Photographer Jonathan Alcorn shares Universal Studio's latest publicity stunt, which is actually pretty cool: huge footprints left in the sand on Santa Monica Beach, complete with a crushed lifeguard vehicle. It's all for the new King Kong 3-D attraction, which opens at the theme park this summer. The previous King Kong was destroyed in a fire in 2008. Also destroyed was the backlot, which just reopened. more ›

Weeks ago, we warned that Forrest Ackerman, coiner of the phrase sci-fi, adventurer and keeper of the science-fiction flame, was ailing. more ›

Forrest "Forrey" Ackerman, the nearly 92 year old coiner of the term "sci-fi" and honorary lesbian (for his work as "Laurajean Ermayne") is said to be ailing. "He wasn't sounding very strong," Harry Knowles said in an entry on Ain't It Cool News, "It hurt to hear his voice." Ackerman helped to bolster the burgeoning sci-fi community by publishing the inspirational journal, Famous Monsters of Filmland. more ›

The fire at Universal Studios on Sunday that ripped through two "city blocks" was deemed an accident yesterday, but was not clarified until later. Now officials are saying a welders' blowtorch started the fire: more ›

It's October and you want to do something spooky and cool but, cheap, and not too scary? Or maybe you're a crazy sci-fi horror fan? Well, you know, all the cool kids go to Ackermansion, where owner, waxwork and proprietor, Forrest Ackerman -- coiner of the term "sci-fi" -- will show you his peerless collection of memorabilia of that genre including Bela Lugosi's cape from the Dracula films, the girl robot (you know the one we mean) from Metropolis, and the man-eating Brontasaurus from 1933's King Kong while he regales you with stories from working with such famous actors as Boris Karloff, or how he was made an "honorary lesbian" for his work under the pseudonym, "Laurajean Ermayne" or perhaps how his work as a literary agent and writer helped nurture science fiction -- maybe you prefer to hear his stories in Esperanto, (the language that combines all languages) because he's an expert. Remarkably, he does all this without leaving his Laz-E-Boy (give him a break, he's 8 million years old!) more ›

Some may ask why Ghettogloss wants to have some douche walking around in a gorilla suit every Thursday, but we at LAist accept it for what it is: another excuse to be ridiculous in Silver Lake. more ›

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The Dimebag Darrell Art Tribute & Auction, featuring The Little Kids Rock Band, Aaron Lewis, Brent & Jasin, Nick Bowcott, Black Tooth Jam @ The House of Blues more ›

Starting today, two websites are allowing movie downloads with the blessings of Hollywood, according to a Marketplace report we caught this morning. Studios say that now they'll release movies for download as they come out on DVD. And while we're not convinced that we want to watch King Kong on a laptop, we headed on over to MovieLink and CinemaNow to check it out. more ›

First an announcement: this is my last post as lead editor of LAist. I've got a new job that is taking much of my time. I love laist, though, so I'm staying on as "editor-at-large" which mostly means I get to post when I feel like it and bug everybody around here with my opinion on everything. Thanks for putting up with me on a daily basis for the last 10 months. more ›

FRIDAY more ›

The Giant Japanese Film Festival begins tomorrow evening with Godzilla vs. Mecha-Godzilla and Terror of Mecha-Godzilla (along with an episode of Spectreman). You can catch the double feature at the Egyptian and then try to see all the rest of the 20 films that will run during the one week of classic (and new) movies featuring sub-titles and actors in rubber costumes. Amongst the 20 flicks are the latest Ultraman and Godzilla movies and, if you want to whet your whistle for Peter Jackson's coming King Kong remake, you can get tickets for King Kong Escapes on Sunday. American Cinematheque members even get to mix and mingle before the movies on Sunday. more ›