New mural of Marion Cotillard, Oscar winner, found in Los Angeles I Photo by Osmany Rodriguez for LAist> That's Marion Cotillard, this year's best actress winner at the Academy Awards. Pictured is a mural depicting a moment from her very sweet Oscar speech. Sadly my name isn't Olivier, I am at the moment providing 0.00% of rock to Marion's world. She's referring to Olivier Dahan, her director in the Edith Piaf biopic "La Vie......

Don't be angsty like this lady...go out tonight! / Photo by Plankton 4:20 via LAist's flickr pool. FILM “Animation Nite: From Halifax with Love” is a program at the Echo Park Film Center that features short animated and semi-animated films by women who’ve all lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, eh. The screening includes work by host Siloën Daley and six others. Music by local band Foot Foot follows. 7:30 // Echo Park Film......

Family, the great little bookstore on Fairfax is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a huge art show that opens tonight at 8pm and you're invited. The show is a "Thank You" to all those who've made Family's first year a success. And what a Thank You it is - the 26 artists they've assembled for this celebratory art show are impressive and reflect everything about the store that we love - eclectic and slightly off-kilter,......

Julia Fordham | Photo by freefall 2007 via flickr If you cannot make it to hear the amazing jazz vocalist, Julia Fordham, at The Roxy tonight, opening up at Hotel Cafe tonight is Tiffany Randol, who we caught at one of strong>Alex & Sam's Tangier shows. The front woman of NYC based glam rock band, Valeze, has now gone solo singer/songwriter style, making Los Angeles her second home, and is bringing out a new......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has begun to get the word out that he plans on running for a second term. According to the LA Times, Mayor Tony made mention of his plans, along with "his most personal remarks to date about the political fallout from his extramarital affair" on Wednesday during an interview on the Charlie Rose show. The Mayor was also asked about his plans to run for governor, which have been circulating in the......

It's the start of a beautiful, long weekend in LA, and we just really liked this photo from LAist's flickr pool. / Photo by el daverino via flickr. Yes, we know it's the start of a three-day weekend, and many of you are getting out of dodge. But if you're around, there are a lot of quality events going on all weekend. Here's a sampling of what's happening tonight: THEATRE The 10 Minute Play......

In an effort to bring solar power to those who will benefit from it but simply can't afford it, a new partnership created between the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners and BP donates one solar panel to a low-income residence for every solar panel purchased by a celebrity. As the Downtown News reports, Downtown's St. George Hotel, a housing facility operated by the Skid Row Housing Trust, is the first multi-unit project to receive panels through......

Okay, so maybe the only time people in Los Angeles gathered around to see how something affiliated with a groundhog turned out was when the Bill Murray-Andie MacDowell movie Groundhog Day premiered in 1993, cementing the comic idea of life on an endless replay loop in our pop culture lexicon. But early this morning, in a far-off place called Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania, the real celebrity groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, drew crowds as his annual (and allegedly......

As Carol Channing, clad in a Bob Mackie sleeveless pantsuit, chinchilla (?) wrap, bright red lipstick, and a 77-karat diamond said last night: "Musical theater is a strictly American art form." The ladies who helped forge that - along with movies and television - were being feted by The Smithsonian, who were specifically honoring women who have woven their way into the American cultural fabric, welcoming their treasured memorabilia into the Smithsonian's permanent collection. There......

Yes, we know that rainy days and Mondays can get you down. And doubly so today. But you can turn that mood around by stepping out tonight to one of these great events. Just watch for puddles. TALK Jill Leovy probably writes the Los Angeles Times best blog (excepting LAist’s own Adam Rose, natch). She chronicles almost every murder in LA to give a human element to what would be another crime blotter. Tonight Leovy’s......

LAist Featured Photos Pool contributor nailmaker shares with us this eerie pic of the empty listening stations inside the Virgin Megastore on Sunset that has now closed its doors forever. Though many people see the big-box music store as a dinosaur in this age of the mp3 download, for Angelenos who frequented this West Hollywood retail cornerstone, the end is still a little bittersweet. Our photographer explains:West Hollywood, CA / 1.20.08. Music listening station......

We just received an unbelievable e-mail from friend-of-LAist and local indie troubadour Matthew Moon and wanted to share. Some amazing and surprising things really do happen at Sundance. Read on: Two days ago I was performing at a Sundance Film Festival event in Salt Lake City, UT. After my performance at Rose Wagner Theater, I began driving the 25 minutes it takes to get back up to Park City. I checked my voice mail......

"No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," and "Atonement" all received nominations for Best Picture this morning, as the Academy Award nominations were announced in Beverly Hills. "No Country" and "There Will Be Blood" are the front runners with eight noms apiece, including a Best Actor nod for perennial Oscar fav Daniel Day-Lewis, and directing nominations for the Coen Bros. and Paul Thomas Anderson. While Javier Bardem was recognized......

Which one of these beautiful young ladies will be named America's Next Top Model in the show's 10th go-round? I am not ashamed to admit that Wednesday nights at my house are sometimes known as "Top Model" night. (Code word: "You wanna be on top?" natch.) I didn't watch the show for its first few cycles, actually, curbing my "reality"-based curiosity about the gaggle of leggy empty-heads with the pretty faces and the ridiculous......

Dooh Dah Parade. Many thanks to reader and LAist Featured Photos contributor Movie Lover for contributing these fantastic photos of yesterday's Doo Dah Parade. The normal-looking man nursing a hangover in the middle of all this lunacy is Tom Coston, who's become Doo Dah's P.T. Barnum since his nonprofit arts organization, The Light Bringer Project, bought the parade 12 years ago from founder and legendary Pasadena barfly Peter Apanel for $2. " … It's......

The BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team are taking part in the mischief of the Doo Dah Parade, as they did above in '05 Forget the pageantry and regal demeanor of the Rose Parade, the 31st Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is the ultimate antidote. Billed as being the loud and irreverent twister sister of the aforementioned annual march down Colorado Boulevard, the parade promises to "send up a woolly range of mischiefs, grounded superheroes,......

I didn't want to just do a "best of" list. So this year, I've decided to take a years worth of personal New Year's Resolutions, ask around for those of friends and put a call out to readers (email me here) about things you've always wanted to know, always wanted to do and then take those requests and ask an expert, an insider to help out. The result? Here goes... Today's Resolution: "I am......

New Year's Day, most in LA seemed to be up in Pasadena watching either the Rose Parade or the Rose Bowl, or getting over their New Year's Eve hangover at home watching TV. Why do I think that? Because the roads were EMPTY! It seemed that no one was on the roads. My goal was to head out with a friend, with cameras in hand and hit the roads and drive around LA on......

The 21-year-old man who caused the insane and deadly crash that killed two early Saturday morning in Hollywood at Highland and Sunset has been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving. Speaking of crashes and cars, a Los Angeles Airport Police officer crashed his squad car into a car that was stopped at the scene of another accident. The vehicle's lights were off. No one was hurt and the officers canine partner, a......

And maybe some rain boots too. The weather that might have ruined the Rose Parade should strike Los Angeles tomorrow. The LA Times reports that the next four days of rain will most likely bring the most rain in "Southern California since 2005, and possibly even since the 1990s..." The storm will be the strongest on Saturday where up to 10 inches could fall in the mountain areas, 3 inches in the valleys and 8......

It’s the first day of work for many of us -- and it pretty much sucks. Thank God it’s a short week. If you haven't gotten enough going out for the New Year, here’s what's going on around town tonight: PARADE REMNANTS If you want to see the Rose Bowl floats before they go off to the big parade in the sky, you have until 4 pm today. Noon to 4 pm // Post......

I have the good fortune of having a relative who lives right at the end of the Rose Parade route. This allows my family to have good seats and a warm bed the night before. My wife used to camp out to get good seats, now that we have this good fortune I want to share it with you, the LAist readers in the form of this photo essay. The end of a 5.5......

Best way for LA to bring in the new year: win the Rose Bowl. USC killed Illini at 49-17, winning their 23rd Rose Bowl title. 750 bills go into effect this year and the minimum wage is now $8 per hour! The news battle in Santa Barbara continues: Wendy McCaw, owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press, has lost in court over illegal firings. She "must re-hire and give back pay — to at least......

It’s pretty quiet today in LA. So take another Alka Seltzer and rest up for work tomorrow. FILM Spend New Year’s Day in a dark theatre with a double feature of the Marx Brothers. In the 1933 satire Duck Soup, Groucho plays a newly-appointed prime minister who declares war on a neighboring country for no particular reason. It also marked Zeppo’s last film. Following is1932’s Horse Feathers. Groucho stars as the new president of......

Clippers 91, Timberwolves 82 - The Clippers came into the game with a six game losing streak, several players out with injuries, and went 0-for-14 from three point range. Fortunately, Minnesota is the worst team in the NBA so none of that mattered. USC vs. Illinois - It's a little bit of a letdown match up, but you still can't top the Granddaddy of Them All. Tune into ABC at 2:00pm today to watch the......

Officer, police thyself: Sherrifs are looking among their own ranks for DUI-free behavior this NYE. And they're looking at you, too, pal. Drive safe, designate a driver, take the Metro, or call for a Tipsy Tow. The darkest hour is just before dawn--but not on our freeways. 4.2 million Commuters in the Southland get a start on their daily drives before 6 o'clock each morning, proving there are increasingly fewer "good times" to get on......

Preparations for the Tournament of Roses Parade According to the LA Times, the National Weather Service is reporting that a windy a New Years Day Tuesday could have sustained winds of 25 mph and gusts of winds that could blow small children away at 50 mph. Luckily, though, "Pasadena itself will probably be sheltered from the worst of the wind." Rain is likely to come next, however, it's expected later in the week, letting......

A second victim of this weekend's street racing-related crash in Hollywood has died from his injuries. The first victim was Nigel Gudray, the driver of the Infiniti struck by the speeding BMW driven by an intoxicated Carlos Steven John, was burned past physical recognition in the accident and died on scene. The passenger of Gudray's vehicle died overnight as a result of his burns. The six-month-long search for missing college student Donna Jou continues......

While the controversy over Beijing's Olympic-themed float in Tuesday's 119th Tournament of Roses Parade has not managed to stir up LA's Chinese-American community, as New Year's Day draws near, murmurings of anti-war protests have begun to surface. The protests are linked to a group called the White Rose Coalition, and involve well-known activist Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son was killed in Iraq. According to a press release: Local and national pro-Impeachment and pro-Peace American citizens......

Article by Adam Rose and Ryan Jesena. UCLA has officially announced Rick Neuheisel as their new head football coach. Neuheisel was a walk-on quarterback for the Bruins and led them to the 1984 Rose Bowl victory against Illinois. He has a very successful track record coaching at the college level (66-30) but has spent the past few years clunking around the NFL assistant ranks. As a graduate assistant with UCLA, he was credited for the......