What’s New and Good This August

CORRALLING WHAT’S NEW AND GOOD EACH MONTH IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS (AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN)

August will forever and always be “Back-to-School” month. It also serves as a friendly reminder to do and see ALL the fun things before summer ends. Lucky for us, there are lots of movies, TV shows, summer festivals and more popping up this month. Here is just a sampling of exciting things to watch and go do before September creeps up.

SEARCHING

Last month, the L.A. Film School screened Unfriended: Dark Web, which follows a similar experimental narrative introduced by the original Unfriended of 2014. This style is part of an emerging subgenre of high-concept horror films that predominantly use Internet chat windows and computer screens as a device to deliver the story. This same innovative storytelling is used in the new horror film, Searching. Starring John Cho, the movie is about a father whose 16-year-old daughter goes missing, and his desperate search to figure out what happened. The father’s quest leads him to—you guessed it—her laptop. From there, the story unfolds on the computer screen where he uncovers a messy trail of secrets. Searching hits theaters August 24.

NETFLIX

OZARK (Season 2)

This nail-biting crime drama follows the Byrde Family who suddenly relocates from a Chicago suburb to the Ozarks. The hasty move comes after Marty Byrde (Jason Batman) gets himself into a money laundering scheme and moves his family (and the operation) to a low-profile resort community in the Ozarks. Season 2 picks up right in the middle of the chaos with the Byrdes getting even further entangled in criminal activity. Watch Season 2 on Netflix August 31.

AMAZON PRIME

Tom Clancy’s JACK RYAN (Season 1)

This adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels finds action-hero newbie John Krasinski at the front and center of the new Amazon Prime series. He portrays a CIA analyst who is faced with a dangerous field assignment involving deadly terrorist plots. Based on the original book series and five film adaptations, this is the first small-screen adaptation. Watch the series premiere on Prime Video August 31.

HULU

MINDING THE GAP (Original Documentary Series)

Cinematographer, Bing Liu, follows his longtime friends and fellow skateboarders over a 12-year period in their hometown of Rockford, IL. The story evolves through his camera lens as he captures raw footage of their young and troubled lives. The friendships are held together by disorder, abusive families and a love of skateboarding. Watch the original documentary on Hulu and in select theaters August 17.

Want to see what else is out there this month? Check out this full list of new shows available to stream in August!

LARS LIVE

Every month, The L.A. Recording School puts on a open-mic night at Ivar Theatre for students. Be sure to check out our latest LARS Live on Thursday, August 2, and then again at the end of this month! Support your fellow student artists at the Ivar Theatre, right around the corner from our main campus!

NEW ALBUM RELEASE

Travis Scott’s new album Astroworld comes out this Friday, August 3. You may have seen giant inflatables of Travis Scott’s gold-hued head around town promoting his highly-anticipated new album. There was even one perched on Amoeba’s rooftop that’s across the street from the L.A. Film School’s main campus.

Looking for more new music this month? Find it here!

HARD SUMMER 2018

In its 11th year, Hard Summer returns this weekend (Aug. 4-5) with a slew of first-time performers from EDM and hip-hop. Hard Summer has always been an EDM festival, but in 2013 it fused with the hip-hop world to captivate a wider audience.

To stay fresh, Hard Summer brought in a bunch of young talent in hopes to draw in the next generation of festival goers. Some new hip-hop acts include Saweetie, Lil Xan and YBN Nahmir, while the EDM lineup boasts 80-plus acts with headliners like Flosstradamus and Diplo. For the full line-up visit hardsummer.com.

MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS (VMAs)

Every year since 1984, the VMAs honor the best music videos and most prestigious performers in the music industry. This year, the show is returning to its birthplace at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Monday, August 20. Jennifer Lopez is the Video Vanguard Honoree and will perform some of her top 10 hits on stage. Look out for one of our L.A. Film School alumnae, Hannah Lux Davis, who directed Demi Lovato’s Sorry Not Sorry video—nominated for Best Pop Video of the year.

NEW GAME RELEASES

Gamers rejoice! Here are the notable games that are out this month via The A.V. Club. It’s a great roundup, and deserves a read!

MAGIC THE GATHERING

Photo Credit: Magic the Gathering

Calling all Magic The Gathering fans. Grand Prix Los Angeles comes to town August 17-19. You can register to play in this epic three-day event here!

Photo Credit: iTunes

Have you listened to the new podcast, Fatal Voyage? It’s a 12-part series that investigates the unsolved mystery of Hollywood actress Natalie Wood’s death almost 40 years ago. The series premiered in late July, and is currently three episodes in. Listen here on iTunes.

Featured Image credit: Pitchfork