How We Met – Anatomy of an Indie Comedy

Posted on by Diversions LA

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How We Met is an hilarious dark comedy written by Brian Flaccus and Chadwick Hopson and co-written and directed by Oscar Rene Lozoya II. A blind date that takes a turn for the definite worst, involving corrupt cops, drug dealing, and a dead body, the film has been a festival circuit darling, and DiversionsLA had the pleasure of viewing this audience-favorite at Dances with Films in Hollywood earlier this summer.

Brian and Chad had been working together for several years doing short skits, giving them some chemistry; as Brian explains, “We hadn’t taken on anything this big before but we had a pretty good sense of each others’ working styles.” Christina was newer to the group but instantly clicked with the guys, saying, “It wasn’t hard at all to get that chemistry and rhythm going.”

The film had only a thousand-dollar budget and was shot in eight days. Being flexible and working under pressure: no problem for this cast and crew. As Brian describes, “Shooting and writing for those constraints forced us to be more creative in terms of telling a good story within a small box.” It also caused them to look for any inexpensive filming opportunities that presented themselves, often relying on the kindness of others, shooting in and around Flagstaff, Ariz. According to Christina, “I loved how the whole town supported our project. Everyone wanted to be involved in some capacity, whether it was offering locations for free, cooking us meals or becoming extras when we were short of people. It felt like a village was behind us and when you’re working on a very limited budget that means the world.”

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There were also some complications – the major one being sleep deprivation. Christina relates that “while trying to shoot an intimate scene at midnight, we had dudes wakeboarding while blasting loud music and we thought that would never stop.”

“Not a typical film fest movie” is how Oscar describes the film, which is possibly funnier, more subversive, and more accessible than many an art house film type selection. “We didn’t know what would happen with it, but we wanted something that would put a smile on people’s faces at the end of the day,” he says.

Safe to say, the movie accomplished just that.

Sacred Landscape II – Hung Viet Nguyen at Launch Gallery

Posted on by Diversions LA

F23C8100Through August 27th, Launch Gallery takes viewers on a tour of Sacred Landscapes II, courtesy of Hung Viet Nguyen.

The lush, jeweled pastels of Nguyen’s mosaic-like worlds are inspired “in part by Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso,” according to the artist, and completely by his deep love of nature.

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“I’ve always loved nature,  whether I’m hiking or walking. All my life, it’s been about nature for me. Everybody can paint landscapes, but I wanted to come up with serial landscapes that represented significant meaning, ” Nguyen says.

His landscapes are indeed sacred – to him, and to the viewer. They are created with beautiful detail and a great deal of insight into a magical world, a perfect fairy-tale realm.

“You accumulate a lot in the art field,” he attests. “From Van Gogh to Hockney,  I’ve gathered inspiration.” Other inspirations: “the patterns of a Zen garden, and water.” His images of water are particularly compelling.

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Nguyen’s magical paintings are highly detailed. “I sketch the whole area, geometrically. I divide the canvas into sections. In some, I put the oil thick enough to use on a palette knife. Other areas are flat.  I’m not an abstract artist, I plan each area of the canvas.”

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In terms of technique, Nguyen combines traditional elements such as Japanese woodblock and mosaic into a painterly style with varying textures and a rich panoply of style.  Complex and labor intensive to create, the artist’s work has a quality of wonder that’s fluid and graceful.

You could dive into the waters of this dreamscape, you could absorb the colors of sky, water, and earth.

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Enter Nguyen’s world to experience a love-letter, a poem, to a prismatic landscape that glows from the light of a thousand suns.

  • Genie Davis; Photos’ Jack Burke

 

 

 

Let Them Roar: The Los Anegles Zoo’s Roaring Nights

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Lions, tigers, bears, oh my – and music too. That’s the Los Angeles Zoo’s Roaring Nights summer music series.

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At the second of four evening events for ages 18 and up, it was country music that had a friendly, lively crowd dancing. Performers covered the best in country hits, and line dancing lessons were also on tap. Bands included Highway Starr, Grant Langston and the Supermodels, Rocky Neck Bluegrass Band, and South Bay Country.

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Even the elephants were having a good time. The Rocky Neck Bluegrass Band (above) was within range of those elephant ears, and we saw one elephant swaying pleasureably.

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The reptile exhibits at the zoo were open and fascinating, from frogs to snakes to lizards, it was great to see some of these jewel-colored creatures up close and personal without the daytime crowds.

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Fish and sea turtles were on display too.

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Some of these creatures are descended from dinosaurs…which leads us to the wonderfully realistic, life-size, Dinosaurs: Unextinct at the L.A. Zoo. With evening lighting adding to the dramatic appeal, these animatronic wonders made an exciting evening stroll.

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And it wasn’t all just fun and games, we learned some dinosaur facts, too – for example, some were feathered (above).

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Hatchlings above, what could be Survivor Dinosaur Island, below.

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Above, the gentle Edmontonia.

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Above, guests were treated to a surprising water spray greeting by the Dilophosaurus.

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Citipati above, looks a bit like an ostrich.

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Not your ordinary T-Rex standing stationary, here, the carnivores were slashing at the plant-eaters, viewers were treated to a startling spray of water from the mouths of some of these amazing creatures, baby dinos were hatching, and a fossil “dig” allowed participants to comb the sand and discover fossils just like the scientists do (below).

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What a pleasure to tour that exhibit and wander the entire zoo at dusk and once the sun was fully down – with our LA heatwave, the zoo’s cool temps were just as inviting as the cool program itself.

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But wait, there was more, a painting station that provided the materials needed to create images of participants’ favorite animals…

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a game area with board games, pop-up zookeeper talks, and plenty of well-placed food trucks and full service bars.  Grilled Cheese Truck? Rice Balls of Fire?

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The exotic pleasure of hearing animals stirring, calling, and yes, roaring; the magical dinosaur exhibition, the live music located throughout the zoo, the drinks and dining, the beautifully lit landscaping – Roaring Nights is hands down (and paws down, too) more fun than any dance club in town.

A live indie sound replaces Texas twang on Friday August 26th, when the zoo serves up another Roaring Night of fun with music from Black Crystal Wolf Kids, Well Hung Heart, FifthLaw and DJ Steve Prior. Go wild!

  • Genie Davis, photos: Jack Burke

Satan’s Disco Knows How to Dance

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David Bowie got it right:

(Let’s Dance) For fear your grace should fall
(Let’s Dance) For fear tonight is all
(Let’s Sway) You could look into my eyes
(Let’s Sway) Under the moonlight, this serious moonlight

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Get ready to dance like there’s no tomorrow at Satan’s Disco. Running through 8/14 at Art Share LA,  eleven artists swing you out onto an existential dance floor where fears and fantasies take on some serious moonlight indeed.

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Exhibiting artists include:

Bibi Davidson
Merrilyn Duzy
Daniel Evans
Leonard Greco
Patrick McPheron
Monsu Plin
Patrick Quinn
Kate Savage
Dereck Seltzer
Diane Williams
Monica Wyatt

 

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Above, artist Leonard Greco.

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Greco says his work always starts as ‘doodles that translate into prints. I love doing them. It’s always about Id. They’re so much fun, and I try never to second guess.” His love of narrative depictions takes on universal themes, which the artist describes as being about “Life and death, mortality, morality, and most importantly, inner knowledge, gnosis.”

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Directly above and below, the work of artist Bibi Davidson.

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Davidson says “For years I’d been doodling a character on every piece of paper I had. Suddenly I realized that this character was the subject of my art, and this became the ‘Stories of my Life’ series. My girl’s stories are my diaries, my dreams, my fears, my memories from the past and the future. Although a lot of my stories come from a painful place, I try to look at the heartaches and pains with a sense of humor.”

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Above and below, Monica Wyatt’sacrylic hands were found at a swamp meet and used to create “For Testing Purposes Only,” which the artist describes as an inquiry into fertility issues. “Something that seems so natural for many becomes a scientific experiment for some.”

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Above the works of Monica Wyatt. Here the artist stands next to a work created from ten thousand capacitors. The magical chia-pet like work is titled “Scrappy.”  The artist notes “I love materials, and finding new uses for them. This just started with me playing with capacitors and creating an organic, moss-like feeling. It grew from there out of a piece of reclaimed wood.”

Below, Wyatt’s “Lie.”

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“I’ve always worked in found art ever since I was a child,” Wyatt says. An English major, Wyatt loves to create titles around each finished piece. “‘Lie’ could represent the discomfort of lying on these nails or the sharpness of telling a lie.”

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Artist Diane Williams, with a work from her “Monsters and Aliens” series which takes on “my experiences as an immigrant from the Philippines. This is about y identity, its how in our political atmosphere today there’s an alienation of people who look like me.”

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It’s time to get down at the disco of art.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Jack Burke