‘Creature From Black Lagoon,’ ‘Brood’ remakes due

Creature features return

Several classic horror titles are stepping out of the crypt.

“Creature From the Black Lagoon,” the remake of the 1950s camp classic about a mythic monster who terrorizes scientists, and “The Brood,” David Cronenberg’s 1979 science-fiction/horror film about a woman who telepathically instructs her children to act out violently, are both landing new directors.

Carl Rinsch, the hot commercials director who recently signed on to direct the samurai adventure “47 Ronin,” is now in talks to direct Universal’s “Black Lagoon,” updating the story of the Gill-man and the Amazonian havoc he wreaks.

Meanwhile, Breck Eisner, the man who was once attached to direct “Black Lagoon” (before parting ways with the project after the writers strike), has signed on to remake “Brood” for Spyglass Entertainment.

-- Steven Zeitchik

Black critics laud ‘Precious’

The harrowing drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” was named best picture of 2009 Monday by the African-American Film Critics Assn. The film also won best director for Lee Daniels, supporting actress for Mo’Nique and screenplay for Geoffrey Fletcher. The latter tied in the screenplay category with Ron Clements, Rob Edwards and John Musker for “The Princess and the Frog.”

Morgan Freeman was selected best actor for “Invictus,” while Nicole Beharie was named best actress for “American Violet.”

The AAFCA, which was founded in 2003, also gave a special achievement award to Michael Jackson for “This Is It.”

-- Susan King Fieri will cook at the Wiltern

Guy Fieri’s “Roadshow” is hitting the road again: The Food Network chef’s food-meets-concert show on Thursday night is being moved from the Gibson Amphitheatre to the Wiltern.

The switch is being blamed on production problems. Fieri’s date at the Gibson was sandwiched between the Cali Christmas radio show on Wednesday and the start of the Brian Setzer Orchestra’s multiple-night run beginning Friday. “There just wasn’t enough time to accommodate the extensive cooking facilities which are necessary for ‘Roadshow.’ We wanted to make sure Guy’s fans had an uncompromised performance, and moving the event to the Wiltern was the best way to accomplish that,” said Greg Terlizzi, the public relations director for Live Nation’s Southern California office.

Terlizzi declined to discuss ticket sales for the show, but said that all the ticket holders would be accommodated at the Wiltern, whose capacity is roughly 2,300. The Gibson can seat about 6,000.

-- Rene Lynch Love’s daughter in guardianship

The only daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love has been placed in a temporary guardianship, court records show.

A Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner granted control over 17-year-old Frances Bean Cobain to the late Kurt Cobain’s mother, Wendy O’Connor, and his sister, Kimberly Dawn Cobain.

The court filing does not mention Love or give a reason for the guardianship.

In recent months, Love, former frontwoman of the band Hole, has been criticized for rambling online postings that have attacked a former bandmate and others. A fashion designer sued Love in L.A. earlier this year over some of the posts, claiming they were libelous.

A three-page order issued Friday was all that is publicly available on the guardianship.

-- associated press 50 artists win $50,000 grants

Fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy, architect Neil Denari, choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, filmmakers Charles Burnett and Renee Tajima-Pena, composer-musician Daniel Plonsey and photographer Anthony Hernandez are the Southern California winners of 2009 United States Artists grants, presented Monday night at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

The unrestricted $50,000 grants are given to 50 artists each year in the fields of architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts, dance, literature, media, music, theater arts and visual arts.

Citizens and legal residents of the U.S. are eligible for the privately funded awards, selected by a nomination process. This year’s grantees, from 18 states, include Hawaiian hula master Hokulani Holt-Padilla, Texas jazz composer and trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe and New York writer Sapphire.

Among visual arts honorees are Terry Allen of New Mexico, Dario Robleto of Houston and Vija Celmins, Joan Jonas and Kim Jones of New York.

-- Suzanne Muchnic