Ari Gold and Ethan Gold of ‘Brother Verses Brother' perform in the L.A. Times SXSW studio
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Ariana DeBose mourns 'warrior queen' mother, Gina, who died of ovarian cancer
Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose is mourning the loss of her mother, Gina Michelle DeBose, who has died at age 57 after battling Stage 3 ovarian cancer. The "West Side Story" actor and Broadway star announced her mother's death Tuesday on Instagram, sharing photos of the two of them over the years — from the younger DeBose's childhood to her historic win at the Academy Awards in 2022. "I couldn't be more proud of her and how she fought this insidious disease over the past 3 years," DeBose wrote. Ariana DeBose, 34, said in her tribute that her mother was her "favorite person, my biggest fan and toughest critic. My best friend." The "Love Hurts" actor said her mother "fought like hell" to support her daughter's ambitions, adding that her accolades — which include BAFTA, Critics' Choice and Golden Globe awards — belong equally to her mother. Read more: Kate Beckinsale mourns mother Judy Loe, British actor who died at 78: 'Compass of my life' The actor said her mother was a longtime public school teacher who devoted her life to educating young people. She was "the greatest advocate" for arts education, she said, adding that the death of the elder DeBose would deeply impact her mother's community: "She was a force of epic proportion." Actors including "Abbott Elementary" star Quinta Brunson, "Insecure" alumna Yvonne Orji, former "Dancing With the Stars" pro Julianne Hough and celebrity fitness trainer Amanda Kloots rallied around DeBose in the comments section as she broke the news. In addition to paying tribute to her mother, DeBose highlighted several charities where supporters could donate in her mother's honor. "My greatest and most proud achievement will always be to have made her proud," DeBose wrote. "I love you mommy. Now travel amongst the seas, the winds and the angels as I know you always loved to do." Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
What can I bring? These recipes are the answer
What can I bring? It's the first question we ask after an invitation to a gathering. And it's the question author Casey Elsass devoted an entire cookbook to answering. 'It's a very loaded question,' says Elsass, author of the new cookbook 'What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life.' 'Bringing something is not a competition, but it also kind of is. And we all want to bring the thing that everybody is talking about at the party.' Elsass is a recipe developer, writer and consultant who has worked on nearly two dozen cookbooks. 'What Can I Bring?' reads like more of a self-help book with recipes than a traditional cookbook, written from Elsass' years of experience as an expert party guest and host. The book starts with a few ground rules that Elsass believes every guest should follow, regardless of the gathering. First, never expect space in your host's fridge or oven. 'They are already playing a game of culinary Tetris and you should show up with something room temp or ready to go,' he says. Second, bring everything you are going to need to serve your dish, including tongs, serving bowls and other odds and ends. And of course, there are recipes, for everything from quick and easy starters, showstopping salads and mains to cocktails and dessert. He even has a section devoted to host gifts, for when the answer to the 'what can I bring' question is 'yourself.' Each recipe is categorized by the level of effort required ('in your sleep,' 'roll up your sleeves,' 'bragging rights'). And there are 'party tricks' for things like easy substitutions and instructions for how to transport and serve a dish at a party. While all of the recipes in the book are ideal for a gathering, they could just as easily slide into your weekly cooking repertoire. Below are three recipes from Elsass' book, plus a few more from the L.A. Times Cooking archives to make the next time you're a guest at a party. Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes to get our restaurant experts' insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they're dining right now. Since this salad requires so few ingredients, it's important that the tomatoes are excellent. Elsass asks that readers wait until peak tomato season (now!) to make it. The halloumi is tangier than mozzarella, and the edges crisp up. Flash-fried fresh oregano and toasted sesame seeds add another dimension of flavor and texture to finish the salad. Get the recipe. Cook time: 20 minutes. Serves 6. The salsa is named for the salt and vinegar chips Elsass serves with the dip. It's actually a bright and zesty tomatillo salsa with plenty of lime, garlic and cilantro. You could technically serve the salsa with tortilla chips, or another snack medium of your choosing. But Elsass insists that the salt and vinegar chips are nonnegotiable. The extra punch of salt and acidity is difficult to quit. Get the time: 5 minutes. Makes 3 1/2 cups of salsa. This is a cake you can make for any occasion throughout the year, and on repeat in the fall. The batter features plenty of diced apples, cinnamon and sour cream. Chopped walnuts and brown sugar create a crunchy topping. Get the time: 1 hour and 10 minutes, plus 1 hour of cooling time. Makes a 9-inch cake. Former cooking columnist Ben Mims described this cocktail as having the flavors of a milk punch, eggnog and Manhattan all in one. I's a recipe from Amy Koffsky, who was the beverage director at the now-closed Atrium restaurant in Los Feliz. Made with almond milk, whiskey and chocolate bitters, it feels festive enough for any occasion. Get the recipe. Cook time: 5 minutes. Makes 1 cocktail. Chef April Bloomfield adds a splash of Champagne vinegar to her deviled eggs and uses crème fraîche in place of mayonnaise. They're decadent but not heavy, and the perfect addition to any party spread. You can prep the eggs and filling ahead of time and fill them at the party right before serving. Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour. Makes 24 deviled eggs.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
This book teaches you how to break into Hollywood
This week, we are chatting with Ada Tseng and Jon Healey about their new book, 'Breaking Into New Hollywood.' We also take a look at what our critics read, and visit a bookstore that has become a social beehive in Culver City. The entertainment industry is experiencing a massive transformation, as traditional jobs are vanishing and artificial intelligence increasingly upends the way media is created. Thankfully, former L.A. Times editors Ada Tseng and Jon Healey are here to help. The duo, with extensive experience covering show business, have written a new book for anyone who's ever dreamed of working in Hollywood. Tseng and Healey interviewed hundreds of insiders who work in front of and behind the camera to provide a thorough look at how to break in, and what it's like when you do find that dream job. I sat down with authors to discuss 'Breaking Into New Hollywood.' (Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to whose fees support independent bookstores.) This is the most comprehensive how-to guide for Hollywood careers I've ever read. Where did the impetus for the book come from? Ada: The book started as a Hollywood careers series at the Los Angeles Times, when Jon and I were editors on a team that specialized in writing guides and explainers. As we were thinking about how to be useful to L.A. Times readers, I pitched a project to help people who were interested in getting a job in Hollywood. A lot of people come to L.A. starry-eyed with big dreams, but the film and TV industry can be pretty brutal. As journalists, we're Hollywood outsiders, but we had access to hundreds of professionals who were generous enough to share what they wished they knew when they were starting out. We see it like this: On behalf of the people who don't have connections in the industry, we cold-emailed people, asked for informational interviews, picked their brains, listened to stories of what they did to build a career — and did our best to consolidate their most practical pieces of advice into an actionable guide. Jon: A lot of folks I interviewed had similar origin stories in this respect: They knew that they wanted to work in the industry in some capacity, but they didn't know what exactly they could do. So it made sense to do a book for that sort of person — a guide that would show an array of possible career paths to people who didn't know what role they wanted to fill. I feel like 'How to Break into the Business' books in the past have tended to focus on positive outcomes rather than the struggle. Did you want to temper expectations, or at least make sure people think things through very thoroughly before jumping in? Ada: We just wanted to be honest. The glamorous fantasy of Hollywood is so intoxicating. But if you're going to work in the industry, you need to navigate the day-to-day reality of it. I don't think we were trying to encourage or discourage anyone. I'd hope that some people would read the chapters and think, 'This seems doable, and now I can make a plan,' while others would read it and think, 'If I'm honest with myself, I'm someone who needs more stability in my life.' Because it's not just a career choice. It's a lifestyle choice. Jon: Right, this was about expectation-setting and reality-checking. The very first interviews I did in this project were of Foley artists. An expert I interviewed said there were 40 to 50 established Foley practitioners in the U.S., and 100 to 200 folks trying to get into the field. That's a very tough nut to crack. Then there are the Hollywood unions, which present a catch-22 to anyone trying to join their ranks — they have to do a certain number of hours in jobs covered by union contracts, but union members get first crack at all those gigs. Your book also covers jobs above and below the line. I think many people don't even realize how many different career opportunities exist. Ada: There are two things we heard over and over again. People would say, 'It's incredibly important to understand what all the different departments do.' And they'd also say, 'So many people — even our own colleagues in the industry — don't understand what we do.' So we wanted to encourage newcomers to learn about all different types of jobs in Hollywood and how they work together. Jon: Talking about the emotional components is about setting expectations too. The vast majority of people who work in Hollywood, from A-list actors to entry-level grips, are freelancers. That's a tough life of highs and lows, and you have to prepare for that mentally as well as financially. People have to hustle for years to establish themselves, and that takes an enormous capacity for rejection. On top of that is the physical toll the work can extract, especially on the folks involved in setting up and tearing down sets. Part of the point of the book is to tell people with Hollywood dreams that they'll need to gird themselves emotionally and physically for the work. Mark Athatakis finds much to like in 'Ready for My Close-Up,' David M. Lubin's book about the classic 1950 film 'Sunset Boulevard.' 'Though the book has its shortcomings,' he writes, '[Lubin] rightly sees the movie as a kind of passkey into the history of the first half-century of Hollywood itself.' Robet Allen Papinchak weighs in on Phoebe Greenwood's Middle East satire 'Vulture,' finding it 'a darkly comic, searing satire grounded in historic politics.' Emma Sloley's novel 'The Island of Last Things' envisions a future where animal life, and then entire ecosystems, are wiped out, but Ilana Masad writes that Sloley also highlights 'the small moments of beauty, joy and care that emerge even during … horrible times.' And Paula L. Woods has a chat with master thriller novelist Karin Slaughter about her new book, 'We Are All Guilty Here,' and TV series. Four years after it opened its doors to the public, Village Well Books & Coffee has become a community locus in its Culver City neighborhood. Owner Jennifer Caspar has created a vibrant space with a full-service cafe, allowing her customers to linger for as long as they please while perusing Caspar's ample and well-curated selection of new books. I chatted with Caspar about her store and what's selling right now. Why did you open the store? I wanted a place where people can facilitate connections with others, because I think that's what people need. Everyone is so overwhelmed by their phones and technology, and we tend to take the easy path, which is to not get out and see people. What's selling right now? 'Atmosphere,' Taylor Jenkins Reid; 'Martyr,' Kaveh Akbar; 'The Emperor of Gladness,' Ocean Vuong; 'All Fours,' Miranda July. There's been a real increase in books about activism and the Middle East situation. We're launching an activism book club here, starting with 'Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)' by Dean Spade. It will be interesting to see who comes out for that. Why books now? Why not the Substack, social media, etc.? Books are an antidote to the constant distractions in our lives. People need to connect offline, and books give us a chance to settle down and focus. Studies show that what we learn from books stays with us longer. You can read a Kindle, and I do, but there is something about sitting down with words on paper. For me, it's great physical therapy for my emotional state. Village Well is located at 9900 Culver Blvd., Culver City.
