When Green Book was announced as the winner of Best Picture at the 91st Annual Academy Awards, there was both enthusiastic applause and gasps of displeasure inside the Dolby Theater, befitting a divisive Oscar race that reflected the divisions within American society. Green Book’s win followed a hard-fought six-month-long Oscar campaign that pitted the race-relations, […]
The Best Things to Do This Week in L.A.
It’s Monday again, but don’t let that get you down. A new week means a new opportunity to enjoy all the music, film, and other fun things to do in Los Angeles. Simon Scott DJ Set Monday, February 25 Start your week on a dreamy note, when Gold-Diggers turns the DJ booth over to Simon […]
Why a Documentary About Menstruation Is Such a Bloody Big Deal
When director Rayka Zehtabchi came to the stage to accept her Academy Award, she laugh-sob-shouted out one of the night’s most memorable lines: “I’m not crying because I’m on my period or anything. I can’t believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar!” Her shock–and that of Melissa Berton, with whom she shared the […]
True Detective Is Mahershala Ali’s Masterpiece
In a race-conscious society, it would be easy to call Mahershala Ali the most important African American actor to emerge since Denzel Washington, but that would miss a larger point. The larger point is that, right now, Ali is the best actor in America. Last night he won an Academy Award for his performance as […]
The Oscars Didn’t Need a Host After All
There was a lot of hand-wringing in the lead-up to the Oscars this year. After host Kevin Hart dropped out—and, presumably, after some hemming and hawing about who would be cool with stepping in as second choice—the Academy announced it was proceeding without a host for the first time since 1989. In case anyone let […]
These L.A. Artists Are Celebrating Roma‘s Yalitza Aparicio in a Beautiful Way
Yalitza Aparicio is the first indigenous woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, and despite not taking home the Oscar for–Olivia Colman won for her role in The Favourite–the Oaxacan actress of Mixtec and Triqui heritage has paved the way for future generations. Her […]