“Focus”Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John RequaWarner Bros.3.0 / 5.0 paws To say that Will Smith’s career has been hit or miss lately is a gross understatement. It’s been so hit or miss that the two-time Academy Award nominee has morosely described how 2013’s critical punching bag “After Earth” has made him change his career […]
Category Archives: Film & TV
Report assesses gender, minority representation in Hollywood
BY SHREYA AIYAR A&E contributor saiyar@media.ucla.edu Many big-screen heroes are white and male, but most of the audience that watches their stories are not. In the 87th Academy Awards, the 20 actor and actress nominees were white and all the screenwriting and directing nominees were male. However, the rest of the country is diversifying at […]
Student-run Web series premiere to go ‘Beyond the Bruin’
Wearing leopard slippers, a tiger-patterned cardigan and a vibrant orange afro, Panini Jones laid between two miniature palm trees. Tears flowed down his face as Jones announced his profound aspiration to be as selfless as the tree in the popular children’s book “The Giving Tree.” Jones is just one of the many comedically improvised characters […]
Q&A: UCLA professor Gary Gray on his music, upcoming Oscars performance
Behind the glitz and glamour of the Academy Awards goes meticulous preparation, vital in ensuring the ceremony runs smoothly. Part of the evening’s flow is attributed to the Oscars’ music ensemble, with recorded live versions of movie soundtracks playing as background music during the nominations. UCLA professor and clarinetist Gary Gray and lecturer and flutist […]
Q&A: UCLA alum, industry professional gives sketch of costume design panel
Deborah Landis’ decision to move to UCLA from New York City stemmed from her dream to be part of Hollywood. A self-proclaimed costume designer at birth, Landis said she has always understood that the key difference between costume design and fashion design is the element of make-believe and fantasy – to breathe life into characters. […]
Alum’s film ‘The Red Thunder’ finalist in Make Your Mark competition
When the Producers Guild of America asked him to write a story with a car in it, Alvaro Ron thought of his grandfather. Ron’s grandfather drove actors and actresses in the ’50s, such as Ava Gardner and Charlton Heston, while they filmed in Spain. He thought of his grandfather as an unsung hero, a major […]
UCLA music lecturer, film score composers release CD, ‘Montage’
UCLA music lecturer Gloria Cheng realized she was in the midst of a legendary gathering of musicians. John Williams, Don Davis, Michael Giacchino, Randy Newman and Bruce Broughton huddled around a piano with a slew of sheet music – compositions they had written not for film, but for Cheng herself to perform. Over the course […]