Who says models lack smarts? Australian bikini model Simone Farrow allegedly masterminded an international crystal meth drug trafficking ring from her plush Hollywood apartment and has been busted (again) after fleeing the country. In 2009, Drug Enforcement Administration officials raided the 37-year-old's apartment and claimed to have found evidence of her involvement in the drug ring. more ›

Although the country/continent of Australia isn't usually known for its performing arts, the Luckman Theater at Cal State L.A. is presenting one of Down Under's finest dance ensembles this weekend. For one show only, the technology-driven athletic company Chunky Move will grace the Los Angeles stage with the local premiere of its evening length Connected. more ›

A woman's body found up a tree in Australia has been identified as 22-year-old Melissa Joy Dietzel of Redlands. Local investigators in Sydney are treating the death as a suicide, though they do not know exactly how the body of the young woman, in Australia working as a nanny, came to be up the tree. more ›

To ring in summer, 17 Strongbow surfers clad in custom "Tron" wetsuits shredded the night surf at Bondi Beach with their glow-in-the-dark neon surfboards. Surf filmmaker Jack McCoy, Bali Strickland and Eugene Tan joined forces with the surfers to capture the night. more ›

Actor Andy Whitfield, who starred in the television series Spartacus: Blood & Sand, died Sunday following an 18-month-long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 39. more ›

It was a nice try, but against the law, and today the actions of Michael Plank of Lomita have had their consequences set. Plank, 42, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for smuggling 15 lizards from Australia into the United States--so basically one month per lizard. more ›

Australian authorities have in custody a Peruvian man thought to be the "Rico Suave" bandit who is "wanted in a series of hotel room burglaries in Los Angeles," says KTLA. 44-year-old Hernan Antonio Birones-Castillo is thought to be responsible for a series of thefts in L.A. that "targeted a Mexican soccer, an Israeli basketball team, and a billionaire couple from Florida in town for the Oscars," in 2010. more ›

Roughly 25.7 million tourists photo-snapped, food-spotted and Star-toured it through Los Angeles last year, up from 23.8 million in 2009. Yet of all the domestic and international visitors that spent a combined $13.1 billion on hotels, restaurants and theme parks in 2010, most came from Australia. That's a first, according to the Daily Breeze. Why are Aussies flocking to our shores? Though we'd like to think it's for our culture and our food and our uniquely LA vibe, we suspect it's not for our beaches. more ›

Hopes of the FIFA World Cup tournament returning to U.S. soil were dashed early this morning when FIFA, soccer's governing body, announced that the 2022 edition would be awarded to Qatar. The announcement was made at approximately 7:45 AM L.A. time by FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter, and only minutes after awarding the 2018 tournament to Russia. Had the U.S. won, L.A. was in line to once again play the role of host city, as it did back in 1994. more ›

The lads from Perth had received a really warm welcome to Los Angeles. Their tiny show at the Silverlake Lounge had sold out so quickly that promoters quickly added a second earlier gig, and they had been added to the lineup to one of the Monday night residencies the night before. Not half bad, for a band who's debut album, Innerspeaker, had only dropped a few weeks prior. So was this lather and fuss over Tame Impala well deserved? Absolutely. more ›

It was a night of new beginnings at the Music Box (formerly the Henry Fonda Theater) on Thursday night. The revamped theater sparkled with all the seduction of a private night club. The walls newly painted with woodland creatures and nymphs and the foyer draped with golden lamps. What better place for two fresh new bands who are both riding those fickle waves of critical success to play? Both The Middle East and Mumford & Sons are enveloped in that golden halo of achievement that only comes when your first release is received well. It's before (heaven forbid) your sophomore disk slumps and the drugs problems become too much and the inner band fighting destroys everything. But there's this amazing moment when bands get it right and it seems like nothing could possibly stand in their way. hat is what Thursday night was all about, and it was gorgeous. more ›

KCRW and Tourism Australia are paired up for the second consecutive year to bring live events to L.A. focused on life Down Under. The eats of Australia will be in the spotlight on Sunday January 17th with "Good Food Live!" hosted by Evan Kleiman. Attendees will join Kleiman and her guests, Aussie chef Curtis Stone, fish expert Peter Evans, mixologist Gus McShane (of Santa Monica's Copa d'Oro) and wine aficionado James Gosper, for an afternoon honoring the food and drink of Australia. more ›

The Foothill Transit agency approved $259,141 of federal transit money for two automated wheel polishers from Australia, the Pasadena Star News found. Watchdogs are obviously not happy, but the agency said no U.S. companies placed a bid, that the polishers will "dramatically" reduce time spent on prepping buses, therefore streamlining operations, and $72,000 a year will be spent on polisher supplies from the U.S. "If we were to look at the highest-priorities for FTA, I don't know that this would fit," said Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, to the paper. Foothill said most of the money they received went towards expanding programs. more ›

When the Aussie rockers, the Lovetones released their debut album, Be What You Want, in 2003 through Bomp! Records the critics freaked out. Rolling Stone hailed Matthew Tow' as being worthy of wearing paisley on Caranby Street and hanging out with Ray Davies. Three albums later, the Lovetones haven't lost any of their magic. They will be bringing their classic, psychedelic, 1960s influenced sound back to Los Angeles. The Lovetones will be playing at the Spaceland tonight, and gracing the Redwood Bar tomorrow. Last weekend lead singer and founding member, Matthew Tow, was kind enough to give us a few moments of his time. Here is some of what was said. more ›

Let it never be said that Youth Group are sissies. After enduring a fourteen hour flight from Sydney to LA, through untold horrors otherwise known as "customs" and "baggage claim," the Australian band still managed to put up with my meeting them at the Custom Inn Suites in Hollywood for our interview. If our places were reversed, I would have been a howling, drooling grump, refusing to talk to anyone as I crawled back to my room to sleep off the jet lag. But lo, Youth Group were bright and cheerful; a little slap-happy perhaps, but more than game for a stop at the Starbucks at the corner of Franklin and Highland to talk music. Bless them. more ›

KGRL -- mentioned previously here -- is a local "...non-profit non-commercial internet radio station that plays the freshest and the best ALL QUALITY female artist / fronted acts in a wide variety of genres." Their "Top 10 Artists To Watch Out For In 2007" included local singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (MySpace), who in 2008 experienced mainstream recognition due to "Love Song", which garnered Grammy nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Song of The Year. more ›

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this morning that Austrlian actor Hugh Jackman will host the 81st Academy Awards on Sunday, February 22nd at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. He's presented at the ceremony before, but this will be his first time as a host. "[Jackman] has style, elegance and a sense of occasion," the producers said of the star, who was recently named one of the sexiest men alive by People Magazine, in a joint statement. He's starred in Baz Luhrmann's Australia, the X-Men movies and the upcoming and most anticipated X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Jackman won an Emmy in 2005 for his hosting skills at a Tony Awards ceremony. He also won a Tony in 2004 for Best Actor in a Musical. more ›

It is a rare treat to see masters at work in any medium, which is why you may walk the streets of New York City and encounter countless tourists taking pictures of overweight men behind counters flicking thin sheets of pizza dough. A luxurious craft, or particularly lucrative? No. But these men are good at what they do, plain and simple, and there is a sense of pride and honesty to their work. This is what brings out the cameras. more ›

If there is ever a time to get people out of their house and into movie theaters, it is now. The weather is turning colder, Oscar season is fast approaching, and a large amount of turkey makes it hard to want to do anything besides sit in plush chairs with 40 oz. of liquid crack within easy reach. The problem, though, is that everyone knows this, from the big picture houses on down to the independent filmmakers trying to earn a living. And most people, like it or not, will go see the American film with star power and an 8-figure budget that gets wasted on sending plumes of smoke and fire into the air. It’s a tough season for the independent outsiders. Just ask Ron Paul. more ›

Last Thursday, Australian singer Lenka (MySpace) performed the second night of her month-long residency at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, backed by openers Emy Reynolds (MySpace) and New Orleans-based Theresa Andersson (MySpace), and locals Caitlin Crosby (MySpace) and The Ventriloquists (MySpace) completing the evening's lineup. more ›

Kenny Smyth’s life is mired in crap. Literally. He’s a port-o-pottie distributor/sales rep with a passion for his job, but understands that the people he meets don’t necessarily share in the excitement of excrement. And poop is at the heart of the new Australian film Kenny. more ›

Reports are surfacing this morning of a secret memorial service held last night in Westwood for Heath Ledger, who was found dead earlier this week in a New York apartment. more ›

Before we all start shaking in our Ugg boots, rest assured that the mecca of trend and materialism known as The Grove has been spared from international threat. The LA Times is reporting that 20 year-old Jarrad Willis of Melbourne, Australia, has been arrested by authorities in his home country for allegedly threatening on a blog to cause some kind of harm to The Grove. He's been charged with something called "creating a false belief"... more ›

New York you're bringing us down. One look at this weekend's Detour Fest lineup and it appears that Los Angeles, once again, is the center of all things rock. While dozens of acts will descend on downtown LA this Saturday, from as far as Australia, Sweden, France, Mexico, and Missouri, the NYC rock scene is MIA. Hell, even the two-headed Raveonettes are staking their claim to Hollywood, listed as hailing from "New York, Los... more ›

A 16-year-old Australian teen, Tom Wood, found a work-around on the Australian government's porn filter that was released last Tuesday:His technique ensures the software's toolbar icon is not deleted, leaving parents under the impression the filter is still working. A former cyber bullying victim, Tom feared a computer-savvy child could work out the bypass and put it on the Internet for others to use. Tom, who spoke to Communications Minister Helen Coonan about cyber... more ›