Halloween at Disneyland!

It’s my favorite time of year, Halloween! Ghosts, witches, skeletons and best of all candy. What better place for the child in you than to spend it at Disneyland?

On Friday, September 26th, the happiest place on earth kicked off the holiday season with their tribute to Halloween. The focal point of the day was at the Haunted Mansion which has gone through a transformation in honor of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Every aspect of the mansion, from the exterior to the ride itself, glorifies the eccentric but lovable film.

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Get a true taste of NoHo at the second annual All-Day, All-Arts, All-NoHo “NoHo Scene” on Sunday, October 5 from 11 am until 8 pm.  Admission to all NoHo Scene events and activities is free.

Free theater performances, catered food and wine, kids scene, marketplace, live music and a whole lot more. Get there early - the tickets go fast!

Free theater performances take place between 11 am and 6 pm.  Tickets will be available at the Ticket Booth at Theatre Circle (on Lankershim Blvd., just south of Magnolia) and will be given away starting at 11 am on a first-come, first-served basis.

Relax at the Food and Wine Garden while watching great entertainment on the Outdoor Stage (no tickets required) between 11am and 8 pm.

Visual artists will take over Lankershim Boulevard, creating an Artists Village.  Walk through a beautiful blend of art and experience how art is made - LIVE! - at the demonstration booth.

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This weeks got some interesting choices to consider. The Duchess although a bit depressing, has been getting great reviews and is being call Knightley’s best work yet. Plus, Fiennes’ always makes an interesting villain. Appaloosa, an Ed Harris’ cowboy film, is worth your time, if you like watching Viggo on a horse, shooting up shit (which I do, I absolutely do). Ghost Town is surprisingly a fun, entertaining comedy. Possibly not one of the best of the year, but if you’re looking for something enjoyable and not too heavy, this is definitely a great pick (check out the full ScreenCrave review here). As for Hounddog, Igor, My Best Friend’s Girl, or Lakeview Terrace, you’re on your own there.

Here is this week’s movie releases with cast and crew information, review, tickets, and trailers… enjoy!

• Lakeview Terrace | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
  
• My Best Friend’s Girl | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
  
• The Duchess | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
• Appaloosa | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
  
• Igor | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
  
• Ghost Town | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
• Hounddog | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets

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Does tonight’s line up satisfy you? Take a look.

• diios (malos), Tom Fruend, Tenlons Fort | 12pm at 4th Street & Main - Map | All Ages | FREE
• Tokyo Police Club, The Whigs, We Barbarians | 7:00pm at The Glass House - Map | All Ages | Tickets $16 Buy now
• Deftones | 7:00pm at Ventura Theatre - Map | All Ages | Tickets $30 Buy now
• Children of Bodem | 7:30pm at The Wiltern - Map | All Ages | Tickets $28 Buy now
• The Wedding Present, Earlimart | 8:00pm at The Troubadour - Map | All Ages | Tickets $18 Buy now

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“Cure in the Canyons II,” is having a party to help raise funds to fight breast cancer, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008 from 11am – 4pm at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village. This luxury lifestyle-fest will be set between sequoia trees and cascading waterfalls and provide an afternoon filled with the best of lifestyle, beauty, wellness, epicurean and fashion influences.

Guest will be able to explore five scenic acres and indulge themselves in luxury cabanas. You’ll have the California Health & Longevity Institute life balance retreat and Angeleno Magazine’s stress-free cabana featuring skyn ICELAND skincare. Paul Mitchell, Billion Dollar Brows, Youngblood, Kerstin Florian & SHAPE Magazine will provide a luxe-fix with free beauty and spa treatments including OPI manicures and signature Four Seasons massages. alosport will premiere their new bamboo tees and 24 Hour Fitness will provide stretching in a yoga mini-mat class.

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This Friday the Laugh Factory on Sunsent strip with be premiering their new indefinite series ‘Thank Gays It’s Friday.’

The World Famous Laugh Factory owner, Jamie Masada is launching a weekly midnight Lesbian and Gay show for EVERYONE to come and enjoy! In 1982, The Laugh Factory was the only comedy club that launched the first ever-mainstream gay standup show: ‘Coming Out of the Closet’ which ran for 18 years. ‘LA needs a weekly show like this again and we will reinvent this show genre as The Laugh Factory wants to be the fun Friday midnight destination,’ says, Masada.

LA comic, Jerome Cleary will produce and perform in this, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual (LGBT) show. ‘I am excited that Mr. Masada is adding this show and appreciate his insight to have me oversee it,’ remarks, Cleary. ‘Thank Gays It’s Friday’ show will feature LGBT comics and will spotlight, gay-friendly comics. Midnight shows usually feature more risque performances, which push the live comedy-envelope for the late night fans. The Laugh Factory enjoys the celebrity factor on TMZ, as celeb hot spot ‘Hyde’ club is its neighbor drawing celebrities like, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears. Comics who are interested in getting booked: TGIFcomedy@gmail.com

The Laugh Factory, 8001 Sunset Blvd., 18 & over, 2 drink minimum, Tickets $20 and $30, ticketweb.com, laughfactory.com 323 656-1336, extension 1

The Aero:

Thur 18 at 7.30: Harold and Maude (1971) / The Man Who Shot Chinatown (2008)

John A. Alonzo (1934-2001)

The man who shot Chinatown, John A. Alonzo, also shot the charmingly whimsical Harold and Maude, that perennial favourite with adolescent Bud Cort (death-obsessed and generally weird) becoming best friends with peppery old Ruth Gordon (essential viewing - if it’s so far passed you by, check the trailer). Alonzo (1934-2001) also shot such classics as Vanishing Point, Wattstax, Farewell My Lovely, Bad News Bears, Tom Horn, Scarface, Overboard, Steel Magnolias and, ahem, Star Trek: Generations. He was also the director of FM (1978), a slice of the late 70s LA rock radio scene (with a Steely Dan theme song!) Expect luminaries from throughout his career (tho maybe not the Dan) to pop up in this documentary tribute, and a host of great clips.

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After years of planning, the award-winning BBC TV series Walking With Dinosaurs comes to life in a stunning theatrical event. Internationally renowned designers have worked with scientists and spent over 20 MILLION dollars to create 15 life-sized dinosaurs, including that terror of the ancient terrain, Tyrannosaurus-Rex! These dinosaurs actually walk, roar, and interact with one another. How amazing is that!

And LA.CityZine has two tickets for you, to see the opening night of the performance on September 25th. All you have to do to win is leave a comment below stating a dinosaur that hasn’t already been listed and one fact about it, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win two tickets for opening night!

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Geez, remind me next week to sacrifice a chicken to the Concert Gods because this weeks’ on sale list is, umm, lacking. Frankly, let’s just get to it because the quicker we are done, the quicker we can all get to tracking down a live chicken over the internet (target.com maybe?).

-For you country fans out there, this weekend will prove very fruitful for you. Not only is Merle Haggard coming to Anaheim for a show at the Grove on December 4th (on sale Saturday at noon for $40-$65) but you also get the dynamic duo of Alan Jackson and Trace Adkins (soon to be star of that “An American Carol” movie that I saw a preview of last night and looks, ummm, well, the Zuckers have lost a step) playing the Citizen’s Bank Arena in Ontario on November 23rd. Raise up your hats and give a big yee-haw when tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

-A pair of female lead singers are stepping out on their own for some upcoming solo shows. Rilo Kiley songstress Jenny Lewis will play the Orpheum Theater in Downtown LA on October 30 while Dresden Dolls leader Amanda Palmer will headline the Henry Fonda Theater on December 16th. Tickets for both shows go on sale Saturday at 10am and each ticket will be in the $30ish range.

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It’s Thursday, all right. Just look at this line up.

• Carcass | 6:00pm at House of Blues Sunset Strip - Map | 18+ | Tickets $49.50 Buy now
• Delerium | 7:00pm at House of Blues Anaheim - Map | All Ages | Tickets $20 Buy now
• Yellowman | 7:00pm at Ventura Theatre - Map | All Ages | Tickets $25 Buy now
  
• Casxio, Satisfaction | 7:00pm at Temple Bar - Map | 21+ | Tickets $5
• Mandi Perkins | 7:30pm at The Troubadour - Map | Ages not specified | Tickets $12 Buy now

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This week in the literary world revolves quite simply around the bare essentials - opportunities for personal verbal expression, used book sales, and hearing the colorful experiences of recognized talent. We’ve also included directions to a coffeehouse-type establishment in the Valley, in effort to assist you in the ongoing search of somewhere else to read at your leisure, outside of the painfully obvious and over-populated.

• Open Mic | Thursday, September 18, 2008 | 8:00 pm | Tribal Cafe - Map | Poetry, spoken word, and a bevy of beverages - consider it all a less expensive brand of group therapy. For more info, call (213) 483-4458, or email info@tribalcafe.com.

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The list of artists playing tonight is legendary. Try and catch one of these shows if you can! Here is your music for tonight:

• The Black Crowes Plus G. Love and Special Sauce, Howlin’ Rain | 6:30 at the Greek Theatre - Map | Ages Not Specified | Tickets $30 - 65 Buy Now 
• Digable Planets | 7:00 pm at the House of Blues Anaheim - Map  | All Ages | Tickets $20 Buy Now 
• Foals | 7:00 pm at The Glass House - Map | All Ages | Tickets $12 Buy Now 
• Musiq Soulchild | 7:15 pm at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills - Map | All Ages | Tickets $40 - 55 Buy Now  [ Read The Full Story -> ]