L.A. at LMU: Close-Up

SOMETIMES, the stars align themselves perfectly.

LMU is presenting a series of on-campus, Los Angeles related events that explore, unearth and celebrate the city. Hosted at the William H. Hannon Library a calendar of screenings ("Celluloid City: L.A. on Film") and author talks and readings will be held throughout the Spring semester. Past events: A screening of the Billy Wilder classic, Sunset Boulevard (above) and author Charles Phoenix's one-of-a-kind take on kitsch, mid-last century So Cal and the lens through which we -- and the world -- see ourselves. But you're not too late. Of course, there's a whole lot of Los Angeles still to explore over the next few weeks.

Upcoming screenings in the series:

2/17/10 Devil in a Blue Dress
3/3/10 Blade Runner
3/17/10 Real Women Have Curves
4/14/10 Fast Times at Ridgemont High
4/18/10 500 Days of Summer

Upcoming readings/lectures in the series:

2/25/10: Celeste Fremon, G-Dog and the Homeboys

L.A.-based freelance journalist Fremon profiles the work of father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries.

3/18/2010: Mark Arax, West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders,and Killers in the Golden State

Former Los Angeles Times writer Arax as he reports up and down the state: on the last of the Okies, the latest migrants from Mexico, the tree-sitters of Berkeley.

4/22/2010: Tony Lovett, LA Bizarro: The All-New Insider's Guide to the Obscure, the Absurd, and the Perverse in Los Angeles.

The tour book to beat all tour books, this is Lovett and co-writer Matt Maranian's best-selling "only-in-L.A." view of the Southland featuring morbid museums, culinary curiosities pet cemeteries and who knows what else. . . .

Film events will be held from 7:00pm - 9pm at the Hannon Library in the in the Von der Ahe Family Suite (L3)

Book events will be held Thursdays from 5:30 to 7:00pm also at the Hannon Library in the Von der Ahe Family Suite (L3)

-- L.G.

(top caption: a.k.a watching sunset boulevard

top photo credit: Drag 101 on Flickr Commons

bottom photo caption: frolic room cocktail bar, hollywood, california,

bottom photo credit: vistavision, from Flickr Creative Commons)