In Ruby Sparks, Paul Dano’s misfit novelist dates his own creation
It’s one of the most cherished legends of the American indie: A socially retarded ugly duck, despite making no eff ort to regulate his glaring emotional hang-ups, is discovered as a swan by a clearly out-of-his-league girl who loves him just the way he is. Buff alo ’66 (1999) and Punch-Drunk Love (2002) are the best-known examples of the spaz wish-fulfillment romance, but the last decade-plus has brought many also-rans, like the toxic Gigantic, starring Paul Dano.
It is appropriate, then, that Dano should star in Ruby Sparks, a loser love story that is also a moral-fable critique of the same.Dano plays Calvin, a one-hit novelist struggling through two dry spells. As his claim-to-fame tome
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Woody Guthrie in Los Angeles A more vivid picture of the folk singer emerges via newly released songs from his time here By Kai Flanders Thursday, Jul 12 2012
On July 10, four days before the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie's birth, Smithsonian Folkways released the legendary folk singer's oldest known recordings for the first time. The songs, part of a massive box set titled Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection, take Los Angeles as their subject matter and were recorded here. They offer insight into the developing mind of Guthrie, a young man at a political and personal crossroads.
Who was that man, and how does he differ from the iconic figure portrayed by history? In addition to shedding light on Guthrie's time in Los Angeles, the recordings paint him as
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Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour, Cirque du Soleil - Staples Center - 1/27/12 By Ali Trachta Sat., Jan. 28 2012
A dance scene from Immortal, with Bubbles gettin' hyphy in the middle. Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour -- Cirque du Soleil
Staples Center
January 27, 2012
Better than ...This Is It in 3-D
Of course there was a flash mob, superfans in zombie getup busting their best "Thriller" moves outside the Staples Center box office while the crowd filed in. This was a Michael Jackson show, after all. Last night, MJ was present, if in spirit only: like it says in the Bible, where two or three come together in the King's name, there is he with them.
The show kicked off in a subtle fashion, with just three dancers (one was the main "ghost of MJ"
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Johnny Ramone's Widow Linda Gives Us a Tour of Their Beautiful and Bizarre House By Kai Flanders Thu., Aug. 16 2012
Linda Ramone lives in an eccentric museum. The widow of iconic Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (who died in 2004 of prostate cancer) is dedicated to preserving her late husband's legacy, and his estate. She still lives in the home they shared in the Valley -- a wacky, charmingly garish house filled with things like original posters for Elvis Presley movies and stuffed foxes resting beneath punk memorabilia. And, of course, there's the shrine to Ronald Reagan in the kitchen.
Seated on one of her plush pink chairs in the living room, the ageless Linda conducts herself like the First Lady of Punk. Dressed in a flowing orange dress with red hair fluffed like a dyed cotton ball and plenty of ey
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Nudity Dita Von Teese: How She Became the Most Famous Stripper in America By Gendy Alimurung Thu., May 3 2012 at 10:35 AM
Dita Von Teese wears a vintage dress from The Way We Wore and bracelets by J. Max.
See also:
*A gallery of pictures from our photo shoot at Dita Von Teese's Los Feliz home.
*Top 10 Strip Clubs in Los Angeles
*Marilyn Monroe's Seven Never-Before-Seen Mostly Nude Photos at Duncan Miller Gallery
Dita Von Teese can't remember the first time she took her clothes off for someone. It was probably early on, before she became the queen of burlesque and undressing became her job. Probably after ballet class, changing in front of other girls.
She does remember the first time she stripped. She was 19, and back then her name was Heather Sweet. She had bee
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Tim Burton at LACMA How a Hollywood director became a counterculture hero By Liz Ohanesian Thursday, Jun 9 2011
On a recent Saturday morning, Mayra Plascencia and Peter Aguirre were in the first handful of people waiting in line to meet Tim Burton at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The two 31-year-olds had arrived at 9:30 the previous night, and Plascencia had made a gift for Burton: a small figurine of a black "creepy cat."
The rest of the line, which began near the museum's box office, traveled down an impressive staircase and swung out onto Wilshire Boulevard, past the Tar Pits and around the corner, displayed more overt symbols of the Burton obsession. A few people were wearing seemingly homemade Edward Scissorhands T-shirts and sweatshirts. One girl arrived in a patchwork skirt reminiscent of Sally's from The Nig
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