• Live Talks Los Angeles Announces
    2012 Fall Season
    With Molly Ringwald
    At Track 16 in Santa Monica
    Wednesday, September 5, 2012

    Fall Line-Up Also Includes: Penny Marshall, Wyclef Jean, Chris Elliott,
    Penn Jillette, Mitch Albom, T.C. Boyle, Oliver Sacks,
    Sandra Cisneros, Naomi Wolf, and Bishop Gene Robinson

    LOS ANGELES, CA – August 21, 2012 – Live Talks Los Angeles, which produces compelling talks, will once again bring an A-list roster of personalities to Los Angeles venues this Fall, launching its new season with Molly Ringwald in conversation with Meghan Daum on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at Track 16 in Santa Monica.  The new Live Talks LA schedule also includes events with Hollywood legend Penny Marshall, rapper-producer Wyclef Jean, comedian Chris Elliott, atheist magician Penn Jillette, bestselling author Mitch Albom, acclaimed writer T.C. Boyle, bestselling author-physician Oliver Sacks, internationally acclaimed author Sandra Cisneros, author, social critic, and political activist Naomi Wolf, and gay activist Bishop Gene Robinson.  Most events start at 8:00pm with receptions preceding the talks.  Tickets range from $20 (general admission) to $95 (which includes the speaker’s book plus access to pre-event reception).  Please visit Live Talks LA’s website for additional details, updates and tickets at livetalksla.org.

    Live Talks LA hosts events at various venues throughout Los Angeles.  The September 5th Molly Ringwald event will take place at Track 16 in Bergamot Station (2525 Michigan Avenue, Bldg C-1, Santa Monica, CA 90404; 310-264-4678; www.track16.com).  The remaining Fall 2012 shows will take place at either Track 16 or the Aero Theatre (1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403; 310-260-1528; http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/aero_theatre_events), plus one event will occur at All Saints Church in Pasadena (132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101; 626-796-1172; http://www.allsaints-pas.org).

    • Wednesday, September 5 – 8:00pm [Track 16]
    (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)
    An Evening with Molly Ringwald
    In Conversation with Meghan Daum
    – discussing Ringwald’s debut fiction, When It Happens to You
    – tickets – $20, $40 includes a signed copy of Ringwald’s book, $95 includes book + pre-event reception
    more info

    Film, television and Broadway star Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in her debut collection of linked stories, When it Happens to You. Ringwald’s debut fiction follows a Los Angeles family, their friends, and neighbors as they negotiate the hazardous terrain of everyday life – revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.  A stay-at-home mom grapples with age, infertility and an increasingly distant husband.  A former children’s television star tries to rebuild his life after being hospitalized for “exhaustion.”  An elderly woman mourns the loss of her husband and her estranged relationship with her daughter.  A single mother finds untapped reserves of strength to protect her flamboyant six-year-old son who wishes only to wear dresses.  And, in the devastating title story, a betrayed wife chronicles her pain and alienation, leading to an eviscerating denouement.

    As the lives of these characters converge and diverge in unexpected ways, Ringwald reveals an eye for the universality of loss, love and the search for connection.  When It Happens to You is being called an auspicious literary debut by this well-known star of film, television and Broadway.

    Writer Gary Shteyngart (Super Sad True Love Story) says Ringwald “knows how families work and uses her considerable talents to make them come alive on the page.”

    Writer Robin Black (If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This) says, “While we have been watching Molly Ringwald, she has clearly been watching us. These stories sizzle with rare insight about the reverberations of betrayal and of love.”

    Meghan Daum has been an opinion columnist at the Los Angeles Times since 2005.  Her latest book, Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived In That House, was published by Knopf in 2010.  She is also the author of the essay collection My Misspent Youth and the novel The Quality of Life Report.  Her work has also appeared in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper’s, and Vogue.  She is currently at work on a book of essays about sentimentality.

    Also Featured This Fall at Live Talks LA –

    SEPTEMBER –
    • Monday, September 17 – Mitch Albom [Aero Theatre] • POSTPONED
    Ever since his classic Tuesdays with Morrie, bestselling author Mitch Albom has been fascinated with how we choose to spend our time.  In his first novel in six years, The Time Keeper, Albom tackles one of the central mysteries of human experience: Time.  We have smartphones to navigate it, programs to manage it, an atomic clock to measure it.  And, still, it remains our greatest obsession.

    • Tuesday, September 18 – Naomi Wolf [Track 16] •
    In her landmark bestsellers, Naomi Wolf has explored important subjects from the commercialization of childbirth and motherhood, to how media images of beauty are used against women.  Now, in Vagina: A New Biography, Wolf reveals scientific evidence of the direct link between a woman’s experience of her vagina, and her very sense of self.  Wolf asks: If the vagina and the brain are essentially parts of one network, then what do women really need – not only for sexual fulfillment, but for overall confidence, self-realization and well-being?  Join us at Live Talks LA as she discusses how science and history, religion and literature, have helped her to answer this question.

    • Sunday, September 23 – Wyclef Jean [Aero Theatre] •
    The multi-platinum musician, producer and actor talks candidly about his life as an immigrant and the inside story of the Fugees.  The son of a pastor and grandson of a priest, Wyclef Jean was born and raised in the slums of Haiti.  His family migrated to the US when he was nine, eventually settling in Newark, where his father converted a burnt down funeral parlor into a home and church.  In his memoir, Purpose, Wyclef reveals how music – rap in particular – helped him to cope and adjust to life in a new country but how his passion became a wedge between him and his father.  He also details his work in his native country after the devastating earthquake there, including his exploratory bid for president.  On his visit to Live Talks LA, this major voice in the music scene won’t just talk – expect to be regaled with some new acoustic sounds.

    • Wednesday, September 26 – Penny Marshall [Aero Theatre] •
    My Mother Was Nuts, Penny Marshall’s humorous new memoir, gives us a backstage pass to the Hollywood legend’s personal life, her breakout role on The Odd Couple, her exploits with Cindy Williams and John Belushi, and her travels across Europe with Art Garfunkel on the back of a motorcycle.  We see Marshall get married.  And divorced.  And married again (the second time to Rob Reiner).  We also meet a young Carrie Fisher, whose close friendship with Marshall has spanned decades.

    • Thursday, September 27 – T.C. Boyle [Track 16] •
    The acclaimed writer T.C. Boyle returns to Live Talks LA with his newest and fourteenth novel, San Miguel, which revolves around the lives of three very different strong-willed women.  Boyle will discuss his latest book, his writing process, and his thoughts on living the literary life.

    OCTOBER –
    • Friday, October 5 – Gene Robinson [All Saints Church, Pasadena] •
    A leading spokesperson for gay rights and the first openly gay person elected Bishop in the Episcopal Church, Bishop Gene Robinson discusses God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage, for a provocative and personal discussion of one of the most important and divisive issues of our day.

    • Wednesday, October 10 – Sandra Cisneros [Track 16] •
    Sandra Cisneros, the internationally acclaimed author of The House on Mango Street, gives us a deeply moving tale of loss, grief and healing with her latest book, Have You Seen Marie?.  The work showcases this beloved author’s storytelling magic, in a tale that reminds us how love, even when it goes astray, does not stay lost forever.

    • Thursday, October 11 – Chris Elliott [Aero Theatre] •
    Comedian Chris Elliott will discuss his new behind-the scenes memoir, The Guy Under the Sheets: The Unauthorized Autobiography, a work so personal and provocative that Elliott nearly sued himself to halt publication.  Since no one would write an unauthorized biography about the absurdist comedian, he had to do it himself.

    NOVEMBER –
    • Wednesday, November 14 – Oliver Sacks [Aero Theatre] •
    Bestselling author Oliver Sacks will discuss his new book, Hallucinations, a provocative investigation into hallucinations – auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory – their many guises, physiological sources, and personal and cultural resonances.  Sacks, a physician and professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, draws on a wealth of clinical examples from his own patients as well as historical and literary descriptions.

    • Thursday, November 15 – Penn Jillette [venue TBD] •
    Penn Jillette, the larger, louder half of legendary magic act Penn & Teller, is back with a new collection of spiritual rants and hilarious ravings titled Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday.  In this new collection of essays, Jillette applies his trademark wit and sharp observations to subjects like the horrors of Christmas carols to celebrating his children’s birthdays, the Fourth of July and Halloween.


    Live Talks Los Angeles– 
    Live Talks Los Angeles, produced by Ted Habte-Gabr, brings great speakers to Los Angeles.  Authors, artists, humorists, musicians, scientists, and business thought leaders are presented in various Los Angeles venues.  The series has seen powerhouses Robert Reich, Ken Follet, Michael Caine, Hal Holbrook, Dave Barry, Jane Lynch, Steve Martin, Garry Marshall, Tina Fey, John Lithgow, John Irving, Amy Poehler, Jason Alexander, Anne Rice, and many others.  Proceeds from ticket sales support the series as well as various literacy, arts and educational causes in Los Angeles.  Media sponsors include 89.3 KPCC Southern California Public Radio and KCET. livetalksla.org

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    For more information, press passes, photos, to interview Live Talks LA producer Ted Habte-Gabr and/or an upcoming guest speaker, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

    Live Talks Los Angeles Fall 2012 guest speakers include Penny Marshall (©Eugene Pinkowsi), Penn Jillette (©author), Wyclef Jean (©Cyrille Margarit), Sandra Cisneros (©Ray Santisteban), Oliver Sacks (©Elena Seibert).

    PHOTO CREDIT for Molly Ringwald:
    Fergus Greer

     

    Posted on August 21st, 2012 lynn-hasty No comments

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