Diversity in film and television came into the spotlight in 2016 with #OscarsSoWhite. A USC study in 2016 found only about a quarter of speaking characters belonged to nonwhite racial groups. Read more...
Film & TV
Arts, Film & TV
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March 15, 9:38 pm
Movie review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’
Remakes can’t win. Either they aren’t faithful enough to their source material or they are redundant rehashes. Disney’s latest live-action remake, “Beauty and the Beast” brings the tale as old as time to life with special effects and more developed character backstories. Read more...
Photo: (Walt Disney Studios)
Arts, Film & TV, Music
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March 15, 9:37 pm
Second Take: The new ‘Beauty and the Beast’ lacks beauty in its beats
Disney is as renowned for its timeless music as for its enchanting animation. Unfortunately, the music of Disney’s reboot of “Beauty and the Beast” verges more toward beastly than beautiful. Read more...
Photo: The 2017 live-action reboot of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” features heavily Auto-Tuned singing by Emma Watson and two versions of the soundtrack’s titular song. (Walt Disney Records)
Arts, Film & TV
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March 15, 9:37 pm
Q&A: Alumna discusses her experience as original Broadway’s Belle
Susan Egan arrived at the final callback for the character Belle in Disney’s first Broadway musical “Beauty and the Beast” in 1994. The 23-year-old sat in the corner of the room and read “The Mists of Avalon,” a King Arthur story, to keep herself centered and calm among the other young actresses vying for the coveted role. Read more...
Photo: Alumna Susan Egan originated the role of Belle in the first Broadway rendition of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” in the 1990s. (Courtesy of Joan Marcus)
Arts, Film & TV
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March 15, 9:36 pm
UCLA film alumna works magic behind camera in ‘Beauty and the Beast’
Karina Silva had no trouble remembering her cues while filming musical numbers for “Beauty and the Beast.” She’s known the songs by heart since she was 5 years old. Read more...
Photo: (Juliette Ines Marie Le Saint/Daily Bruin)
Arts, Film & TV
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March 12, 8:59 pm
Q&A: Professor reflects on role of documentaries in guarding civil rights
A UCLA professor’s documentary turned 30 years old this year, but its plot bears eerie parallels to the hate crimes of today. Renee Tajima-Peña, a professor of Asian American studies, helped direct “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” which documents the murder of Chin, a Chinese man beaten to death by two white autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz in Detroit in June 1982 . Read more...
Photo: UCLA Asian American studies professor Renee Tajima-Peña helped direct the documentary film “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” about the 1982 murder of a Chinese man who was beaten to death by two white men. (Courtesy of Claudio Rocha)
Arts, Film & TV
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March 10, 7:17 pm
Movie review: ‘Kong: Skull Island’
Even Tom Hiddleston’s brooding blue eyes can’t save “Kong: Skull Island.” The actor spends a surprising amount of screen time gazing off into the distance ponderously, despite the fact that it’s the latest action-packed film about the legendary King Kong. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Vince Valitutti)