Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Apak!, Andrice Arp, Charlie Becker, Robert Bellm, Christopher Bettig, Bigfoot, Aaron Brown, Buff Monster, Shawn Cheng, Catia Chien, Luke Chueh, Eleanor Davis, Dutch Door Press, Katherine Guillen, Clement Hanami, Brent Harada, Lizz Hickey, David Horvath, Michael Hsiung, Levon Jihanian, Kaori Kasai, Dan-Ah Kim, Le Merde, Benjamin Lee, Daniel Lim, Little Friends of Printmaking, Justin Morrison, Joel Nakamura, Kiyoshi Nakazawa, Tom Neely, Mylan Nguyen, Martin Ontiveros, John Pham, Silvio Poretta, Jesse Reklaw, Albert Reyes, Brian Rush, Shizu Saldamando, Emilio Santoyo, Ryan J. Smith, Deth P. Sun, Ryohei Tanaka, Daria Tessler, Elisabeth Timpone, Joe To, Edwin Ushiro, Michelle Valigura, and Amanda Visell.

Who?

We’re all here for Giant Robot’s Year of the Ox. It’s a group show at GR2 that celebrates the year 4707 of the lunar year. The show opens tomorrow — there’s a reception in the evening — and it runs through April 15. Now, can you please open up?

Dave’s not here, man.

Year of the Ox features work by Amanda Visell
(top) and Jason Reklaw (bottom) and dozens more.
Images courtesy of Giant Robot.

Believe it or not, during the last Depression, Hollywood’s movie studios went out of their way to appear more ethically responsible. Driven by fear of government regulation and church boycotts, in 1934 the studios began strictly enforcing the draconian Hays Code. Shortly thereafter, the studios of “Sin City” began cranking out a different tune.

“Combining good citizenship with good picture-making” was the Warners Brothers mantra during the Depression. And with its portfolio lined with gritty gems like Little Caesar (1931) with Edward G. Robinson, Public Enemy (1931) with James Cagney and I Am A Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) with Paul Muni, the studio was smart to brand itself as a champion of American values.

Starting tonight and continuing through March 22, the American Cinematheque presents The Brothers Warner: Classics and Pre-Code Films at the Egyptian Theatre. In addition to the above pre-Code films, the series also includes Captain Blood (1935) with Errol Flynn, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) with Humphrey Bogart, the pre-Code Ladies They Talk About (1933) with Barbara Stanwyck, a recent documentary on the pioneering Warner brothers, and much more.

Oh, and you didn’t think I could do a whole post on Warner Brothers and not mention this guy, did you?

Image: Stills from Little Caesar (top) and Captain Blood (bottom), courtesy of American Cinemathque.

Are you, or have you ever been, a dork?

The Southern California chapter of Dorkbot, a group that describes itself as “people doing strange things with electricity, mostly in Los Angeles,” is doing it’s semi-monthly meeting thingy at Machine Project on Sunday, March 8, at 1:00 pm.

And since you’re a dork, you’ve probably already set your digital watches to adjust to Daylight Savings, right?

For its meeting, Dorkbot will present Dan Goods, who, as a “Visual Strategist” at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, might just have the world’s coolest gig. In his job, Goods helps creatively communicate complex cellestial concepts both to the general public and to his science and engineering colleagues. He’s also a fine artist and the curator of Data + Art: Science and Art in the Age of Information, currently on view at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Also appearing at Dorkbot will be Eric Gradman and Brent Bushnell of Mindshare Labs, a group dedicated to “helping people play with themselves, and others,” who will present Artfall, a dynamic physical simulation by drawing on a whiteboard. And Brian O’Connor will show us what happens when you hook up a Chumby to an Arduino.

Say what? Look, they call it Dorkbot for a reason.

Image: No, Los Angeles, that is not Dorkbot. Photo by culturalelite.

If you’ve ever said “sci fi” in lieu of “science fiction,” thank the late Forrest J. Ackerman for coining the term. But wait, there’s more! In 1958, Ackerman also founded Famous Monsters of Filmland, a first-of-its-kind publication devoted to movie-monsters and the acting legends–Karloff, Lugosi, Chaney–who brought them to life. “Uncle Forry”* also generously offered free tours of his 18-room “Ackermansion” in Los Feliz, which once held the roughly 300,000 items of his personal sci-fi and horror memorabilia collection.

It would be difficult to measure the importance that “The Ackermonster”* had on the growth of science fiction, fantasy and horror as popular genres. His passing in December of last year was a sad moment for fanboys everywhere and brought forth eulogies from creative titans ranging from Farenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury to Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. The Los Angeles Times’ Dennis McLellan wrote a beautiful obituary for Ackerman–required reading for anybody interested in the man.

This Sunday afternoon, the American Cinematheque will present a free tribute to “Dr. Acula”* at the Egyptian Theater. Ray Bradbury, Famous Monsters of Filmland publisher James Warner and An American Werewolf in London director John Landis are all scheduled to offer testimonials to help celebrate the life and legend of “Sgt. Ack-Ack.”* Later in the evening, the Egyptian will screen the documentary Famous Monster: Forrest J. Ackerman and Ib Melchoir’s The Time Travelers, which features a cameo by Ackerman.

* I’m not joking. The guy had more nom de plumes than the Wu Tang Clan.

Images: Uncle Forry (left) and a publicity still for The Time Travelers (middle), both courtesy of the American Cinematheque. Ackerman in his Ackermansion (right), photo by Alan Light.

To complement its current exhibition ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, this Thursday the Skirball is presenting a lecture by the co-creator of Batman’s arch nemesis, the Joker, comic book artist and ZAP! POW! BAM! exhibition curator Jerry Robinson.

Look up “comic book villain” in the dictionary (or Wikipedia, you kids) and you’ll probably find an illustration of the Joker. Since debuting in 1940, the homicidal clown with the mysterious past has been drawn by countless artists and interpreted by actors ranging from Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson, to Mark Hamill and Heath Ledger.

Though the amount of ownership is debatable, it’s generally accepted that the character of the Joker was co-created by three individuals: artist/writer and Batman creator Bob Kane, writer Bill Finger and artist Jerry Robinson.

As a bonus, the lecture will be moderated by writer Mark Evanier, who began his career as an assistant to Jack “King of Comics” Kirby, the man who co-created this author’s favorite comic book villain.

No offense, Jerry!

Image: Detective Comics #71, cover art; Artist: Jerry Robinson;
© 1942 DC Comics; Batman, Robin, and The Joker ™ and © DC Comics;
All rights reserved; Used with permission; Collection of Jerry Robinson.

That’s right — science fiction. Not “speculative fiction,” “alternate history” or whatever phrase-of-the-month publishers have chosen to convince you you’re not reading literature intended for pimply-faced geeks.

Tomorrow, Skylight Books, UC Irvine and CalArts will host a mini symposium on science fiction. And if you’re a fan of the genre and not stuck going to the godsdamned “happiest place on earth” with your family (ahem!), you’d better be there. Willfull Creatures author Aimee Bender, The Treasury of the Fantastic editor David Sandner and Venusia author Mark Von Schleggel will gather at Skylight Books at 3:00 pm to discuss “today’s avant-garde in respect to
the genre’s New Wave past.”

Photo by frankenstoen via Flickr.

No, the above image is not a picture of Time Warner’s servers being attacked by hackers. Rather, it’s taken from Bruce Conner’s 1976 film CROSSROADS. The UCLA Film and Television Archive, Los Angeles Film Forum and REDCAT have teamed up to present Bruce Conner’s Explosive Cinema, a two-night tribute to the late experimental filmmaker. Part 1 takes place at the Hammer’s Billy Wilder Theater on February 28, and Part 2 happens March 2 at REDCAT. And while I’d love to share more details, I apparently live at ground zero for the War on Time Warner. I’ll just quickly mention that the first night is free and that Dennis Hopper will be there. I leave you now in peace to discover more on your own. Good night and good luck.

When Howard Stern took his show to Sirius XM over three years ago, he left behind some mighty big shoes to fill.

And so far, nobody has been able to cram their feet into those delicate glass slippers.

Big shoes. Delicate glass slippers. Just pretend that works, okay?

Case in point? Last week’s demise of not only Stern replacement Adam Carolla’s radio program, but KLSX’s entire 97.1 FM Talk format. Without the “King of All Media” at its helm, the CBS station just couldn’t stay afloat.

Well, that, and the economy tanked.

In my opinion, the North Hollywood born-and-bred Carolla was always slumming it on that station anyway. As much as my half-Mexican skin crawls when he starts ranting about Los Angeles’ ethnic makeup, I find the guy incredibly sharp, immensely entertaining and far too talented to be waving the same flag as Tom “Dump that Bitch” Leykis.

So it’s with great interest that I downloaded Carolla’s first ever podcast this morning.

Read the rest of this entry →

Every year, the hoopla surrounding a certain awards show makes me want to dismiss the entire medium of filmmaking as an art form. But just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in.

Who’s they? Why, the unsung heroes of the film industry in Los Angeles. Of course I’m talking about the revival movie theater houses. Institutions which, I’d speculate, need your hard-earned cash more than ever.

You know their names. The New Beverly. The UCLA Film & Television Archive. The American Cinematheque. The Silent Movie Theater. And that’s just scratching the surface. Between the American Film Institute, LACMA, the Getty, and the Japanese American National Museum (Oh God, I know I’m leaving some of you out. I truly never expected to be writing this post!) there are dozens of places in this city to see classic, forgotten, cult and foreign films on the big screen.

Which brings me to the Cinematheque’s double feature of 1984 and 2010 this Wednesday at the Aero Theatre. Both films are celebrating their 25th anniversary and present intriguing visions of the future. Or, in the case of 1984, present a look back at a vision of the future which still seems like it could become our future. And think about this: If a giant monolith begins orbiting Jupiter AND the Soviet Union makes a comeback, then 2010 could also could become our future. That’s what hard-core science fiction is all about!

And since we’re on the topic … did you catch last night’s winner for most inappropriate soundtrack?

Image: Stills from 2010 (left) and 1984.

Everything about you is fake. Your watch is fake. Your fur coat is fake. Even your hair is fake.

Well, don’t worry. The New Beverly has a film festival that’s right up your alley. Curated by Brick director Riann Johnson, the “Festival of Fakery” begins tonight with a double feature of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Johnson’s own upcoming film The Brothers Bloom.

Other films being screened include: a double feature of David Mamet’s House of Games (1987) and The Spanish Prisoner (1997); a double bill of The Sting (1973) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975); a double dose of Orson Welles’ F for Fake (1974) with Fellini’s 8 1/2 (1963); and a double whammy of Preston Sturges’ The Lady Eve (1941) and Terry Giliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988).

Now get back to pretending to do whatever you were pretending to be doing.

Image: Fake news from the Weekly World News.

Long before Battlestar Galactica’s Cavil and Ellen Tigh entertained us with arguments over the vagaries of sentient existence and free will, humanity looked to the ancient Greek tragedians to divert our minds from daily ills. That is, if you consider tales of matricide, patricide, fratricide, filicide and the occasional act of forced cannibalism a diversion.

You see, this cat Aeschylus was a bad mother … (Shut your mouth!) … but I’m talkin’ about the father of tragedy! Aeschylus’s The Oresteia trilogy–Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides–still rattles nerves to this day. And Angelenos who like their nerves rattled have it good, because thanks in part to the Getty Villa’s theater program, an Aeschylus tragedy is never more than a few months away.

This Friday through Sunday, the Getty’s Villa Theater Lab is presenting Ghost Road Company’s Orestes, the third part of their Home, Siege, Home trilogy, the multimedia theater ensemble’s own unique take on The Oresteia. In this chapter, “Orestes is tormented by his memories of having killed his mother; the Furies seek revenge for their fallen leader; and the Gods Apollo and Athena struggle to exact some peace and justice from the rubble.”

Wait a second? Apollo? Athena? Where have I heard those names before?

Image: Ghost Road Company’s Orestes. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

Talk about beating a man when he’s down!

In an era when even President Barack Obama speaks warmly about Ronald Reagan, you’ve got to admire the cajones of journalist William Kleinknecht, who will be speaking about his new book, The Man Who Sold the World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America, tonight at 7:00 pm at Book Soup.

According to the book’s blurb:

So much that has gone wrong in America — including the subprime mortgage crisis and the meltdown of the financial sector — can be traced directly to Reagan’s policies. The financial deregulation launched in the 1980s freed banks and securities firms to squander hundreds of billions of dollars and make a shambles of the economy.

For his follow-up book, Kleinknecht will blame Reagan for Octomom, the lack of cut-and-paste on the iPhone, and the undying popularity of Dancing with the Stars.

Oh, and for those of you who didn’t benefit from Reaganomics, a majority of the book can be found online for free here. Legally, even!

Image: The Gipper and Danny Chang in Hong Kong (1952).

God only knows what wonders and/or horrors will be unleashed when CERN restarts their Large Hadron Collider this September. But whatever a peek into the 4th dimension reveals, I can’t imagine it will be any more mind-boggling than this Sunday’s performance by Paper Rad artist Jacob Ciocci and San Diego’s Fortress of Amplitude at the Silent Movie Theatre.

Seriously, just take a look at any of the above epilepsy-inducing websites and see if you can figure out what these rapscallions are up to. No fair peeking at the press kit!

Having said that, Sunday’s performance entitled 2 Blessed 2 B Stressed should be quite the eye-opener and a good way to forget how much money you spent the day before on your special valentine.

According to the Silent Movie Theatre’s Web site, the evening with Jacob Ciocci will include: “a new 20-minute mix of original videos and animation; a performance of “I Let My Nightmares Go,” which uses a projector and live dance moves to grapple with inner demons; Web 2.0; GOD; 21st-century breakdown; real lies and fake truths; cartoon violence; and awareness bracelets.” Electro-sci-fi metal act Fortress of Amplitude will also be on hand to convince us that there is no spoon.

And lest I come off as aloof, the Theatre’s site also says that Ciocci’s work is “concerned with the relationships between popular culture, technology and notions of transcendence, all mixed inside a frenzied cartoon universe that is simultaneously celebratory and critical.”

So there!

Image: I’m sure it’ll all make sense on Sunday. Courtesy of the Silent Movie Theatre.

I’m a regular visitor to the LA Times’ excellent Culture Monster blog, so I was taken aback when I completely missed a major piece of news they reported last week. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the eagle eye of Taras “20 Minutes into the Future” Matla, I might still be in the complete dark about what will undoubtedly be the cultural event of 2009.

What am I carrying on about? At the end of a recent post about an exodus of board members from the Museum of Contemporary Art, LA Times staff writer Mike Boehm dropped this bombshell:

[T]he museum’s Geffen Contemporary building, closed until at least July as a cost-saving measure, is scheduled to be abuzz on the evening of Feb. 12 — not for art lovers, but for video game enthusiasts who’ll man more than 100 gaming stations during the launch party for Street Fighter IV. The game’s creator, Capcom, is renting the venue for the event.

Wow, talk about burying the lead! Capcom’s party will not only celebrate the launch of their latest entry in their mega-popular Street Fighter series, but will also mark 20 years of the button-mashing franchise’s history. Imagine that! And all without the help of $50 million from the NEA.

The festivities take place from 8 pm to 12 am and is free; you just need to RSVP.

At this late stage of the game, I can only hope that this post gets the word out to Capcom’s considerable fanbase. And no, I don’t mean this guy.

Between the Grammys, the Oscars and the World’s Greatest Dads, the sickening season of shameless self-congratulation is upon us.

For a breath of fresh air, look east to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which is hosting the 133rd annual Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) dog show.

For all you noobs, the WKC dog show is America’s second oldest sporting event (only the Kentucky Derby is older) and attracts breeders from around the world. Over the course of two nights, American Kennel Club judges bestow awards to dogs in seven distinct groups: hound, terrier, non-sporting, herding, sporting, working and toy. On Tuesday night, a “Best in Show” is named. Last year’s winner was a Beagle named Ch K-Run’s Park Me In First (aka “Uno”).

Part one is broadcast tonight from 8 pm to 9 pm on USA and then on CNBC from 9 pm to 11 pm (synergy!). Part two airs tomorrow night from 8 pm to 11 pm on USA.

And please remember that pure-bred dogs may look beautiful as they trot obediently around the Garden, but most of them are a royal pain-in-the-ass and prone to all sorts of debilitating genetic ailments.

If you’re interested in a canine companion, you’d be far better off following Obama’s lead and rescuing a dog from your local shelter.

Image: Some dude and his dog.