L. Ron Hubbard

5 Reasons John Travolta is Definitely, Absolutely NOT Gay

Okay -- we know what you're thinking: John Travolta is super friggin' gay: He makes Andy Dick look like a mixed-martial arts heavyweight from Brazil. But hear us out: Some of the allegations against Travolta in recent years seem more like gay fantasies than journalistic reality. We even reported t ... More >>

The Top Ten Awesomely Absurd and Absurdly Awesome Clutch Lyrics

Throughout two decades and ten albums, D.C. rock outfit Clutch has evolved into one of the mightiest blues-rock bands around. One of the tangibles that make Clutch stand out is the lyrical output and delivery of vocalist Neil Fallon, whose lyrical output reflects his obsessions with conspiracy theor ... More >>

Why You Have to See The Master in 70mm

Paul Thomas Anderson excels at coaxing brilliant work out of his collaborators -- which, on his last two features, specifically means not only his leading men but also composer Jonny Greenwood and cinematographers Robert Elswit and Mihai Malaimare Jr. -- and directing them so expertly that he distra ... More >>

The Master Review: Paul Thomas Anderson Reteams With Philip Seymour Hoffman

Joaquin Phoenix Returns in Paul Thomas Anderson's Scientology-inspired The Master

There's something startlingly noncommittal about many of the initial reviews of The Master that leaked out following the impromptu screenings writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson organized in 70mm-equipped houses across the country, and later in response to the film's official bow at the Venice Film ... More >>

The Master's Master

Paul Thomas Anderson on his new 70 mm film

Ray Bradbury and Clifton's Cafeteria: Death and Rebirth

Ray Bradbury, an author considered one of the greatest science fiction and short story writers of the 20th century, died yesterday at age 91. Bradbury's 27 novels and story collections, which include classics Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Come ... More >>

10 Movies We're Excited About in 2012

Sacha Baron Cohen is The Dictator​We know -- you're excited about The Dark Knight Rises. And The Avengers. And Hunger Games. So are we. We're also excited about a lot of other movies whose marketing campaigns have not inundated us with white noise (yet). Allow us to suggest a few more films to ... More >>

Janet Reitman's Inside Scientology: Author's Packed L.A. Talks Reveal Why Angelenos Still Want Answers About the Controversial Religion

Courtesy of JanetReitman.comJanet Reitman​Every folding chair at Skylight Books in Los Feliz is taken, and standing-room folks jam into any available spot offering a sight line to the front.The questions pop out."What is the political agenda of the church?" asks an audience member."What's th ... More >>

Scientology Drug Rehab: Danette Elliott Sues Narconon Vista Bay for $1M, Says She Was Duped Into Church-Sponsored Program

​Like many people searching for alcohol addiction treatment, Danette Elliott turned to the Internet, where she found a site offering to help locate the "best drug rehab." The service recommended a program at the Narconon Vista Bay facility near Santa Cruz, trumpeting its effectiveness. According ... More >>

Newt Gingrich Announces Republican Presidential Campaign Do-Over to Commence in L.A. This Weekend

Newt.​Forget New York. If you can re-make it here, you can re-make it anywhere. And plenty of people, from L Ron Hubbard to Conan O'Brien, seem to have relaunched their careers in this City of Angels. You can now add Newt Gingrich to that list. Yeah, despite what you might have heard about t ... More >>

Music Picks: Talib Kweli, Pete Yorn, Lucy Schwartz

Also Rise Against, Piney Gir, Deradoorian and others

Daniel Montalvo's Scientology Lawsuit Claims False Imprisonment, Child Labor Violations, Lack of Education While Growing Up in L.A.-Based Org

Daniel Montalvo.​The Church of Scientology responds, denies the allegations, after the jump. Not exactly the glory days for the L.A.-based Church of Scientology. A New Yorker piece on director Paul Haggis' split with the organization reported last month that the FBI was investigating allega ... More >>

Hollywood's Soft Psychedelic Underbelly

Filmforum's "Alternative Projections" symposium draws a line from avant-garde to Avatar

Scientologist Johnny Goodboy Warns That L.A.-Based Church's Enemies Will 'Have The Blackest Future Imaginable'

Scientologist preducts black future for nonbelievers. ​We received nearly 100 comments based on the story of 19-year-old Daniel Montalvo, a teen raised inside the Church of Scientology who appeared to have run away from the organization only to be talked back for questioning and an arrest. So ... More >>

The Warner Brothers Gate Crasher's 5 Real Reasons For Plowing Through Gate With Camaro And Flammable Liquid

Not the actual camaro, but a great camaro regardless.​A guy crashed his Camaro through Gate 5 at the Warner Brothers lot last week and got charged Tuesday with attempted arson because of all the flammable liquids found and igniton device found stuffed inside, the Daily News reported. As if drivin ... More >>

INSIDIOUS CRACKPOT

Locals Only

Changing the System From Within

The Grammy Awards, As Seen from the Staples Center Press Room

Last year we came down pretty hard on the numbskulls journalists in the press room at the Grammys, but would like to officially recant last year's unfair judgment. Specifically, for the record, this is what we said about what awaits the lucky Grammy winners backstage: ...their audience, a bunch of ... More >>

France to Scientologists: Stop Defrauding Us

He's no Jerry Lewis. ​Apparently the French have less tolerance for financially exploitative religious institutions than we do. A Paris court today convicted the French branch of the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology of fraud, says the Associated Press. The church's French office was fined m ... More >>

On Chandler, L. Ron and a treeless L.A.

Plus: In defense of Michael Jackson

City Council's Birthday Gift to Scientology

LAist and L.A. Observed are among those questioning why the L.A. City Council, in the depths of an economic sinkhole, voted to waive $3,000 in city fees for the Shrine Auditorium celebration of L. Ron Hubbard's birthday. Zach Behrens quotes from Councilman Bernard Parks' motion: "This annual celebra ... More >>

Gods and Monsters: Forrest J Ackerman, 1916-2008

Forrest J Ackerman, who passed away last week from heart failure at the age of 92, may  end up best remembered as the man who coined the term "sci-fi." That's no small legacy in a culture often chronicled in shorthand - Jack Kerouac's "beat generation," comes to mind, or Herb Caen's more reduc ... More >>

Mythical Mystery Tour

Hoop of L.A.

What to do in L.A., October 3-9

"Anonymous" vs. Scientology: Group Targets "Church" Headquarters

Growing movement of Internet pranksters hits the organization's heart in Hollywood

Straight to the Duck Heart

Jonathan Gold’s Top 10 dishes of 2006

Citizen Beck

Coming to terms with our native son

Kiss Their Grits

Square One and the most important meal of the day

Cruise in Control

The Syracuse kid saves the world in style

Fangs for the Memory

Seven Degrees of Wally Berman

The culture of Semina

Feral Child

Process is born

Materialistic Fetishism Reconsidered

(A last-minute gift-giving guide)

I Believe in Miracles

Looking for God in all the wrong places

Letters

Here Comes . . .Who Are You Again?

Letters

Hurry Sunrise

Hollywood’s last act before daybreak

Eat at L. Ron’s

Letters

Annihilation Man

How Darby Crash lost control. Of the Germs. Of Circle One. Everything.

Rifling Victoria’s Secrets

The Smoking Gun’s posting of leaked employee guide sparks copyright battle

Letters

Surf’s Up for Scientologists

L.A. Times Who Knew? Department

L. Ron Speaks!

Believe it or not

An agnostic on Hollywood Boulevard

Radical and Real

Twenty years of smog, wars and holes in the ground

Critical Mass

From Johanna Went to Madame Tussaud: 20 years of arts coverage