Weaving was considered feminine when James Bassler first secretly worked with fiber in helping his father hook rugs in the 1930s. In the privacy of the family home, 6-year-old Bassler watched his father, a major league baseball player, trade his catcher’s mitt for strips of dyed silk. Bassler, a UCLA alumnus and previous faculty member, […]
Author Archives: Ruhee Patel
Incoming student’s high school films nominated for festival awards
Katie Speare filmed herself standing behind a sheet of Plexiglas smeared with makeup at age 16. Sound clips from 1950s makeup commercials droned on while two hands scrubbed the makeup off the sheet. As the brown streaks washed away, more and more of Speare was revealed. She stared directly into the camera and wiped her […]
Q&A: Christoph Bull discusses his musical contribution to ‘Ghostbusters’
Christoph Bull brought the “Ghostbusters” soundtrack to life on his neighborhood church organ. Bull, an adjunct associate organ professor in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, recorded the organ music for the new “Ghostbusters” movie score at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles over the course of two days in May. Film composer […]
Alumnus director delves into drama with independent film ‘Holdout’
Brian L. Tan said he used to pack nearly one thousand people into Ackerman Grand Ballroom to showcase the Film and Photography Society’s work. Six years later, the UCLA alumnus is hosting a red carpet event at the Crest Theater in Westwood on Friday for his new movie “Holdout.” As a UCLA student, he founded […]
Family, theater go hand in hand for UCLA alumna’s starring role
Three-year-old Alison Elliott sat in her car singing the haunting lines of Ophelia in “Hamlet”. By the time she was 4, Elliott’s parents had to pretend she was a theatrical understudy and create fake five-minute rehearsals to indulge her yearning to be on stage. Elliott, a UCLA alumna, is currently starring in the play “Six […]
Mindy Kaling, Jonas Rivera discuss making of ‘Inside Out’
In 2012, Bill Hader told Mindy Kaling he was involved in a secret Pixar project involving emotions when they were shooting the pilot episode of “The Mindy Project.” Initially jealous, Kaling said she later gleefully told Hader he wasn’t so special anymore when she too was added to the cast of “Inside Out” a year […]
LA Cookie Con and Sweets Show features international treats
After world famous chef Ron Ben-Israel concluded his sugar flower demonstration, fans in the audience rushed towards the stage, frantically stretching out their arms to snap selfies. Ben-Israel, a Food Network judge, was something of a celebrity at the West Coast’s largest baking and pastry convention. Ben-Israel headlined the 2nd Annual LA Cookie Con and […]