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Quentin Tarantino's talents as a screenwriter are undisputed. And his ability to get audiences laughing in the midst of extreme violence has been a trademark since he landed on the scene with "Reservoir Dogs" in 1992. As he put it in a recent interview with The Times: "There is something sexy about gallows humor. This is funny but is it OK to laugh? Is it a contraband laugh? That's worth me leaving the house to have that experience. " So it was with great anticipation and some trepidation that Tarantino approached a key scene in "Django Unchained.

Welland Rudd isn't a typical American. He's never eaten Thanksgiving turkey or watched fireworks on the Fourth of July. At 52, he has yet to set foot on U.S. soil. Rudd isn't a typical Russian, either. Although he speaks the language fluently and has lived his whole life in Moscow, he cuts an unusual figure here. What sets him apart is the cafe-au-lait color of his skin.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti said Friday that Wendy Greuel's dwindling campaign treasury would only bolster his argument that her campaign is being sustained by the independent spending on her behalf. With 11 days left before the May 21 runoff election, City Councilman Garcetti's latest campaign finance report shows that he has 10 times as much cash-on-hand as his rival , who reported $275,000 in her bank account and debts of nearly $535,000. “She's now broke,” Garcetti said after appearing at a Mexican Mother's Day event at San Antonio Winery in Lincoln Heights with telenovela star Jaime Camil, whose surprise appearance brought gasps from the women assembled for the luncheon.

Attention all car buyers: The era of cut-rate financing, generous cash-back offers and big discounts is coming to an end. With the effects of the earthquake in Japan rippling through the industry and causing shortages, prices are rising for both new and used cars, and fewer models and options will be available come summer, especially for the hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles that Japan produces. That's prompted many experts to voice something rarely said in the sales-happy auto industry: With consumers facing the toughest market in recent memory, if you can, put off purchases until things sort out, probably early next year.

There are a lot of things you can buy with $192 million in Arizona, but anonymity isn't one of them. As the Times reported Monday , Matthew Good of Fountain Hills, Ariz., purchased one of the two  winning Powerball tickets for the record-setting $587.5-million jackpot two weeks ago. Though Good wanted to remain anonymous, he bought his ticket in his home state, so he didn't have a choice. Because lotteries like Powerball, which is played in 43 (including California starting in April)

ROME -- A year after the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank in Italy, drowning 32 passengers and crew, the ship's owner acknowledged Saturday that efforts to salvage the wreck were behind schedule, even as survivors of the disaster expressed anger at being told to keep away from anniversary ceremonies. Executives from Costa Crociere, the Italian firm that operated the Costa Concordia, said that its attempt to right the half-submerged ship onto an undersea platform and float it off for breaking up has been slowed by the difficulty of drilling into the soft sand and tough granite below the ship.

President Obama officially launched his re-election campaign with public rallies in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday.With that launch came a re-tooled stump speech which both defended his record in office and laid out the contrast with Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The speeches in both cities were largely the same. Here's a full transcript of his remarks in Columbus, following the acknowledgement of local leaders. OBAMA: "I want to thank so many of our Neighborhood Team Leaders for being here today.  You guys will be the backbone of this campaign.  And I want the rest of you to join a team or become a leader yourself, because we are going to win this thing the old-fashioned way -- door by door, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood.

Smog and soot levels have dropped significantly in Southern California over the last decade, but the Los Angeles region still has the highest levels of ozone nationwide, violating federal health standards an average of 137 days a year. The city ranks second in the country, behind Bakersfield, for the highest year-round levels of toxic particles or soot, and fourth in the nation for the number of short-term spikes in soot pollution. The rankings, part of the annual "State of the Air" report by the American Lung Assn., are based on federal and state data, which show that more than 90% of Californians live in counties with unhealthful air. Unlike parts of the East and Midwest, where coal-fired power plants are a primary source of toxic pollution, Southern California's chemical stew is the product of tailpipe emissions from cars and diesel pollution from trucks, trains and ships linked to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

It's taken 65 years, but guitar-loving kids are finally being allowed into the candy store. In a move designed to amplify the emotional connection between music fans and iconic instruments created at the Fender guitar factory in Corona, Calif., the company's new chief executive, Larry Thomas, has opened the factory for tours along with a new visitor center he hopes will turn the facility into a major tourist destination. "I'm a musician and a guitar player … so I can relate from the heart and the gut level what Fender is all about," Thomas, the former chairman of the Guitar Center retail chain, said last week during a preview of the new 8,600-square-foot facility where guitar heroes, including Rancid's Tim Armstrong, Guns N' Roses/Loaded guitarist Duff McKagan, Velvet Revolver's Dave Kushner and Rob Zombie associate John 5, poked around various displays.

Come the 2014 Olympic Games, the U.S. team should once again be sporting uniforms made in America. After weathering two days of criticism for manufacturing outfits for the 2012 London games in China, American retailer Ralph Lauren announced Friday that it was commited to producing uniforms in America for the 2014 Winter Games, which will be held in Sochi, Russia. “Ralph Lauren promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government addressing the issue of increasing manufacturing in the United States,” the company said.