Ansel Adams' Los Angeles

Dandy Homes
Originally uploaded by Gerard Van der Leun

A few Ansel Adams photos of 1940's Los Angeles photos. They were discovered during a visit at the Los Angeles Public Library. See more at Gerard Van der Leun's flickr.

500 Days of Summer's Downtown

Like many of those who have spent their formative years in Los Angeles, I've always longed to see our fair city immortalized our screen. It was in this vain pursuit that I even willingly sat through the dreadful Shopgirl. While I can't say we've found Los Angeles' answer to Annie Hall or the next Wes Anderson (come on Owen Gleiberman), I am happy to report that 500 Days has many enjoyable moments and manages to show a seldom scene side of Downtown Los Angeles. To think the original script was set in San Francisco. It wasn't until Joseph Gordon-Levitt and director Marc Webb went on a visit of historial downtown tour that the script was changed to LA. Here's a rundown of the more memorable spots seen in the film.
In this pivotal scene, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel take in the downtown Los Angeles skyline from Angels Knoll. Perhaps an iconic image to rival Woody, Diana, and the Brooklyn Bridge? Probably not.

Here, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel attend a rooftop party at Deschanel's apartment. The complex appears to be the Barclay on 7th and Normandie in Koreatown.
Karaoke at Redwood Bar & Grill.
Even the Bradbury Building makes a cameo appearance.

Here the cast and crew discuss Downtown LA.

The teaser trailer:

As for those who may be curious about how the real life Summer chooses to live, take a peek a Domino Magazine (now defunct) feature about Deschanel's home. You Love Me & It's Heavenly has a nice write up about the spread.

Top 10 Los Angeles novels

The good folks running the delightful Where the Wild Things Are blog recently put together a list of the top 10 Los Angeles novels(not to be confused with the top 10 novels about Los Angeles).  Here is the list they settled on:

1. Day of the Locust (Nathanael West)
2. What Makes Sammy Run? (Budd Schulberg)
3. Play It As It Lays (Joan Didion)
4. Mildred Pierce (James Cain)
5. Ask the Dust (John Fante)
6. Oil (Upton Sinclair)
7. Walking the Dog (Walter Mosley)
8. The Tortilla Curtain (T. Coraghessan Boyle)
9. The High Window (Raymond Chandler)
10. Less Than Zero (Bret Easton Ellis)

While no one can dispute the Didion, Cain, and Fante inclusions, a few missing titles do jump to mind.  What about After Many Summers Dies a Swan, Aldous Huxley's exceptional Hollywood satire?   How about Fitzgerald's unfinished The Last Tycoon?  At least, James Frey's second attempt at fiction didn't make an appearance.