather disappoints (in a way), our fair city’s art scene comes to the rescue.
The quintessential ballet experience known far and wide as The Nutcracker is upon us again and Los Angeles Ballet’s production will be on view at Royce Hall and Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in the coming weeks. Click here to check out our behind the scenes look at what goes into such a magical production as theirs with Sugar Plum Fairies, Snow Flakes, Fighting Mice, and Princes to delight your child’s (and your inner child’s) every whim.
Musically, there’s nowhere that does the holiday season like the LA Philharmonic. On Sunday, December 20, you can warm up those vocal chords for a Messiah Sing-Along with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Then on Tuesday, December 22 at 8:00pm, they’re presenting Holidays with Sweet Honey in the Rock – aka not your mama’s holiday songs, followed by Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s A Creole Christmas on Wednesday, December 23 at 8:00pm. Those are also, not your mama’s holiday songs. Unless your mama is Creole. If you’re at a loss for what to do on New Year’s Eve, spend it with the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Disney Hall.
Not everything that puts you in the holiday spirit has to scream Santa Claus, little elves, and red ribbons. There are some films that put a smile on your face regardless of the time of year and two of them are on view at the Egyptian Theatre on Saturday, December 26 – maybe to take your mind off the family dysfunction from the night before. Singin’ In The Rain and An American in Paris make up the double feature starting at 7:30pm.
Did we mention that Christmas can also be funny? The Largo at the Coronet has an All Star comedy show on Monday, December 21 at 9pm benefiting St. Jude’s Christmas Charity. It can also be whimsical if you get yourself to Royal/T in Culver City. Now through December 31, their Winter Wonderland pop up shop
A while ago, we posted an article asking what you, dear readers, thought about the distinction between art and vandalism. Skating the line, with a very charged political message, is British street artist D*Face who has installed two enormous and menacing Oscar statues atop two iconic LA locations: Runyon Canyon and Mel’s Drive-In in Hollywood. Both statues have skeleton-like figures with bits of flesh missing from their arms and legs exposing Oscar’s blood and bones. The one that sat at Runyon had a placard that read “Beauty Is One Snip Away,” while the other at Mel’s Drive-In said “Beauty Is Skin Deep.” They’ve both been removed since they were spotted yesterday morning, but the whole incident begs a whole host of questions, not least of which is: really? Mel’s Drive-In? We get Runyon Canyon, but that’s a strange choice.
One of Valentine’s Day’s strongest and most enduring weapons is music. It could be Bryan Adams, it could be Ryan Adams; either way, there’s nothing more debilitating than hearing that one song on the radio at 2:00 AM, and having to pull over the car to wipe away the tears. Fortunately, 
Earlier this year, actress/comedienne/song-and-dance-woman Charlyne Yi made a romantic quasi-documentary with her ex-boyfriend Michael Cera called 
Did you know Quentin Tarantino owns The New Beverly Cinema? Explains a lot about their choice of films, and why it may just be the destination for a perfect Valentine’s Day Eve destruction. They’re showing 
I saw 
The way you start off a new year is very important to the way the new year ends up going for you. At least that’s what they say. Put their theory into practice with some of January’s most promising arts events in our fair city – would you like your 2010 to look a little more Bond-like? Would you rather it looked a little more experimental than your 2009? It’s so tempting to answer those questions with: there’s an app for that, but really your city has got what it takes to kick off your new year just the way you’d like.
So you’ve pulled your trusty Christmas DVD collection from its dusty nook on your shelf to start getting in the Christmas mood…finally! You’ve watched Home Alone once, Christmas Vacation twice, Scrooged three times, and Love Actually four times… It’s the film version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Now it’s time to watch The Santa Clause fiiive tiiimes! No, wait, I wouldn’t want to wish that upon anyone.
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