THEATRE Orson's Shadow is an expansion of Austin Pendleton's drama that first ran a few years back at the Black Dahlia Theater and is now at the Pasadena Playhouse. It's a behind the scenes look at life in the theatre and the intermingling lives of some legendary folk, like Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, Vivien Leigh, and drama critic Kenneth Tynan. We're told the set--a theater-within-the-theater--is stunning. 7:00 p.m. // Pasadena Playhouse // 39......

TALK What’s up with all the development in Downtown LA? What’s it going to look like in 5, 10 or 20 years? Moderated by Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times architecture critic, ALOUD at the Central Library features panelists Lauren Bon, Tom Gilmore, Martha Welborne and James Von Klemperer, AIA to discuss all things Downtown and development. 7 PM // ALOUD at the Central Library: Mark Taper Auditorium // 631 Fifth & Flower streets, LA......

TALK CalArts and USC have a joint program at REDCAT tonight titled, “Listen Again: Music You Should Change Your Mind About Right Now.” A great panel of writers, musicians and scholars discuss the current state of pop music and celebrate the release of the latest scholarly writings on music issued by the Experience Music Project. Panelists include Neal Pollack (alternadad.com), Ann Powers (Los Angeles Times), R.J. Smith (Los Angeles magazine), Oliver Wang (Soul-sides.com, CSU-Long Beach)......

Anticipation was high last night as crowds gathered in the gorgeously restored lobby of the new Los Angeles Theater Center downtown. The just-re-opened theater complex, which now houses five separate theaters, is in the throes of a rebirth after much politicking and red tape left the theater complex sitting nearly silent for years. Although the Opening festival features many excellent companies, we were beyond thrilled to learn that the New York-based SITI Company would......

The Michael Bay-directed, gigantic budget, summer blockbuster comes out today, but some may remember the 1986 animated feature Transformers: The Movie. Released the same year the current film's star Shia LaBeouf was born, the animated classic cast the vocal talents of Orson Welles, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Idle, Judd Nelson and Casey Kasem. The movie also featured the song "The Touch" by Stan Bush. Director Paul Thomas Anderson gave a tongue-in-cheek nod to the anthem......

A Word or 80: Spent the weekend in Canada, my first visit, in the province of Quebec to be exact. I found the radio programming to be innovative and excellent but television sucked. I'm sure there's some good programmes (please give me cred for the spelling) out there but in a first glance/overview kind of perspective it was wanting. Dear Canuck friends, don't take it personally, American TV sucks for the most part as......

A Word or 33: Is anyone watching "Idol"? I can't believe it's back, I just haven't accepted it. Maybe when Diana Ross comes on as a consultant, perhaps after she sues "Dreamgirls," then I might consider it. Today - Wednesday - January 17th, 2007 Lakers @ Spurs (KCAL, 6:00 p.m.) "Foreign Correspondent" (TCM, 7:00 p.m.) A '40s classic from Hitchcock. "American Idol" (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) Season premiere part deux. "Armed & Famous" (CBS, 8:00......

Here's a trailer for the original Casino Royale cut as if it were a present-day Bond film. The 1967 Casino Royale AKA Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale (not to be confused with last year's Casino Royale) was a spy spoof that starred Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, and David Niven, and featured a host of Hollywood personalities such as Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, John Huston, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Jacqueline Bisset in a......

Well, the Solstice has come and gone, which means our days our longer, and our nights are longer, too, somehow. This weekend there is no shortage of fun things to do, and no excuse for us to not get out there and do them. That is, unless, you are one of the lucky few with an ocean breeze or a good air conditioning system to keep you coolly behind your doors--this weekend's forecast is......

TUESDAY • Headphones (featuring Dave Bazan of Pedro the Lion) perform tonight at the Troubadour with the Crystal Skulls and Army Navy. Doors open at 8 PM; tickets are $10 advance, $12 at the door. • The Go-Go's are bringing back the '80s tonight at The Vault 350. Doors open at 7 PM and tickets are a rock-bottom $54. • Film Threat hosts a special Star Wars Rarities screening (with Slave Leia Bikini Contest)......

It's not TV. Hell, it's not even HBO. Z Channel was one of the first pay cable television stations and probably the first to showcase what high quality, niche TV could look like. Founded by Jerry Harvey, who met a most tragic end in 1988, the station was all about independent and art house flicks for its run...before it was overtaken by the pay movie channels we enjoy today. IFC and Xan Cassavettes want......