PICTURE THIS!
January is always a great time to improve your image and there’s no better way to get framed than by hitting the annual artistic showcase called Photo L.A. For the next four days, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium will be packed with prints of every imaginable subject in every conceivable style coming from every age and era. The festivities get underway tonight with a sneak peak party hosted by legendary rocker Graham Nash. The fabulous photo-op also includes a series of guest lectures by snap-happy shutterbugs, including our very own Robert Weingarten. So if you love the lens, check out Photo L.A. and see what develops.
WHEELER DEALERS
If all those talented hot shots from Photo L.A. leave you hungry for more, never fear, The Los Angeles Art Show is right around the corner. Beginning next week, the art action moves to the Barker Hangar. The place will be transformed into a 32,000-square-foot drawing, painting, photo and sculpture pavilion with everything from Old Masters to mixed media marvels. Look for five centuries of artistic enterprise presented by 80 leading galleries from around the world. For an early glimpse, avoid the crowds and hit the Jan. 24 preview party, which benefits the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
TV TIDBITS
Prime time fans are happy to see the return of “Friends” fave Courtney Cox. The local beauty is heating things up as gossip queen Lucy Spiller on the new FX show “Dirt.” CC plays the ambitious editor of an Enquirer-like tab called Dirt Magazine. The show got off to a strong start with 3.4 million viewers tuning in for “Dirt’s” big debut. An upcoming episode will even feature old pal Jennifer Aniston. Elsewhere, reality continues to consume American TV tastes. The national obsession known as “American Idol” is back. “Idol” is the American version of the hugely popular British program “Pop Idol” and its more recent spin-off, “The X Factor.”
But wait, there’s even more BBC and ITV road-tested fare headed our way. ABC is reportedly working on a U.S. version of “Ian Wright’s Unfit Kids,” featuring basketball big guy Shaquille O’Neal. NBC is doing its own take on the British game show “Fortunes.” And gourmet guru Gordon Ramsey is dishing out an encore to “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Then there’s the next season of “Dancing With the Stars” (based on the BBC hit “Strictly Come Dancing”). Rumors about the new line up are flying faster than Mario Lopez’s feet in a foxtrot. Possible contestants include yet another British import, Fergie (the fair-haired Duchess of York, not the funkalicious Black Eyed Pea). Stay tuned!