On Saturday, August 26th, 826LA and Spaceland Presents will present Revenge of the Book Eaters, a star-studded night featuring some of today's most recognized names in indie-rock, literature, and comedy, including Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley frontwoman), Jake Gyllenhaal (actor), Aimee Mann (singer-songwriter), The Mountain Goats (prolific songwriter and musician John Darnielle), Dave Eggers (best-selling author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), Sarah Vowell (best-selling author and This American Life contributor), and John Roderick (The Long Winters), Andy Richter (comedian and your host for the evening) in an event that promises once and for all to settle the debate: words or music—which is better?

This event, which is named after a story by an 826 student, is part of a series of six concerts in six cities to raise money for children's literacy programs in the 826 writing centers across the country.

For tickets, click here.

For more information, go to the Book Eaters Tour website.

- posted by Ally 
- credits: 826LA.Org
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And the pitch was disarm now
By Tina Daunt, Times Staff Writer
August 11, 2006 

Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji arrived in town this week to an intimate gathering that included just about every politically active leading man around. Warren Beatty, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal attended the reception at producer Mike Medavoy's Beverly Hills estate Wednesday night to meet Ganji, a human rights activist who was imprisoned in Iran for six years.

Ganji was unfazed by the celebrity attention, but the presence of Beatty caught Ganji's interpreter off guard. "Are you Warren Beatty? That's Warren Beatty!" she said. Medavoy, who moderated the event, joked: "None of us care." Said Beatty: "Yeah, that's for sure."

Addressing the standing-room-only crowd of about 75 people for an hour, Ganji urged complete disarmament in the Middle East. (The suggestion didn't go over well with media mogul Haim Saban, who argued that Israel needs its nuclear weapons as a deterrent.)

Ganji responded to Saban: "The only way is to ban the bombs for everyone."

Pitt (clad in black) had to leave the event early — making a bit of a ruckus when he raced off on his motorcycle. Penn, looking like a workaday actor in a rumpled blue suit, thanked Ganji for coming, saying people need to hear his message of nonviolence. Ruffalo agreed. "This has put a whole new face on Iran for me," the actor said. "It deepens it and makes it more human."

After the speech, Ruffalo and Gyllenhaal retired to Medavoy's screening room, where they watched trailers for "All the King's Men" (starring Penn and produced by Medavoy) and their 2007 thriller, "Zodiac," about the real-life serial killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 1960s and '70s.

As the evening closed, Ganji — who is traveling the country addressing various groups — said he believed it was essential to meet with the Hollywood crowd. "I'm here to have a conversation," he said. "We're trying to reach out to different people and exchange ideas."

- posted by Ally 
- credits: LATimes.Com
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Daniel Craig is dressed, best dressed. Craig, the new James Bond, is the world's best-dressed man, according to Esquire magazine's third annual sartorial ranking.

Musician John Legend came in second. ``He dresses exactly like he sounds: smooth,'' Esquire notes.

Oscar nominees Terrence Howard and Jake Gyllenhaal ranked third and fourth, respectively, and brooding musician Nick Cave placed fifth.

Axl Rose, Marc Anthony and Britney Spears' 11-month old son, Sean Preston Federline, were named the worst dressed.

The list, which encompasses sports, entertainment and politics, arrives in the September issue, on newsstands Tuesday.

- posted by Ally 
- credits: Guardian.Co.Uk
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