The much-maligned, oft-hated James Frey, author of the fictional memoir A Million Little Pieces and the man most well-known for being dissed on national TV by Oprah Winfrey, is back. While many now agree that blame for the whole Frey-affair rests with both Frey and his publisher, Frey got the bad end of the deal and has been vilified ever since. This time, he's sticking with fiction instead of peddling fiction-as-truth. His new novel, Bright......

KNX1070 is reporting that "a police manhunt is ongoing West of a Washington Mutual bank at Ventura and Topanga Canyon in Woodland Hills. Authorities are searching for two armed kidnapping suspects." Things were something close to touch-and-go late this afternoon on the Blue Line near 5501 S Long Beach Ave when a female pedestrian fell near the tracks as a train passed by, but did not have any direct contact with the train itself.......

The famed Vanity Fair Oscar party location and Power Hollywood hang-out, Morton's, has shut down for good, and the space will be cleared out by January 2nd. Word has it the space will soon be transformed into an oh-so-trendy SoHo House (yes, like the one in that "Sex and the City" episode. The Los Angeles Times reported last month: "For the last 14 years, it has been the site of arguably the hottest Oscar-night party......

You know who makes a lot of sense? Michael Pollan does. If only he had the ear of the Senate as it prepares to pass a sorry, sorry Farm Bill. I love alcohol in unusual, fruit-oriented containers. Slashfood turns us on to this pumpkin keg -- yes the beer was actually brewed inside the pumpkin shell. Expect to see one of these at an LAist party near you very soon. It's good to know......

To hear them tell it, Lana Clarkson had two best friends, Jen and Pie. Jennifer Hayes-Reidl (right) testified last week. Punkin Irene Elizabeth Laughlin, aka Punkin Pie, is testifying today. Why are both of her friends testifying on behalf of the defense? And why are they both so orange? After her near nip-slip appearance last week, Punkin Pie is in the courtroom with slightly better hair and a modest, cleavage-covering t-shirt. I was immediately......

Last Wednesday’s show at the Billy Shire Gallery in Culver City had all the elements needed for a typical Los Angeles VIP event – work by a world renowned artist (Tim Biskup), a celebrity host (JJ Abrams), sponsorship from two hip brands (Vanity Fair and Helio), and a roster of guests most people only read about in the usual arts & culture magazines (Matt Groening, Mark Ryden, Adele Mildred, and Shepard Fairey, among others). The......

- You've come a long way baby. Maxim ditches the usual suspects (models, actresses, hookers, waitresses) and celebrates the sexiest comedian of our time, next to Gallagher of course - egotastic - Talk about burying the lede... magician du jour Criss Angel spotting partying with Cameron Diaz AND Drew Barrymore. If that dude has any magical powers he would have dressed up as Lucy Liu and played Charlie's Angels 4 with the pair all......

Tonight - Friday - March 9th, 2007 Lakers @ Sixers (KCAL, 5:40 p.m.) Clatterford (BBC America, 9:00 p.m.) Series premiere. A new show from AbFab'sJennifer Saunders Close To Home/NUMB3RS (CBS, 9-11:00 p.m.) New. Las Vegas (NBC, 9:00 p.m.) Season finale. Larry King Live (CNN, 9:00 p.m.) Remembering Johnny Carson - do you remember him? I do. 20/20 (ABC, 9:55 p.m.) New trial for momma murderer; Nigerian Internet scams Party Monster (IFC, 9:00 p.m.) Macaulay......

Kyle Bunch watches the blogosphere every day as head honcho of Blogebrity. Prepare as he breaks down the top 10 Blogebrities and sneaks in an eleventh when noone's lookin: Per Tony's mission to load LAist with as many Top 10's of 2006 as possible, we humbly submit our list of The Top 10 Blogebrities of 2006*, in order from coffee hot (thousands of links) to magma hot (magazine covers, development deals, merchandising rights, etc.),......

Last night was Katie Couric's debut on CBS -- and she had a scoop for those watching. No not secret government prisons or anything like that -- but photos of the just as mysterious Suri Cruise. The nearly 5-month-old scion of the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes pairing will make her debut in a 22-page Vanity Fair spread that will be released next week. Now LAist got a look at the cover of the magazine and......

Born in Japan as the only child of a Japanese mother and Anglo American father, novelist Nina Revoyr now makes her home in Los Angeles. Nina mines childhood experiences living in South Central to craft exquisite novels about the historical interrelationships between Angelenos of Asian American and African American descent. Indeed, her second novel, Southland, literally explores the historical connection between the two communities as the book's protagonist tries to solve a family mystery involving......

"New York is like a bad relationship that you can't get out of, because you still think the sex is good. Well, I think the sex is pretty good in L.A. too!" - Publisher Judith Regan Publishing's not just for Manhattan any more. The bombastic right-wing industry mogul Judith Regan, of ReganMedia, is officially abandoning her NY offices and moving the operation to Century City. She claims it's too expensive to operate out of Manhattan......

everbody loves jack mccoy: Shows like "Law & Order" are helping Angelenos trust lawyers more, according to a recent study by a jury consultant in Manhattan Beach. The more TV people watched, the more they found lawyers trustworthy. But it's a marginal improvement: lawyers still only beat building contractors and CEOs. More trustworthy than lawyers? Professors, judges, journalists, movie producers, actors, pharmaceutical salespeople, television writers and jury consultants. fava beans and chianti: An Oklahoma......

We track an award-winning TV writer who worked on Good Times to a homeless shelter and see a Little Old Lady get a jaywalking ticket because she can't get across fast enough (in the same post!). Poets invade Metro and an LAist contributor's new book asks WWJB. Gothamist gets down with the immigration rally and their readers want to be heard. The anniversary of the Mets' 1986 World Series is celebrated via a RBI Baseball......

Monday: Duke it out! A few hours from now, "Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens debates political theorist Andrew Arato of the New School for Social Research on the war in Iraq and its impact on the present and future of America" at REDCAT (8:30 p.m.) Tuesday: Brain, meet Heart. Zócalo at Central Library presents Understanding Emotions and the Brain with world-renowned neuroscientist Antonio Damasio at 7:00 p.m. Damasio will discuss "his latest research on......

We have to admit, we're inclined to like hotelier Jeff Klein, who told Vanity Fair that he didn't want Lindsay Lohan drinking $16 cosmos at the bar in his newly-restored Sunset Tower Hotel. So when we pulled in to the valet last night (excellent service from a guy with distinct rocker-scruff) we were bouncy and excited. Friends were meeting in the bar for drinks. We ordered what turned out to be a $13 martini......

Well, we've survived the first leg of awards season so far. The Golden Globes are over, Industry-types are off to Park City for Sundance and the Oscar nomination/winner odds-making begins in earnest. Now is the time for out-of-town journalists to do their legwork about town in order to find new ways to describe the luxuriousness of Wolfgang Puck's Oscar Ball menu or give readers a verbal blueprint of this year's location for the Vanity......

David Patrick Columbia runs the society blog "New York Social Diary." Columbia's a former Angeleno and often includes dish from his friends on the West Coast. Recently, he attended a screeing of "The Aviator" in New York and was introduced to the film's star, Leonardo Di Caprio. He writes: Then I told [Di Caprio] I had lunch the other day with his next door neighbor in the Hollywood Hills – Joan Linclau, who owns......

It won't count as a sighting on Defamer.com, but the stars of stage and screen will be accessible to the faithful at various screenings and tributes about town this month. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3 The American Cinematheque presents a double feature of Reese Witherspoon in "Vanity Fair" (2004) and Alexander Payne's "Election" (1999). A discussion with Ms. Witherspoon will take place between films. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4 The American Cinematheque pays home to American starlet Janet......

LAist attended a screening of "Alfie" at the ArcLight last night. Sponsored by Variety's Screening Series, viewers got to watch the film and enjoy a Q&A with the film's director Charles Shyer and writer Elaine Pope. The film is very entertaining, if lightweight; it's sexy, stylish and has a groovy soundtrack showcasing the talents of Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger. Jude Law's performance finally delivers on the promise of his turn as Dickie Greenleaf......