Yes, it is finally Oscar Week. But there's plenty of other promising events around town. Many of these events feature strange bedfellows. Christopher Hitchens shares views on the "varieties of anti-semitism" at the Daniel Pearl Memorial lecture at UCLA while the US-Ireland Alliance honors J.J. Abrams at its Ireland on Film event later in the week. Meanwhile, the free spirits of Film Independent have moved from their usual seaside location in Santa Monica to hold the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards downtown at L.A. Live.
Wednesday, March 3, 3010
- Christopher Hitchens presents the 2010 Annual Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture at UCLA Anderson School of Management's Korn Convocation Hall at 5:00 PM (standby seating will be available at 4:45 PM).
Thursday, March 4, 2010
- Essence Magazine hosts its Third Annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon, honoring Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Zoe Saldana, and Gabourey Sidibe at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
- Journalist and KCRW host Frances Anderton leads cultural historian Peter Hales, Stephen Murray and architect Mario Violich in a discussion of "Architecture in Two Dimensions" at the Getty Center at 7 PM.
- US-Ireland Alliance honors J.J. Abrams at its Fifth Annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film" event at the Ebell of Los Angeles. Tom Cruise and Tim Roth expected to be presenters.
Friday, March 5, 2010
- Film Independent hosts the 2010 Spirit Awards at L.A. Live.
- Stu Silverstein will read "Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker" at Book Soup in West Hollywood at 7 PM.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
- Junior League of Los Angeles honors Henry Winkler, Lin Oliver and Beth Quillen Thomas at its "Legacy Ball" in the Montage Beverly Hills.
- Literary Women organizes its 2010 Festival of Authors in Long Beach.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. 4:00 PM at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
- City of West Hollywood hosts a "Walking Tour of F. Scott Fitzgerald's West Hollywood" led by Adrienne Crew at 2 PM and 3:30 PM as part of the City's Big Read Initiative for The Great Gatsby. Starts on porch of Citibank Bank building at 8152 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA, 90069-5020 (formerly the Garden of Allah, where Fitzgerald once lived). Free.
Monday, March 8, 2010
- Jennifer Beals, Bai Ling, Nia Long will perform at the "Out of Silence: Readings" fundraiser for the Afghan Women's Writing Project at the Museum of Tolerance at 6:00 PM.