Out of every A-list movie star, Tom Cruise is probably among the most divisive. At face value, he’s a man past his prime: every movie he’s made since the early 2000s – from the less-than-pleasurable “Vanilla Sky” to the less-than-less-than-pleasurable “Rock of Ages” – seems to have slowed his career to a crawl, both critically and financially. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
Alumna Jane Porter became tenacious after her writing was mocked in college. She felt uncomfortable reading her writing aloud, but realized she needed to keep opinions that resonated and discard the rest. Read more...
Max Dower had to choose between taking the bar exam and focusing on his social media-based business. He chose the latter. Growing up, the alumnus was always drawing just for fun. Read more...
Photo: Dower’s drawings portray cartooned celebrities such as rappers Pusha T and Ice-T. He features his drawings on the Unfortunate Portrait Instagram account, which has more than 26,000 followers. (Courtesy of Unfortunate Portrait)
A combination of motorcycle and car accidents brought pianist Jihyun Lily Moon’s musical and academic career to a halt midway through her second year at UCLA. Read more...
Photo: Former piano partners Jihyun Lily Moon (left), a third-year classical piano student, and Allison Tsai (right), a UCLA alumna, performed a concert at the Steinway Piano Gallery in Beverly Hills Saturday night as a tribute to their friendship. (Courtesy of Sarah Lu Chang)
MS MR’s sound hasn’t changed at all in its two years between albums. That’s not a good thing, as the group should have used that break to breathe life into an already stale sound. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Columbia Records)
One episode of Kevin Longa’s documentary series features a San Francisco chef teaching a former criminal the ways of cooking. The apprentice learns slang such as “corner” and “behind you” as he grows more comfortable with the kitchen environment. Read more...
Photo: UCLA alumni Kevin Longa (right), Brian Tan and Steve Sterrett created a documentary series called “TASTE with Kevin Longa,” inspired by the food vendors in Southeast Asia. The documentary will feature episodes set in Europe, Asia and the Americas. (Courtesy of Kevin Longa)
The music videos for both Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” and Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” both broke the 24-hour Vevo viewing record, but only one was nominated for Video of the Year for August’s MTV Video Music Awards. Read more...
Photo: Nicki Minaj’s music video for her song “Anaconda,” was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, while Taylor Swift’s music video for “Bad Blood” garnered a nomination for Video of the Year and Best Collaboration. (Courtesy of Young Money, Big Machine)
