The name Mancini is synonymous  with Music – and Ginny Mancini (widow of famed composer Henry Mancini) established the Society of Singers to assist singers in financial need.  They also provide scholarships to aspiring performers in the music industry.

In Las Vegas, we just wrapped Dennis Hopper’s 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival, the ultimate, the alternate and the best partying film festival in the world - the additional must-to-check annual event in Las Vegas for both filmmakers and party goers who likes independent films

When Peyton Place was first on the air, it was broadcast twice a week with no repeats (!), so it goes without saying that there’s a whole lotta Peyton Place for those who are interested. That being said, though, Peyton Place: Part One (2.5, Shout! Factory) is way more valuable as a cultural curio than it is as contemporary entertainment.

The 2009 MTV Movie Awards showed that hot-blooded Hollywood, and all the fans who voted, were over the moon for Twilight. The Gothic romance vampire saga won Best Movie, also Favorite Male Breakthrough Performance for Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson, and Female Performance for his leading lady Kristen Stewart. The sizzling duo also got the Best Kiss award. And the cinematic battle between Pattinson and Cam Gigandet was deemed the Favorite Fight scene.

Celebrities love to play games. That’s why so many of them showed up to enjoy the very first Game Show Awards for GSN, the Game Show Network (premiered on June 6). Who had the endurance for the marathon two and a half hour telecast? A lot of famous game show hosts and players including Jeff Foxworthy and his pint-size troop of smarty-pants kids from Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? Plus, Alex Trebek, Meatloaf, Brooke Burns, Alison Sweeney, Nicole Sullivan, Carnie Wilson, Richard Karn, Alfonso Ribeiro, Alan Thicke, Kate Flannery, George Wallace, Fred Roggin, Fred Willard, dynamo entertainer Charo and Jeopardy wiz Ken Jennings.

I first heard of A Skylit Drive when I was visiting my friends in Chiodos on their recent stint.  I had a very surreal moment – we were all chatting and reminiscing when suddenly I saw my old friend Mikayla (MJ) from Australia.  Turns out she’s a tour manager, and then suddenly I saw Michael whom I had met 4 years prior when I was back in the OC.

Despite her recent bout with Breast Cancer surgery, Christina Applegate has not let any grass grown between her feet.  She graced the cover of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People, and that wasn’t easy running against such forerunners as Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama!

Bravo for an evening of dining at the Century Plaza Hotel surrounded in lushly simple friendly décor, spaciously comfortable, with large booths and beautifully upholstered banquettes. The tables are smartly set with crisp linens and candlelight bouncing off pale green glass settings. Everything is part of an accompaniment to something else, such as plates that complement the foods, and waiters in black aprons, adding drama to the reddish tan and beige blended room.

Why are all the good bands nowadays from other countries?  Maximo Park, Mew, the Sounds, and Disco Ensemble (…and Sonata Arctica) have been in regular rotation in my car and at home for months.  I don’t think I’ve listened to a single recent release by a “local” band, aside from Swashbuckle but that’s for merely camp value. 

Talent agent Hylda Queally sure has a lot of famous friends.  When she was recently honored at the Oscar Wilde Awards at the Ebell Theatre, her clients, including Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), French actress,Marion Cotillard, Rose Byrne (Damages) and Academy Award winning actress Kate Winslet were on hand to wish her well.  Winslet was very excited about paying tribute to her agent for 16 years.

There’s a pedigree to The Paper Chase that sets it apart from typical TV dramas of its age, but in the land of boob tubes, savvy intelligence only gets you so far: The Paper Chase: Season One(2.5 , Shout! Factory) is one of those DVD box sets that is as noble as it is stuffy, as admirable as it is compromised. The tentpole of the series is John Houseman, who brings his background as a founding member of the Mercury Theatre to his performance as a curmudgeonly college professor with a heart of gold

California’s coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles is one of the most dramatic seaside drives on the continent. Business folks make the one hour flight, with hardly a glance at the ocean. Harried travelers blast up and down the state’s freeway spine, also known as the 5 and catch only a glimpse of the wonders closer to the coast. Our decision was to scoot up the 5 from Los Angeles and spend a week moseying south along the coast. Our daughters (ages 8 and 10) would be a barometer of coolness.  Fortunately, we were seeing and doing cool things most of the trip.

Music sensations the Jonas Brothers have a new series (May 2 premier) on the Disney Channel. Simply called JONAS, it’s a super-charming comedy that has Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas playing the fictional Lucas Brothers who are rock and roll superstars trying to deal with the pressure of the business.

The economy has worked its Darwinian effect on the global festival scene. Gatherings across Europe and the US are being postponed, cancelled or reconfigured. The invisible hand of the marketplace has seemingly touched Coachella in only subtle ways. As the lead festival of the season, Coachella is a bellwether. Layaway plans let attendees smooth payments over time (while garnering steady interest for Goldenvoice, the festival's promoter).

Lawry’s Carvery will be opening in Downtown Los Angeles’s Live sports and entertainment complex. Before or after a game, concert or movie, treat yourself to their delicious hand-carved sandwiches, hearty platter meals, salads and soup. You can enjoy your meal or snack in the dining room or on the siewalk patio, (perfect for people watching). Like the original Lawry’s Carvery in Costa Mesa, also South Coast Plaza and Lawry’s Carvery at Westfield Century City, the newest member is a quick casual restaurant inspired by the popular Ale & Sandwich bars at the Tam O’Shanter and Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Chicago, Dallas and Las Vegas.

Brad brings you hi spring film reviews of Throw Down Your Heart, Adoration, Sleep Dealer, and Hunger

Celebrities appeared at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood for a special event that was trying to make hunger disappear. Melanie Segal’s Celebrity Gift Lounge was presented by Stouffers, the delicious food company, which pledged to “Feed LA for the Day” by donating funds to pay for about 70,000 meals for needy families through the LA Food Bank.

Twenty five years after their iconic spoof set the standard for rockumentaries AND mockumentaries, the trio known as Spinal Tap is making the circuit in a less hirsute and less bombastic manner.  They will open for themselves, as The Folksmen, pulling songs from A Mighty Wind, another superb mockumentary.

The prodigy from Minnesota is known for his cleverness, both onstage and off. In terms of tweaking the standard process of the record business, he may be more King than Prince.  After Warner Music launched and sustained his meteoric career, Prince went about with ‘slave’ on his cheek in protest. He tried to change his name to get out of his recording contract (even though part of his deal made him a VP of the company).

t still slays me that a show like South Park that goes out of its way to have low-to-the-ground animation looks so damned great – especially on this South Park: The Complete Twelfth SeasonBlu-ray Disc box set  (Paramount).