Results tagged “movies”

In an attempt to attract the thousands of USC students ready to spend money in downtown, AEG is funding a free weekend shuttle between the campus and the entertainment complex.

No, downtown does not have a bunch of crunchy cheezeball souvenir shops, superheroes or stars embedded in the sidewalk. It does, however, have a convenient spot for movie premieres along the relatively unknown Georgia Street. Such an unremarkable name, but one that means less impacts to neighbors, traffic and, well, a movie studio's wallet.

Ladies of Burbank, your chances of becoming a millionaire have significantly improved. Why? Because 50 Cent is coming to town. The rapper who claims "Have a baby by me, baby, be a millionaire" in his latest single has embarked on a 10-city screening tour of his new film, Before I Self Destruct. The film will be released on DVD on November 16th along with his new album, also titled Before I Self Destruct, but you can see it for free on November 11th (a week from today) at the AMC Burbank at 8:30 p.m. 50 stars in, wrote and directed the film, which has been described as a "coming of age story." Pick up your tickets at MovieTickets.com/50.

The Men Who Stare At Goats opens Friday with a big cast. The war-genre comedy stars George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey and is inspired by Jon Ronson's non-fiction bestseller, which is an eye-opening and often hilarious exploration of the government's attempts to harness paranormal abilities to combat its enemies.

The new Regal Cinemas L.A. Live is offering seven free screenings to downtown residents tonight, according to blogdowntown. They are first come, first serve, but the boundaries of downtown and whether IDs will be checked is unknown. "Tickets are available the day of from the box office. I don't believe they will be checking IDs, but they don't explicitly say," noted blogdowntown's Eric Richardson in the comments section. Tonights films are Funny People (7:00), 500 Days of Summer (7:10), District 9 (7:20), Star Trek (7:30), Up (7:40), G.I. Joe (7:50) and The Proposal (8:00). Update: No IDs will be checked, explains an AEG rep.

After we poked fun at Adam Goldberg's video about Los Angeles, he wanted to prove his new movie's worth and give away a pair of tickets to tonight's 8 p.m. screening at The Landmark on Pico Boulevard. Goldberg, who stars in the film, and his co-star, Marley Shelton, will be there in person for a Q&A afterwards. Here's a little about the movie, titled (Untitled).

Low budget plus scary story telling has proved itself again. Following in the footsteps of The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity is now the highest grossing films ever with a 433,900 percent return on investment (the film cost $15,000 to make), according to The Wrap. Last weekend, its fifth in theatres, it was number one in the box office.

It's a big night for downtown Los Angeles, more specifically L.A. Live. 6 p.m.: "This Is It," the Michael Jackson documentary, premieres (some wonder if some movie premieres will move from Hollywood to downtown. The movie 2012 will premiere here next week.). | 7 p.m.: Lakers and Clippers open basketball season at the Staples Center | 9 p.m.: L.A. Live's newest addition, Regal Cinemas opens to the public.

A year ago, LAist wrote about a group of energetic, young, indie filmmakers who, instead of taking the traditional route of trying to get their movies into film festivals, invented a new model of film promotion by putting together their own little film festival and taking it on the road, touring from city to city in a van, rock band-style.

In the process to make L.A. Live a reality, AEG has been going through the city for permits and approvals for eight years. Now with a moratorium on billboards upheld by a judge, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich is fighting the installation of six digital billboards at the new 14-screen Regal Cinemas theatre, set to open on Wednesday. Today, the LA Times editorial board chimes in on the issue:

It rains and all of the sudden there are crashes everywhere. In fact, there were 186 between midnight and earlier this morning. All this ridiculousness means fodder for comedians and the like, and, no doubt, a couple humorous ones surfaced yesterday on local blogs. Above, via Curbed LA, Conan O'Brien teases his new home and below, via the LA Now and LA Observed, a mock movie trailer for yet another Los Angeles disaster flick.

Director Roman Polanski may be sitting in a Zurich jail cell facing extradition to the United States, but that's not stopping him from finishing his film, The Ghost. He is giving instructions so that the film will be finished by February when it will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

With movie tickets going for $10-$14 a shot depending on the show time and cinema, is it that much of a stretch to the concept or budget to double that to see a film in a comfortable, intimate, "restaurant-like" setting? Gold Class Cinemas is banking on it, actually. The Aussie company is working on the renovation of the former Laemmle Theatres (which were AMC Theatres back in the day) at One Colorado in Old Pasadena, and is scheduled to open their 6-screen high-end movie venue "in time for the holiday season," according to the Star-News.

The movement to save the axed Film Program, chiefly its Weekend Film series and much of the museum's film-related endeavors, has been taking place swiftly where most movements do their work these days: Online. There is a Save Film @ LACMA blog, Twitter, Facebook fan page, and online petition. Now add this video to the list of efforts underway to urge the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to keep their film program alive.

     

In what turned out to be an unhappy coincidence of timing, the Hollywood Outdoor Cinema presented a screening of the classic 1986 teen flick about love, class consciousness and the prom, Pretty in Pink. The film's screenwriter, Johh Hughes, died suddenly last Thursday in NYC at 59, which has prompted a wave of cinematic nostalgia, many of whom made their way to the parking lot of the empty Circuit City on Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake this weekend to attend the screening.

Director John Hughes, 59, has died, according to TMZ. He was in New York City on a trip taking a morning walk when he suffered from a heart attack today. Hughes' movies--some of them that he wrote, director or both--many of them based in around Chicago, included classics such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Home Alone and Planes, Trains & Automobiles. After stepping back from the film industry, he resided in Northern Illinois on a functioning farm, enjoying his time with a family and supporting independent art, notes Variety. R.I.P., John Hughes and you were right when you wrote this line for Ferris: "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

A year ago, the LA Times was predicting a major comeback of sorts for Westwood, the Los Angeles neighborhood most associated with UCLA. But if the comeback is to involve classic movie houses, the comeback looks grim. This week the Mann Festival closed down, and preservationists are on standby, prepared to battle the possible loss of the Mann's Village and Bruin, according to the Times.

The NoHo Arts District has over 20 live theatre spaces, but no movie theatre of note nearby. Part of the redevelopment of the neighborhood--besides adding public art that LAist readers dislike--is the third phase of the NoHo Commons development that includes a mixed use building, Phil's Diner, a parking garage and a seven-screen Laemmle Theatre, which is being delayed. "Laemmle Theatre is working on their architectural drawings and hoping to secure financing to be able to start construction," according to Curbed LA.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced yesterday that after four decades, they were ending their much-loved weekend film series, but hopes to reassure fans and patrons that they aren't abandoning film altogether, reports the LA Times.

Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor Karl Malden, best known as Detective Lt. Mike Stone on the '70s TV series The Streets of San Francisco, has died of natural causes at the age of 97, Before entering television, "he won an Oscar for his portrayal of Blanche's earnest suitor Mitch in the 1951 adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire (he'd previously played the part on Broadway), and received another nod for his role as streetwise Father Barry in 1954's On The Waterfront. He followed with acclaimed turns in Baby Doll (1956), How the West Was Won (1962), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and Patton (1970)," reported Entertainment Weekly.

This weekend is the return of the Dwell on Design conference and expo and one of the most exciting events on the schedule is Saturday's "A Night at the Movies." The evening includes screenings of two building-themed documentary films, and, for your tasting pleasure, the Square Meal on Wheels mobile "restaurant row."

It's the second Thursday of the month, so that means Downtown Art Walk night. And although its June gloom, there's nothing better than walking the streets with tons of other art revelers between getting good food and drinks.

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." If you have a suggestion for a future Seven Questions subject send us an email.

A portion of Sunset Boulevard will be closed tonight for street resurfacing, a first in 30 years for this stretch of street. The full closure will be from 8 p.m. tonight to 10 a.m. Saturday morning between Highland and La Brea avenues.

It was just over a year ago when the doors closed for good at the Virgin Megastore in the retail complex towering over the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights. For many, it was the end of an era; the music store was the much-lauded anchor of the stores at 8000 Sunset and a regular stop for locals, celebs, starry-eyed celeb hopefuls, and tourists. But this wasn't the first time this corner said goodbye to a longstanding local legend. For half a century, Schwab's Pharmacy occupied a spot on the same segment of the Sunset Strip, and, like its successor, was also a regular stop for locals, celebs, starry-eyed celeb hopefuls, and tourists.

The Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills began its almost 80-year-long life as the Fox Wilshire when it opened in September 1930. The 1900-seat late Art Deco-style venue began as a movie house, and was designed by S. Charles Lee, the architect behind other Los Angeles movie palaces such as the Los Angeles Theatre, the Tower, the Bruin, and the Academy. The theater was a top showplace for Fox studios, who often used it for lavish premieres like 1953's How To Marry a Millionaire, starring Marilyn Monroe, and, in 1970, it is where Woodstock ran during an exclusive engagement.

Before the winner is announced tomorrow during the Oscar telecast, curious fashionistas and design enthusiasts can head over to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) for "The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition." On display are the costumes considered and nominated for this year's Academy Awards in the Best Costume Design category. The show features costumes from the films Milk, The Duchess and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Last year's winning designs from Elizabeth: The Golden Age are also on view. If you can't make it this weekend, the free exhibit is ongoing until Mar. 29.

If you are a Time Warner Cable customer in LA or OC, and you're hoping to snuggle up at home with your honey (or solo), you might feel the love from your cable provider with their 1-Cent movie promo happening this weekend. The OC Register explains:

Time Warner Cable is offering 40 movies on demand this weekend for 1 penny each during its “1 Cent Love N’ Movies Deal.’ The 40 movies, including a handful in HD, will be available beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning, Feb. 14. The special sale ends Sunday, the 15th at 11:59 p.m.

First there was Ashton Kutcher's video from last week of him freaking out over construction at a neighbors house (he later apologized). Now this dramatic audio (TMZ calls it "amazing") from six months ago appears on the net. This happened after the Director of Photography stepped into the frame, ruining the scene. Careful, it's very NSFW:

The 61st annual Directors Guild of America Awards were held here last night at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. The DGA named Brit import Danny Boyle as Best Director for his inspiring film Slumdog Millionaire; Boyle is up for the Oscar in the same category, and many believe these awards are "one of the most reliable indicators for the Academy Awards," which take place at the Kodak Theatre on February 22 this year, explains the LA Times. "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the guild have disagreed only six times in their selections in the last 60 years."