Live Talks Los Angeles
Brings John Irving, Marcus Samuelsson, Kurt Andersen
& The Rock Bottom Remainders (Steven King, Dave Barry+)
To the Aero Theatre, El Rey & Track 16
June & July 2012

LOS ANGELES, CA – 
June 12, 2012
 – Live Talks Los Angeles, which produces compelling talks with fascinating speakers, will once again bring an A-list roster of personalities to the El Rey, Track 16, and Aero Theatre in the coming months. The schedule includes National Book Award and Oscar-Winning Writer John Irving, who will talk about his upcoming novel, In One Person (6/21, Aero); Top Chef Marcus Samuelsson, who will reflect on his life via his forthcoming memoir, Yes, Chef (7/10, Track 16); and Studio 360‘s Kurt Andersen, who will discuss his upcoming tour de force novel, True Believers (7/26, Track 16).  Also on the calendar is a special concert event by The Rock Bottom Remainders, the all-author rock band with Stephen King, Dave Barry, Amy Tan and Matt Groening among its members, who will hold their last public concert, after performing together for 20 years (6/22, El Rey). Most events start at 8:00pm with receptions preceding the talks. Ticket prices range from $20 to $295.  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 June and July 2012 events will take place at The Aero Theatre (1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403; 310-260-1528; www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/aero_theatre_events); the El Rey Theatre (5515 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036; 323-936-6400; www.theelrey.com/); and Track 16 in Bergamot Station (2525 Michigan Avenue, Bldg C-1, Santa Monica, CA 90404; 310-264-4678; www.track16.com).

June 2012 Live Talks LA–

Thu. 6/14, 8:00pm
(Reception 6:30-7:30pm)
Christopher Buckley in Conversation with Scott Timberg

Track 16, Santa Monica
Tickets – $20, $40 includes Buckley’s book, $95 includes book + pre-event reception
Humorist and prize-winning author of 15 books, Christopher Buckley was managing editor of Esquire Magazine, chief speechwriter to Vice President George H.W. Bush, and founding editor of Forbes FYI Magazine (now ForbesLife), where he is now editor-at-large. He will discuss his latest novel, They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?
 He is the author of fifteen books, which have been translated into sixteen languages. They include: Steaming To Bamboola, The White House Mess, Wet Work, God Is My Broker, Little Green Men, No Way To Treat a First Lady, Florence of Arabia, Boomsday, Supreme Courtship, Losing Mum And Pup: A Memoir, and Thank You For Smoking, which was made into a movie in 2005.  Most have been named by the New York Times as “Notable Books of the Year.”  Scott Timberg writes about music, books and the arts for Salon, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times.
livetalksla.org/blog/2012/01/17/an-evening-with-christopher-buckley/

John Irving (Credit: Jane Sobel Klonsky)

Thu. 6/21, 8:00pm
(Reception 6:30-7:30pm)
An Evening with John Irving
The Aero Theatre, Santa Monica
Tickets – $25, $45 includes Irving’s book, $95 includes pre-event reception + book

John Irving won the National Book Award for his novel, The World According to Garp, and an O. Henry Award for the short story, “Interior Space.” He also won an Oscar for “Best Adapted Screenplay” for The Cider House Rules – a film with seven Academy Award nominations. He will discuss his upcoming book, In One Person, his 13th novel.  The book, a tender exploration of desire, secrecy, sexual identity, and unfulfilled love, embraces sexual difference.  In 1992, Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma and, in 2001, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

livetalksla.org/blog/2012/01/17/an-evening-with-john-irving/

Fri. 6/22, 8:30pm/doors 7:30pm
(Reception 6:30-7:30pm)
An Evening with The Rock Bottom Remainders

A special concert featuring Stephen King, Amy Tan, Dave Barry, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, Matt Groening, James McBride, Roy Blount, Jr., Ridley Pearson, Greg Iles, Sam Barry, and special guest Roger McGuinn of The Byrds
The El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles
Tickets – $40, $200 includes pre-event reception, $295 includes reception + signed lithograph of the band
The Rock Bottom Remainders, the all-author rock band with Stephen King, Dave Barry, Amy Tan and Matt Groening among its members, will hold their last public concert, after performing together for 20 years. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center, the Midnight Mission and the launch of an Emerging Author Series at Live Talks Los Angeles. The band dedicates this final concert to band founder Kathi Goldmark who died on May 24, 2012 in San Francisco after a courageous battle with breast cancer.
livetalksla.org/blog/2012/05/29/june-22-rock-bottom-remainders-w-stephen-king-dave-barry-amy-tan-mitch-albom-scott-turow-and-more-at-the-el-rey/

The Rock Bottom Remainders (Illustration credit: David Horsey)

July 2012 Live Talks LA–



Tue. 7/10, 8:00pm
(Reception 6:30-7:30pm)
Chef Marcus Samuelsson in Conversation with David Burtka

Track 16, Santa Monica
Tickets – $20, $40 includes Samuelsson’s book, $95 includes book + pre-event reception
Chef Marcus Samuelsson is the author of several award-winning cookbooks and the forthcoming memoir, Yes, Chef.  He is the youngest chef to achieve two three-star reviews from The New York Times and was honored by the James Beard Foundation as “Rising Star Chef” (1999), “Best Chef: New York City” (2003), and “Best International Cookbook” (2007).  In 2010, Samuelsson beat out 21 fellow chefs on the second season of Top Chef Masters on Bravo, winning $115,000 for the UNICEF Tap Project.  In 2010, Samuelsson opened Red Rooster Harlem.  He was tasked with planning and executing the Obama Administration’s first State dinner; hosted the President at his own restaurant; and was named on the “International Best Dressed List 2011” in Vanity Fair.  Earlier this year, Samuelsson opened Ginny’s Supper Club.  David Burtka is an E! News correspondent, trained chef, and actor engaged to Neil Patrick Harris.
livetalksla.org/events/upcoming-events/

Marcus Samuelsson (Credit: Paul Brissman)

Thu. 7/26, 8:00pm
(Reception 6:30-7:30pm)
An Evening with Kurt Andersen
Track 16, Santa Monica
Tickets – $20, $40 includes Andersen’s book, $95 includes book + pre-event reception
Kurt Andersen is host and co-creator of the Peabody Award-winning public radio program Studio 360 and bestselling author of the critically-acclaimed Heyday and Turn of the Century.  As an editor, he co-founded Spy, Inside . com, and Very Short List.  He also served as editorial director of Colors and editor-in-chief of New York. He has been a cultural columnist for The New Yorker and Time, as well as Time’s architecture and design critic. He has also created television specials and pilots, and written screenplays and stage plays.  He will discuss his upcoming novel, True Believers, a tour de force of cultural observation and seductive storytelling, which alternates between the present and the 1960s – capturing the impact the decade had on how we live now.
livetalksla.org/events/upcoming-events/

Kurt Andersen (Credit: Thomas Hart Shelby)



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 the series in some of the city’s most amazing 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, Anne Rice, and many others.  Proceeds from ticket sales support various literacy, arts and educational causes that benefit the lives of Angelenos.  Live Talks Los Angeles hopes to raise awareness and support for the great work these organizations do in the community.  For the 2011-12 season, funds from events support First Book, The Actor’s Gang, American Cinematheque, KCET, and Los Angeles Review of Books.  Major sponsors are Bio.com and City National Bank. Media sponsors are 89.3 KPCC Southern California Public Radio and KCET. livetalksla.org

“Live Talks Los Angeles was launched in 2010 to showcase great speakers – artists, authors, humorists, musicians, scientists, and business thought leaders,” says Live Talks Los Angeles Founder/Producer Ted Habte-Gabr, “The idea is to just let them talk, in conversation with a provocative interviewer.”

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.