BEVERLY HILLS COURIER | SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 Page 10
PA G E T E N
Happenings Around Town
•’Autism Is Awesomism’ Benefit Concert At The Grove The Miracle Project will present the “Autism is Awesomism,” a free benefit concert open to the public on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. at The Grove. Comedian Jack Black and Stephen Stills will perform with the stars of HBO’s Emmy-winning documentary Autism: The Musical. Actress Holly Robinson Peete will be honored for her dedication to the autism community. Among the celebrities attending will be Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morsaca of Survivor Africa, Parenthood’s Max Burkholder, Ashley Rickards of Fly Away and Matthew Asner. •Operation Smile’s Smile Gala Set At Beverly Hilton Tonight Operation Smile, an international children’s medical charity, will honor Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment, her 12-year-old son Henry, and philanthropist Sue Tsao at its 10th annual Smile Gala tonight in The Beverly Hilton. Smile ambassadors Zachary Levi, Giuliana and Bill Rancic will also be honored. Access Hollywood’s host Billy Bush serves as emcee with a special performance by Dia Frampton (The Voice). Gala cochairs are Stephanie Argyros,
Dayna and Steven Bochco, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, Susan Casden, Krista Lesh Jajonie, Kelly and Ron Meyer, Daneia Sanadiki, Dr. Randy Sherman, and Leslie and Robert Zemeckis. Operation Smile provides free surgery for children worldwide suffering from clefts, to heal their smiles and transform their lives. For gala tickets, visit www.operationsmile.org/lagala. •Cedars-Sinai Women’s Guild Gala At Kodak Theatre Oct. 29 Women’s Guild Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will honor Edward Phillips, MD and the 10th anniversary of the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center (a Project of Women’s Guild at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute) at a dinner and special performance of Cirque du Soleil’s–Iris: A Journey Through the World of Cinema, Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Evening is chaired by Gina Furth. “We are honoring Dr. Phillips for his outstanding work as a physician and surgeon, and also as one who has touched the lives of so many of his patients,” said Lorette Gross, Women’s Guild president. Founded in 1957, Women’s Guild is a volunteer group of
I M P O R TA N T If you are a connoisseur of baseball statistics or like good acting, you will love Moneyball. If you enjoy drama and humor, excitement and the harsh reality of the game, you are going to sing the praises of director, Bennett Miller (Capote). And if it’s intelligent, ascorbic and humorous writing you crave, Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) will more than fulfill your desires. Moneyball is not only about human foibles, emotions, successes and failures it is one of the best buddy movies you will ever see. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are brilliantly paired as the Oakland Athletics’ general manager and his assistant, who literally picks and chooses baseball players by the numbers. Pitt (Billy Beane) is a young phenom who is drafted by the FILM NY Mets early in his career. Unable to make the grade, he is let go and eventually winds up as the A’s boss He is cold, calculating and superstitious with an underlying warmth and understanding of his players. The film opens in the midst of the 2001 American League pennant race between the A’s and the feared Yankees. The payroll of the former is a piddling 39 million dollars compared to 114 million for the New Yorkers. Beane is frustrated as other big budget teams are signing his few big name stars leaving him with leftovers who are as cold as yesterday’s potatoes and an ownership refusing to part with big bucks. He hires Hill (Peter Brand), a statistician extraordinaire who is an employee of the Cleveland Indians and who chooses ballplayers, not by their name power, but by the number of times they throw strikes or get on base during a nine-inning game. Philip Seymour Hoffman is terrific as Art Howe, the no-nonsense manager of the A’s who disagrees with Beane and Brand’s brand of baseball wisdom. Based on a book by Michael Lewis, Moneyball should entertain everyone from the statistical braniacs to those with a limited knowledge of America’s pastime. Pitt and Jonah are two wonderful actors who give outstanding performances. The picture feels like an extra inning game coming in at 2 hours and 13 minutes. But why quibble? It is an engrossing and enjoyable film. 3 and a half Bagels with a shmear out of 4
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, dedicated to supporting patient care programs, research, and education. They have pledged $20 million to create the Women’s Guild Lung Institute. Individual gala tickets are $500. Call 310-423-3667. •Supervisors To Honor Jeffrey Foundation’s Alyce Winston The L.A. County Board of Supervisors and the Commission on Disabilities have selected Alyce Morris Winston, The Jeffrey Foundation’s founder/ president as an award recipient at the 20th Access Awards luncheon Oct. 17, in the Kyoto Grand Hotel downtown. Tickets are $65 per person. Contact Rhonda Rangel at 213974-1053 or email rrangel@bos.lacounty.gov. •UCLA Singers To Present Free A Cappella Concert Oct. 1 A premier group of UCLA singers will present a free concert of a capella works by Tallis, Palestrina and Pangrazio on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 8 p.m. at Westwood Hills Christian Jerry Ram Cutler, The Courier’s film critic, is rabbi of Creative Arts Temple. Church, 10808 Le Conte Ave.
Jerry Cutler on