Month: July 2020

The true story of the prince of Qatar and his time at USC

The true story of the prince of Qatar and his time at USC

Los Angeles has long enjoyed a reputation as a playground for the rich, but the handsome teenage prince who arrived nine years ago operated on a different level. He came from the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar on a private jet with a squad of servants, a bottomless natural gas fortune and the stated goal of a college education. He installed himself in the Beverly Wilshire, the hotel that “Pretty Woman” made famous, and embarked on a lifestyle that few undergraduates could imagine — luxury suites for Lakers games, lunch at the Ivy and regular excursions to gamble in Las Vegas. Classic stories from the Los Angeles Times’ 143-year archive He took the town with an entourage, a rotating collection of cousins and friends from back home, in a fleet of exotic sports cars, rubbing elbows with a flashy set that included Scott Disick of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” and announcing his exuberance in custom trucker hats emblazoned with his initials: KHK. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the son and, later, …

New doc “John Lewis: Good Trouble” gives nuance to a relentless freedom fighter

New doc “John Lewis: Good Trouble” gives nuance to a relentless freedom fighter

John Lewis is a man of herculean determination. His leadership, faith, and sense of humor are all put on display in Dawn Porter’s powerful and timely documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble.” The film documents the life of a politician and civil rights leader who has never lost sight of his purpose even when faced with insurmountable odds. The title of the film comes from some advice Lewis likes to give: “When you see something that’s not right, not fine, say something, do something. Get in trouble: good trouble, necessary trouble.” He certainly knows what this means. He has led and participated in thousands of protests, been arrested over 40 times, and spent 33 years in Congress. “Good Trouble” begins by tracing his footsteps growing up in Troy, Ala., where he was born on February 21, 1940, the third of 10 children to a sharecropping family. He grew up during a time when his place in life was defined by the margins of the color line and signs that read White and Colored that provoked him …