Entertainment

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art goes beyond ‘Star Wars’

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (AP) – The Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts will satisfy “Star Wars'” fans. But the saga George Lucas created is only a small part of a galaxy of artistic work that Lucas calls a Los Angeles “temple of people’s arts.”
It is the purpose of his palace, which has been the focus of his work ever since he sold Lucasfilm in 2012 to Disney, to treat the works of popular painters, illustrators for commercial purposes, and creators of paperback covers with the same reverence that Rembrandts would normally show.
In an interview conducted by The Associated Press, museum CEO TraceyBates stated that the goal was to showcase these incredibly well-known pieces in a way that would allow people to see their genius.
Opening to public on September 22.
Lucas, 82, made a surprise appearance with Mellody, who is the co-founder of the museum, at an event for media on Wednesday. The 82-year-old Lucas said that he was shocked to see the museum now open after it had been conceived in 1997 and despite being “kicked” out of proposed sites including San Francisco, Chicago and other cities where prior locations failed.
The fact that I am a contrarian is part of my problem. He said that he didn’t want to do what people thought was possible, and wore a shirt with the words “Dedicated to people’s Art.”
He said, “I am used to doing impossible things.” This one nearly broke me.
The lobby of the research library will welcome visitors to the museum with a yellow Naboo N-1 Starfighter, which was featured in 1999’s film “The Phantom Menace”. In the opening exhibition, “Star Wars in Motion,” production models of Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder and speeder bike from the 1983 film “Return of the Jedi” are displayed.
Bates notes that, “Star Wars” occupies only 7% of the actual museum. And the chief task of the CEO’s staff and the company in the days leading up to the opening of the new facility is to spread the word.
The vast 100,000-square-foot museum is largely based on the collection of Lucas Hobson or Lucas, who are both major African American art collectors.
When he first started college, the filmmaker collected original comics from newspapers like “Alley Oop”, which he could buy for pennies. He began buying commercial paintings by artists like Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell when blockbuster profits started to roll in. At the time, these were considered the pinnacle of uncool. Last year, he joked that he would need a museum to store all of his paintings.
Rockwell and Parrish as Renoirs, Picasso and Rockwell
Bates spoke with the AP in the Rockwell gallery, a 20th-century painter and artist who embodies more of the spirit behind the museum than Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, or any other character.
She said, “He is one of the most talented storytellers in our time.” The nuance and the depth of a Rockwell painting is so amazing, that I can’t help but get lost.
Rockwell is best known for the weekly cover of “The Saturday Evening Post” with Boy Scouts or family Thanksgivings. His paintings are quintessential Americana and were wildly popular, but also scorned for being too square.
Ryan Linkof, senior curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, told the Associated Press that he only knew the consensus opinion about the artist when he first joined the institution.
Linkof stated, “As I worked here, I grew to love his work, and found him to be an incredible artist, a figure of culture, a cultural icon.
In the Rockwell Gallery, one painting is given special attention. It shows that he was more complex than most people realize. This portrayal of Ruby Bridges in 1960. She’s a six-year-old Black child surrounded by marshals while she enters a New Orleans all-white school. The painting is titled, “The Problem we all Live With.”
A sculpture, that was commissioned by the museum and recreates the famous cartoon portrait of the painter, is also on display in the gallery.
Lucas also gathered the works of Parrish, a painter and illustrator who’s imagery defined the 20th Century but could have been dismissed as fluffy cloud-fluff. The paintings are ethereal, angelic and characterized by his signature blue. They have a luminosity that makes them feel like they belong in a museum.
Linkof walked through the Parrish Gallery with the AP, a favorite among many of the early visitors. He called it “a small sanctuary, a chapel, in a way, dedicated to this work.”
The curator stated that “he was well known for his beautiful light effects, and the atmospheric landscapes he created.” We wanted to create an environment that would allow the paintings to create that tranquil feeling.
Some galleries combine eras and style, not by artists, genres or eras, but rather by everyday aspects. One examines sports. One examines sports.
Linkof stated, “We are interested in their stories rather than the artificial categorizations defined by disciplines.” The beautiful idea of myths that are part of our everyday lives, stories we tell about ourselves.
There are also works by Frida, Diego Rivera, and Andy Warhol. The museum has room for anything that tells a tale.
This building has the feel of a spacecraft with a canopy, tree and cloud.
Eight years after the groundbreaking of the Exposition Park museum, designed by Ma Yansong and located next to Lucas’ alma matter: University of Southern California.
Ma’s firm was chosen for the Los Angeles Project in 2014. An architecture gallery at the museum displays his models of San Francisco, Chicago and the Los Angeles origin project.
The building’s name makes it hard to not think of spacecrafts when you look at it. This is something the architect admits, saying that visitors are likely to feel this when they stand in front of large oval windows with views of Los Angeles.
Ma’s design is organic rather than mechanical. The museum has the impression that it hovers over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the California Science Center and other nearby buildings.
Ma said to the AP, “It’s for me like a floating cloud or a canopy of trees that is above your head.” It almost feels like it has no form. You want to learn. You have to begin a trip. “You have to begin to walk.”
He said that as he walked around the museum, it was exciting to watch people flow through.
He said, “We created an architectural space that was filled with emotion.” We want to know how people react to these spaces.
The space is filled with comics, science fiction and kids stuff
Lucas’ collection is as well represented in the museum as his own works. Frank Frazetta’s sword-and sandal comic books and paperbacks have a special space. The paintings are massive heavy metal-epics of J.R.R. Tolkien, by Paul Raymond Gregory. The frames are skull-studded.
In the children’s area, you will find a picture of Eloise, the star of the movie “Eloise at the Plaza”, by Hilary Knight. You can also see a Pikachu painting based on Van Gogh, created by Pokemon artist Naoyo KIMUR, as well as rooms filled with anime and manga.
The comics that inspired Lucas to collect have several dedicated halls. These include the first drawings of Flash Gordon, the inspiration for “Star Wars”, Buck Rogers and Charles Schulz’s proto-Peanuts panels, as well as edgier alternative art by artists such Robert Crumb.

Entertainment

TK to Host Season Premiere, TK Is Musical Guest

The 52nd edition of “Saturday Night Live”, which will feature a host of stars, is set to take place in the fall.
Katseye, a popular K-pop band, will provide the music for the premiere of the new season, which is set to be broadcast on September 26. Jalen, the host, recently won the NBA Championship with the New York Knicks, and Jalen Brunson are the hosts. The “SNL’ debuts of both Brunson and Katseye are set for Sept. 26.
Dakota Johnson will headline the Oct. 3, 2018 episode, along with hardcore rock group Turnstile. Johnson’s film “Verity”, which hits cinemas Oct. 2, will be her third appearance on “SNL”. Turnstile, who are currently touring with their Never Enough Tour Pt., make their debut at “SNL.” 2.
On Oct. 10, Shane Gillis, with Rosalia performing as his musical guest will be hosting “SNL for the third consecutive time. Gillis recently broke the Guinness World Record of the largest audience for a stand-up show this summer, and released Season 3 on Netflix. Rosalia is wrapping up her Lux World Tour the month prior to her second appearance at “SNL.”
Gracie Abrams will return to the “SNL,” for the second consecutive time, after releasing her album, “Daughter From Hell,” earlier in the year.
The “SNL’s” offseason has not been very exciting. However, the most important update is that Chloe Fineman has left the show after seven years. Martin Herlihy who appeared in four seasons of Please Don’t Destroy as a cast member and also worked on the Season 51 writers’ room, is no longer a part of the show.
The British version of “Saturday Night Live” announced its date for the premiere of its second season before the American one. Jeff Goldblum will host the show and CMAT will be the musical guest. This series will feature the entire cast of its first season and run 12 episodes.
Will Ferrell was one of the hosts for “SNL’s” Season 51, along with Bad Bunny and Matt Damon. Musical guests included Doja cat, Sombr and Cher. Harry Styles and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as Olivia Rodrigo, all served as host and musical guests.
Variety asked some Season 51’s newcomers what they hoped to achieve in their sophomore year.
Jeremy Culhane commented, “The older people do a great job of capturing themselves in sketches. People like Andrew Dismukes and James Austin Johnson are excellent at this.” “That’s a skill I would love to improve.”
Veronika Slowikowski continued, “And by working together.” This year we all tried to do our own thing, which was understandable. “Next year, I would like to create characters with my friends.”

Entertainment

Kim Zolciak’s Son KJ Biermann Makes a Critical Legal Move After Being Indicted

Kroy Biermann Jr. (15 years old) is Kim Zolciak’s son. He has taken a significant step in the case of sexual assault. The case is being transferred by his legal team to the juvenile courts. A Georgia grand jury had indicted KJ on seven felonies. KJ is still in jail as the case progresses.
KJ Biermann, indicted for seven felonies, seeks to be tried as a juvenile
Page Six reports that KJ’s attorney Jason Sheffield has filed a request to move the case from adult court to juvenile court. In the motion, it is also requested that confidentiality procedures be followed. Sheffield stated that the state plans to prosecute KJ as a grown-up. The defense, he said, wants KJ to be “tried as a child.”
Sheffield said that the defense also expects KJ to plead not guilty at his arraignment on October 14. He told the outlet that he expected to plead not guilty to all of KJ’s charges. KJ is facing seven felonies, including child abuse, sodomy, and sexual assault. Also, he faces charges of false imprisonment and three counts each of sexual assault against a minor under the age 16 as well as aggravated sodomy.
KJ’s situation stems from a alleged incident on April 23, involving a classmate. She accused him of sexual assault at a gym located in Alpharetta in Georgia. KJ, who was arrested in Atlanta on August 17, remains there at the Metro Regional Youth Detention Center. According to Fulton County Court records, his bond hearing has been scheduled for September 11.
Sheffield criticised the length of time KJ spent in custody while waiting for a bail hearing. He told Page Six that it was difficult to understand how a child of 14 or 15 years old could be detained for up to a month while awaiting a hearing. The detective had decided to hold KJ for serious crimes, he said. Now, the defense hopes that the case will be transferred to the juvenile court system.

Entertainment

ABC responds to rumored ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ cancellation

ABC clarifies the facts amid reports that they plan to end “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the current season.
A spokesperson for ABC Entertainment told Us Weekly that “This information was inaccurate – any reports regarding the future of this show are at this time purely speculation.”
After multiple outlets claimed that Kimmel’s 24th-season late night program would end after the premiere of ABC’s Tuesday’s show, ABC clarified its position.
After a morbid joke about the first lady, Trump calls for ABC to terminate Jimmy Kimmel, again
According to TMZ, Kimmel has been shopping for other projects in recent months, such as a podcast, along with other shows. This news follows an interview Kimmel’s spouse, Molly McNearney gave on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” where she spoke about her husband’s eventual retirement.
McNearney’s response to the question “What do you think about it?” was: “It appeals to my nervous system for the family.”
She continued, “It’s like Jimmy is holding a flashlight in his other hand while holding a fly-rod in one.” “I feel like Jimmy deserves to be out on the river, relaxing. But I want him to continue fighting.” “I feel this desire not to quit, because what he is doing right now I believe is extremely important.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! debuted in January 2003. Since then, it has broadcast over 4,000 episodes. Kimmel’s Show was pulled abruptly from airwaves almost a year ago. Executives said it would “preempt indefinitely”. This happened because of the host’s comments about the dialogue sparked by the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, a political activist of the right, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on September 10 as part his American Comeback Tour. Kirk was shot in the neck during an outdoor event at the Orem campus, Utah. He was taken to hospital where, a few minutes later, he died.
Kimmel’s monologue after the tragic event was critical of the MAGA movement and President Trump for blaming Kirk’s demise on “radical left”.
Kimmel apologized for the remarks he made. He became emotional at one stage and said, “It wasn’t my intention to lighten up a murder.”

Entertainment

Martin Herlihy Leaving ‘Saturday Night Live’ After 5 Years

Martin Herlihy has left NBC’s Saturday Night Live, after a stint of five seasons as a writer/performer.
Herlihy, Ben Marshall and John Higgins were all members of the Please Don’t Destroy Comedy troupe when Herlihy first joined SNL. The trio spent four years making sketches for SNL’s late-night program. Marshall, however, was recently promoted and Higgins decided to leave to become an actor.
Herlihy chose to remain on the show as a writer. He did so for the 51st Season, and also made occasional appearances in sketches.
Marshall will continue to be a prominent player on Season 52, while Higgins is booking acting roles. These include recurring parts in the second season of ABC Scrubs as well as Apple TV Stick.
Herlihy’s father Tim Herlihy had a similarly long stay on SNL as a writer in the 1990s, before leaving in order to concentrate on writing feature films in collaboration with Adam Sandler, another SNL alumni.
Chloe Fineman, the sole confirmed SNL departing cast member after Season 51. After a series of auditions this summer, it is anticipated that the cast for Season 51 will be finalized in the coming week.
LateNighter was the first to report on this exit.

Entertainment

Hollywood Movies to Put Musk, Zuckerberg, Holmes on Trial

Hollywood’s obsession for Silicon Valley will soon reach fever pitch as four major movies are set to tackle controversial tech moguls.
Then there’s the fact that all the films have important dates in October. This results in an extraordinary theme pile-up, as California industries take on each other.
Three of these projects all released teaser trailers within 48-hours of one another earlier this week.
Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning stars Jeremy Strong as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a follow-up (or companion piece, as Sony insists it be called) to The Social Network. The film opens in theaters on October 9.
Andrew Garfield plays OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial during a 5-day leadership crisis, when Altman is fired then reinstated to his position as CEO. The Neon movie premieres Oct. 5, at the New York Film Festival (and will be released in limited quantities on December 25).
There are also two documentaries of epic length.
Alex Gibney’s dissection of Tesla and SpaceX tycoon Elon Musk is titled Musk. It runs for nearly four hours, and will be released on select screens from Bleecker St., after its premiere at Venice, Tuesday, Oct. 16.
You Can See Everything by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the A24 surprise project dropped in Telluride and follows Theranos’ founder Elizabeth Holmes as she prepares to enter federal prison. This three-hour movie will also be released in cinemas on October 16.
Should we begin naming release dates now that are head to head? ElonBeth? MuskEverything? Elon Musk? Perhaps not).
Silicon Valley executives are egoists, who talk in grandiose words, claim they help humanity but value power and ambition over safety and ethics, with potential catastrophic results.
If you look at November’s projects, we have another one: Graham Moore’s Netflix series The Altruists. It follows the fall of the crypto exchange FTX, and Anthony Boyle stars as Sam Bankman Fried, the co-founder, and Julia Garner plays Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison.
Dramas are being viewed with some skepticism about whether they will be a hit. The Social Reckoning Trailer has been compared to its much-loved precursor The Social Network. Amazon MGM dropped Artificial due to apparent conflicts of interest, and several studios passed before Neon acquired it. This has caused some industry insiders speculate that the film may be lacking. It’s too soon to draw any conclusions. Neither film has even been screened in front of a festival crowd.
However, the initial buzz is astronomical. Both You Can See Everything and Musk have received positive reviews at the respective festivals and are both currently rated 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter reviewed Musk and left their critic in “outrage” for “225 minutes”. Our review of You Can See Everything described it as “fascinatingly slick and dizzyingly brilliant.” The brilliant trailer for You Can See Everything generated immense interest and was immediately meme-able.
Silicon Valley has pledged to disrupt Hollywood for years (and, in some cases, succeeded). With this strange coincidence of timing, Hollywood is now returning the favor.
Here are trailers of all four films.