Shepard Fairey could produce film adaptation of '1984'

Shepard Fairey has a less hopeful project in the works. The Los Angeles street artist has teamed up with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment to adapt George Orwell’s dystopian classic “1984” for the big screen.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Fairey was instrumental in bringing the book to Imagine, which will partner with LBI Entertainment for the project, and could end up with a producer credit once the deal is done. 

Orwell’s seminal 1949 literary work has been adapted for film a few times -- most recently, (and appropriately) in 1984 in a rather forgettable version starring John Hurt and Richard Burton.

The story follows Winston Smith in a post-nuclear war world of totalitarian politics, propaganda and surveillance. Smith works for a branch of government called the Ministry of Truth while harboring desires of rebellion and forbidden love. 

Fairey, best known for creating the Barack Obama "Hope" poster, has spent time onscreen in the 2010 Banksy documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and recently had a vocal cameo on “The Simpsons” where he played a police informant posing as a street artist.

In February, Fairey entered a guilty plea in his criminal case with the Associated Press involving his use of an AP photo for the Obama poster. The artist admitted to destroying documents, manufacturing evidence and other misconduct.

RELATED:

Shepard Fairey plays himself, sort of, on 'The Simpsons'

Shepard Fairey enters guilty plea in criminal case with AP

Shepard Fairey to settle 'Hope' poster case with Associated Press

--Jamie Wetherbe

Photo: Shepard Fairey. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Shepard Fairey plays himself, sort of, on 'The Simpsons'

On Sunday, "The Simpsons" took a trip into the world of street art with the help of vocal cameos by some of the field's most recognizable names -- Shepard Fairey, Robbie Conal, Kenny Scharf and Ron English. The episode was titled "Exit Through the Kwik-E Mart," referencing the Oscar-nominated street-art documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop."

Fairey's participation went beyond the usual "Simpsons" cameo call-of-duty, presenting a plot twist that was both comedic and revealing of Fairey's complicated public persona.

When Bart decides to seek revenge on Homer, he creates a street-art poster featuring his father's drunken likeness over the word "Dope." (The poster is a nod to Fairey's "Obey" posters of Andre the Giant.) Bart teams up with Milhouse to paint the town with Homer-themed graffiti.

The duo are confronted in a dark alley by Fairey and his cohorts. They like Bart's work so much that they decide to give him his own gallery show. But -- spoiler alert -- the Springfield police arrest Bart at the "El Barto" art opening. It turns out that Fairey is actually a police informant and that the gallery show was just a means of apprehending him.

Fairey's decision to play himself as a secret police informant can be read on the simplest level as a comic riff on his rebellious persona and fashionable outlaw status. But the plot twist also touches (perhaps unintentionally) on a common accusation leveled at Fairey -- that he is a sell-out.

Shepard Fairey enters guilty plea in criminal case with AP

 

Shepard Fairey, the Los Angeles street artist, has entered a guilty plea in his criminal case with the Associated Press. The artist pled guilty in a New York court to one count of criminal contempt for destroying documents, manufacturing evidence and other misconduct in his case involving his "Hope" poster of Barack Obama.

Fairey admitted in 2009 to destroying documents and submitting false images in his legal battle with the AP.  The news organization had accused Fairey of improperly using an AP photo of Obama in his "Hope" poster. Fairey claimed that he was covered by fair-use laws.

In 2011, the artist settled his civil case with the AP out of court.

A sentencing date has been set for July 16. The U.S. Attorney's Office said in a release that the artist faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a maximum term of supervised release of one year. He also faces a maximum fine of $5,000.

RELATED:

Shepard Fairey to settle 'Hope' poster case with Associated Press

Using Shepard Fairey to trash President Obama

Shepard Fairey admits to wrongdoing in AP lawsuit

-- David Ng

Photo: Shepard Fairey. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Shepard Fairey, other street artists to appear on 'The Simpsons'

 

You aren't really a celebrity until you've had a guest spot on "The Simpsons." In March, Shepard Fairey and fellow street artists Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal will enter that hallowed pantheon of stars when they lend their voices (and likenesses) to the enduring Fox animated series.

Fairey said on his website Wednesday the episode is scheduled to air on March. 4. The episode is titled "Exit Though the Kwik-E-Mart," a play on the street-art documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop."

According to Fairey's site, the episode has a strong street-art theme. When Bart plasters posters of Homer's face around Springfield, he's caught by Fairey and his cohort. But they end up liking Bart's artwork so much that they offer him a solo gallery show.

Fairey and company won't be the first visual artists to have lent their talent to "The Simpsons."

L.A. street artist David Choe to reap millions from Facebook IPO?

The idea that all street artists are impoverished souls eking out an existence for the love of their craft is a passé and somewhat naive notion in our age of Banksy, Shepard Fairey and other creative types who have parlayed their underground success into lucrative businesses.

We might soon be able to add to their ranks artist David Choe, who has created a number of murals for Facebook headquarters. The L.A. street and graffiti artist could stand to earn upward of $200 million from Facebook's initial public offering, according to recent reports. That kind of money would no doubt make even Jeff Koons or Damien Hirst envious.

As reported in The Times, Choe was asked to create murals for Facebook's former headquarters in Palo Alto in 2005 by the company's founding president, Sean Parker. Two years later, the artist was asked by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to create more artwork.

The company's current headquarters in Menlo Park also bears the graffiti stamp of Choe, who created a large-scale blue mural in the lobby of one building, as well as other works.

Monster Mash: National tour planned for gay-marriage play '8'

Hitting the road: The American Foundation for Equal Rights is co-sponsoring dozens of productions across the country of Dustin Lance Black's play "8,"which deals with the court battle over Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage in California. (Associated Press)

The Bard banned: Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is among the books barred in Tucson schools as Arizona lawmakers purge ethnic studies. (Salon) 

A date with Tony: The 66th Tony Awards are set for June 10, returning for a second year to the Beacon Theatre, after many years at Radio City Music Hall. (The American Theatre Wing)

Ladies man: "The O.C." alum Adam Brody lands the lead in the film adaptation of Neil LaBute's "Some Girls." (Variety)

Wanted: audiences: A new musical based on Craigslist ads is scheduled to open at Vancouver's PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. (Ad Week)

New gig: Jaap van Zweden, who is in his fourth season as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, has been appointed to a new role, music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. (Dallas Morning News)

The music stops: An examination of what was behind the demise of Opera Boston. (Boston Globe)

Crumbling theater: A woman's mission is to save Brooklyn's 32-year-old Paul Robeson Theater. (New York Daily News)

Banana split: The Velvet Underground is suing the Andy Warhol Foundation for allegedly licensing the famous fruit on the rock band's 1967 album cover (Bloomberg)

Also in the L.A. Times: Margaret Gray reviews the TV-turned-stage show "MythBusters: Behind the Myths," and British comic Stephen Merchant, co-creator of "The Office" and “Extras,” returns to stand-up. 

-- Jamie Wetherbe

Photo: Lawyer Ted Olson, played by Gavin Creel, questions plaintiff Kris Perry, portrayed by Celia Keenan-Bolger, in a scene from the New York performance of "8." Credit: American Foundation for Equal Rights

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George Clooney joins L.A. cast of Prop. 8 play

December 14, 2011 |  5:00 am

   

 

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George Clooney is throwing his considerable star power behind the fight against Prop. 8 by signing on to appear in a reading of the  play "8" in Los Angeles. The play, by Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, is scheduled to have a staged reading at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on March 3.

Monster Mash: New Shroud of Turin theory; 'Rent' protest in Idaho

 

Sacred cloth: Italian researchers are reviving the idea that the Shroud of Turin's image of a Christlike figure could have been created only by a powerful flash of light. (MSNBC)

"Sets a bad example": A regional production of the musical "Rent" in Idaho that is set for January is already drawing local criticism. (Broadway World)

Called off: A Swiss art prize has been canceled after an artist claimed she was taken off the shortlist for being "too pro-Palestinian". (BBC News)

Accused: A man in Britain has denied ripping a piece of Banksy artwork from a hotel wall and trying to sell it on EBay. (The Sun)

New way of thinking: The financially troubled Colorado Symphony Orchestra has unveiled a new business model that emphasizes earned income rather than donations. (Denver Post)

Resurrected: New York's Dance Theater of Harlem is being revived after having shut down in 2004. (New York Times)

Precautionary measures: Insurers in Britain are advising owners of valuable metal artworks to radically "rethink" their security measures following the theft of a valuable piece of public art by Barbara Hepworth. (Telegraph)

Innovative thinking: Cities are finding new ways to protect works of public art. (USA Today)

Coming soon: A trailer for the new documentary "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry." (Art Info)

Crowd pleaser: A new stage musical based on the 2010 movie "Made in Dagenham" is aiming for London's West End. (Daily Mail)

Survivor: A 19-year-old ballet dancer who was badly injured during an assault has miraculously recovered. (BBC News)

Meditative: A 10-piece sculpture garden is being created for the planned branch of the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert. (Desert Sun)

Also in the L.A. Times: John Chamberlain, the American sculptor who used crushed automobile sheet metal, has died at age 84.

-- David Ng

Photo: The Shroud of Turin. Credit: Agence France Presse

Mr. Brainwash is back with another mega-show in L.A.

Basking somewhere in the messy nexus of art, fame, commerce and shameless self-promotion, Mr. Brainwash -- real name, Thierry Guetta -- is an international art star wrapped Christo-like in several layers of ambiguity. His biggest claim to fame is a starring role in the 2010 Oscar-nominated, pseudo-documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop," which casts his dubious rise to fame as a cautionary tale for art-world hacks and poseurs everywhere.

Whatever he is, Mr. Brainwash is back this week with a new mega-show of the sort that only he could mastermind -- which is to say that it is a sprawling, jumbled monstrosity pieced together at the last minute. Having rented out a disused, five-story building in Hollywood, he and his crew have been working in a frenzy this week to fill the enormous space with large-scale sculptures, collages, graffiti and other nominally street-art whats-its. (The building is located at 960 N. La Brea Ave., near Romaine Street.)

The show, which is set to have a "preview" Thursday and then open for a brief run from Dec. 25 to 29, is a follow-up to Mr. Brainwash's big 2008 L.A. debut, "Life Is Beautiful," which was catalogued in "Exit Through the Gift Shop." Since the movie's release, there has been ample speculation that Mr. Brainwash and the film itself are an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Banksy, the British street artist and director of the documentary.

Monster Mash: National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum; Banksy artwork

Ongoing feud: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is said to be close to suing the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation over hundreds of millions of dollars in disputed costs. (Wall Street Journal)

Trekking to Broadway: William Shatner will bring his one-man show to the Music Box Theater for two weeks in February. (New York Post)

Making waves: Banksy, the anonymous street artist, is causing a stir with a sculpture that addresses the Catholic sex abuse scandal. (Independent)

Ask away: Composer Danny Elfman will participate in a live chat Friday about his work on Cirque du Soleil's "Iris." (Los Angeles Times)

Troubled project: Architect Oscar Niemeyer's name will be removed from a building in Spain that he designed and that is set to close just several months after opening. (Guardian)

Getting a break: Illinois is close to passing tax incentives that will give a boost to pre-Broadway and long-running shows in large theaters. (Chicago Tribune)

Honored: "The Ides of March," the George Clooney movie based on the play "Farragut North," received four Golden Globe nominations, including one for screenplay adaptation. (Los Angeles Times)

What a feeling: A stage musical version of the movie "Flashdance" is set to open on Broadway next year. (New York Times)

For sale?: The city of Toronto is considering selling the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. (Toronto Star)

High hopes: A stage musical based on the book "Because of Winn-Dixie," with songs by Duncan Sheik, is aiming for Broadway. (Broadway World)

And in the L.A. Times: Art critic Christopher Knight lists his top art shows of 2011; theater critic Charles McNulty reviews "Fela!" at the Ahmanson.

-- David Ng

Photo: A view of the downtown New York site of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Credit: Mark Lennihan / Associated Press

Monster Mash: Getty Museum exit; Nicole Scherzinger and 'Phantom'

Abrupt exit: David Bomford, who has served as the Getty Museum's acting director for nearly two years, is leaving the museum Feb. 1. (Los Angeles Times)

Pop sensation: Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger will perform selections from "The Phantom of the Opera" on a telecast in Britain celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. (Broadway World)

Early closing: The Broadway revival of Noel Coward's "Private Lives," starring Kim Cattrall, will shutter Dec. 31, earlier than expected, due to sluggish ticket sales. (Entertainment Weekly)

Unconventional: A museum in Iraq is attempting to recover stolen artifacts by paying smugglers to return the items. (CNN)

Big easy: The New Orleans Jazz Festival has announced its 2012 line-up. (New York Times)

Unsigned: A painting believed to be by the street artist Banksy has appeared in Liverpool. (BBC News)

Not popular: A proposed public statue depicting a freed slave holding a flag representing the African diaspora has been withdrawn after it stirred controversy in Indianapolis. (Indianapolis Star)

Honored: Billy Joel has become the only non-classical performer to be honored with a portrait at Steinway Hall in New York. (BBC News)

Promise: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has received a $10-million pledge from the Country Music Assn. (Los Angeles Times)

Passing: Chicago architect Gene Summers, the former dean of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, has died. (Chicago Tribune)

Also in the L.A. Times: George Clooney is joining the L.A. cast of Dustin Lance Black's Prop. 8 play.

-- David Ng

Photo: Nicole Scherzinger. Credit: Peter Kramer / Getty Images