Actor, singer and tween idol Carlos Pena Jr., 21, has bought a Mediterranean-style home in the San Fernando Valley for close to its $1.5 million asking price.The 560-square-meter villa is set back from the road on a gated lot. The paver-stone courtyard is punctuated by a fountain, and the custom front door, with leaded and beveled glass and side lights, opens to a two-story foyer with limestone fl

Film Jan. 31, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― When American sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett was a graduate student studying with Grant Wood in Iowa, the painter of the iconic “American Gothic” told his young student to make art about what she knew best.Catlett, who was born into a middle-class family in Washington, D.C., in 1915 and raised by her mother and grandmother, took Wood’s advice to heart and began making im

Performance Jan. 30, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Chris Brown has completed a domestic violence counseling program required as part of the singer’s guilty plea to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna nearly two years ago.On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg congratulated the 21-year-old R&B performer for finishing the yearlong program.As a result of completing the required counseling, Brown will no longer

Performance Jan. 30, 2011

Bill Pryor is living proof that a career in film (as it used to be called) can flourish far away from the coasts.For almost 50 years, Pryor, 68, has specialized in “industrials,” promotional and training films made for corporate clients. The Texas native was studying journalism at the University of Oklahoma when he began to dabble in film.He worked for a few years in St. Louis before joining Kansa

Film Jan. 28, 2011

It sounded like a dream job: plop down on a couch, throw some popcorn in the microwave and spend your days watching movies.That’s what Christine Davila thought, anyway. The 32-year-old Los Angeles resident had spent years toiling as an assistant to a number of Hollywood producers before she finally got a shot at her ideal gig ― working as a programming associate for the Sundance Film Festival, the

Film Jan. 28, 2011

The unknown wartime celebrationImperial Japan at its ZenithBy Kenneth J. Ruoff(Cornell University Press, $39.95)In spite of its war with China along with deteriorating relationship with the U.S., Japan was more than excited to commemorate the year 1940. It was the 2,600th anniversary of the founding of the Empire of Japan. There were new public monuments, visual culture, and carefully choreographe

Books Jan. 28, 2011

Love, life and deathBetween Heaven and EarthBy Yun Dae-nyeong(Jimoondang, 5,000 won)The winner of the Yi Sang Literature Prize in 1996, Yun Dae-nyeong’s “Between Heaven and Earth” delves into themes of life and death through a story of two strangers. The protagonist, who is on his way to attend his aunt’s funeral, runs into a young woman. Somehow feeling the “shadow of death” on her face, he decid

Books Jan. 28, 2011

Trent Reedy was an American soldier providing security for the reconstruction of Afghanistan when he saw her. The girl was 13, her cleft lip so deformed that her teeth stuck out straight from her mouth. Her upper lip was split in two. Her nose was distorted.Shock was Reedy’s reaction when he first saw the girl he came to know as Zulaikha ― a girl who became the inspiration for, and centerpiece of,

Books Jan. 28, 2011

TAIPEI ― The famous “Varekai,” a Cirque du Soleil touring production, last week kicked off its first Asia tour in Taipei, Taiwan. And Korea is next on the troupe’s itinerary.Premiering in Montreal in 2002, the show, a happy, acrobatic version of the Greek Myth of Icarus, has attracted over 6 million people worldwide. The troupe has visited more than 60 cities in 12 countries in the last nine years

Performance Jan. 26, 2011

Debut film ‘Heartbeat’ draws more than 1 millionFilm director Yoon Jae-geun has done a lot in the last 10 years. He studied art, made TV commercials for ramen and department stores, traveled across Europe, learned how to make films overseas, wrote movie scripts, and never gave up on becoming what he is today.“I watched ‘Star Wars’ when I was in fifth grade,” the 44-year-old director told The Korea

Film Jan. 25, 2011

Actress attributes her international success to global outlookWhile showing obvious pride for her ethnic heritage, internationally acclaimed Chinese-born actress Gong Li says acting is not a “local” job.“I think an actress should go anywhere in the world to perform,” Gong told reporters Monday at The Shilla Seoul, ahead of the Korean premiere of her Hollywood mystery thriller, “Shanghai.” “I think

Film Jan. 24, 2011

 Among the many kingdoms of Korea, Silla (57 BC ― 935 AD), along with its neighbor Gaya, was the one that artfully used gold for its royal crafts. Its gold crowns, in particular, are known as some of the most spectacular national treasures uncovered in Korea.Korea Foundation’s newly released English book, “Gold Crowns of Silla: Treasures from a Brilliant Age,” features five Silla gold crowns disco

Books Jan. 23, 2011

Ivan Reitman ― whose directing career (“Ghostbusters”) is so long in the tooth that he actually has a son, Jason, directing Oscar-worthy comedies ― has his best outing in decades with “No Strings Attached,” an amusing flip of the “friends with benefits” sex-leads-to-love romantic comedy formula.It’s a movie benefiting from another sparkling, sexy and emotionally available performance by Natalie Po

Film Jan. 21, 2011