Entertainment

Salvation Mountain, one of California’s great art oddities, partially collapsed. Devotees vow to save it Leonard Knight, a Korean war veteran and itinerant auto mechanic, showed up here in 1984 with the ambition of launching a 200-foot-tall balloon that he’d spent 10 years sewing by hand. Emblazoned in enormous letters on the side of the … Read more

When the ne’er-do-well scion of a Russian oligarch sows his wild oats a little too enthusiastically with New York stripper Ani, some serious people are summoned. Cue the fixers, including the bald, quiet muscle Igor, in Sean Baker’s “Anora.” Except the mouthy, fiery Ani (Mikey Madison) isn’t having it, and Igor (Yura Borisov) isn’t your … Read more

Have you ever seen a photo of someone you’ve known for years that makes you change how you see them? I’m looking at an image of filmmaker Sean Baker taken shortly after his open-hearted, screwball adventure “Anora” won the Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize, an award that Baker never in a million … Read more

At 58, Clarence Maclin might be new to the big screen, but the formerly incarcerated stage performer turned movie actor has spent decades honing his chops. In director Greg Kwedar’s film “Sing Sing,” which Maclin co-wrote, he plays a character based on himself — which is not to say he plays himself, exactly. As Divine … Read more

In adapting Renée Knight’s novel “Disclaimer” into the Apple TV+ limited series, writer-director Alfonso Cuarón enlisted fellow Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline to play its central arch-nemeses. Over seven “chapters,” the two share relatively little screen time. But their eventual pas de deux will send viewers scrambling to rewatch the smoke-and-mirrors mystery … Read more

Partners pitch ‘exclusive’ access to Mt. Waterman ski resort. The Forest Service has concerns Prospective new owners intend to revitalize the vintage Mt. Waterman ski resort in the Angeles National Forest — in part by selling exclusive access to coveted powder days to well-heeled customers and ferrying them to the mountains in chartered helicopters. But … Read more

Despite warnings from bird flu experts, it’s business as usual in California dairy country It was a late fall morning and hundreds of cows — black and white splattered Holsteins and cappuccino-colored Jerseys — milled about a San Joaquin Valley dairy farm in the largest milk-producing state in the nation. Nearby, workers herded some of … Read more

Fast-food workers protest for a higher minimum wage in Los Angeles in 2021. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) To the editor: I think it’s important to know that decades ago, there were far fewer fast-food restaurants than there are now. These are places that typically serve relatively unhealthy food and portions that appeal to the … Read more

Pacific Gas and Electric’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the only operating nuclear plant in California, is seen in Avila Beach in 2023. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) To the editor: To paraphrase a popular aphorism about men and therapy, it appears that young people would rather risk destroying entire landscapes with nuclear … Read more

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth speaks with reporters after meeting with senators in Washington on Nov. 21. (Rod Lamkey / Associated Press) To the editor: Regardless of whether the 2017 sexual encounter in which Pete Hegseth does not deny being involved was consensual or an assault, the police report supports the conclusion that he would … Read more