All posts tagged: UCLA

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer on ‘Grinch’ Sequel, YouTube Filmmakers

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer on ‘Grinch’ Sequel, YouTube Filmmakers

Published by Daniella Wilson

Fresh off the news that Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are developing a sequel to their 2000 hit How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the pair sat down for a wide-ranging conversation at the UCLA Entertainment Symposium, where they gave a little tease of the new film. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter editor-in-chief Maer Roshan on Thursday, Howard — who is returning to direct Jim Carrey in his role as the classic Dr. Seuss character the Grinch — said the sequel is “something we’ve thought about for a long time, and you know what, it’s an idea that got all five or six of the brain trust excited. So it’s worth a try.” Carrey is looking to return despite famously struggling through the production, as Grazer and Howard — who have been partners in production company Imagine Entertainment for 40 years — recounted how two weeks into filming the star told them he could no longer endure the extensive makeup and contacts needed to become the Grinch and would return his $20 million salary, with interest. Grazer …

Keke Palmer and UCLA Create New Artist-in-Residence Collaboration

Keke Palmer and UCLA Create New Artist-in-Residence Collaboration

Published by Daniella Wilson

Starting this fall, UCLA students will have the opportunity to learn a thing or two from Professor Palmer. Actress and entrepreneur Keke Palmer is teaming with the university’s School of Theater Film and Television on a new 5-year artist-in-residence collaboration — one that will see the I Love Boosters star leading quarterly workshops on campus. Significant to the partnership is Palmer’s digital media platform, KeyTV. The enterprise, which she launched in 2022, has already produced 29 original projects from an exclusively BIPOC pool of creators.  “UCLA TFT is a place where artists learn to be in practice, to experience trial and error, to take projects off the page,” said Palmer. “That is also the mission of KeyTV. We know that education is key to democratizing opportunities and I am eager to both learn from and support UCLA TFT students. It is no small feat to pursue higher education, especially at a prestigious institution. I look forward to listening, encouraging and offering them more than one chance to succeed.” The initiative, “From Blocking to Broadcast,” aims …

Comic taking Stephen Colbert’s slot says he’s ‘not trying to replace’ him

Comic taking Stephen Colbert’s slot says he’s ‘not trying to replace’ him

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Byron Allen says he’s “not trying to replace” Stephen Colbert as his comedy show takes over The Late Show slot on CBS. Allen, the comedian and media executive who founded Allen Media Group, told NPR that his Comics Unleashed show would avoid the political satire that became central to Colbert’s, particularly during Donald Trump’s presidencies. “At the end of the day, I’m not trying to replace Colbert,” Allen, 65, told the public broadcaster ahead of his show’s debut on Friday. “I am not trying to hold on to his audience because Comics Unleashed has been around 20 years and has its own audience. And we’re speaking to people who have been ignored. And good luck finding another show that’s had on more comedians of every shape and size and colour.” Comics Unleashed, launched in 2006, features Allen alongside a rotating panel …

UCLA Medical School Accused Of Racial Discrimination In Defiance Of Supreme Court

UCLA Medical School Accused Of Racial Discrimination In Defiance Of Supreme Court

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Jonathan Turley, We previously discussed a disturbing account of how medical students at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were subjected to a bizarre class where one of the university’s “activists-in-residence” showered them with anti-Semitic postings and racist rhetoric. Now, the Justice Department has found that the university engaged in systemic racial discrimination in the admission of medical students. Given the university’s history, it is hardly surprising, but it remains unclear how the university will respond to the findings. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced that the medical school violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by giving preferential treatment to black and Hispanic applicants. The investigation followed the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which barred race-based admissions. In the DOJ’s “Findings” letter, black and Hispanic admits in some years averaged MCAT scores in the 66th to 72nd percentile, while Asian and white students averaged scores in the mid-to-high 80th percentiles. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon indicated that the Justice Department found that UCLA medical school leadership …

Inside the Rose Bowl’s million upgrade for UCLA football

Inside the Rose Bowl’s $30 million upgrade for UCLA football

Published by Sam Flores

For years, the Rose Bowl has walked the precarious line between tradition and technology, striving to keep up with modern-day venues while maintaining the nostalgic touches that make it a national landmark. Get ready for one of the most dramatic changes in its 103-year history. The stadium is undergoing a major overhaul of its south end — the one facing the San Gabriel mountains — that will transform 5,000 underutilized bench seats into a field-level club featuring slightly more than 1,000 VIP seats. The transformation is expected to be finished in time for UCLA football‘s home opener against San Diego State on Sept. 12. “We honor the past, but we’re going to continue to move into the future,” said Jens Weiden, the Rose Bowl’s chief executive officer. “We never thought to stop this project, no matter what came up.” Share via Close extra sharing options Los Angeles Times staff writer Sam Farmer provides an update on the renovations that are in progress at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Last October, in the wake of UCLA’s …

UCLA Online Textbook Gives Voice to Asian American, Pacific Islander History and Cultures

UCLA Online Textbook Gives Voice to Asian American, Pacific Islander History and Cultures

Published by Sam Flores

Model minority. Perpetual foreigner. The centuries-old stereotypes of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as passive bystanders in American culture and politics still persist, despite U.S. history being full of examples to the contrary. The way to change that, scholars believe, is by teaching younger generations that history. A free, digital textbook overseen by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center aims to be a high-caliber guide to help high school and college educators nationwide teach more effectively about AAPI experiences. “Foundations and Futures: Asian American and Pacific Islander Multimedia Textbook” is the culmination of years of work by 100 contributors, from curriculum developers to illustrators. “Our presence, our practices, our cultural rituals and things like that are not deemed as ‘American,’” Karen Umemoto, a co-editor and the Center’s director, told The AP exclusively before the $12 million project’s official launch Saturday. “The actual putting together of this textbook also became our fight for inclusion and represents our right to be seen, our right to speak.” The textbook covers a wide breadth of AAPI communities and their …

In a Battle Like McGwire and Sosa’s ’98 Home Run Chase, Oklahoma, UCLA Softball Sluggers Near Record

In a Battle Like McGwire and Sosa’s ’98 Home Run Chase, Oklahoma, UCLA Softball Sluggers Near Record

Published by Sam Flores

College softball is putting on a home run chase reminiscent of the epic showdown between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa nearly 30 years ago. Back in 1998, McGwire hit 70 homers to edge out Sosa’s 66 as both players blew past Roger Maris’ single-season major league record of 61. The duel between the St. Louis Cardinals slugger and his Chicago Cubs counterpart helped rejuvenate baseball. College softball has a similar home run race going on this year, providing an opportunity to boost an already rising sport. Laura Espinoza’s single-season record of 37, set for Arizona way back in 1995, could fall in the coming days. Oklahoma’s Kendall Wells leads the pack with 36. A pair of UCLA seniors also are in the mix — Megan Grant has 35 homers and Jordan Woolery has 33 as the teams head into their conference tournaments. Grant said pitching speeds increased in recent years and the hitters have caught up. UCLA and Oklahoma both have 173 home runs, having already shattered Oklahoma’s single-season record of 161 set in 2021. …

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

Published by Jenni Sidey

A small cluster of damaged immune cells can do outsized harm. That is the picture emerging from new research at UCLA, where scientists identified a rogue population of macrophages, the tissue-patrolling immune cells that normally clean up debris and help maintain order. In aging livers, and in livers damaged by fatty liver disease, those cells can slip into a senescent state. They stop dividing, refuse to die and begin sending out inflammatory signals that disturb the tissue around them. “Senescent cells are fairly rare, but think of them like a broken-down car on the 405,” said Anthony Covarrubias, senior author of the study and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. “Just one stalled car can back up traffic for miles. Now imagine five or ten of them slowly accumulating. That’s what these cells do to a tissue: even a small number causes enormous disruption.” For years, scientists argued over whether macrophages could truly become senescent at all. Part of the problem was that …

UCLA claims its 1st NCAA women’s basketball title : NPR

UCLA claims its 1st NCAA women’s basketball title : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

UCLA players celebrate after defeating South Carolina in the women’s National Championship Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament game on Sunday in Phoenix. Rick Scuteri/AP hide caption toggle caption Rick Scuteri/AP PHOENIX — It’s mission accomplished for UCLA. Gabriela Jaquez, Lauren Betts and the rest of the UCLA seniors secured the first NCAA women’s basketball national championship in school history — a goal that was set after losing in the first Final Four last season. Jaquez scored 21 points, Betts added 16 and UCLA routed South Carolina 79-51 Sunday in the title game. “I knew we were going to do it. Coming to UCLA we all set out for a goal, and I imagined this moment,” Jaquez said. “I imagined it so many times, and I am just so, so proud. … Crying a lot, the confetti, all of the fans being here to support us, my family being here, it just means everything. Celebrating with this group, like … I’m so happy.” The near-record lopsided victory completed the Bruins’ journey through this year’s March …

Gabriela Jaquez lives her long-held UCLA championship dream

Gabriela Jaquez lives her long-held UCLA championship dream

Published by Sam Flores

PHOENIX — Gabriela Jaquez, tone-setter. Culture-setter. Scene-setter. Firestarter. Elite job-finisher — around the rim and in life. UCLA’s first NCAA women’s basketball championship win was more coronation than ballgame, a 79-51 blowout of monumental proportions against perennial power South Carolina. Fittingly, it starred one of the members of the Bruins’ royal family: a Jaquez hooper stealing her opponents’ souls from the outset. UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez drives ahead of South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson (5) during the first half of the NCAA championship game Sunday. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times) All Gabs, no brakes. Going downhill. Smirking gamely all the while. “Relentless,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said. “Relentless.” Definitely one of those “uncommon, courageous women” that UCLA coach Cori Close sought to play in her program. “Living her dream,” said former UCLA star Jaime Jaquez Jr., whom Bruins fans might be thinking of now as “Gabriela’s brother” instead of the other way around. Jaime led the UCLA men to the Final Four in 2021 and has gone on to make his name in the NBA as a contributor …