Backlots Posted by Lara on May 28, 2018

This Memorial Day afternoon, I took a walk in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland and on my way back along Piedmont Ave, I noticed to my dismay that the shop of my favorite antique dealer had closed. This was a shop that I used to frequent in the days before...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on May 9, 2018

Dear readers, over the past months, I have gotten several comments and emails from people asking what they can do to help the Olivia de Havilland case. I just received some correspondence from de Havilland’s legal counsel, outlining exactly how to get involved in the petition to review the a   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on May 4, 2018

Dear readers, just as I was preparing to update you on the remaining days of the TCM Classic Film Festival (and my Show People intro), some pressing news found its way into my inbox. I have prided myself on bringing news on the Olivia de Havilland case to Backlots’ readers...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on April 27, 2018

Yesterday evening, Hollywood Boulevard looked much as it frequently does, decked out in a red carpet with hundreds of spectators trying to get a glimpse of celebrities as they walk down the carpet, talk to the waiting press, and make their way into the Chinese Theatre for an opening. Only...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on April 11, 2018

Dear readers, I have been keeping mum on news about the TCM Classic Film Festival until I got confirmation of some news of my own. That confirmation arrived in my inbox two days ago and was made public today…so here I am to let you know that Backlots has press...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on March 26, 2018

This afternoon, a decision came in for the case of Olivia de Havilland vs. FX, which I have been following closely here. The appeals court has decided to “reverse and remand” the case to lower court, overturning the decision of lower court judge Holly Kendig and giving the case to...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on March 21, 2018

In the aftermath of the Olivia de Havilland oral arguments yesterday, I have seen many reports about what happened during the hearing, and opinions about the case from varied sources. As one who was in the courtroom as it happened, I would like to address a few things that I’ve...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on March 20, 2018

Courtesy of the New York Times, Olivia de Havilland at her home in Paris last month. As many of you know (certainly those following my Twitter account over the past 24 hours), today I was privileged to attend the oral arguments at the University of Southern California in the case...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on March 16, 2018

Hello again, dear readers, I’m here to let you know that I will be traveling to Los Angeles on Monday night to attend the first round of oral arguments in the Olivia de Havilland case, to take place on March 20. I will keep you all in the loop as...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on March 2, 2018

Going about my day this afternoon, an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times entitled “What Does Olivia de Havilland Have Against Allison Janney?” came to my attention. Following the de Havilland case closely as I have been, there are some things from the article that I would like to...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on February 16, 2018

Hello dear readers, there isn’t terribly much to say about this, but I’ve promised to keep everyone on the pulse of the Olivia de Havilland case as much as I can, so I wanted to make a brief post. A few days ago, I noticed an unusual update on the...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on February 4, 2018

Noir City 16 comes to a close tonight, and as usual, it was a delightful week packed with great movies and great audiences. The Castro Theatre is unlike any other theater I’ve experienced in its audience enthusiasm and positivity. Watching a movie at the Castro is like having a movie...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on January 30, 2018

Dear readers, if you’ve been following my Twitter feed over the past few days, you know that I’ve been attending the 16th annual Noir City festival–a weeklong smorgasbord of film noir favorites and rarities, on the big screen at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. It’s been   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on January 26, 2018

As promised, readers, I’m here to provide another update on the Olivia de Havilland case. On Wednesday, a group of intellectual property professors applied to file an amicus curiae brief with the court in support of FX, and today, several more amici curiae briefs were filed, including one fr   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on January 3, 2018

Marion Davies was born on this date in 1897. She and her nephew, the screenwriter Charles Lederer, always celebrated their birthdays together on New Year’s Day (Lederer was born on December 31), but January 3 was the actual date of her birth. January of 1897 is one of the warmest...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on November 30, 2017

Virginia Cunningham from The Snake Pit expresses the feelings of everyone following the de Havilland case, as we wait around for the trial to start. Dear readers, if it feels like I’m posting frequent de Havilland trial updates, you are quite correct. Such is the nature of a court case,...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on November 14, 2017

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the Hollywood blacklist, and to mark the occasion, the Classic Movie Blog Association is hosting a blogathon dedicated to the industry members affected by the original blacklist and the secondary one with the publication of Red Channels and the creation of   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on October 31, 2017

I wrote a post a few days ago detailing how I would be going to Los Angeles in the final days of the Olivia de Havilland vs. FX trial, and I have been paying close attention to the case ever since. An update to the case has recently been posted...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on October 27, 2017

Following two days of trying to get the right LA Superior Court department, I am happy to announce that I am on the list of press to be present for the trial of Olivia de Havilland vs. FX when it takes place in Los Angeles in late November. I am...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on October 16, 2017

Like everyone else over the past few days, I have been following the horrific stories of abuse at the hands of production mogul Harvey Weinstein. The abuse itself has been compounded by allegations of complicity by the rest of the company, and the issuing of NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and le   read more