Results tagged “bettedavis”

There's something incredible at the corner of Olympic and La Cienega. Something shocking. And inspiring. Everything in this town traces back to the cinematic, and yet truly independent film promotion is rare (mini-majors like Fox Searchlight don't count). Which is why I'm entranced with Polanski, opening this Valentine's weekend at Laemmle's Sunset 5. Taking its cue from The Room, the brazen billboard sports writer/producer/director/actor Damian Chapa (of Street Fighter & Under Siege fame) gazing deep into the viewer's soul as he forces himself onto a little girl. It's doubtful the production will help the tragic auteur's legal situation (there's a reason this gift is wrapped with "Unauthorized"), it should make for quite the Valentine. Go with someone you love.

Tim Roth is set to star in a drama on Foxthat will be broadcast early in 2009 going along the lines of other film stars who are making forays into television (Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, etc.) - the drama, titled "Lie to Me", is based on the work of a real-life scientist who is able to read the human body and voice to determine if someone is being truthful. Fox is so behind this project that they've ordered a complete set of 13 episodes, if it flops there will still be a DVD.

One week ago LAist went to the American Cinematheque to celebrate the 90th birthday of actor Glenn Ford. He starred with Bette Davis, Debbie Reynolds and Rita Hayworth; he played good guys in Westerns, bad guys in noirs, and Christopher Reeves' farmer dad in the 1978 Superman. The Cinematheque screened Gilda, one of Ford's best-remembered films (due in no small part to Rita Hayworth's stunning beauty). Those of us who had hopes of seeing Glenn Ford in person had to settle for watching him again on video; he wasn't quite well enough to travel so he sent a taped a birthday greeting.

Today's real estate section in the LA Times includes a short feature on a $4.3 million home in Los Feliz that was restored and tastefully upgraded by Tim Curry. Which is fine with us, and a lot cooler than the creepy Rick Dees Tolouca Lake manse also featured in the paper (Dees bulldozed a 1930's Bette Davis home to build the $6 million crapbox he's now selling).

The Los Altos was built in the 1920s by William Randolph Hearst for his mistress, actress Marion Davies, who of course got the penthouse apartment. Once glamorous, it is rumored to also have been home to starlets Clara Bow, Judy Garland and Bette Davis. But the Los Altos, like so many other grand buildings on Wilshire Blvd, fell on hard times. Some sources say it started to go to seed during the Depression (although Judy was 17 in 1939, when the Depression officially ended. Maybe she lived there with her mom). In any event, by the time of the LA unrest/riots in 1992, the Los Altos was a wreck: outdated electrical and plumbing systems, a failing roof, and a hole, they say, that went clear from the 5th floor through to the lobby.

A newly restored print of the 1950 film that revived Bette Davis' career, All About Eve, screens tonight at the Egyptian Theatre as part of Outfest. Tickets are $9 and the show starts at 7:30 PM.