Eastern Europe

Asian-Chasing Creeps Make L.A. The International-Dating Epicenter Of America

Seeing that we're the jumping-off point for the Asian Pacific, Latin America and, for whatever reason, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, it should be no surprise that Los Angeles is the "international dating" capital of America. That, at least, is the word from a rep for the website AnastasiaDate, which tol ... More >>

If Hipster Cameras Are So Popular, Why Did L.A.'s Lomography Stores Close Down?

As early as 15 years ago, if you wanted to take a picture, you'd need to bring your film into a lab and wait to see how the images developed. A semi-working knowledge of film speed helped, as did a bit of familiarity with shutter speed, aperture settings, and other variables required to produce a de ... More >>

The Exorcist Director William Friedkin Tells All in His No-Bullshit Memoir

See also: *More L.A. Weekly Film Coverage *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week Hollywood heavy hitters normally wait until they're out of the film game to write their memoirs. That way they can settle scores and write the first draft of their cinematic history without severing relationships they ... More >>

Theater to See in L.A. This Week, Including an Unusual Look at Motherhood

This week, our critics enjoyed composer and musical director Gregory Nabours' 90-minute musical The Trouble With Words (Coeurage Theatre Company at the Unknown Theatre) as well as a quartet of one-acts at the Lillian under the collective title Unscreened. This week's Pick goes to Dorothy Fortenberry ... More >>

Gael Garcia Bernal Stars in No, About a Political Campaign in Pinochet's Chile

Santa Monica Auctions Says Goodbye, as Bergamot Station's C Building Will Be Demolished for Expo Line

Johnny Cash's lyric "I hear the train a comin'" best captures the mood at the Santa Monica Auctions farewell event, held this past weekend, June 9 and 10. Due to the planned extension of the MTA's Expo Line, the entire C Building at Bergamot Station -- home to Track 16, The Robert Berman Gallery and ... More >>

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Turns 25, Continues to Grow Globally

The HIV/AIDS advocacy group that brings you those condom and HIV-testing billboards all over Los Angeles turned 25 over the weekend, as first reported by LGBT POV. Founded by the feisty Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been on the front lines of battling HIV/AIDS since 1987 -- a p ... More >>

The Chaotic Travels of the Theater Company Poor Dog Group

Click on the image to make it bigger Zipping from Malibu to Manhattan, spending a month in Europe, regrouping and conferring with like-minded colleagues in a state-of-the-art "pleasure dome" -- it sounds more like the itinerary of a high-powered executive with a hefty expense account than a contemp ... More >>

Maya Deren on Film

The avant-garde pioneer's work at LACMA

Jonathan Gold Reviews Baco Mercat

Weegee Strips Hollywood Naked

Courtesy of MOCALiz Taylor, ca. 1950​ "Hollywood is Newark, New Jersey with palm trees." So said crime photographer and full-time self promoter Arther Fellig, who was also known as Weegee. He was New Yorker to the the core, having grown up in the bitter poverty of the Depression-era Lower Eas ... More >>

The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Eat and Drink Like Don Draper, Cook Like Betty

Carin Baer/AMCJanuary Jones as Betty Draper on Mad Men, serving gazpacho.​For even the most diehard fans, it's often difficult to pinpoint exactly why we love Mad Men, perhaps because what sets the show apart is its subtlety. If you've seen even a handful of episodes you know that, like a trul ... More >>

Amanda Brown: Raw Foodist, Colossal In Kiev

Britt BrownAmanda Brown​See also: LA Vampires perform at Dem Passwords, 8/3/11 At Cafe Gratitude on Larchmont Boulevard, the menu items aren't labeled as soups or burgers or salads or whatever; instead, they're hippie affirmations, like "I Am Liberated" or "I Am Honoring." When the waitress d ... More >>

Hockey Crash: Pavol Demitra and Jan Marek, Los Angeles Kings Alumni, Reportedly Dead on Downed Russian Plane

Demitra in his Kings jersey.​Two NHL stars who were formerly recruited by the Los Angeles Kings -- but had moved on to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Europe -- have reportedly been killed in this morning's devastating plane crash along Russia's Volga River. LA Observed notes that Pavo ... More >>

The Sublime Webb Sisters

New Spirit: Napa Valley Vodka, Wine Glass Not Included

J. GarbeeNapa Valley Vodka: Perfect For That Next Open Casket Funeral​Last we spoke with Arthur Hartunian, the owner of the one-man Napa Valley Distillery, he was telling us about his mid-life limoncello making crisis and soon to launch Sauvignon Blanc vodka. He also mentioned (several times) ... More >>

Time Travelers

John Steppling's Phantom Luck

Exclusive Interview: Megadeth's David Ellefson on Thrash Metal, his Favorite Bible Story and the Status of That Elusive American "Big Four" Tour (Yes You, Metallica. We're Waiting.)

Valerie McRobertsDavid Ellefson enjoying a stiff Starbucks before Megadeth's set​Megadeth are undoubtedly one of the biggest thrash metal bands of all time. Fronted by Dave Mustaine, founder, guitarist and vocalist, the band was formed in the early '80s after Mustaine was kicked out of Metalli ... More >>

The California International Theatre Festival

Purl's pearl in Calabasas

Gogol Bordello Tackles Immigration Reform in New Music Video, Eugene Hutz Explains Why and Shares Photos from the Set

Timothy NorrisGogol Bordello at The Mayan, June 2010​On June 29 gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello announced its plans to officially boycott the state of Arizona over the highly controversial SB 1070, the toughest anti-illegal immigration bill passed in America in decades -- one that requires auth ... More >>

WHO IS THIS ALAN FURST?

L.A.'s Best Chocolate Shops: Because Nothing Says I Love You, Mom More Than A Sea Salt Fudge Truffle

Since we're on a tight budget (hey, the recession might be letting up but we're in no position to splurge) chocolate is our go-to Mother's Day gift. There's only a few days left until the big day so if you're in the last-minute "I need a present for Mom ASAP" predicament, we've created a neighborhoo ... More >>

There I Fixed It: Stupid Things People Do, or How To Get Killed With Duct Tape

​Donna Marie Dickens, 26, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Kiki Kane of Seattle, Washington run the site ThereIFixedIt.com. The blog started in May of 2009 and is a part of the famous Cheezburger network, which runs ICanHasCheezburger.com. Donna, why did you start the site? It's pretty brilli ... More >>

Movie Reviews: Adam, Aliens in the Attic, The Collector

Also, Lorna's Silence, G-Force, Not Quite Hollywood and more.

Killsonic: A 24-Piece L.A. Big Band's "Cloud of Noise"

Roving musicians fill city's Metro tunnels with sound

Best Way to Stay Ungentrified

A local's guide to walking SaMo

Letter From Moscow: Back in the USSR

You can't rely on the official media to learn much of what's going on in Russia. The government owns all Russian TV stations, on which never is heard a discouraging word. Jon Stewart-style political satire has disappeared from the airwaves. Those pundits who dared to challenge government policy have ... More >>

Adam Baum and the Jew Movie

Daniel Goldfarb's Adam Baum and the Jew Movie

Real jews don't eat kitsch

Victory

Mish-Mash

Danube Bulgarian cuisine is all over the map

Critics’ Picks

Our guide to the best of AFI Fest 2006

As the Towers Fall

Brett Dean's viola concertos and remembering the classical room at Tower Records

Not to Matter

Reality Czech

Post-Soviet aesthetics in Karlovy Vary

Curry Invasion

My Favorite Upstarts

2005’s bumper crop of socially concerned organizations

Losing Our Shirts

An unhappy New Year looms for American apparel makers

Ten Weeks That Changed the City

The 1984 Olympic Arts Festival

Welcome to the Concrete Jungle

John Powers in the land of no culture, surreal Cancún

Debits and Credits

The Hired Hand

The Hired Hand

Alejandro Iñárritu revs up the boss’s BMW

The Matter at Hand

In some of our favorite parts of the world, everything is finger food, from steaming gobs of rice to whole fried carp.

Too Damned Far

But -- to paraphrase Michelin -- well worth the drive

Springtime for Hitler

The Berliner Ensemble folds up its tent at UCLA

Sheep Thrills

In the spring, a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of lamb

Body Language

The post-human illusions of osseus labyrint

Five Big Ideas

After Sex, Courage

France's actress-director Brigitte Rouan