Advertisement

L.A. Natural History Museum gets $1-million grant

Share

‘Sun’ to shine at museum

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County said Tuesday that it was set to receive a $1-million grant that would go toward what it is calling a new “landmark” permanent exhibition.

“Under the Sun: Los Angeles, California and the World” is scheduled to open in 2012 and will broadly explore the history of Southern California, including ways in which diverse communities interacted with the land to shape the area.

Advertisement

The museum said that the new grant is coming from the James Irvine Foundation. The foundation previously provided support for the museum’s 2004 exhibition “L.A.: light/motion/dreams.”

“Under the Sun” will build upon the 2004 show, according to the museum, and will be the final component of a new suite of exhibitions at the museum, which is undergoing extensive renovations.

-- David Ng Music may stop in Long Beach

The Long Beach Symphony said Tuesday that its upcoming 2010-11 season could end up on the chopping block as a result of an unresolved dispute with a union for musicians.

The orchestra said its board members have voted to ax the season unless the two sides can reach an agreement by Jan. 22. On the discussion table are requests to make changes to the musicians’ current one-year contract as well as new terms for a contract for future seasons.

Roger Goulette, the orchestra’s president, said in a statement that the organization “will run out of cash and exhaust our secured line of credit by the end of January.”

Advertisement

A representative of the American Federation of Musicians could not be reached for comment.

-- David Ng Six docs vie for DGA award

The six directors nominated Tuesday for the Directors Guild of America’s documentary award for 2009 are all first-time nominees.

Vying in the category are Sacha Gervasi for “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”; Mai Iskander for “Garbage Dreams”; Robert Kenner for “Food, Inc.”; Louie Psihoyos for “The Cove”; Geoffrey Smith for “The English Surgeon”; and Agnes Varda for “The Beaches of Agnes.”

The winners will be announced Jan. 30.

-- Susan King ‘Avatar’ doesn’t wow Vatican

The Vatican newspaper and radio station are criticizing James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster “Avatar” for flirting with the idea that worship of nature can replace religion -- a notion the pope has warned against. They call the movie a simplistic and sappy tale, despite its awe-inspiring special effects.

“Not much behind the images” was how the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, summed it up in a headline. Vatican Radio called it “rather harmless” but said it was no heir to sci-fi masterpieces of the past.

Advertisement

Much of the Vatican criticism was directed at the movie’s central theme of man vs. nature.

“Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship,” the radio said.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said that while the movie reviews are just that -- film criticism, not theological pronouncements -- they do reflect Pope Benedict XVI’s views on the dangers of turning nature into a “new divinity.”

-- associated press ‘Spider-Man’ offers refunds

The delay in bringing “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark” to Broadway has prompted its producers to offer refunds to theatergoers who had purchased tickets for performances that at one time had been expected to start Feb. 25.

The producers said Tuesday that “the production is moving forward” and a new schedule for preview performances at the Hilton Theatre as well as an opening date later this year would be announced soon.

-- associated press Stolen Pissarro going to France

Advertisement

A painting by French Impressionist Camille Pissarro that was stolen from a museum in France in 1981 and seized from Sotheby’s in 2006 will return to the museum following a trial in New York, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

A federal jury in Manhattan agreed with U.S. claims that the painting, “Marche Aux Poissons,” is subject to forfeiture under a French treaty request, the attorney’s office said.

-- bloomberg news

Advertisement