Jaunted - Santa Monica

Be a Volunteer at the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards in LA

cmb — 2010-12-01T15:40:00-05:00

Yesterday, Jeremy Renner and Eva Mendes announced the nominees for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards, at The London West Hollywood. The lucky ones include this year's indie favorites like 127 Hours, Black Swan, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Winter’s Bone.

All of the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Award winners will be announced on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. on the beach in Santa Monica, CA. But Film Independent, the non-profit organization that sponsors the event, is still in need of volunteers to help with the ceremony (which also serves as their largest annual fundraiser). How you can help (and see celebs):

What Else is Inside the Just-Opened Santa Monica Place?

juliana — 2010-08-09T11:36:20-05:00

As promised, we have a whole new batch of photos from inside Santa Monica Place, the new mall that just opened at the end of Third Street Promenade, steps away from the iconic Santa Monica Pier. (C'mon, you've all seen it in "Forest Gump.")

While Third Street Promenade has provided most of the recreational and retail action for Santa Monica, it's going to have to take a backseat to this new mall. Aside from the designer brands (Louis Vuitton, Bloomies, Nordstroms, Burberry and Barneys Co-Op), Santa Monica Place is finally giving shoppers what they really want--a wide variety of food options.

The third-floor open-air Dining Deck has a mix of high-end restaurants (Sonoma Wine Garden, XINO and La Sandia) mixed in with somewhat upscale food court options like tacos, pizza, and Chinese food. Of course, you can still get a cinnamon sugar pretzel at Wetzel's Pretzels.

Buy a Piece of Oceanic Flight 815 During the Massive LOST Auction

JetSetCD — 2010-08-09T09:31:19-05:00

Are you still mourning the loss the of the tv show that made "Oceanic Flight 815" a household name? Even though LOST officially ended its six-season run back in May, the show is about to re-surface...too bad it's only in pieces.

On August 21-22, Santa Monica's Barker Airport Hanger will host an auction of over 1,000 items from the filming of LOST, including everything from the DHARMA Initiative's VW bus to complete outfits worn on screen by the cast. Whether or not you're interested in buying (the majority of the lots are valued in the $100s), the hanger will hold an exhibition of the items—like pop-up LOST museum—on the two days from 9am to 1pm, with entrance tickets costing $42. That also gets you in to watch or participate in the auction too, in case you're curious to see how much a 6-pack of DHARMA beer goes for.

Santa Monica Place Reopens Today Near Third Street Promenade

juliana — 2010-08-06T08:34:15-05:00

Way back in January 2008, Santa Monica Place, the mall at the end of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif.--near the world famous Santa Monica Pier--closed for an extensive renovation. And we mean, extensive.

Much of the old mall, designed by Frank Gehry in 1980, was demolished and in its place, a 500,000sq.ft. three-story, open air shopping "destination" was erected.

Today that mall reopens as a spectacular high-end retail experience anchored by a stunning new Bloomingdale's. And not only does this new shopping mecca look pretty and modern but it's also eco-friendly and hopes to earn a LEED Silver certification.

Christmas Shopping For Your Favorite Traveler At Fred Segal Santa Monica

Heidi Atwal — 2009-12-04T16:34:38-05:00

If you've heard the name Fred Segal before, it's probably because US Weekly mainstays have often been photographed emerging from the store with a signature red, white and blue shopping bag in hand. The West Hollywood outpost may be better for star sighting, but we prefer the Santa Monica store, which is broken up into several idiosyncratic boutiques.

High prices and pretentious salespeople often deter shoppers from stopping by retailers of Fred Segal's ilk, but we've never had that problem in Santa Monica. We were there last night for a charity event last night co-hosted by Rachel Leigh Cook, to which guests brought unwrapped presents for donation to Toys For Tots, and did a little impromptu research into holiday gifts for travelers.

See what we found, with pictures, after the jump.

Run, Don't Walk to See David Lynch's Painting Exhibit in LA

Heidi Atwal — 2009-11-20T16:29:30-05:00

Los Angeles' reigning auteur of "weird," director David Lynch, doesn't limit his mode of creative expression to the screen. Though better known for helming films such as Mulholland Drive and hawking the benefits of transcendental meditation on college campuses, the fabulously-coiffed Lynch actually began his career as an artist. In 2007, a major retrospective of Lynch's multimedia art was featured at Paris' Fondation Cartier, and earlier this year, a selection of his photographs were on display at L.A.'s Michael Kohn Gallery.

We deemed the latter exhibition, a visual offshoot of the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse album Dark Night of the Soul, a mediocre representation of Lynch's creative bounds. We've yet to see his paintings in person, but as dedicated Lynch-o-philes we'll be rushing off to see his first L.A. painting show in a decade at Santa Monica's Griffin Gallery.

Koozin' It Up In Santa Monica: The Kooza Cirque Du Soleil Show

juliana — 2009-11-05T16:39:22-05:00

While VegasChatter is all a-tizzy about the new Viva Elvis Cirque du Soleil show that is set to hit The Strip next month, the folks in Los Angeles are getting a chance to experience Kooza in their own backyard at the Santa Monica Pier.

Kooza is the story of a little boy who's trying to find his place in the world. Called The Innocent, he's guided by The Trickster who shows him all sorts of things in the world of Kooza from a bumbling king and his clown sycophants to a loudmouth pickpocket, pretty female contortionists, jugglers, dancers, tightrope walkers (and cyclists) and tumblers extraordinaire.