Today: October 12, 2024
Today: October 12, 2024

Latest From The Los Angeles Post

Arts

From piñata to postage stamp, US celebrates centuries-old Hispanic tradition

The U.S. Postal Service on Friday rolled out its latest special edition postage stamps, paying homage to a tradition with global roots that has evolved over centuries to become a universal symbol of celebration. The release of four new stamps featuring colorful piñatas coincides with a monthlong recognition of Hispanic heritage in the U.S. and the start of an annual festival in New Mexico where the handmade party favorites are cracked open hourly and children can learn the art of pasting together their own creations. Piñatas are synonymous with parties, although their history is layered and

From piñata to postage stamp, US celebrates centuries-old Hispanic tradition
Arts

Artists want complete control over their public exhibitions. Governments say it’s not that simple

If things had gone as originally planned, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum would be launching its fall exhibition Friday. But officials postponed the show six weeks before the opening over concern that a painting by activist-artist Shepard Fairey could be seen as “disparaging toward some City of Mesa employees.” Now, the Phoenix suburb is ready to move forward and debut the show in October, albeit with a prominent disclaimer that the artwork represents only the artist’s views. All the original artists have been invited to remain in the exhibition. Thomas “Breeze” Marcus will not be one of them.

Artists want complete control over their public exhibitions. Governments say it’s not that simple
Arts

Marc Bohan, former Dior creative director and friend to the stars, dies at age 97

Dior’s longest-serving creative director Marc Bohan, whose slim silhouette designs dressed the likes of Hollywood royalty including Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor, has died at 97, the luxury fashion house confirmed Friday. The son of a milliner, Bohan was asked to lead the French label after his predecessor Yves Saint Laurent was drafted into the French military in 1960. He would go on to oversee the brand as artistic director for nearly three decades, from 1961 to 1989, delivering elegant and tasteful tailored looks for the modern woman. In his first couture collection for the house in 1961, he debuted

Marc Bohan, former Dior creative director and friend to the stars, dies at age 97
Arts

Hayao Miyazaki invites moviegoers to dream with him one last time

The loudest applause on opening night at the Toronto International Film Festival was for Totoro. When the Studio Ghibli logo of the magical creature from Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” appeared on the screen Thursday night, it meant to the audience the premiere of Miyazaki’s latest and perhaps last film, “The Boy and the Heron.” For many at TIFF, it was the movie event of the year. A decade ago, Miyazaki, the anime master of “Spirited Away,” “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Ponyo,” said he was retiring from film and that 2013’s “The Wind That

Hayao Miyazaki invites moviegoers to dream with him one last time
Arts

Poet Rita Dove to receive an honorary National Book Award medal for lifetime achievement

Poet Rita Dove has a sharp, simple goal in response to receiving a National Book Award for lifetime achievement: “I want it to be a milestone, not a tombstone.” “It may seem like a rather macabre metaphor, but I simply meant — knock on wood — that I haven’t reached the end of my journey as an artist. I’m still observing, questioning, exploring,” she adds. The National Book Foundation, the nonprofit which presents the book awards, announced Friday that Dove is this year’s winner of its medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, an honor previously

Poet Rita Dove to receive an honorary National Book Award medal for lifetime achievement
Arts

For rave-ready electronic duo the Chemical Brothers, a 10th studio album is a feat and a challenge

Beloved British electronic duo the Chemical Brothers released their 10th album on Friday, more than three decades into their career. But does it get any easier with time? Not according to one-half of the outfit, Tom Rowlands. “I think it’s just more complicated” he said, speaking via Zoom from his studio in the U.K. “Everyone’s got a new theory on how to do it.” Prior to the album’s release, Rowlands and Ed Simons shared four singles from the forthcoming album, “For That Beautiful Feeling” — including their second collaboration with Beck, the track “Feels like I’m Dreaming.”

For rave-ready electronic duo the Chemical Brothers, a 10th studio album is a feat and a challenge
Arts

The beautiful pessimism at the heart of Jimmy Buffett's music

Buffett’s first hit, ‘Come Monday,’ was written when the artist was deeply depressed and suicidal. Bettmann/Getty Images With the death of Jimmy Buffett, the feathers of his loyal network of fans – affectionately known as Parrot Heads – collectively drooped. Over the course of his career, Buffett earned their love by transforming himself into a kind of musical shaman who offered transport from the banalities of everyday life to the bounty of a never-never land of eternal sun, endless sandy beaches and bottomless boat drinks: Margaritaville. As a young fan in the 1980s and 1990s, I marveled at the power

The beautiful pessimism at the heart of Jimmy Buffett's music
Arts

From spaceships to 'Batman' props, a Hollywood model maker's creations and collection up for auction

From an early model of the iconic alien mothership from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to a complete Stormtrooper costume from “Star Wars,” bidding opens Friday on thousands of pieces Hollywood model maker Greg Jein collected over his lifetime, including many he created during his nearly half-century career. The collection amassed by Jein, who died last year at age 76, will be offered up by Heritage Auctions next month in Dallas. Jein, who had an Oscar and Emmy nominated career making miniature models, was also a collector of costumes, props, scripts, artwork, photographs and models from

From spaceships to 'Batman' props, a Hollywood model maker's creations and collection up for auction
Arts

Annie Lennox plans to fundraise and entertain at Rotary event in Italy. She does not plan to retire

Annie Lennox is not retiring. Though her partner in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Eurythmics Dave Stewart recently posted that Lennox “ won’t be touring anymore ” and would not be part of the “Sweet Dreams 40th Anniversary Tour” this fall, the “Here Comes the Rain Again” singer told The Associated Press that she will continue to perform, especially at events that support causes she is passionate about and her own nonprofit work. “I’m not retiring from anything,” Lennox said. “I’m just stepping back because I spent decades on the road. And at

Annie Lennox plans to fundraise and entertain at Rotary event in Italy. She does not plan to retire
Arts

Film festival season carries on in Toronto, despite a star-power outage

When the Hollywood actors union announced a strike this summer, Cameron Bailey, the longtime chief executive of the Toronto International Film Festival, dusted off his COVID-19 playbook. For two years, TIFF, the largest film festival in North America, had maneuvered through pandemic editions that persevered, one way or another, through travel restrictions, social distancing measures and other upheavals. Now, TIFF was faced with a sudden eclipse of star power. “This is the nature of running a festival,” Bailey says. “You have to respond to what the year gives you. We have good experience from recent years in

Film festival season carries on in Toronto, despite a star-power outage
Arts

Performing arts center finally opens at ground zero after 2 decades of setbacks and changed plans

In a mammoth room behind translucent marble walls, workers are setting the stage for the World Trade Center’s newest addition. It isn’t another office tower, nor is it a monument, at least explicitly, to the memory of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It’s a theater complex. Envisioned two decades ago to add vibrancy and draw people to a place of devastation and mourning, the Perelman Performing Arts Center is finally arriving at a very different ground zero. The site is ringed by new skyscrapers and located in a neighborhood that has more residents than before the

Performing arts center finally opens at ground zero after 2 decades of setbacks and changed plans
Arts

Drake announces highly anticipated 'For All the Dogs' album will arrive this month

Drake has finally announced a released date for his highly anticipated eighth studio album: “For All the Dogs” will drop Sept. 22. The follow-up to 2022’s “Honestly, Nevermind” — which released without warning — was announced on the Canadian rapper’s Instagram on Wednesday night. Drake wrote the release date in the caption of the post, which featured video footage depicting his father, Dennis Graham. A representative confirmed the date on Thursday. Drake — who is currently on his “It’s All a Blur” tour — had teased the project for a few months, including at a July

Drake announces highly anticipated 'For All the Dogs' album will arrive this month
Arts

Emerald Fennell on 'Saltburn,' class and Barry Keoghan: Fall Movie Preview

Countless English protagonists have for decades been making their way to grand country estates where their lives are irrevocably changed. “Brideshead Revisited.” “The Go-Between.” “Remains of the Day.” “Rebecca.” These are some of the books that Emerald Fennell grew up devouring. And when the dust had settled on “Promising Young Woman,” her incendiary Oscar-winning directorial debut, Fennell, too, wanted to make her way to a fictional stately manor. “I really wanted to make a movie that was a take on the classic English gothic story,” Fennell says. “It felt like an incredibly well-worn and therefore intriguing

Emerald Fennell on 'Saltburn,' class and Barry Keoghan: Fall Movie Preview
Arts

Grammy Museum to launch 50 years of hip-hop exhibit featuring artifacts from Tupac, Biggie

The Grammy Museum announced Thursday that it is launching the “Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit”, celebrating 50 years of the music and culture ’s global impact. The 5,000 square foot exhibit will include rare artifacts such as Tupac Shakur’s handwritten 1992 essay “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” — in which the young hip-hop superstar found parallels between one of the best-known speeches in American history, a cry for freedom given by founding father Patrick Henry at the Second Virginia Convention, and the experiences of being a minority in the U.S. The exhibit also includes

Grammy Museum to launch 50 years of hip-hop exhibit featuring artifacts from Tupac, Biggie
Arts

Lainey Wilson leads the 2023 Country Music Award nominations for the second year in a row

It’s another landmark year for breakout country superstar Lainey Wilson, who tops the CMA Awards nominations for the second year in a row. Wilson was a first-time nominee in 2022, which means she’s made history in 2023 — becoming the first and only artist to top the nominations list in her first two appearances on the ballot. Last year, she claimed six nominations. This year, Wilson is up to nine, for album, song, music video, entertainer and female vocalist of the year, as well as two separate nominations in both the single of the year category

Lainey Wilson leads the 2023 Country Music Award nominations for the second year in a row
Arts

‘That '70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson could get decades in prison at sentencing for 2 rapes

“That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defense motion for a new trial that she’s very likely to reject, and after hearing impact statements from the victims. A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on May 31 after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in

‘That '70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson could get decades in prison at sentencing for 2 rapes
Arts

Burning Man is ending, but the cleanup from heavy flooding is far from over

The rain has passed, and the temple has burned. Now, as Burning Man slowly empties, it’s time to clean up. Burning Man organizers have three weeks to clean up the sprawling stretch of public land in the Black Rock Desert of northwestern Nevada, but a summer storm that left tens of thousands stranded in ankle-deep mud could alter that timeframe. The annual gathering, which launched on a San Francisco beach in 1986, attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians and activists for a week-long mix of wilderness camping and avant-garde performances. One of the principles of Burning Man

Burning Man is ending, but the cleanup from heavy flooding is far from over
Arts

Honorary Oscars event celebrating Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks pushed back amid Hollywood strikes

Angela Bassett is going to have to wait a little bit longer to get her Oscar. The 14th Governors Awards has been delayed from November until January, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday. The Academy, which puts on the Oscars, decided to delay the event due to the state of the industry, in which Hollywood’s writers and actors are months into strikes for new contracts with major entertainment companies. Bassett, who was up for the best supporting actress award earlier this year, was selected to receive the prestigious honorary Oscar statuette along with Mel Brooks and

Honorary Oscars event celebrating Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks pushed back amid Hollywood strikes
Arts

Nia DaCosta makes her mark on Marvel history with 'The Marvels': Fall Movie Preview

Nia DaCosta, director of the upcoming “The Marvels,” has a diagnosis for the recent struggles of superhero movies. It basically comes down to, she says, “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.” Success inevitably breeds bigger budgets. Box-office expectations get inflated. Even superhero spandex can’t sustain endless cycles of wash, rinse and repeat. “Growth has to stop at some point,” says DaCosta. “As you make more and more films, you want those films to be more interesting, more dynamic and to appeal to different audiences. But that requires risk. And there’s a conundrum where you’re so big that you

Nia DaCosta makes her mark on Marvel history with 'The Marvels': Fall Movie Preview
Arts

Fall music releases: Pop powerhouses, country classics, hip-hop heavyweights and beyond

Music fans, it is time to bid adieu to the sunny, slow summer months, and welcome fall — historically, one of the busiest times in the calendar year for new albums, EPs, and mixtapes. Trends have already begun to reveal themselves: Some of the biggest names in pop (and in pop’s future) are gearing up for back-to-school releases. A-listers are returning after years. Country legends are taking on new genres. And hip-hop heavyweights are back in full force. Others defy categorization — like a new Pretenders record (“Relentless”), the swoon-worthy “Live for Me” EP from Omar

Fall music releases: Pop powerhouses, country classics, hip-hop heavyweights and beyond
Arts

Veterans’ fundraiser draws Tracy Morgan, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp and Jon Stewart

Josh Groban, John Mellencamp,Tracy Morgan and the ever-present Jon Stewart will stand up at this year’s Stand Up for Heroes fundraiser. The fundraiser, which benefits injured veterans and their families, will also feature comedians and musicians including Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, The War and Treaty and Rita Wilson. Stewart has been a steady presence at the annual event. This year’s event will take place Nov. 6 at David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Since its inception, Stand Up for Heroes has raised $70 million to

Veterans’ fundraiser draws Tracy Morgan, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp and Jon Stewart
Arts

Eric Nam's global pop defies expectations. On his latest album, 'House on a Hill,' he relishes in it

In an entertainment industry bent on categorization, Eric Nam finds an audience in fluidity. A decade into his career, he’s still a challenge to describe: Do you label him a pop star? Or a K-pop idol? Is there a difference? Is he an actor? A singer-songwriter? An interviewer? A television personality? A mental health activist? Korean American, or Korean and American? Nam was born and raised in Georgia, studied at Boston College, and got a job in New York City before heading to Seoul, South Korea, where he started his music career in his early 20s.

Eric Nam's global pop defies expectations. On his latest album, 'House on a Hill,' he relishes in it
Arts

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen taking on new challenges on two continents

Embarking on her most ambitious season yet, Lise Davidsen is giving a solo recital at the Metropolitan Opera, making her Carnegie Hall debut, and performing three major roles she’s never sung in staged productions. At 36, the Norwegian soprano will become the youngest singer in recent Met history to perform such a recital when she takes the stage on Sept. 14 with piano accompanist James Baillieu for an evening of songs and opera arias. “Recitals at the Met are pretty few and far between,” said Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager. “We reserve them for artists

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen taking on new challenges on two continents
Arts

BTS' Jung Kook to join Global Citizen Festival lineup to make one of his first US solo appearances

Jung Kook of BTS will join the Global Citizen Festival lineup, making one of his first live solo appearances at the Sept. 23 concert in New York’s Central Park. The record-setting K-Pop singer, whose debut solo single “Seven” hit No. 1 in the United States and around the world this summer, will join Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Anitta and Megan Thee Stallion as headliners of the event designed to encourage supporters, especially those in Gen Z, to take action on extreme poverty, gender inequality, climate change and other issues. “The festival sheds light

BTS' Jung Kook to join Global Citizen Festival lineup to make one of his first US solo appearances
Arts

Disney, Spectrum direct customers to other TV services as dispute keeping ESPN off air continues

Both sides of a dispute that has left nearly 15 million cable TV subscribers without ESPN or other networks affiliated with The Walt Disney Co. are directing customers to other services where they can watch television. The offers speak to the unusual nature of the business dispute between Disney and Charter Communications, and doesn’t auger a quick resolution. Charter is telling its Spectrum TV customers about a special deal being offered by the Fubo live television streaming service to get two months at discounts of 25% or 30%, depending on the plan. “I’ve covered carriage disputes

Disney, Spectrum direct customers to other TV services as dispute keeping ESPN off air continues

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