Female artists of film animation honored @ AMPAS
Aug
2
2017


From the earliest pioneers of hand-rendered animated films, to the advent of digital technology, women have been at the forefront of the animation medium. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will celebrate the women who have been at the forefront of film animation Mindy Johnson, author of Ink & Paint: The Women of ...
Patricia Morison remembers … Martha Graham, Kiss Me Kate, more 6


We so enjoyed a charming conversation with Broadway and Hollywood doyenne Patricia Morison at her Los Angeles home July 6, 2017. The originator of the role of “Kate” in Kiss Me Kate, still vivacious and chatty at age 102, shared happy memories of her career. She took special care to describe the role that dance ...
Andrea Martin, beautiful & funny, in support of Armenian women in need 2


We so enjoyed last night’s cabaret-style performance by actress Andrea Martin, accompanied by her versatile sidekick (every woman needs one) Seth Rudetsky. The evening-length fundraiser for the Armenian International Women’s Association took place at North Hollywood’s show-bizzy El Portal Theater. Paying respect to her Armenian family background, the multiple Emmy Award-winning and two-time Tony Award-winning ...
Ella at 100: virtuosity, joy and swing 5


arts·meme jazz critic Kirk Silsbee excerpts his liner notes to the new four-CD set, Ella Fitzgerald: 100 Songs For a Centennial (Verve 2016-00957) At first blush, one hundred songs from any artist seem like overkill. In the case of Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), whose recordings number in the thousands, one hundred is just about enough to ...
Kim Basinger, Guy Pearce pay tribute to ‘L.A. Confidential’ director Curtis Hanson
May
10
2017


”He was my friend. I loved the man,” said actress Kim Basinger of film director Curtis Hanson, who died tragically at a too-young age in September 2016. Basinger’s two films for Hanson included L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997) and 8 MILE (2002). The super slender blonde, a down-home stunner, sparkled alongside co-star Guy Pearce in a joint ...
Honoring Curtis Hanson: actress Kim Basinger @ ‘Confidential’ screening
May
3
2017


In a tribute to Oscar-winning writer-director Curtis Hanson, who sadly passed away in September 2016, lovely actress Kim Basinger will appear in person for a 20th anniversary screening of the film noir masterpiece, L.A. Confidential (1997) hosted by Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series. Basinger’s luminous, Oscar-winning performance as a hooker with a heart, ...
Worldly actress Jacqueline Bisset honored at COLCOA
Apr
30
2017


A gorgeous crystal vase and heartfelt congratulations to the British-born actress Jacqueline Bisset, bilingual, bicultural, and in every way a screen stunner. Bisset was honored with the 2017 Prix Alliance Française presented by Christophe Lemoine Consul General of France in Los Angeles on April 27, 2017. The ceremony took place at the annual COLCOA French film ...
Dissent through dance! Learn 15 new ways to talk to Donald Trump
Apr
19
2017


Here’s how to tell Donald Trump what you think — put your body to it. Ideas of dissent vary in different contexts, according to workshop leader Ananya Chatterjea. A native of Kolkata, India, she also is a professor of theatre arts and dance at the University of Minnesota. Chatterjea envisions her work in the field ...
Primitive wonderment by Eleanor Swordy at Moskowitz Bayse
Apr
17
2017


I like these vivid oil paintings by French-born artist Eleanor Swordy soon to be showcased at Moskowitz Bayse in Los Angeles. And I admit being intrigued by the show’s title, “Who Died?” Both the title and the imagery on display in this female artist’s work — the geometric shapes, the primary colors, the bulky human ...
Review: Toba Khedoori, detailed draftswoman, at LACMA


If you love drawing, please run, don’t walk, to see LACMA’s exhibition of Toba Khedoori’s work through March 19. It covers two decades of the Los Angeles artist’s practice with 25 stunning works. Usually drawings would be dwarfed by the voluminous spaces of the BCAM building, but Khedoori’s manage to occupy the space beautifully. That ...