Courtney Quinn

Steve Carell gives an ever-expanding heart and heavily accented voice to the (initially) despicable villain Gru in the new animated film, Despicable Me. When we first meet our hero, er, villain, Gru’s having a bad, bad day. He’s just found out he has lost his title of World’s Best Villain to some newcomer named Vector (Jason Segel) and he’s not one to settle for second place. Vector bested Gru by stealing a giant pyramid from...

Photo courtesy of D&E Entertainment I had a coworker once, a recent college grad, whose first morning staff meeting fell on April 20. He still recalls uncomfortably how his phone started blowing up during the meeting, finally prompting our president to inquire what was going on. He couldn’t tell her it was from well-wishers delivering messages of, “Dude, Happy 4/20!” and sending him virtual tokes. But that was D.C. and this is L.A., where...

Photo courtesy of Apparition Films Kristen Stewart fidgets with the hem of her cropped black pants, her knees against her chest as she answers questions, her heels up on her chair. Dakota Fanning sits next to her. She’s composed and alert in a lavender tank top, taking in everything around her, eyes lingering over the scribbled notes of the reporter sitting next to her. The girls are promoting their latest film, The Runaways, which...

Being on the road can be lonely, especially when you’ve got company. Davy and his brother Sean have been spending their days driving to tiny bookshops promoting Davy’s book of short stories to sparse audiences and their nights holed up in cheap motel rooms. Then one night, alone in the motel room, Davy gets a call from a woman who wants to know what he’s wearing. What could have been a phone sex one-night-stand turns...

Photo courtesy of 110 Stories The recent tragedy in Haiti has inspired many people to offer their time and talents to raise money for the Red Cross, and at 8pm on Monday, February 22nd, a very special fundraising theatrical event will take place at the Geffen Playhouse (10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles 90024). For one-night-only, an all-star cast will perform a staged reading of 110 Stories, a theatrical presentation of a series of...

Last night LAist attended the 10th Anniversary Party for The Boondock Saints. Fans from all over the country came to Busby’s East in Hollywood to meet “brothers” Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus and writer/director Troy Duffy. The Saints have some wicked loyal fans. I saw at least two women in Boondock-inspired full-body paint, one of whom traveled all the way from Baltimore to attend the event. One fan with autographs all over her chest...

The 35th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards was held this weekend at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. The LAFCA is comprised of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics who work in the Los Angeles print and electronic media. LAist was out covering the red carpet of the event and talked with some of the award winners about how they first got involved with their projects and how it feels to be honored by...

Photo courtesy of Courtney Quinn Most fans of The Boondock Saints have heard some pretty nasty stuff about its Writer/Director Troy Duffy. I’ve been in this conversation a million times and it starts off by a random Boondock Saints reference, “Thanks for coming out,” something like that. Then there’s shared enthusiasm for the film among those who’ve seen it, “I love that movie!” and bewilderment toward those who haven’t, “You’ve never seen The Boondock...

Photo courtesy of Sony In my experience there are two kinds of people in this world: those who LOVE The Boondock Saints and those who have never heard of it. I fall squarely into the Love It category. In the neighborhood where I grew up and went to Catholic Church and high school, everyone and their mother loves it, too. My friend Joanne’s mom is one of the most conservative women you’ll meet, so...

We are here for your woman! | Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is the story of 16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia), an average high school student whose best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) gets into trouble when a traveling freak show comes to town. Trying to make things right, Darren trades in the normal life he had to become an assistant to an old vampire named Crepsley (John C. Reilly)....