Disney and Lucasfilm gave “Star Wars” fans “The Force Awakens” last holiday season, which delighted some and seemed like a sack of coal to others. “Star Wars” fans must have been extra good this year because the 2016 prequel to “Star Wars: A New Hope” delivers an original story with a darker tone than that […]
Category Archives: Film & TV
‘Nocturnal Animals’ provides valuable acting experience for UCLA alumna
Chelsea Taylor and Jake Gyllenhaal spent an hour observing two dead bodies. Taylor, a 2013 UCLA alumna, plays the friend of Gyllenhaal’s fictional deceased daughter in the film “Nocturnal Animals.” In the film, his character’s fictional wife and daughter are brutally murdered by bandits; Taylor’s principal moment comes with observing the actor as he grieves […]
Student dives into world of TV production at ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’
Erin Hayes’ typical Friday activities range from being backstage with Tom Hanks to driving a golf cart around the Warner Bros. lot. Hayes, a third-year English student, is an intern at “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” from August through December. The internship marks a transition for Hayes from work in the film industry to the daytime […]
Q&A: Documentary producer talks skewed American media portrayal of Israel
Sut Jhally said propagandistic media has contributed to the public’s understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The University of Massachusetts Amherst professor hopes to occupy UCLA students’ minds with a different story from the media’s. His documentary, “The Occupation of the American Mind,” focuses on pro-Israeli public relation efforts in the United States. Sponsored by Students […]
Q&A: Alumna, director Donna Deitch reflects on 1985 film ‘Desert Hearts’
Alumna Donna Deitch said it takes a powerful, creative force to stand up to injustice. Deitch attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in the 1970s and identifies as lesbian. In 1985, she released her film “Desert Hearts,” which follows the budding romance between a professor and a sculptor who identifies as a […]
Cult classic ‘Aliens’ lands at UCLA for 30th anniversary screening
Audiences launched into outer space with Ellen Ripley 30 years ago in “Aliens,” facing off against the iconic, titular extraterrestrials. UCLA students can take that journey again Thursday at the 30th Anniversary screening and Q&A hosted by the Bruin Entertainment Network and Graduate Students Association’s Melnitz Movies. The screening, which will take place at the […]
Movie review: ‘Allied’
“Allied” is Brad Pitt’s worst movie since “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” The suspenseful war romance brings the tension and the drama with its climactic action scenes, but doesn’t do justice to the love story. The film features a cast and crew with several Academy Award wins and nominations among them, including wins for director Robert […]