Amy Poehler won Variety's Power of Comedy Award on Saturday, staking the claim as the first woman to do so. Her acceptance speech jabbed at Will Ferrell then weaved in and out of her crass humor and genuine advocacy for cancer awareness. The ears of feminists perked up as she promised, "I will take this honor seriously, and I'm gonna use my newly acquired power to create television shows that highlight issues important to women." more ›

They landed, they were greeted by grinning politicians, they motorcaded, they mingled with venture capitalists, they were received at a Hancock Park garden party. Ah, what a first day for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Los Angeles. more ›

Captured Aural Phantasy Theater presents the Superhero Variety Hour tonight at 7:30 pm at the Bootleg Theater. The theater troupe combines the drama and comedy of a vintage radio show by interpreting/retelling stories from old comic books. In between the superhero stories will be live entertainment, music and art. Tickets: $10 at the door. more ›

The winners of the 70th Annual Peabody Awards were announced today. Included in the list were a couple of our favorites: TNT's "Men of a Certain Age" and FX's "Justified." --- Variety's new "blog," Showblitz, appears to be a boneheaded move. Read about our frustrations with the magazine. --- All this and the TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan and the listings. more ›

Part verbal Fight Club and Def Poetry Jam, Literary Death Match pits writers against each other to be judged by a panel and the audience. The event comes to LA’s the Mountain Bar in Chinatown tomorrow with readings commencing at 9:15 sharp. Tickets: $10 at the door. more ›

Many a Hollywood hopeful or star has come and gone from the headlines in the past five decades, but one name always remained rooted in his by-line at Daily Variety. Army Archerd, the industry rag's longtime columnist died yesterday at 87. "Archerd collapsed at home in Westwood on Monday afternoon and died Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center," notes his LA Times obit. Five years ago Archerd was diagnosed with a rare form of mesothelioma, "which doctors ascribed to his exposure to shipyard asbestos when he was in the Navy during World War II." more ›

As mentioned previously, AVN's annual Adult Entertainment Expo and Adult Movie Awards took place earlier this month in Las Vegas, with the convention running for four days at the Sands Expo and Convention Center and the awards show taking place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. more ›

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A tip of the hat to Anne Thompson at Variety for directing us to this first look at the trailer for the upcoming Coen Bros. film, No Country For Old Men. Perhaps returning to their roots in Blood Simple, the Coens have crafted a crime-thriller about a hunter who stumbles upon dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande. The film will hit American theaters in... more ›

Dear LAist, Did you see Entourage last night? When Drama drove to Variety to beat the ass of the TV critic Paul Schneider, was that really Michael Schneider who also is a critic at Variety, appears on E!, and runs the Franklin Avenue blog? Also, where can I get that AD/HD shirt? Nancy, North Hollywood Dear Nancy, We thought the same damn thing! However, if we had tuned into the Franklin Ave. blog on... more ›

A couple weeks back we interviewed Alex Delyle, managing editor of the West Hollywood-based startup The Daily Reel at the Economics of Social Media conference. more ›