LOS ANGELES TIMES
April 30, 2006
By James Verini
IN a business populated by whack-a-mole operators, Andrew Brin has stood steady as a totem at the thresholds of L.A.’s “It” clubs and parties (Guy’s, Spider Club, Monday nights at Les Deux, Tropicana Bar) for the better part of a decade now. He is the gentle Charon of the night, list in hand, chary smile on his face.
(more…)
Archive for the ‘L.A. Times’ Category
Small Hours: The doorman as therapist
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Small Hours: His look doesn’t matter; Everyone loves Raymond
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
April 15, 2006
By James Verini
There are two types of people at a typical Raymond Pettibon opening. One type is drawn to the epigrams and discomfiting punch lines buried in Pettibon’s seemingly blithe drawings and paintings — serious folks who like to be seriously poked in the eye by art. Then there are the cheerier souls who come to see another beach bum play with cartoons. (more…)
April 15, 2006
By James Verini
There are two types of people at a typical Raymond Pettibon opening. One type is drawn to the epigrams and discomfiting punch lines buried in Pettibon’s seemingly blithe drawings and paintings — serious folks who like to be seriously poked in the eye by art. Then there are the cheerier souls who come to see another beach bum play with cartoons. (more…)
Small Hours: He’s not letting you in
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
April 9, 2006
By James Verini
THE closing of Amanda Scheer Demme’s vanity cave Teddy’s last week elicited gasps of fear and bewilderment from the paparazzi and Demme’s 700 newest, closest friends, but for one place and its proprietor, the news was good. The toughest door in town now belongs to Holly’s, restaurateur and club owner Rick Calamaro’s Hollywood lounge. (more…)
April 9, 2006
By James Verini
THE closing of Amanda Scheer Demme’s vanity cave Teddy’s last week elicited gasps of fear and bewilderment from the paparazzi and Demme’s 700 newest, closest friends, but for one place and its proprietor, the news was good. The toughest door in town now belongs to Holly’s, restaurateur and club owner Rick Calamaro’s Hollywood lounge. (more…)
Small Hours: Pouring in a purple haze
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
March 31, 2006
By James Verini
If you’ve been out in L.A. lately, it’s not unlikely that you’ve seen this: a weird rectangular, purple-shaded bottle of vodka sitting on a reserved table or behind the bar, and on the bottle Jimi Hendrix’s face and his stringy Spider From Mars afro. And near the bottle a tall, very blond, very voluble guy, talking to someone about his newest venture. That someone is probably nodding in browbeaten amazement. (more…)
March 31, 2006
By James Verini
If you’ve been out in L.A. lately, it’s not unlikely that you’ve seen this: a weird rectangular, purple-shaded bottle of vodka sitting on a reserved table or behind the bar, and on the bottle Jimi Hendrix’s face and his stringy Spider From Mars afro. And near the bottle a tall, very blond, very voluble guy, talking to someone about his newest venture. That someone is probably nodding in browbeaten amazement. (more…)
Small Hours: Bacchanalia gets branded
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
March 26, 2006
By James Verini
ON a recent Friday at about 1 a.m., as I stood in a Hollywood Hills mansion rented out by Flaunt magazine, sipping a Patron cocktail near a mannequin outfitted in Hugo Boss, thinking about the untouched Jaguar sitting behind velvet ropes in the driveway, I asked myself whether that most venerable of Los Angeles civic institutions, the extravagant mansion party, had lost its soul. (more…)
March 26, 2006
By James Verini
ON a recent Friday at about 1 a.m., as I stood in a Hollywood Hills mansion rented out by Flaunt magazine, sipping a Patron cocktail near a mannequin outfitted in Hugo Boss, thinking about the untouched Jaguar sitting behind velvet ropes in the driveway, I asked myself whether that most venerable of Los Angeles civic institutions, the extravagant mansion party, had lost its soul. (more…)
Small Hours: At after-parties, the design takes a backseat to celebrity
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
March 24, 2006
By James Verini
Among all the Hollywood throwback gowns, the re-upped worship of tortured denim and the Bob Fosse-conjuring underwear, nobody seemed sure, yet again, whether L.A. Fashion Week should be about showcasing L.A.’s real indigenous self or playing into the tiresome images of tawdriness and self-stultification, or — what usually ends up happening — trying to do both. (more…)
March 24, 2006
By James Verini
Among all the Hollywood throwback gowns, the re-upped worship of tortured denim and the Bob Fosse-conjuring underwear, nobody seemed sure, yet again, whether L.A. Fashion Week should be about showcasing L.A.’s real indigenous self or playing into the tiresome images of tawdriness and self-stultification, or — what usually ends up happening — trying to do both. (more…)
Small Hours: The C-list scrimmage
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
March 12, 2006
By James Verini
IN Hollywood, those who want to be famous far outnumber those who actually are famous, a tragedy about which none of us need be reminded. Still, it’s a rewarding sight watching the under-celebrated strut and preen as though it’s all they can do to beat back public adulation and keep their own white-hot native glamour from melting the overpriced denim right off. (more…)
March 12, 2006
By James Verini
IN Hollywood, those who want to be famous far outnumber those who actually are famous, a tragedy about which none of us need be reminded. Still, it’s a rewarding sight watching the under-celebrated strut and preen as though it’s all they can do to beat back public adulation and keep their own white-hot native glamour from melting the overpriced denim right off. (more…)
Always willing to go on location
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
May 12, 2005
By James Verini
Among lovers of early American cinema, there is one indispensable question: Buster or Chaplin? That is, do you prefer the elaborate sight gags and implacable frown of Buster Keaton or the intimate bumbling and sentimentality of the Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin? Silent film buffs tend to believe you can peer into someone’s soul based on the answer. (more…)
May 12, 2005
By James Verini
Among lovers of early American cinema, there is one indispensable question: Buster or Chaplin? That is, do you prefer the elaborate sight gags and implacable frown of Buster Keaton or the intimate bumbling and sentimentality of the Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin? Silent film buffs tend to believe you can peer into someone’s soul based on the answer. (more…)
In the kingdom of the clown
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
January 2, 2005
By James Verini
LAS VEGAS – Jerry Lewis, the comedian, misunderstood director, one-time movie star and crusader for ill children, first came to this city sometime in the late 1940s because he and his new partner, Dean Martin, were booked to perform at the Flamingo. He lost so much money gambling it took him 3 1/2 years to pay it back. Nonetheless, he called Las Vegas “the most joyful city in the world.” He’s now lived here for 25 years. (more…)
January 2, 2005
By James Verini
LAS VEGAS – Jerry Lewis, the comedian, misunderstood director, one-time movie star and crusader for ill children, first came to this city sometime in the late 1940s because he and his new partner, Dean Martin, were booked to perform at the Flamingo. He lost so much money gambling it took him 3 1/2 years to pay it back. Nonetheless, he called Las Vegas “the most joyful city in the world.” He’s now lived here for 25 years. (more…)
As more shows feature faith and spirituality, priests, ministers, monks and rabbis are taking on paid roles as religion consultants
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
LOS ANGELES TIMES
December 26, 2004
By James Verini
Ben EICHER, a teacher in Rapid City, S.D., has been to Los Angeles only a few times and rarely watches television. But when he’s not teaching religion at St. Thomas More, a boys’ Catholic high school, he works as a paid consultant to CBS’ “Joan of Arcadia,” a series about a student named Joan who has conversations with God. Eicher is one member of a small but growing niche industry in television: the professional religion consultant. As religion and spirituality become ever more prevalent in prime-time and cable programming, there is a growing demand for such experts. (more…)
December 26, 2004
By James Verini
Ben EICHER, a teacher in Rapid City, S.D., has been to Los Angeles only a few times and rarely watches television. But when he’s not teaching religion at St. Thomas More, a boys’ Catholic high school, he works as a paid consultant to CBS’ “Joan of Arcadia,” a series about a student named Joan who has conversations with God. Eicher is one member of a small but growing niche industry in television: the professional religion consultant. As religion and spirituality become ever more prevalent in prime-time and cable programming, there is a growing demand for such experts. (more…)
