It's classic romantic comedy formula--Boy Meets Girl, Boy Falls for Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Boy Gets Girl--but it has its roots in the venerable tradition of BritLit icon Jane Austen, whose mere six novels continue to capture the modern imagination. But imagine coming up with a full Austen-esque plot line, characters, witty repartee, and resolution in about 90 minutes? It's no easy feat, but for ImproTheatre's Unscripted Repertory performers (some pictured at right), it's simply......

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford didn't exactly set the box-office on fire when it landed in theaters. Something tells me, though, that this superb, meditative neo-Western will enjoy a long life on DVD. Across the Universe is the world's longest music video and a treat for any Beatles fan (and only for Beatles' fans!). Elizabeth - The Golden Age was unexpectedly ripped by critics.......

The Mars Volta, not that I'm some kind of outraged fan, had terrible terrible sound on Letterman last night. I've noticed this over the last few years, yeah I'm slow, that the sound production on the live band performances (not "the CBS Orchestra") is always sub par on Letterman. All the other late night shows have better live sound, Late Night needs to figure this out. In other newsies, I'm hoping that the Colbert vs.......

To no one’s surprise, the awful Resident Evil: Extinction claimed the weekend box office crown, debuting with a surprisingly robust 24 million dollars and spanking the equally vapid Good Luck Chuck ($14M). While discerning patriots were sad to see Paul W.S. Anderson’s “vision” further validated, they were somewhat cheered by the continued deterioration of "comedian" Dane Cook’s film career. Also, failed starlet Jessica Alba is one flop closer to what now seems an inevitable,......

Monday Gordy Slack presents The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything 7pm @ Vroman's Tuesday Kimberlee Auerbach presents The Devil, The Lovers and Me: My Life in Tarot 7pm @ Book Soup Gregg Hurwitz presents The Crime Writer 7pm @ Borders, Century City Kirk Douglas presents Let's Face It 7:30pm @ Barnes & Noble, Encino Wednesday Laurie Viera Rigler presents Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict 7pm @ Vroman's Helen Gilbert presents Okay Girls,......

We have a love-hate relationship with film reviews. How many times have you read a glowing review by a trusted critic only to be disappointed in the theater? (Come on, was Napoleon Dynamite really all that?) Or conversely, you're dragged to a film that's been panned by most -- only to end up enjoying it? (We'll admit that we did like The Notebook. But don't tell anybody.) LAist is really keen on the first......

Here at LAist, we're all about making the rest of you famous. That's why, if you've ever had an idea that you thought would make a kick-ass book (but not really aware of how to go about it), the recent release Putting Your Passion Into Print might be helpful. Written by Arielle Eckstut (Pride & Promiscuity: The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen) and David Henry Sterry (Chicken: The Self-Portrait of a Young Man......

It never ceases to amaze LAist that no matter how much goes on in this city, more things pop up every day. We hope that you're all taking advantage of the opportunities presented by living in such a vast and interesting city, such as those featured below. Tonight at Book Soup on Sunset, Susanna Clarke will present and sign her much-talked-about debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. "Ten years in the writing, her......