Which films were most nominated and which should have been?; Chief Beck explains crime and gun sales; should you tailor your diction to your audience; and Woody Guthrie's life in LA.
2016 Academy Award snubs & nods a gift to Oscar host Chris Rock
Two themes emerged in today's Academy Awards nominations: “The Revenant” is a beast to be reckoned with, commanding 12 nominations, and Academy voters could not rally around a single performer of color in the acting categories.
Some film lovers questioned why Oscar Isaac ("Ex Machina"), Idris Elba ("Beasts of No Nation"), and Benicio Del Toro ("Sicario") are absent as contenders, especially on the heels of last year's intense criticism of an equally white cast of nominees.
Other notable news includes the small indie "Room" getting four nominations; seven nominations for "The Martian," excluding its director Ridley Scott; and Sylvester Stallone being recognized in "Creed."
The 88th Oscars® will be hosted by comedian Chris Rock on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 4 p.m. PST.
What's your reaction to today's nominations?
Guest:
Pamela McClintock, Senior Film Writer, The Hollywood Reporter. She tweets from
Oregon standoff nears two weeks as ranchers, law enforcement remain at odds
Occupation of a wildlife refuge in rural Oregon is entering its 13th day today with both sides still at an impasse on how to resolve the conflict peacefully.
The group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge says its members will meet with the community tomorrow to discuss a plan to leave, but it’s unclear whether they’re actually planning to do so or just restate their demands.
Ammon and Ryan Bundy met with Harney County Sheriff David Ward last week to try and work out a solution, but the occupiers say they’re not leaving until the county’s federal land is turned over to residents to manage.
In a more amusing twist to the story, the occupiers have reportedly been receiving frequent, and sometimes even phallic, hate mail after posting their address on their Facebook page and asking supporters to send supplies.
Today on AirTalk, Larry speaks with a veteran investigative reporter in Oregon who has been covering the standoff since it began and recently profiled Harney County Sheriff David Ward as part of his reporting.
Guest:
Les Zaitz, senior investigative reporter for The Oregonian and OregonLive.com; he tweets from
LAPD Chief Beck returns to AirTalk to talk crime stats, gun sales, and more
LA Police Chief Charlie Beck surprised many this week with news he recommended criminal charges be filed against an officer who shot an unarmed homeless man in Venice last month.
Beck says it was a difficult, but obvious decision to ask the district attorney's office to take action in the case. Another task facing the chief is rising crime in LA.
While criminologists told KPCC's Frank Stoltze the rates are not alarming, preliminary numbers from 2015 show a 10 percent increase in murders, robberies went up 12 percent and aggravated assaults 27 percent - over last year, according to the latest data available from LAPD.
We'll also talk about the latest word on body cameras, gun sales and security in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shootings, plus talk with listeners on AirTalk.
What are your questions for Chief Beck?
Guest:
Charlie Beck, Chief, Los Angeles Police Department. He tweets from
Winners and losers of a $30-barrel of oil
This week, the price of a barrel of crude dropped to $30 a barrel -- the first time since 2003.
That might be great news for commuters and consumers, but terrible news for a long list of countries ranging from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria to Canada to Scotland.
Many factors have feed the long decline of oil prices, including the uptick in the production of oil in the US through fracking. Signs of economic troubles in China are contributing to the Black Gold’s most recent slump.
Which countries are the winners and losers of cheap oil? How low can oil prices go?
Guests:
Gurpal Dosanjh, energy analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International economics and has written extensively about global trade and oil
Quentin Tarantino and the great American language debate
Quentin Tarantino made waves this week after he used the word “ghetto” in his Golden Globes acceptance speech.
He used it in the context of its historically correct usage, as an area confined to members of a minority group, but offended people nonetheless.
“Even when you're a white person who demonstrates some level of appreciation or affinity for black people and black culture — you're still white. You don't get a free pass to play around with the words, phrases and experiences that reinforce the marginalization of black people,” wrote NBC commentator Derrick Clifton. Others have deemed Tarantino the most recent victim of Americans’ shrinking vocabularies.
But should people retire words like “retarded,” “apologist,” “catholic,” and “niggardly” from usage for fear of offending people who assume you’re referring to the word’s popular usage?
Guests:
Geoffrey Nunberg, Linguist and professor in the School of Information at UC Berkeley. He’s the author of the books “A-word” and “Talking Right"
Jesse Sheidlower, president of the American Dialect Society, editor-at-large of the Oxford English Dictionary and author of “The F-Word”
Local authors explore Woody Guthrie’s time in Los Angeles
The first book to thoroughly explore the legendary folk singer’s time in Los Angeles, “Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941” details how the legendary folksinger’s stay in Los Angeles in the later years of the Great Depression forever changed his music, his politics, and his legacy.
The book’s twelve essays examine and document Guthrie’s early radio success in Los Angeles with the Woody and Lefty Lou Show; his first recordings made on old Presto disks; and the important friendship he forged with the actor and leftist radical Will Geer (later of “Grandpa Walton” fame).
Other pieces cover Guthrie’s racial egalitarianism, and the impact he still exerts in his songs about migrants and workers looking for their main chance in California.
Darryl Holter and Bill Deverell will be at Vroman’s in Pasadena this Sunday, January 17, at 3 p.m. to discuss and sign their new book, “Woody Guthrie LA, 1937 to 1941”. Click here for event info.
Guests:
Darryl Holter, co-author of “Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941” (Angel City Press, 2016) and an adjunct professor in history at USC. He’s also a singer and songwriter. His album, Radio Songs: Woody Guthrie in Los Angeles, 1937-1941, was released last year
William Deverell, co-author of “Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941” (Angel City Press, 2016) and the director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West at the University of Southern California