Editor's Letter January 2011

Roll Out the Red Carpet!

STEVEN BILLER

If you’re seeing stars, don’t rub your eyes. The Palm Springs International Film Festival launches the new year with a red carpet that draws celebrities and media from around the world. Our cover story about Oscar winner Javier Bardem — recipient of the festival’s International Star Award — gives insight into the Spanish actor’s life and his critical and commercial success. Robert Duvall, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Carey Mulligan, and Jennifer Lawrence also will receive awards at the festival gala on Jan. 8.

In addition to Bardem’s story, Palm Springs Life Deputy Editor Janice Kleinschmidt goes behind the scenes at the film festival gala, and Desert Guide Editor Mona de Crinis serves up a handy film festival survival guide.

When the festival winds down, more celebs tee off with golf professionals in the Bob Hope Classic. In “Before the Hope,” writer Judd Spicer revisits Thunderbird Country Club — the Coachella Valley’s first 18-hole course — where the Thunderbird Invitational drew Hollywood’s A-list in the early to mid-1950s. “Thunderbird’s most visible contribution to living history derives from the club’s marriage of golf and popular culture,” Spicer reports. “The electric golf cart was born here, as was the Perry Como sweater. Ford’s Thunderbird model took its name from the club. And President Eisenhower was a member.”

Of course, the desert offers more than Hollywood glam and top-notch golf, as Carol Cheh demonstrates in “Surveying the Masters,” a review of Masters of Modernism and Impressionism at Heather James Fine Art. The exhibition features examples from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Fauvist, and Cubist eras, among others — an opportunity to view a span of historical avant-garde works side by side.

And don’t miss the latest installment in our series on the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument series. This month, photographer Tom Brewster meets his match in mysterious Martinez Canyon.

There’s so much to see and do, so enjoy the magazine and get into the action!