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Letters: Kudos to mural conservancy for saving ‘Pope of Broadway’

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Mission to save ‘Pope’

Thank you for your wonderful article on the completion of the restoration of the mural “Pope of Broadway,” a Los Angeles icon [“Restoring a Piece of Broadway’s Latino Past,” Jan. 25]. Your article did not mention the tireless efforts of Isabel Rojas-Williams, executive director of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles. Without the work she did along with the conservancy, this jewel would have been lost.

Kene J. Rosa

Los Angeles

Annual Oscars song and dance

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Regarding “Oscar Nominations” [Jan. 25]: The reaction to “La La Land” is extremely unwarranted. I was hoping the film academy would correct the Golden Globe silliness. It’s a pleasant musical with some great music, but Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling can neither sing nor dance. Why doesn’t Hollywood use actors who are trained and experienced for such roles

Sally Sunderhaus

Laguna Woods

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A while ago, a film came out about two youngish people striving to make it big. Their story of love and loss was told in song and dance, and it took place in Los Angeles. It was an extremely popular film and won several awards … and that was the end of society as we knew it. One critic wondered why the lead couldn’t be a middle-aged woman. My own grandson wanted them to be multiracial. Glenn Whipp wrote that we didn’t need a “white guy trying to save jazz” and that the music wasn’t exactly Gershwin. A friend said, “Well, it sure ain’t ‘West Side Story.’”

Lighten up, people. Just leave me alone to go see “La La Land” again and enjoy it thoroughly again.

Barbara Pritzkat

Redondo Beach

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Regarding “Oscar Nominations: A Reason to Sing” [Jan. 25]: Meryl Streep’s nomination was “something of a surprise”? To whom? Streep earned Golden Globe and SAG Awards nods for her performance in “Florence Foster Jenkins,” and her name has been on most lists of probable nominees this awards season.

Anthony DiSalvo

Culver City

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Regarding “Oscar Nominations: Voters Stick Mostly to a Familiar Program” [Jan. 25]: As a 72-year-old film buff, I was pleased to see Ruth Negga’s name among those nominated for lead actress. Her beautifully nuanced performance in “Loving” is profoundly moving and deserving of an Oscar.

Larry Lasseter

Brea

When actors go off script

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Regarding “Oscar Talk” [Jan. 29]: Nicole Kidman is quoted: “[Donald Trump is] now elected and we, as a country, need to support who’s ever the president because that’s what the country’s based on.” She is 100% wrong. When Trump departs from the country’s values, as he did during his very first week in office, it’s time for you and every other person to oppose him and his departure from those principles.

Ray McKown

Los Angeles

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Thank you for “Oscar Talk.” Please keep up the good reporting on what various actors think about our new president. I particularly appreciate it when you cover actors and actresses in $12,000 suits and gowns at $3,000 award dinners lecturing those of us who actually work for a living on how ignorant we are regarding politics.

I am making a list of of actors and actresses I have lost all interest in seeing. You see, I don’t enjoy attending films when the stars in them have insulted me. Call me crazy, but why would I give my ticket money to a man or woman who thinks I’m an idiot

Ray Shelton

Glendale

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I love movies. Always have. I have hosted an Oscar party for my lady friends for 25 years. I appreciate the talent, effort and commitment that actors put forth in their roles. But over the last few years, Oscar night has become a platform for the Hollywood elite to express their personal political rhetoric, which is generally insulting, offensive and sometimes even vulgar. Meryl Streep, an extraordinary talent, was high on my list of the best until this year’s Golden Globes. Her acceptance speech was inappropriate, as she never really addressed her award. Well rehearsed, she uttered a diatribe against the newly elected president, as if her opinion were of any importance. Then I read that one of the reasons she was nominated for an Oscar this year was because of the political views she expressed at the Golden Globes [“The Envelope: Surprised by These 5?” Jan. 26]. That is an insult to every other nominee. So I’m done with Hollywood and the hypocrisy and will have a Valentine party instead.

Marylane Graham

Costa Mesa

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Academy Award nominees should not be muzzled about speaking out, whether it be about global warming or a dysfunctional president. The awards afford them a much-needed platform to speak to millions of people around the world. According to the 1st Amendment, they have the right to express their opinions.

Phyllis Landis

Oceanside

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I didn’t watch the SAG Awards this year. If I want to hear about politics, I watch legitimate news stations or read The Times instead of listening to a bunch of rich people who pretend they care and who think their opinion is wanted on a show that is supposed to be entertainment.

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Jerry West

Pasadena

Remembering TV’s ‘Mary’

Regarding “Mary Tyler Moore, 1936-2017” [Jan. 26]” Mary Tyler Moore was one of a handful of television performers who could truly be labeled an icon.

Charles Reilly

Manhattan Beach

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Perhaps it’s a cosmic irony, but I couldn’t help but notice that the sorrowful loss of Moore [“Love Was All Around,” Jan. 26], a TV pioneer who embodied the very idea of an independent and liberated woman, coincided with the election to the presidency the most misogynist man to hold that office in modern history. Synchronicity is sometimes a sad crossing of events.

Ben Miles

Huntington Beach

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Moore will be best remembered for her roles on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” but her many other contributions to entertainment should not be overlooked. Her production company, MTM Enterprises, produced not only her show but also “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Newhart,” “Rhoda,” “WKRP in Cincinnati” and “St. Elsewhere,” and writers and directors for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” later created “Taxi,” “Cheers” and the film “Broadcast News.”

Stephen A. Silver

San Francisco

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My mom bought me the video series “The Very Best of the Mary Tyler Moore Show” in the ‘80s. Little did I know they would still make me laugh and cry so many years later. My mom, and now Moore, have passed on, but I will savor the memories of both these women for many years.

Kathleen M Collins

Santa Monica

That wasn’t a ‘Dog’s Purpose’

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Thank you for the column about the alleged abuse of one of the dogs on “A Dog’s Purpose” [“Film Plan Ends in a Whimper,” Jan. 27]. I’ve not seen comments on how the handlers were “handled” after the incident. Hopefully, it was a learning moment for them.

Margaret Schulte

Ottawa, Ohio

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