Comment: People Like Us

"Fourth, any place in the Valley that is a '15-minute' drive from Hollywood, aka Studio City, is not really considered the Valley proper. I have some cities that I can list that are 'real Valley,' and they rank as some of the lowest places on Earth: Burbank, Sun Valley, Tujunga, Van Nuys and Pacoima. Yes, Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks and Studio City may technically be part of the Valley, and they may be somewhat borderline 'nice.' But they are not really the Valley proper.

"Fifth, the more your author protests and feels the sting of the insults, the more true they must be, yes?"

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More About

• Adam Lambert
• Bobcat Goldthwait
• Gendy Alimurung
• Studio City
• LGBT Issues

Shadows in the Night

On the subject of insults, some readers thought film critic Nick Pinkerton was a bit too harsh on both Bobcat Goldthwait's God Bless America and Tim Burton's adaptation of Dark Shadows ("Vampires, All of Them," May 11).

Writes Dale Winogura of the Dark Shadows slam, "Since when was a TV show so sacrosanct? When your so-called critic refers to Dark Shadows as a 'clumsy desecration,' that must mean the series was somehow holy and untouchable. I'm not saying the movie is perfect, since the script is basically warmed-over hash and a flimsy conceit at best. But the fluid artistry, exquisite design and sophisticated wit of Tim Burton ultimately triumph."

Of Goldthwait's film, Stevie Mack adds, "I watched this movie tonight with my dad, and it was one laugh-a-minute contradiction after another. A cross between Idiocracy meets Natural Born Killers, this movie seems to serve as a platform to voice all that Bobcat hates and seeks to blast it, literally, into a fictional oblivion via rapidfire verbiage and bullets. Kudos to him for continuing to push the envelope."

Finally, Undergraduate writes, "Speaking of 'douchebag,' how about the idea of Hollywood as an arbiter of social justice? I mean, wow. The only thing more douchebag than the very idea of a Bobcat Goldthwait as social commentator is the idea of a Hollywood critic passing social judgment on his movie."

Corrections

Our April 19 profile of Bobcat Goldthwait credited the wrong photographer. Goldthwait was photographed by Stephanie Diani. We regret the error.

Congratulations

Gendy Alimurung recently won first prize from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in its general-interest category for large publications, beating out scribes from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Boston Globe. Alimurung's winning columns looked at a teen-party expo, a rehabilitation program for combat veterans and the pleasures of playing a CSI corpse.

The judge wrote of Alimurung's work, "Gendy Alimurung is a wonderful writer and storyteller. She also is a smart reporter with an eye for detail and empathy for her subjects. All of those talents come through in her pieces. For a columnist, she is also modest. She lets her subjects come to the fore and presents them with flair. Excellent pieces through and through." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

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