LA WeeklyMexican artist Sergio Arau pays tribute to lucha libre in his new exhibit, “La Vida Es un Ring,” which takes its name from an Amado Nervo poem that goes: “Man is born to wrestle, strive/Like birds are born to fly.” Arau, a painter-filmmaker-musician who directed the movie A Day Without a Mexican, created the style he calls ArtNacó in 1983. Nacó is “street kitsch,” referring to the authentically Mexican images of lucha libre and altars that Arau represents in his pop-art pieces. The opening-night celebration, “La Lucha de Las Mascaras,” includes a lucha libre marketplace, face painting, photo booth and tequila tasting. Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach; Fri., Sept. 11, 7 p.m.; $10 members, $15 nonmembers. Exhibit continues through Sept. 27. (562) 437-1689, molaa.org. —Sascha Bos
“Schindler: The Prequel” is an exhibition portraying the intellectual climate in Vienna at the time of R.M. Schindler's architectural training, and highlighting the trail of influence linking 19th-century Europe with 20th-century West Hollywood. The exhibit recontextualizes the famous 1922 Kings Road House as a direct result of the debates raging in Vienna Modernist circles from 1890 to 1914, when Schindler was a young student and architectural aspirant. Photographs, drawings and furniture designs detail the grounding principles laid by Viennese architect Otto Wagner, as well as the following generation's responses to his work as personified by Adolf Loos and Josef Hoffmann. MAK Center L.A. at Schindler House, 835 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood; Fri., Sept. 11-Sun., Dec. 6, Wed.-Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; $7. (323) 651-1510, makcenter.org. —John Payne
He's back from a stint in New York City, and so is his fast-paced, brilliantly farcical, competitive schmoozefest. Guy Branum's Talk Show: The Game Show, from the Chelsea Lately vet and writer for breakout Hulu series Difficult People, makes its triumphant return after nine long months when Branum hosts guest gabbers Jon Daly, Nicole Byer and Max Silvestri. Judges Emmy Blotnick, Louis Virtel and Casey Schriener will award points for best project plugging, name dropping and anecdote telling. Nerdist Showroom at Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; Sat., Sept. 12, 9 p.m.; $8. nerdmeltla.com. —Julie Seabaugh
We're gonna need a bigger car. Seeing Jaws at a drive-in may seem a cinematic luxury afforded only to those in attendance for its original release, but try telling that to the proprietors of Electric Dusk. Steven Spielberg's stock rose astronomically after he directed this, the blueprint for countless summer blockbusters to follow, and Hollywood has never been the same. Neither the filmmaker himself nor the fat cats lining their pockets with the hard-earned dollars of moviegoers could have foreseen the extent to which this simple tale of a very large shark would come to define their business model. Electric Dusk Drive-In, 1000 San Julian St., downtown; Sat., Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m.; $7.50 (lawn seats), $55 (VIP treatment). (818) 653-8591, electricduskdrivein.com. —Michael Nordine
Originally conceived in 2001 by San Francisco–based arts nonprofit Southern Exposure, Monster Drawing Rally has since become a yearly tradition in Los Angeles benefiting the Armory Center for the Arts. The live-drawing event is an opportunity for art lovers, collectors and spectators to witness the practical application of creativity in real time, with 100 talented people making works that are then sold for $75 apiece. Drink local beer on tap from the Craftsman Brewing Company and buy an original drawing made on the spot to raise funds for one of Pasadena's favorite arts institutions. Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena; Sat., Sept. 12, noon-5 p.m.; $10. (626) 792-5101, armoryarts.org/monster. —Tanja M. Laden
“Schindler: The Prequel” is at the MAK Center.
The mastermind behind The Cremaster Cycle, Matthew Barney, expertly takes an uncharted, multidisciplinary approach to his practice, creating works using drawing, photography and film. “Matthew Barney: River of Fundament” is the artist's first major solo show at an L.A. museum, featuring a six-hour-long film divided into three acts exploring the U.S. automotive industry. It also includes a group of sculptures made especially for the presentation at MOCA, as well as storyboards and other images that document the painstaking, nearly seven-year process of making of Barney's new film, which screens at various times. Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, 152 N. Central Ave., downtown; Sun., Sept. 13-Mon., Jan. 18, Mon. & Fri., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thu., 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; $12 adults, $7 students with ID and seniors (65+), children under 12 free. (213) 626-6222, moca.org. —Tanja M. Laden
Given that Richard Milhous Nixon thoroughly divided the nation while he was president, it's fitting that there's a book about him that addresses some divisions — but not the kind you might think. To clarify it all, Evan Thomas discusses his new book, Being Nixon: A Man Divided, which paints a portrait of the president as conflicted but ultimately well-intentioned underneath all those layers of atrocity and double-dealing. After all, Nixon also tried to desegregate Southern schools, ended the draft and created the Environmental Protection Agency. Vroman's, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Mon., Sept. 14, 7 p.m.; free, book is $35. (626) 449-5320, vromansbookstore.com. —David Cotner
The New Beverly's adoration of the Shaw Brothers continues unabated, as its latest double bill can attest: Black Magic and The Boxer's Omen. In the former, a magician specializing in love spells makes things difficult for himself when he tries to make the object of a customer's affections fall in love with him. In Boxer's Omen (also known as Mo), a fellow visits Thailand for the simple, noble purpose of avenging his brother after a fight with a corrupt Muay Thai practitioner left said sibling crippled. This too gets complicated, thanks in no small part to a blend of magic, wizards and Buddhism. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax; Tue., Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m.; $8. (323) 938-4038, thenewbev.com. —Michael Nordine
Documentary filmmaker Leslie Zemeckis, wife of director Robert Zemeckis, detailed the heyday of burlesque in 2013's Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America. In her latest book, Goddess of Love Incarnate: The Life of Stripteuse Lili St. Cyr, Zemeckis narrows in on one of the dance form's biggest names. Though not as well-known as her contemporary Gypsy Rose Lee, St. Cyr was a popular dancer, first working as a Hollywood chorus girl and later in Vegas, where she performed her trademark striptease in a bathtub. Zemeckis chronicles the height of St. Cyr's career in the 1940s and '50s and her retirement in the '70s. The author also delves into the dancer's six marriages, rumored romances with Orson Welles and Yul Brynner, suicide attempts and reclusive final years in Hollywood, where she died in 1999. Barnes & Noble at the Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, Beverly Grove; Tue., Sept. 15, 7 p.m.; free, book is $28. (323) 525-0270, barnesandnoble.com. —Siran Babayan
Jerry Stahl releases the 20th-anniversary edition of Permanent Midnight next month with a new cover and foreword by Nic Sheff. Stahl has published eight works in the two decades since his 1995 debut book, but it's the heroin confessional, in which he chronicles his years as a drug-addicted Hollywood writer, that put him on the literary map. Stahl marks his career milestone with readings by two fellow authors who've also penned substance-abuse stories. In 2013's Junkie Love, Joe Clifford recounts being a drug addict in San Francisco and L.A., where he lived on Skid Row; 2014 novel Wasting Talent was written while Ryan Leone was serving a four-year prison sentence for drug smuggling. The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., downtown; Thu., Sept. 17, 7:30-9 p.m.; free. (213) 488-0599, lastbookstorela.com. —Siran Babayan
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