When Mos Def, Da Brat, Monica Calhoun and MC Lyte get together in a film, the set might be expected to have a bumping atmosphere something like “House Party.” Instead, UCLA film and television professor Neema Barnette assembled them together for a film about how prisons are home to new slave labor with clients, according to Barnette, such as Victoria’s Secret, Lee Dungarees and Tommy Hilfiger. Read more...

They’re not just good at math and chemistry. They’re not always in the library studying atomic physics, and no, they’re not always playing the violin or video games. Read more...

The entirety of John Updike’s 20th novel “Seek My Face” takes place in one setting and revolves around two main characters. At one point in the novel one woman asks the other to describe how she remembers meeting her late husband. Read more...

Underground rap came to the surface Saturday night as Jurassic 5 performed an upbeat, old school show at the Wiltern Theatre. Touring in support of its second album, “Power in Numbers,” the Los Angeles-based sextet was pleased to be playing in their home town. Read more...

Even though this is only All Tomorrow’s Parties’ second year in the United States, there are plenty of reasons to be scared for its quality. In the recent “Best of 2002″ issue, the Daily Bruin named last spring’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival the top arts event of the year. Read more...

With all of the Oscar buzz circulating, Nicole Kidman is certainly one actress who’s being buzzed the loudest. Being a native-born Australian shouldn’t be any hurdle in winning the American award; the iconic Aussie Russell Crowe won Best Actor in 2000 and according to Kidman, she could win in a fight any day. Read more...

Twenty-two years ago, Chuck Barris sat down at his typewriter with dreams of writing the great American novel. For a man dubbed the “˜King of Shlock,’ it was admittedly a very big dream. Read more...