Looking for a place to live? Well, fellow Angeleno, you need look no further, because for the low price of $75,000 a month, you can rent Leonardo DiCaprio's Malibu home. more ›

There's No Place Like Home: One of four authentic pairs of ruby slippers used in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" will soon be a permanent fixture at the planned Oscars museum. more ›

Oh, Leo, always doing and looking good. On Monday actor/activist Leonardo DiCaprio announced Elephants, Never Forget, a new International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) initiative that he's spearheading as the global ambassador. The program aims to raise awareness of the active ivory trade and its ravaging effects on the dwindling elephant population. more ›

The summer's most anticipated film, Inception, over-performed at the box office to the tune of $60.4M to easily win the weekend box-office crown. While Nolan's dreamy action flick gets very wobbly in its last act, it is still the best big-budget movie of the summer season (mainly because of the great Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Last week's winner, Despicable Me, had a strong second weekend, piling on an additional $32.7M ($118.3M). The same can't be said for The Sorcerer's Apprentice which debuted to an expectedly weak $17.3M. more ›

Very likely I'm in the minority opinion on this subject, but I think it's high time that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio stopped working together. From my perspective, it's been diminishing returns since The Aviator. Shutter Island left me cold. Seven seasons in and Curb Your Enthusiasm has last none of its cruel charm for me. This most recent season was the best since the year the entire show was a meta-gloss for The Producers. I'll say it: I enjoy John Travolta when he plays a bad-ass. I know it goes against his occasionally, er, fey personality but the guy is just dynamite when he's beating people up. Thank God, Caddyshack is finally on blu-ray. Here's why. They should have bitten the bullet and hired Dirk Benedict for the new A-Team movie. more ›

Shutter Island destroyed all comers this weekend, bringing in a huge $40.2M to easily win the box office crown. The debut was a personal best for both Martin Scorcese and Leo Di Caprio...which is kind of tragic actually. Last week's champ, Valentine's Day collapsed in its second frame (yay!), but still brought in a shameful $17.1M ($87.4M) while Avatar doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon ($16.1M | $687.8 Fucking Million Dollars!). Percy Jackson & The Olympians: World's Longest Title ($15.3M | $58.7M) did much better in its second weekend than the unterrible The Wolfman ($9.8M | $50.3M). more ›

I love Martin Scorcese, but frankly I'm just ready for him to collaborate with an actor other than Leo. Their latest joint effort is Shutter Island which, by all impressions, is a meticulously crafted mind-fuck. Will I see it? Yes. Will I love it? That would surprise me. What I could love, though, is Ghost Writer. Edited from his chalet prison in Switzerland, it's Polanski's latest film. Considering how much I've been watching Chinatown in the last year (at least ten times in its entirety), I'm very much in the mood for new Roman. Reviews have been pretty solid, so I'm excited. Trust me on this one -- most of you will resist seeing The 2010 Oscar Nominated Short Films. Trust me on this one, too -- everyone who does will love them. Can we put a stop to Brian Greenberg? I'm just not getting the appeal, folks. The Good Guy is his latest. Alexis Bledel and Trini Alvarado are great, though so maybe it's worth a look. Nah! more ›

How is it that I 100% get the appeal of the Twilight books, but am completely mystified by the massive success of High School Musical 3? As far as I can see, HSM3 has only one thing going for it. Strange that an essentially clunky film like Gran Torino worked so well, while a seemingly fascinating film like Changeling fell flat. Speaking of movies not working, Body of Lies was about as disappointing as they get, huh? How on earth do you so badly waste the brilliant Russell Crowe? Choke was good, dirty fun. It's worth a rental. more ›

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. more ›

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I was excited about Body of Lies until I started to see some very middling reviews. Still, Russell Crowe is always worth the price of admission. As for Leo...eh. Word is that Guy Ritchie returns to form with RocknRolla. As with Crowe, Gerard Butler is always rock-solid (literally!). Ernie Davis had a great story, but I'm guessing that The Express will be a stark and hammy version of it. I'd watch Jennifer Carpenter read the phonebook to herself in the dark so obviously I'll go see Quarantine (show boobs please). more ›

If you somehow missed both had top-drawer casts and the imprimatur of quality. Both were also awfully dull. Tom Cruise takes another step down from his previous perch of box office invincibility. more ›

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Brangelina are going into business together- the two have signed a deal with HBO to produce a drama series about, what else, international aid workers - Hollywood Reporter Iggygate isn't even close to being over - sources say Iggy wasn't the only pup Ellen Degeneres has passed along to staff members over the years - Page Six Soap star Nathaniel Marston was hospitalized after attacking three people with a crate, breaking one's leg this weekend... more ›

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and over 16,000 others watched Floyd Mayweather land 207 punches on East LA's own Oscar De La Hoya, earning a controversial split decision from the judges at the MGM in Las Vegas. more ›

Most Angelenos know that when it comes to Lakers supporters, a certain fan is As Good As It Gets. He's not only one out of A Few Good Men, he's The Shining example of a superfan. Now the NBA -- yes, the league itself -- has Departed from convention and ranked the Top 10 Celebrity Lakers Fans. They'd have been Cuckoo to place any other Joker at the top of this list.
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Recommended 13 Tzameti - French movie with an Eastern European sensibility about a young handyman who decides to follow instructions intended for the owner of the house he's repairing. He ends up in a remote house, where he is forced to take part in a brutal game of Russian Roulette in which only one of the 13 participants will survive. Bicycle Thieves - Criterion has released a DVD of Vittorio De Sica's 1947 classic... more ›

Tonight - Thursday Kings @ Sharks (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) "Survivor: Cook Islands" (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) The scheming gets more intense, it's all in your head. "The Office" (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Christmas party double episode! "The OC" (Fox, 9:00 p.m.) For those that can stomach its Chrismukkah episode. "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central, 11:00 p.m.) Rajiv "Say it 10x Fast" Chandrasekaran of the Washington Post "The Colber(t) Repor(t)" (Comedy Central, 11:30... more ›

Tonight - Thursday "My Name Is Earl" (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Back-to-back new episodes. "Survivor: Cook Islands" (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) Castaways' loved ones arrive on the island to pull at heartstrings, somebody cuts a finger with a machete "Total Eclipse" (IFC, 8:40 p.m.) It's dueling poets, with Leonardo DiCaprio as Rimbaud and David Thewlis as Verlaine in this truly awful 19th-century costume drama. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 9:00 p.m.) Danny Bonaduce guest-stars, providing us... more ›

Then I told [Di Caprio] I had lunch the other day with his next door neighbor in the Hollywood Hills – Joan Linclau, who owns the house just above his. When we visited her out there a couple summers ago, she told us Leo liked to shoot hoops in the wee hours – this she knew because … ahem … she could hear the bouncing ball. The other day, when I asked her about the late night hoop shots, she told me he’d built a full basketball court in its place. Which was quite a production, lights and all. However, she told me that although she was worried at the outset, they've done a great job on the court and that it won’t affect her sleep. And, that “Leo couldn’t have been nicer.” Their neighborhood is pure star-land. Leo lives in Madonna’s old house. On the other side of Joan is Keanu Reeves and one beyond that is Toby Maguire. more ›

Let's face it. People in California have pretty much resigned themselves to the fact that come November 2nd, the electoral votes from this great state will most likely be piling up for Mr. John Kerry. It's the result of having a very liberal state which almost always ends up voting for the Democratic candidate. That's the reality, and that's fine. more ›

LAist was surprised and intrigued to find out that they're all Honorary Committee Members for the Kerry/Edwards Campaign and probably have, really, no involvement whatsoever in the Saturday, October 2nd event "An Evening with Kerry/Edwards" featuring musical artists such as the Black Eyed Peas. more ›

Starting at 5:00 PM today, Godiva Chocolatier will open bidding on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, a series of five special dinners in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Boston. The winners of these dinners will be treated to dinner with a celebrity, cooked by a celebrity chef, with proceeds from the events donated to a different charity in each city. Further, each chef has agreed to prepare a menu focused on a specific Godiva truffle flavor. (Personally, LAist would gladly take just the truffles.) more ›