Author Archives: Sommer Mathis

Communication between distant regions of the globe has become as simple as one click of a mouse. Fittingly, the newest exhibition at the UCLA Hammer Museum shows that in the world of contemporary art, styles are transcending borders. On display now through April 27, “International Paper” focuses on artwork executed on paper by emerging artists […]

A script that calls for big movie stars, expensive fighter planes and a natural disaster would hardly faze most Hollywood film directors. For a pair of documentarians, however, capturing these elements on film is something to get excited about. When Louis Pepe and Keith Fulton set out to make a documentary of the preproduction stages […]

If the cute girl standing next to you in line today in Northern Lights refuses to speak to you, don’t take it personally. There’s a good chance she’s just in an opera. At the end of a week of nonstop rehearsals Wednesday, the cast of Opera UCLA’s latest offerings were given this piece of advice: […]

Twenty-two years ago, Chuck Barris sat down at his typewriter with dreams of writing the great American novel. For a man dubbed the “˜King of Shlock,’ it was admittedly a very big dream. His effort resulted in 1983’s “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” in which Barris recounts his years as the television producer of hit […]

Theater professor Mel Shapiro believes that everyone in academia ought to practice what they preach. Luckily for him, he is currently able to put his money where his mouth is. This month Shapiro, head of the MFA acting program, directs a new production of Charles Mee’s comedy “Big Love.” The play, based on Aeschylus’ “The […]

“Gangs of New York” Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel-Day Lewis Directed by Martin Scorsese 3 Stars “Gangs of New York” is a three-hour collection of meticulous, aggressive attention to historical detail. It’s a wonderfully chaotic world, and it’s too bad the characters aren’t big enough to fill it up. Leonardo DiCaprio is poorly cast as the […]

Fourth-year art student Ammon Rost would be the last person to suggest that he deserves to be singled out. His unique artwork, however, demands to be noticed. Over the last year, Rost has created a series of works by photographing parts of the swirling paintings he creates as a part of his art curriculum. Using […]