DEL MAR — Sometimes the toughest part of owning a horse is deciding what to name it. If you own a bunch of horses, you run out of logical names pretty quickly. You can only do a play on the sire’s name so many times. And if you name it after a living person, you need permission from that person.
But every once in a while happenstance is your guide.
Ned Toffey has been the general manager of Spendthrift Farm for 21 years. Spendthrift saw an Into Mischief colt it liked and bought the yet unnamed colt as a yearling for $650,000. Now the tough part, naming him.
Toffey had just completed an interview with a publication and it was trying to promote it on social media. The only problem is they got a couple of first letters transposed and sent out posted a message on X calling the longtime Spendthrift executive Ted Noffey. Innocent mistake. Once notified it was corrected but not before a few screenshots were taken.
John Velazquez smiles after riding Ted Noffey to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile horse race in Del Mar on Friday.
(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
Noffey went with the joke.
Now people will remember that colt as the winner of the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, pushing his name to the top of Kentucky Derby future pools.
His win wasn’t a surprise as he has won all four of his races, but none this prestigious on the first day of the two-day Breeders’ Cup held at Del Mar. All five of the races on Friday were worth no less than $1 million with nine more on Saturday.
Ted Noffey, the horse, was the favorite and was within a length of the lead all the way around the 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-old males, winning by a length.
“It pretty much unfolded like we thought it would,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “I’m just glad that he was able to keep finding more.”
Brant, the $3 million purchase for trainer Bob Baffert, went to the lead and was in front until the top of the stretch when Ted Noffey inched past and then kept going. He ended up winning by a length over Mr. A.P.
“I was happy with the trip, [Brant] just got tired,” Baffert said. “The lack of two turns caught up with him. He was beat by a real good horse, and they ran really fast. I think he will move up off this race.”
Brant finished third and Baffert’s other horse, Litmus Test, finished fourth. Ted Noffey was the favorite and paid $3.60 to win .
The other $2 million race, the Juvenile Fillies, was won by Super Corredora ($19.60 to win), whose last race was a maiden win, the only time this has happened in this race.
Southern California based John Sadler had to go 42 races before he won his first Breeders’ Cup race in 2018 when he won the Classic with Accelerate.
“My journey has been, there was a time when they’d say, he’s the best trainer that hasn’t won a Breeders’ Cup,” Sadler said. “They stopped asking that after Accelerate. So we’ve won quite a few of them now. So, I’m very pleased with that.
“And as you’re an older trainer, which I am at this point (he’s 69), these are the races you want to win. I think I hold most of the categories here at Del Mar, right behind Baffert—number of wins, number of stakes wins and money earned. The big days are especially rewarding.”
The 2-year-old filly led the entire 1 1/16 mile race and was the front half of a Southern California exacta with Baffert’s Explora finishing second. Hector Barrios was the jockey and it was his first Breeders’ Cup win with a three-quarters of a length victory.
The first race of the day, the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint, was won by Cy Fair ($12.00), a horse named after a high school in Texas and trained by George Weaver. Everyone gave Aidan O’Brien a good shot to win the five-furlong race since he had three horses in the race and his next win would give him 21, the most ever, breaking a tie with the late Wayne Lukas.
O’Brien had to wait for the last race of the day, the $1 million Juvenile Turf over one mile to pick up No. 21. Gstaad ($4.40) was the favorite and didn’t disappoint coming off the pace at the top of the stretch and winning by three-quarters of a length.
The other Breeders’ Cup race of the day, the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf, was won by Balantina ($43.20) by 1 ¼ lengths, the largest margin of the day. She came from well off the pace in the one mile race with a strong stretch drive for trainer Donnacha O’Brien, Aidan’s son.
The first day of the Breeders’ Cup is all 2-year-old races, but Saturday is where all the money is, $23 million in purses to be exact. It’s headed by the $7-million Classic, a 1¼ mile race for horses of any age or sex. The race, and the whole event, took a major blow when Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner and top-ranked horse in the country, was scratched after he spiked a fever early in the week. He was the 6-5 morning line favorite.
Everyone was looking forward to the rematch of Sovereignty and Journalism (5-1 adjusted odds), who finished one-two in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. McCarthy, who trains Journalism and owner Aron Wellman replaced jockey Umberto Rispoli after they didn’t like his ride in the Pacific Classic. Jose Ortiz picked up the mount.
“I think it’s unfortunate that Sovereignty is not in there but this is probably one of the best Classics we’ve seen in about 20 years,” McCarthy said. “We’ll bounce out of there and try and be tactical and try to be within four or five lengths of the lead.”
There should also be some interest in Fierceness (5-2), who won the Pacific Classic after a terrible break when he ducked near the rail breaking from the one. He drew the one for this race too.
“He’s got to break straight and establish the position he wants and run his race,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “His best race gives him a big chance, if he can deliver that.”
Among others in the race are Santa Anita-based Baeza (10-1), who won the Pennsylvania Derby; Japanese horse Forever Young (7-2), winner of the Saudi Cup; last year’s winner Sierra Leone (7-2); and Nevada Beach (20-1) for Baffert and winner of the Los Alamitos Derby and the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita.
Another race to watch on Saturday is the $5-million Turf in which Rebel’s Romance is trying to become the first three-time winner of this race and the third horse to ever win three Breeders’ Cup races, joining Goldikova and Beholder.
June Lockhart, the perennial TV mom who consoled her son Timmy and his faithful pet collie in “Lassie” and explained the unfolding galaxy to her children in the kitschy prime-time sci-fi show “Lost in Space,” has died.
Active in Hollywood well into her 90s, Lockhart died Thursday in Santa Monica of natural causes, with daughter June Elizabeth and granddaughter Christianna by her side, said her publicist, Harlan Boll.
She was 100.
Upbeat and bubbly, Lockhart happily accepted playing second-fiddle to children, animals and even a robot. In “Lassie,” she was most often seen teaching her son small life lessons extracted from his misadventures, often saved from peril by his faithful dog. In “Lost in Space,” she was a biochemist who seemed to spend most of her time prepping meals in the galley or tending to the children as the “Swiss Family Robinson”-like clan drifted randomly in space.
“Motherhood has been a pretty good dodge for me,” Lockhart told The Times, years after the shows went off the air. “I seem to have outlasted most of my colleagues because of it.”
Cast members of the TV show “Lost in Space” pose in costume in this 1965 publicity photo. Seated is Marta Kristen; standing, from left, is Mark Goddard, June Lockhart and Guy Williams.
(AP / CBS)
June Kathleen Lockhart was born on June 25, 1925, in New York City and grew up in a family steeped in the arts. Her father was a Broadway actor and her mother a singer. For years the family staged a seasonal production of “A Christmas Carol” in their home, inviting neighbors, friends and relatives to attend.
In 1938, the family went a step further and took their by now well-polished version of the Charles Dickens classic to film with a young Lockhart cast as Belinda Cratchit. The movie was all of one hour and nine minutes long.
Lockhart attended the Westlake School for Girls after the family moved to Los Angeles, where her father hoped to find a career as a film actor. But it was Lockhart who cracked Hollywood by landing modest but frequent roles on popular television shows such as “Wagon Train,” “Gunsmoke” and “Rawhide.”
In 1958, she was cast as Ruth Martin, the patient and good-natured mother on “Lassie,” a role that earned her an Emmy nomination. The show ran for 17 seasons, making it one of the longest-running prime-time shows on television. Lockhart left the series in 1964 to pursue other opportunities.
Lockhart realized the show had its limitations. “It was a fairy tale about people on a farm in which the dog solves all the problems in 22 minutes, just in time for the last commercial,” she told The Times.
The scripts were only slightly more challenging in “Lost in Space,” which followed the adventures of a family aboard a saucer-shaped spaceship headed to an Earth-like planet circling a faraway star. She left the show after three years and joined the cast of “Petticoat Junction” as a medical doctor who sets up practice in a worse-for-wear hotel in the middle of nowhere.
Earlier in life, Lockhart had been a regular on the news quiz show “Who Said That?” in which contestants were read a quote and asked to guess who said it. Lockhart had been absorbed by journalism and newsmakers since childhood, when she started a neighborhood newspaper. As an adult she subscribed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, reading them from beginning to end.
To prep for the show, she began cutting out quotes from the newspapers and memorizing them. One of the panelists on the show, a White House reporter for United Press International, was so impressed with Lockhart‘s grasp of politics that he invited her to a White House briefing.
Lockhart went on to become an unofficial member of the White House press corps, attending briefings, traveling with the Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy entourages during their presidential showdown and hitting the campaign trail with Ronald Reagan.
June Lockhart in 1965.
(CBS via Getty Images)
During her years as an informal White House correspondent, she was called on only once to ask a question during a presidential briefing, asking President George W. Bush for the name of the veterinarian who cared for the first family’s dog, Barney. Bush chuckled and said it was top secret.
Though she never had another prime-time role as big as in “Lassie” or “Lost in Space,” her career was remarkably long. She was the kindergarten teacher on “Full House,” James Caan’s mother on “Las Vegas,” a mother once again on “The Drew Carey Show” and a hospice worker on “Grey’s Anatomy.” For years she hosted coverage of the Rose Parade on CBS.
Her final credit arrived in 2018, when she voiced a radio communications officer in the “Lost in Space” reboot on Netflix. Twice married and divorced, Lockhart is survived by daughters June Elizabeth and Anne, as well as four grandchildren, said longtime family friend, Lyle Gregory.
“I’m in a huge, massive town I don’t really know,” he says, “and I’m looking for the movie district. And inevitably all the theaters are closed down. They’re all closed down. That’s what the dream is.”
I’m visiting Carpenter at his longtime production house in Hollywood on one of L.A.’s unjustly sunny October afternoons. A vintage “Halloween” pinball machine and a life-size Nosferatu hover near his easy chair. I tell him I don’t think Freud would have too much trouble interpreting that particular dream.
“No, I know,” he says, laughing. “I don’t have too much trouble with that either.”
Nonetheless, it truly haunts him — “and it has haunted me over the years for many dreams in a row,” he continues. “I’m either with family or a group, and I go off to do something and I get completely lost. [Freud] wouldn’t have too much trouble figuring that out either. I mean, none of this is very mysterious.”
Carpenter is a gruff but approachable 77 these days, his career as a film director receding in the rearview. The last feature he made was 2010’s “The Ward.” His unofficial retirement was partly chosen, partly imposed by a capricious industry. The great movie poster artist Drew Struzan died two days before I visited — Carpenter says he never met Struzan but loved his work, especially his striking painting for the director’s icy 1982 creature movie “The Thing” — and I note how that whole enterprise of selling a movie with a piece of handmade art is a lost one.
“The whole movie business that I knew, that I grew up with, is gone,” he replies. “All gone.”
John Carpenter with John Mulaney, appearing as a part of “Everybody’s in L.A.” at the Sunset Gower Studios in May 2024.
(Adam Rose / Netflix)
It hasn’t, thankfully, made him want to escape from L.A. He still lives here with his wife, Sandy King, who runs the graphic novel imprint Storm King Comics, which Carpenter contributes to. He gamely appeared on John Mulaney’s “Everybody’s in L.A.” series on Netflix and, earlier this year, the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. gave him a Career Achievement Award — a belated lovefest for a veteran who was sidelined after “The Thing” flopped, cast out into indie darkness and was never personally nominated for an Oscar.
The thing that does keep Carpenter busy these days (other than watching Warriors basketball and playing videogames) is the thing that might have an even bigger cultural footprint than his movies: his music. With his adult son Cody and godson, Daniel Davies, Carpenter is once again performing live concerts of his film scores and instrumental albums in a run at downtown’s Belasco this weekend and next.
The synthy, hypnotic scores that became his signature in films like “Halloween” and “Escape from New York” not only outnumber his output as a director — he’s scored movies for several other filmmakers and recently made a handshake deal in public to score Bong Joon Ho’s next feature — but their influence and popularity are much more evident in 2025 than the style of his image-making.
From “Stranger Things” to “F1,” Carpenter’s minimalist palette of retro electronica combined with the groove-based, trancelike ethos of his music (which now includes four “Lost Themes” records) is the coin of the realm so many modern artists are chasing.
Very few composers today are trying to sound like John Williams; many of them want to sound like John Carpenter. The Kentucky-raised skeptic with the long white hair doesn’t believe me when I express this.
“Well, see, I must be stupid,” he says, “because I don’t get it.”
“The true evil in the world comes from people,” says Carpenter. “I know that nature’s pretty rough, but not like men.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Carpenter is quick to put himself down. He always says that he scored his own films because he was the only composer he could afford, and that he only used synths because they were cheap and he couldn’t properly write music for an orchestra. When I tell him that Daniel Wyman, the instrumentalist who helped program and execute the “Halloween” score in 1978, praised Carpenter’s innate knowledge of the “circle of fifths” and secondary dominants — bedrocks of Western musical theory that allowed Carpenter’s scores to keep the tension cooking — he huffs.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Carpenter says, halfway between self-deprecation and something more rascally. “It all comes, probably, from the years I spent in our front room with my father and listening to classical music. I’m sure I’m just digging this s— out.”
Whether by osmosis or genetics or possibly black magic, Carpenter clearly absorbed his powers from his father, Dr. Howard Carpenter, a classically trained violinist and composer. Classical music filled the childhood home in Bowling Green and for young John it was all about “Bach, Bach and Bach. He’s my favorite. I just can’t get enough of Johann there.”
It makes sense. Bach’s music has a circular spell quality and the pipe organ, resounding with reverb in gargantuan cathedrals, was the original synthesizer.
“He’s the Rock of Ages of music,” says Carpenter, who particularly loves the fugue nicknamed “St. Anne” and the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. “Everybody would go back to Mozart or Beethoven. They are astonishing — Beethoven is especially astonishing — but they’re not my style. I don’t feel it like I do with Bach. I immediately got him.”
Carpenter was also a film score freak since Day 1. He cites the early electronic music in 1956’s “Forbidden Planet” and claims Bernard Herrmann and Dimitri Tiomkin as his two all-time favorites. Just listen, he says, to the way Tiomkin’s music transitions from the westerny fanfare under the Winchester Pictures logo to the swirling, menacing orchestral storm that accompanies “The Thing From Another World” title card in that 1951 sci-fi picture that Carpenter remixed as “The Thing.”
“The music is so weird, I cannot follow it,” he says. “But I love it.”
Yet Carpenter feels more personally indebted to rock ‘n’ roll: the Beatles, the Stones, the Doors. He wanted to be a rock star ever since he grew his hair long and bought a guitar in high school. He sang and performed R&B and psychedelic rock for sororities on the Western Kentucky campus as well as on a tour of the U.S. Army bases in Germany. He formed the rock trio Coupe de Villes with his buddies at USC and they made an album and played wrap parties.
He also kept soaking up contemporary influences, listening to Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” while location scouting for “Halloween.” Peter Fonda later introduced Carpenter to Zevon and he wanted the director to adapt the song into a film that never happened (starring Fonda as the werewolf, but “this time he gets the girl,” Carpenter recalls). In the ’80s he blasted Metallica with his two boys and he still loves Devo.
It’s incredibly rare for a film director to score their own films, rarer still for one to spend decades on stage as a performing musician. The requisite personalities would seem diametrical.
“My dad was a performing musician, so it was just part of the family,” Carpenter says. However, until 2016, when Carpenter first toured with his music, he was consumed with stage fright. “I had an incident when I was in a play in high school,” he says. “I went up and I forgot my lines. Shame descended upon me and I had a tough time. I was scared all the time.”
The director credits his touring drummer, Scott Seiver, for helping him beat it.
“Your adrenaline carries you to another planet when that thing starts,” he sighs with pleasure. “You hear a wall of screaming people. It’s a big time.”
He pushes back against the idea that directors “hide behind the camera.”
“The pressure, that’s the biggest thing,” Carpenter says. “You put yourself under pressure from the studio, you’re carrying all this money, crew, you want to be on time.”
He remembers seeing some haggard making-of footage of himself in post-production on “Ghost of Mars” in 2001 and thinking: Oh my God, this guy is in trouble. “I had to stop,” he says. “I can’t do this to myself anymore. I can’t take this kind of stress — it’ll kill you, as it has so many other directors. The music came along and it’s from God. It’s a blessing.”
John Carpenter is grateful but he doesn’t believe in God. He believes that, when we die, “we just disperse — our energy disperses, and we return to what we were. We’re all stardust up there and the darkness created us, in a sense. So that’s what we have to make peace with. I point up to the infinite, the space between stars. But things stop when you die. Your heart stops, brain — everything stops. You get cold. Your energy dissipates and it just… ends. The End.”
This is not exactly a peaceful thought for him.
“I mean, I don’t want to die,” he adds. “I’m not looking forward to that. But what can you do? I can’t control it. But that’s what I believe and I’m alone in it. I can’t put that on anybody else. Everybody has their own beliefs, their own gods, their own afterlife.”
He describes himself as a “long-term optimist but a short-term pessimist.”
“I have hope,” he says, “put it that way.” Yet he looks around and sees a lot of evil.
“The true evil in the world comes from people,” says Carpenter, who has long used cinematic allegories to skewer capitalist pigs and bloodthirsty governments. “I know that nature’s pretty rough, but not like men. You see pictures of lions taking down their prey and you see the face of the prey and you say: ‘Oh, man.’ Humans do things like that and enjoy it. Or they do things like that for power or pleasure. Humans are evil but they’re capable of massive good — and they’re capable of the greatest art form we have: music.”
The greatest?
“You don’t have to talk about it. You just sit and listen to it. It’s not my favorite,” he clarifies, alluding to his first love, cinema — “but it’s the one that transcends centuries.”
Music has always been kinder to him than the movie business. That business recently reared its ugly head when A24 tossed his completed score for “Death of a Unicorn.” (At least he owns the rights and will be putting it out sometime soon.) In addition to the high he gets from playing live, he is currently working on a heavy metal concept album complete with dialogue. It’s called “Cathedral” and he’ll be playing some of it at the Belasco.
It’s essentially a movie in music form, based on a dream Carpenter had. Though not one he finds scary. What scares Carpenter, it seems, is not being in control.
That happened to him in the movie world, it’s happening more and more as what he calls the “frailties of age” mount and it happens in that nightmare about getting lost in a big city and not finding any theaters.
“But I can’t do anything about it,” he says. “What can I do? See, the only thing I can do is what I can control: music. And watching basketball.”
There’s something about Thai cuisine that is warm and welcoming.
Perhaps it’s the fire that bird’s eye chili brings to a dish, or maybe the bold punchiness of tom yum soup.
My colleague and food critic Bill Addison referred to Thai as “a pillar cuisine of Los Angeles.”
And why not?
The city boasts the world’s largest Thai population outside of Thailand. Those who open restaurants open our palates to a diverse range of flavors and sensations from their micro-regional cooking styles.
Addison is wary of using the term “best.” Instead, he crafted a list of his 15 favorite Thai restaurants in Los Angeles. Here, we’ll highlight a handful of those choices, in Addison’s own words.
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If you’ve had any passing interest in Los Angeles dining culture this decade, you probably know the story: Anajak Thai was founded in 1981 by chef Ricky Pichetrungsi, whose recipes merge his Thai upbringing and Cantonese heritage, and his wife Rattikorn.
In 2019, when Pichetrungsi suffered a stroke, the couple’s son Justin left a thriving career as an art director at Walt Disney Imagineering to take over the restaurant.
It changed his life, and it changed Los Angeles, with Justin’s creative individualism — specifically his Thai Taco Tuesday phenomenon.
That’s when the menu crisscrosses fish tacos lit up by chili crisp and limey nam jim with wok-fragrant drunken noodles and Dungeness crab fried rice. Add what has become one of L.A.’s great wine lists, and the restaurant has catapulted into one of the city’s great dining sensations.
The restaurant closed for a couple of months over the summer for a renovation, revealing a brighter, significantly resituated interior — and introducing an open kitchen and a second dining room — in August.
The menu didn’t radically alter: It’s the same multi-generational cooking, tracing the family heritage, leaning ever-further into freshness, perfecting the details in familiar dishes.
Fried chicken sheathed in rice flour batter and scattered with fried shallots, the star of the Justin-era menu, remains, as does the sublime mango sticky rice that Rattikorn makes when she can find fragrant fruit in season and at its ripest.
(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)
Ayara Thai (Westchester)
Owner Andy Asapahu grew up in a Thai-Chinese community in Bangkok.
Anna Asapahu, his wife, was raised in Lampang, a small city in the verdant center of northern Thailand.
They melded their backgrounds into a sprawling multi-regional menu of soups, salads, noodles and curries when they opened Ayara in Westchester in 2004.
Their daughters Vanda and Cathy oversee the restaurant these days, but Anna’s recipe for khao soi endures as the marquee dish.
Khao soi seems to have become nearly as popular in Los Angeles as pad Thai. This one is quintessential: chicken drumsticks braised in silky coconut milk infused with lemongrass and other piercing aromatics, poured over egg noodles, sharpened with shallots and pickled mustard greens and garnished with lime and a thatch of fried noodles.
The counterpoints are all in play: a little sweetness from palm sugar and a lot of complexity from fish sauce, a bump of chile heat to offset the richness.
Pair it with a standout dish that reflects Andy’s upbringing, like pad pong kari, a stir-fry of curried shrimp and egg with Chinese celery and other vegetables, smoothed with a splash of cream and served over rice. The restaurant has a spacious dining room.
Note that lunch is technically carry-out only, though the family sets up the patio space outside the restaurant for those who want to stick around.
(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)
Holy Basil (Atwater Village)
Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal “Joy” Yuon run two wholly different Holy Basils.
Downtown’s Santee Passage food hall houses the original, a window that does a brisk takeout business cranking out Arpapornnopparat’s visceral, full-throttle interpretations of Bangkok street food.
His pad see ew huffs with smokiness from the wok. The fluffy-crackly skin of moo krob pops and gives way to satiny pork belly underneath. Douse “grandma’s fry fish and rice” with chile vinegar, and in its sudden brightness you’ll understand why the dish was his childhood favorite.
Their sit-down restaurant in Atwater Village is a culmination of their ambitions. The space might be small, with much of the seating against a wall between two buildings, but the cooking is tremendous.
Arpapornnopparat leaps ahead, rendering a short, revolving menu of noodles, curries, chicken wings, fried rice and vegetable dishes that is more experimental, weaving in elements of his father’s Chinese heritage, his time growing up in India and the Mexican and Japanese flavors he loves in Los Angeles.
One creation that shows up in spring but I wait for all year: fried soft-shell crab and shrimp set in a thrilling, confounding sauce centered around salted egg yolk, browned butter, shrimp paste and scallion oil. In its sharp left turns of salt and acid and sultry funk, the brain longs to consult a GPS. But no map exists. These flavor combinations are from an interior land.
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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When the cast and crew of “Bob’s Burgers” gathered to celebrate the show’s milestone 300th episode earlier this month, two key figures were missing.
Creator Loren Bouchard and actor H. Jon Benjamin — who voices the “Bob” of the title — were unexpectedly waylaid by illness and travel troubles, respectively. It was a scenario that could have been an episode of the long-running adult animated series, down to the celebration’s setting, which took place in a room resembling the inside of the show’s titular hamburger joint.
The only thing missing was a musical interlude.
Centering a family that runs a restaurant, “Bob’s Burgers” kicks off its 16th season Sunday on Fox with its 300th episode titled “Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening.” The milestone episode will take things back to before the Belcher’s opened their family eatery.
According to Bouchard, one of the questions the writers wanted to explore in this episode was “Why is Linda doing this?”
“Bob’s Burgers [the restaurant], it’s got his name in it, but we sense that he can’t do it without her,” Bouchard says. “[Bob] says that in the show, but what do we mean when we say that?”
The look to the past also shows Bob (Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) preparing to welcome their first child, Tina (Dan Mintz). The Belcher clan also includes Tina’s younger siblings Gene (Eugene Mirman) and Louise (Kristen Schaal).
“Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening” is the 300th episode of “Bob’s Burgers.”
(20th Television / Fox)
Bouchard admits he is usually not one for celebrating episode counts — “It starts to feel a little bit like bulk pricing,” he jokes — but he recognizes that the longevity of the series is something special. “Bob’s Burgers” premiered in 2011.
“What you get with a show that lasts this long and has this many episodes is a different relationship with the fans,” Bouchard says. “You get to have a 15-year relationship. That’s like family. There are marriages that don’t last that long.”
Over the years, the show’s dedicated audience has seen “Bob’s Burgers” expand beyond television with the release of “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” in 2022 as well as a touring live show of comedy and music.
Bouchard explains that the show’s approach to these milestone episodes have been to “go small and deep” to avoid overstuffing them with fan service. They’ve treated the 100th, 200th and 300th episodes like a new pilot that centers the restaurant and family “in a very basic way” as if it were someone’s introduction to the series.
The 300th episode, written by Bouchard and Nora Smith, digs into the show’s core premise to reveal how Bob and Linda came to juggle a restaurant and a family at the same time.
“I started my family when I started ‘Bob’s,’ so it’s very personal to me,” Bouchard says. “I like the chaos and just audacious optimism that you could have children and start a doomed-to-fail, Hail Mary of a creative project at the same time. It’s why I like this family, that they did this too.”
To commemorate the milestone, Bouchard and the cast discussed, in their own words edited for clarity and length, “Bob’s Burgers’” status as a “comfort show,” the Belcher family dynamics, memorable episodes and more.
A comfort food
“Bob’s Burgers” cast members Larry Murphy, left, Dan Mintz, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman and John Roberts at the Bento Box offices.
(Frank Micelotta / Fox)
It’s not rare for “Bob’s Burgers” to be described as a “comfort show” — something fans can turn on to unwind or fall asleep to. The cast attributes this to the show having real emotions that come from the heart.
“The sweetness of [their affection] being genuine, that’s the thing,” Mirman says. “It’s just a mix of warmhearted and funny and sort of grounded.”
“The jokes aren’t taking people down a notch,” Schaal says. “The show has always been in a lane that people are realizing they should come over to — the kind lane.”
Bouchard says that “it’s very touching and affecting” that audiences turn to the show for comfort but acknowledges it’s something he can’t focus on while the show’s in production.
Bouchard: I definitely don’t take it lightly. I don’t want to think about it while we’re making “Bob’s.” If I thought about it while we’re making it, I would I feel like there’s a scenario where I could mess it up. You don’t want to shoot for comfort show, you want to shoot for edgy, attention-grabbing. [Episodes with] act breaks and big closing numbers. I know people don’t mean, “I fall asleep when I see it for the first time.” They mean, “I put on episodes I’ve seen before and it’s comforting in a profoundly, sleepy way.” I think being an adult by definition means at the end of the day you need something to just transition so that you can fall asleep. I’m glad that “Bob’s” does that for people.
Roberts: We love how much comfort this brings to the world. We like being light and having a job in entertainment that makes people feel good — it makes the world a better place. That’s rare and we’re blessed and we’re grateful.
Dinner (musical) theater
Tina, left, Louise and Gene in an episode of “Bob’s Burgers.”
(20th Television / Fox)
According to Bouchard, the music on the show was ”a ’dare we dream’ type thing in the beginning.” But the reception to the show’s catchy ukelele-driven theme song made him feel like there was room to push the musical elements further, like having a unique end credits and outro song for each episode.
“This sort of flea market find, slightly childlike music felt to us like of the show, but the audience had to give us permission,” Bouchard says. “We had to go slowly to get that.”
Once they saw the audience was on board, he felt like the show had the go ahead to hit the ground running from putting musical moments within the stories to eventually having musical episodes. While it’s still something they take “moment by moment,” Bouchard says he’s “so glad that [the music is] part of what people seem to want from the show.”
Roberts: I think in the earlier seasons, we were more improvising and things like that. But now it’s very professional big songs. It’s fun. I’m impressed by everybody.
Mirman: I’m truly incapable of singing. So the way we do it for me is that the person who’s in charge of the music will sing one line and I will mimic it like nine times to the best of my ability. [Then] they splice together a child singing poorly that is still much better than me in real life. But it’s still very fun. It’s very fun to be challenged.
Mintz: I’m kind of in Eugene’s boat. I can’t remember pitch for very long after I hear it, so I do have to immediately hear it and immediately repeat it. But I’ve been surprised at how much I do enjoy it. You do it again and again, and then the final ones are like, “Now do it and don’t hold back.” And you feel a real singer for, like, one line. There’s also the no pressure of it because I’m singing as a person, as a character, who’s not a professional singer, so it doesn’t have to be that good.
Where’s the beef? Belcher family dynamics
The Belchers inside their restaurant.
(20th Television / Fox)
One thing that comes through in every episode of “Bob’s Burgers” is just how much the Belchers love each other.
“[Linda] is a mom that pays attention and is present and shows up for her children,” says Roberts, who draws from his own mother for his performance. “There’s a realness there and it’s very grounding for the show. … Linda’s gone a little crazy sometimes, but for the most part, it’s all very much stuff that you can relate to.”
Perpetually in the Belchers’ orbit is Teddy — handyman, loyal customer and Bob’s best friend.
“I think of Teddy as constantly trying to inject himself into the lives of the family that he doesn’t have,” says Larry Murphy, who voices Teddy. “The best part about that is that they might shake their heads [at him], but they always rise to the occasion and are supportive of the character.”
And as much as the Belcher children can tease or annoy each other at times, there is no doubt that they all genuinely care for one another too.
“There’s a sibling camaraderie that is really lovely,” Mirman says. “It reminds me of the camaraderie on TV and movies in the ‘80s. That era of the stuff I grew up watching.”
Schaal: I love how they enjoy each other’s company. They’re usually not trying to lose the other one. I mean, in some episodes, Louise is bothering Tina and we explore that. But in general, they hang out together, they play together. They’re not on their f— iPads, separate in their own worlds. They’re going on adventures. And at the end of the day, Louise has their back like no one else and she’ll fight for them.
Mintz: I think it’s great for Tina to be pulled out of her comfort zone by her siblings, even though she’s supposed to be the leader as the oldest. Those are some of the most fun episodes for me when Gene and Louise want to do something dangerous or against the rules or whatever. Tina’s anxious for some reason and keeps being like, “Well, we shouldn’t,” but she gets dragged along. There’s always some moment in every one of those where it’s like, ‘Wait, Jimmy Jr. will be there. OK, maybe I’m fine with this.’ I think Tina’s life would be a lot more boring if she didn’t have someone make her break the rules all the time.
Favorite flavors
Tina and Linda in “Bob’s Burgers.”
(20th Television/Fox)
Over the years, “Bob’s Burgers” has come to be known for its various holiday episodes for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas that often rank among viewers’ favorites.
“I love on Thanksgiving when they play the marathon of stuff,” Roberts says.
But holidays aren’t the only flavor of memorable episodes. And even after 16 seasons, the cast says they are just as excited to flip through new scripts and record episodes together as they were when they started.
As for their favorites, Mintz says he enjoys “all the fantasy ones.” Murphy agrees.
Murphy: I like those episodes where the kids are each telling their own story — and it might not have happened. It just gets to not exist in the world of “Bob’s Burgers,” but it’s someone’s point of view telling a story, like when they built that giant robot [“The Handyman Can”]. Kind of a “Rashomon”-type idea.
Schaal: I like anything that’s emotional. If Louise ever gets to be emotional, I get excited. Even like the one where they’re looking for Bob’s mom’s grave [“Show Mama From the Grave”]. They’re going for something that is really sad, but doing it so well. I love those episodes.
Roberts: I think what’s really awesome is that there’s an individual episode for each character that’s genius. For me, I think “Lindapendent Woman” was an incredible episode. I just did an episode Holly Schlesinger wrote where it’s more about Linda and her past. We all got our turn at having incredible episodes.
Mirman: I agree with Kristen about the ones that have an emotional arc. There is a Christmas one [“The Plight Before Christmas”], where all three kids have an event and the parents understand they can’t make it to everything. Eventually Tina makes it to Louise’s poetry reading where she wrote two poems and one is really sweet and about the family. I’ve watched that episode a bunch.
Schaal: Going back to the story ones. The one about the chores [“Fight at the Not Okay Chore-ral”], where Louise is butting heads with Linda about doing chores and then they tell stories about being in a wild west town. That one I love because it was about this real conflict. And the funny thing is, my daughter has requested to watch that one several times. I think it’s because Linda breaks down and says, “I’m wrong, I give up,” and my kid is thrilled to see the mom say that.
We’re here, we’re gruyere, get used it
Teddy and Linda in an episode of “Bob’s Burgers.”
(20th Television / Fox)
“Bob’s Burgers” has often been hailed for its inclusivity. As a series living in “the kind lane,” the characters are accepted for who they are — even if there’s gentle ribbing at times.
“Nobody’s trying to change anyone,” Roberts says. “They’re just trying to make them better human beings.”
“And they don’t have to defend who they are,” adds Schaal. “There’s complete acceptance.”
At a time when trans and queer people are increasingly targeted by ring-wing politicians and activists through legislation and dehumanizing rhetoric — LGBTQ+-friendly shows such as “Bob’s Burgers” can, for some, feel like a refuge. Bouchard explains how the show’s approach to being inclusive is intentional.
Bouchard: One of the simple tricks that we do is you just do it. You don’t have to shine a light on it. What I think is interesting about acceptance and tolerance and inclusivity — all those things have become capitalized words, and they almost lose their value when they’re not just part of your daily life. Your storytelling has to be about something other than that. That’s not going to be as satisfying as just put it in the character and let it be their daily. They get up feeling accepting and inclusive and normalizing, and they go to bed that way. They don’t learn that f— lesson in the middle of a half-hour show. That’s fine that it exists. Maybe sometimes, as a culture, we need to all come together and learn a lesson. [But] “Bob’s” is in the business of not writing those episodes. We’re in the business of writing those characters without fanfare.
And I give credit to my parents. I think my sister and I were weird in the normal weird way — weird kids are normal. A lot of parents make room for that, and love their kids no matter how they express themselves as little kids. I guess some don’t, but I am glad to have come up in that. To me, it feels natural. To me, it’s not a stretch. The way to do it is to just live it, just be it, and assume that when it’s on paper and it seems normal to you, hopefully it’ll feel reassuring and comforting to other folks too.
MEXICO CITY — To help justify a sweeping deportation campaign, an extraordinary U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and unprecedented strikes on boats allegedly trafficking drugs, President Trump has repeated a mantra: Tren de Aragua.
He insists that the street gang, which was founded about a decade ago in Venezuela, is attempting an “invasion” of the United States and threatens “the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.” Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump described the group as “an enemy of all humanity” and an arm of Venezuela’s authoritarian government.
According to experts who study the gang and Trump’s own intelligence officials, none of that is true.
While Tren de Aragua has been linked to cases of human trafficking, extortion and kidnapping and has expanded its footprint as Venezuela’s diaspora has spread throughout the Americas, there is little evidence that it poses a threat to the U.S.
“Tren de Aragua does not have the capacity to invade any country, especially the most powerful nation on Earth,” said Ronna Rísquez, a Venezuelan journalist who wrote a book about the gang. The group’s prowess, she said, had been vastly exaggerated by the Trump administration in order to rationalize the deportation of migrants, the militarization of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, and perhaps even an effort to drive Venezuela’s president from power.
“It is being instrumentalized to justify political actions,” she said of the gang. “In no way does it endanger the national security of the United States.”
Before last year, few Americans had heard of Tren de Aragua.
The group formed inside a prison in Venezuela’s Aragua state then spread as nearly 8 million Venezuelans fled poverty and political repression under the regime of Nicolás Maduro. Gang members were accused of sex trafficking, drug sales, homicides and other crimes in countries including Chile, Brazil and Colombia.
As large numbers of Venezuelan migrants began entering the United States after requesting political asylum at the southern border, authorities in a handful of states tied crimes to members of the gang.
It was Trump who put the group on the map.
While campaigning for reelection last year, he appeared at an event in Aurora, Colo., where law enforcement blamed members of Tren de Aragua for several crimes, including murder. Trump stood next to large posters featuring mugshots of Venezuelan immigrants.
“Occupied America. TDA Gang Members,” they read. Banners said: “Deport Illegals Now.”
Shortly after he took office, Trump declared an “invasion” by Tren de Aragua and invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 18th century law that allows the president to deport immigrants during wartime. His administration flew 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador, where they were housed in a notorious prison, even though few of the men had documented links to Tren de Aragua and most had no criminal records in the United States.
In recent months, Trump has again evoked the threat of Tren de Aragua to explain the deployment of thousands of U.S. troops and a small armada of ships and warplanes to the Caribbean.
In July, his administration declared that Tren de Aragua was a terrorist group led by Maduro. That same month, he ordered the Pentagon to use military force against Latin American cartels that his government has labeled terrorists.
Three times in recent weeks, U.S. troops have struck boats off the coast of Venezuela that it said carried Tren de Aragua members who were trafficking drugs.
The administration offered no proof of those claims. Fourteen people have been killed.
Trump has warned that more strikes are to come. “To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence,” he said in his address to the United Nations.
While he insists the strikes are aimed at disrupting the drug trade — claiming without evidence that each boat was carrying enough drugs to kill 25,000 Americans — analysts say there is little evidence that Tren de Aragua is engaged in high-level drug trafficking, and no evidence that it is involved in the movement of fentanyl, which is produced in Mexico by chemicals imported from China. The DEA estimates that just 8% of cocaine that is trafficked into the U.S. passes through Venezuelan territory.
That has fueled speculation about whether the real goal may be regime change.
“Everybody is wondering about Trump’s end game,” said Irene Mia, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank focused on global security.
She said that while there are officials within the White House who appear eager to work with Venezuela, others, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are open about their desire to topple Maduro and other leftist strongmen in the region.
“We’re not going to have a cartel operating or masquerading as a government operating in our own hemisphere,” Rubio told Fox News this month.
Top U.S. intelligence officials have said they don’t believe Maduro has links to Tren de Aragua.
A declassified memo produced by the Office of Director of National Intelligence found no evidence of widespread cooperation between his regime and the gang. It also said Tren de Aragua does not pose a threat to the U.S.: “The small size of TDA’s cells, its focus on low-skill criminal activities and its decentralized structure make it highly unlikely that TDA coordinates large volumes of human trafficking or migrant smuggling.”
Michael Paarlberg, a political scientist who studies Latin America at Virginia Commonwealth University, said he believes Trump is using the gang to achieve political goals — and distract from domestic controversies such as his decision to close the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Tren de Aragua, he said, is much less powerful than other gangs in Latin America. “But it has been a convenient boogeyman for the Trump administration.”
Fear over President Donald Trump’s new tariffs has subsided, at least in the stock market. April lows have disappeared into a thriving bull market, and the S&P 500 is up more than 11% year to date.
Things could change next week when the Federal Reserve meets and considers an interest rate cut. If it does end up reducing interest rates, which it has indicated that it will, the market is likely to greet the news positively. If for some reason it doesn’t, or if it offers any kind of negative assessment of the economy, it could sink the markets again.
But that’s life in the markets. There are always going to be periods of uncertainty and volatility as well as dips, corrections, and crashes. But the overall arc has always been upward, and investing today is a vote of confidence in the future.
If you’re looking for excellent stocks that can withstand the oscillations of the market over time, I recommend MercadoLibre(MELI 0.10%), Dutch Bros(BROS -2.66%), and Apple(AAPL 1.82%).
Image source: Getty Images.
1. MercadoLibre: E-commerce and fintech
MercadoLibre is a no-brainer for investors looking for long-term growth. It continues to demonstrate incredible performance, but there’s so much further to go.
Although its main business is e-commerce, which is still a phenomenal growth driver, it has expanded to become a complete financial app. The dual focus gives it massive long-term opportunities.
Despite having been in business almost as long as Amazon, it still reports high growth in e-commerce. Its region is underpenetrated, and it’s generating a shift from offline retail to online retail.
Total revenue increased 53% year over year (currency neutral) in the second quarter, and gross merchandise volume of goods sold through its e-commerce marketplace increased 37%. New active customers, the foundation of the consumer shift to e-commerce, increased 35% over last year. Management is upgrading the value proposition to make it worthwhile for new shoppers to try MercadoLibre, and the service recently lowered its threshold for free shipping in Brazil from 79 Brazilian reals to 19. It’s also incorporating more artificial intelligence, and that’s leading to higher engagement, as is infinite scroll, which displays more information on a screen.
MercadoLibre’s fintech platform has even greater potential in underbanked communities. It offers a large assortment of financial services through its digital wallet, MercadoPago, and growth in monthly active users has been at 30% or higher for the past seven quarters.
Another feature I like a lot about this company is its varied markets. It operates in 18 Latin American markets, and they’re not all the same. Last year, it was experiencing pressure in Argentina, historically its largest market, but that was offset by success in Brazil and Mexico, its other two largest markets. That kind of hedge gives MercadoLibre stability even as some of its markets look risky.
2. Dutch Bros: Growing its brand in coffee
Dutch Bros is almost as old as Starbucks, but it’s been a small chain concentrated in Oregon. Although it’s been expanding slowly for years, it made a clever move when the pandemic shifted coffee shop consumption behaviors to ride the tide and take its drive-thru coffee concept national.
The original pilot, bringing the chain south through California, was extremely successful. The company took it up a notch with some very smart decisions to bring in new management and try new store formats as it keeps moving east, and it’s been a roaring success.
When you hear coffee, you might be envisioning steaming hot cups. But Dutch Bros’ core beverages are cold drinks and energy drinks. It offers customized beverages featuring all kinds of flavors and shots, and it has carved out a significant and growing niche in this space. Customers love it, and the future looks wide open.
The results speak for themselves. Revenue increased 28% year over year in the second quarter, driven by a 6.1% increase in same-store sales. Contribution margin, which measures store profitability, improved from 30.8% to 31.1%, and adjusted net income rose from $31.2 million to $45.5 million.
The investing thesis is made even more compelling by the expansion opportunities. Management recently raised its long-term goal from 4,000 stores to 7,000, a sevenfold increase from today’s store count.
3. Apple: Don’t give up on it
Finally, Apple might seem like a contrarian call today, but its recently stagnating price means that there’s time to buy before it starts to soar again.
The naysayers might point to slowing growth and too much dependence on the iPhone. But Apple doesn’t need a lot of products to generate engagement and high sales. It has developed an incomparable ecosystem of products that work together, plus loyal fans who love its quality and stay in that ecosystem, buying new upgrades and complementary products.
One recent concern has been that it’s not staying competitive in artificial intelligence (AI). It has released a slew of Apple Intelligence services, but it doesn’t seem to have found a breakout AI model like many of its most direct competitors. But I think it’s highly likely that it will come through.
Apple strives to be different, and better, and its AI will reflect that. One recent development just launched for its AirPods Pro earbuds is the ability to translate conversations on the spot. This is the kind of innovation that will make Apple Intelligence stand out.
Apple stock is down 6% this year, trailing the market, and now is a great time for the forward-thinking investor to take a position.
Guitar ace Slash rose to prominence with an unmistakable look as the anchor of Guns N’ Roses. A true rock ’n’ roll persona, the artist was once rarely seen without a drooping cigarette and a top hat, the latter of which could barely contain his face-engulfing curly hair.
Now, as of this week, he’s a theme park character at Universal Studios Hollywood.
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Slash, or, rather, a skeletal facsimile of him played by an actor, will be available for photo opportunities and meet and greets at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, which runs most evenings through Nov. 2. For the musician, born Saul Hudson, it’s a dream fulfilled. A lifelong devotee of theme parks and coasters, Slash has been closely aligned with Halloween Horror Nights since 2014, when he first began scoring music for its haunted houses.
And the character, he says, was partly his idea.
“I went to them and said, ‘Hey, can we have one of those stilt walkers?’” says Slash, referring to the larger-than-life lurkers who haunt guests during the festivities. “That would be really cool. So they came up with one and he looks pretty menacing.”
Slash enjoys the idea of being a towering, sometimes intimidating presence. That’s clear when he’s on stage as the attention-demanding cornerstone of numerous bands. And he likes to scare, as evidenced by his own horror-focused film production company, BerserkerGang. But get Slash one-on-one, and he really just wants to geek out on his favorite theme park rides.
Universal Studios has released a second vinyl compilation of music Slash has composed for Halloween Horror Nights over the years.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
We talked to Slash about a week before Halloween Horror Nights opened from Orlando, Fla., where he was holed up recording an album with his band the Conspirators. That work, he says, will be released in 2027 due to planned 2026 touring obligations with Guns N’ Roses. He lamented that he wouldn’t have time to visit Walt Disney World and Universal’s new Epic Universe. The latter Florida park is home to a monsters-themed land that Slash said he was eager to see.
His love of theme parks runs deep, and is, of course, nonpartisan.
“I’m a real Disney head,” he says, joking that such a declaration may not make his Universal partners happy. He says he first visited Disneyland in the early 1970s. “I really can’t put into words what makes it so magical, but there is a definite thing there that you feel when you’re actually there. I’ve loved it since I was a little kid.”
“But I love theme parks in general,” he continues. “I love roller coasters. I love that carnival energy going on. I love arcades. I love everything about that festive outdoor thing, and I’ve never grown out of it.”
Arguably, he’s grown into it.
Halloween season means it’s time for Universa’s Halloween Horror Nights, which runs through early November at the theme park.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
Slash has a deep fascination with Universal Studios, made clear by his knowledge of how the park’s backlot tram trek — officially designated as the World-Famous Studio Tour — has shifted over the years. And as a lifelong horror fan who speaks nostalgically of watching 1970s films such as “The Wicker Man,” “The Omen” and “The Exorcist” with his parents, Halloween Horror Nights is especially dear to Slash’s heart.
Slash was first drawn to the event in 2013 due to a haunted house themed around the music and images of Black Sabbath. The artist was given a tour of Horror Nights by John Murdy, who has long overseen the West Coast edition of the festivities.
“I was so blown away,” Slash says. “I was elated. I remember physically making giddy sounds. The whole thing, from the stilt walkers to the invisible bush figures who would hide in the bushes and were camouflaged, it was unbelievable. I wanted to be involved.”
Murdy was open to the idea. “The first time I walked into his personal recording studio, the first thing I noticed was a huge print of ‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ our 1935 classic, hanging on the wall. And I was like, ‘Oh, we have something in common.’”
Halloween Horror Nights is filled with haunted houses and scare actors.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
Slash would go on to write the music for six Halloween Horror Nights houses centered around Universal’s classic monster characters. This year, he’s returned to Horror Nights with a score set to a relaunch of an original, Depression-era set maze, “Scarecrow.” Musically, it’s a departure for the artist. “Scarecrow” includes a Slash-composed cover of traditional folk number “O Death.”
“We started talking ‘Scarecrow,’ and as pure coincidence, he said, ‘Oh, I just learned the banjo and the dobro,’” Murdy says. “He was learning all these traditional Appalachian instruments, and I said, ‘That’s awesome because my house is set in the Dust Bowl.’”
That Slash has been dipping into more Americana-influenced music isn’t a complete surprise. His 2024 solo effort, “Orgy of the Damned,” leans blues for instance, including a blistering, rootsy take on early Fleetwood Mac rocker “Oh Well” with country star Chris Stapleton. Selections from Slash’s Halloween Horror Nights work, minus the new “Scarecrow” music, will again be available on a limited-run vinyl sold at Universal Studios during Halloween Horror Nights.
Slash is featured this year as a “character” at Halloween Horror Nights, a skeletal, stilt-walking interpretation of the artist.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
“As soon as they gave me the concept, my brain went into that realm — I could pull out my pedal steel, and do an Americana-type approach, as opposed to the goth, kind of pseudo-metal thing I was doing for all the Universal Monsters,” Slash says.
Slash has become such a Halloween Horror Nights fixture that this year will feature a bar centered around the artist, one complete with a mini top hat as a dessert. When asked how he feels to be immortalized as a sculpted sponge cake with coconut lime mousse, he doesn’t flinch.
“I wish I could explain in words how much I love that kind of stuff,” Slash says.
He is, after all, a theme park regular, although his favorite rides are found a few miles from Universal Studios in Anaheim. “I love the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. That and Pirates of the Caribbean will always be my two favorite rides,” he says. “The attention to detail and the creative element and everything that is going on with those old Disney rides is still, to this day, second to none.”
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios
The mark of any true theme park aficionado is an appreciation of slow-moving, old-school dark rides, attractions that are set in darkened show buildings and often filled with an assortment of vignettes. Slash singles out Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash” as another highlight.
“I went with my stepdaughter and we went on that ride and it’s great,” Slash says. “The ‘Pets’ one is really sweet. I’m a big animal guy. We love our cats, so that was a lot of fun.”
Crowds lined up to enter “Scarecrow,” a haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights featuing music by Slash.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
And before Slash can finish his next thought, he starts gushing about a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he visited Ferrari World, home to a number of celebrated roller coasters.
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
The LAT published its fall movies preview this week, taking a look at what is coming up through Thanksgiving. There is a list of the 21 movies we’re most excited about, which includes a broad selection of styles, genres and tones.
Some of these titles have already been seen at festivals, but many have not. And if even a fraction of them pan out, it should make for quite a season.
Zoey Deutch, photographed in Hollywood in July.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
I spoke to actor Zoey Deutch and director Richard Linklater about their collaboration on “Nouvelle Vague,” about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s groundbreaking 1960 debut feature “Breathless.” Deutch plays American-born actor Jean Seberg, who was living in Paris at the time and agreed to be in the movie. After Godard’s film made her an international star, Seberg had an unpredictable career until her death in 1979 at only age 40.
“Is the rest of her life incredibly fascinating and intense and tragic? Yes,” said Deutch. “But Rick was really adamant on telling a story at a very specific moment in time. We’re not telling anything that happens after. Godard is not a legend yet. You don’t know who this guy is, what he’s doing. He’s not who he was later. Don’t read the last page of the book when we’re still on Page 1.”
“When I first met Jennifer, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Jennifer Lopez, what the hell?’” Tonatiuh recalled. “I must have turned left on the wrong street because now I’m standing in front of her. How did this happen? What life am I living?”
And Tim Grierson spoke to Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest for an in-character interview as David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel from the rock group Spinal Tap for their long-awaited sequel, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.” (Director Rob Reiner also is interviewed in character as documentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi.)
“Can I ask a question?” Tufnel interjects at one point. “This has begun? The interview?”
Pocasters choice at ‘Friend of the Fest’
Shelley Duvall, left, Wesley Ivan Hurt and Robin Williams in Robert Altman’s “Popeye.”
(American Cinematheque)
Already underway, this year marks the third edition of the American Cinematheque’s “Friend of the Fest” series, in which podcasters pick their favorite movies to show. Most of the screenings will have the podcast hosts doing live intros, while some will even be recording live shows on site.
“It’s mostly trying to find that middle ground,” said Cindy Flores, film programmer at the American Cinematheque, in an interview this week. “You don’t have to be a connoisseur or a film geek or a cinephile. Everybody loves film. And that’s the great thing about the podcast festival is that you get to see a wide variety of titles and choices and things that people are interested in.”
The popular Ringer podcast network will have four shows represented, with “The Big Picture” selecting “Michael Clayton,” “The Watch” showing “24 Hour Party People,” “House of R” choosing “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “The Midnight Boys” presenting “Blade.”
Other podcasts in the series include “The Dana Gould Hour” showing “Carnival of Souls,” “Office Hours Live” with the “Weird Al” Yankovic-starring “UHF” (in a rare 35mm print with possible surprise guests), “Upstairs Neighbors” showing “Bottoms,” “Lifted” showing “Misssissippi Masala,” “Cinematic Void” screening “River’s Edge,” “Flightless Bird” choosing “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster” and “Ticklish Business” presenting “Design for Living.”
A scene from the 1985 movie “Clue.”
(American Cinematheque)
The LAT’s own Amy Nicholson, along with her “Unspooled” co-host Paul Scheer, have selected the Kevin Costner sci-fi film “Waterworld.”
The “Linoleum Knife” podcast will screen “Clue” from a newly-made DCP that will feature only one of the film’s multiple endings, selected by hosts Alonso Duralde and Dave White.
The podcast “Perf Damage” is hosted by the husband-and-wife team of Charlotte Barker and Adam Barker, who actually worked on restoring their selection: the L.A. premiere of the new 4K update of Robert Altman’s “Popeye.”
Marc Maron, who will be shutting down his “WTF” podcast later this year, will screen Altman’s “McCabe & Mrs. Miller.”
Points of interest
Elizabeth Taylor triple bill
Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the 1968 film “Boom!”
(Express Newspapers / Getty Images)
As part of its “Summer of Camp” series, the Academy Museum will feature on Sunday a triple bill of Elizabeth Taylor movies, all screening in 35mm, with “Secret Ceremony” and “Boom!” — both from 1968 and directed by Joseph Losey — and then Brian G. Hutton’s 1972 “X Y & Zee.” These are all visually rapturous movies with some amazing costumes and will make for an incredible daylong experience.
In the horror-tinged psychodrama “Secret Ceremony,” Taylor co-stars with Mia Farrow and Robert Mitchum. Adapted by Tennessee Williams from his own play “The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore,” “Boom!” pairs Taylor with her real-life paramour Richard Burton in some astonishing Mediterranean locations. “X Y & Zee” co-stars Michael Caine.
In May 1968, Times film critic Charles Champlin wrote, “Filmland’s reigning vaudeville act, the Flying Burtons, are together again in a sleek, aberrational and posturing piece of nonsense called ‘Boom!’ … ‘Boom!’ is gorgeous to look at. Losey’s sense of place is I think unsurpassed by any director now working, and Mrs. Goforth’s house, with its sun-baked walls and cool, dark, artful interiors, its talking bird and chained monkey, the waves crashing on the rocks below the terrace, is perfectly realized.”
Elizabeth Taylor, with producer Elliott Kastner on the set of “X, Y and Zee” in London in 1971.
(Frank Barratt / Getty Images)
In June 1968, Kevin Thomas published an interview with playwright Williams. Of “Boom!” he said, “It’s a beautiful picture, the best ever made of one of my plays. I think Elizabeth has never been that good before. I don’t know whether the public is going to buy it, for Lord’s sake. I hope they do for Elizabeth’s sake as well as my own. … I can always make out, but inwardly she’s a very fragile being.”
In his Nov. 1968 review of “Secret Ceremony,” Champlin continued the thought on Losey, writing, “His most notable gift is the care and skill with which he conveys the atmosphere generated by a particular house or place.”
In a 1970 item as Taylor was about to begin shooting “X Y & Zee,” she was asked if she would consider retiring. “I’m so lazy, I think I should retire,” she responded. “The unfortunate thing is I enjoy acting.”
‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’ 10-year anniversary
Kristen Wiig, left, Bel Powley and Alexander Skarsgård in the movie “The Diary of a Teenage Girl.”
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Also on Sunday, the Gardena Cinema will host a 10th anniversary screening of “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” with a Q&A with producer Miranda Bailey. Adapted from the hybrid novel by Phoebe Gloeckner, it was the debut feature from Marielle Heller, who would go on to make “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” as well as “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “Nightbitch.”
Starring Bel Powley, Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård, the story is about the sexual awakening of a 15-year-old girl in 1976 San Francisco.
Reviewing the film, Rebecca Keegan wrote, “Big summer action movies can be thrilling, but if you really want to feel your heart pounding out of your chest, try being a 15-year-old girl for 101 minutes. That’s the running time of ‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl,’ a rare gem of a movie that takes its audience inside the ecstatic, confused and unapologetically horny brain of a girl named Minnie Goetze. ‘Diary’ is a vivid and often shocking story of growing up female in 1976 San Francisco, told with tenderness and humor by first-time director Marielle Heller and starring a blue-eyed lightning bolt of an actress named Bel Powley as Minnie.”
In an interview with the director at the time, Heller said, “Teenage girls are represented really poorly; I think we as a society are afraid of teenage girls. We’re definitely afraid of their sexuality, and so teenage girls are either shown in this really virginal state or this really slutty state, but it’s never what it actually felt like to be a teenage girl as a full human.
“You’re just as complete of a person as a teenage boy,” she added. “Holden Caulfield is a really complex character, so where’s our female Holden Caulfield? It just felt really important, the chance to represent teenage girls in a way that actually felt real.”
‘Cooley High’
On Wednesday the Academy Museum will present 1975’s “Cooley High” in 35mm with director Michael Schultz and actors Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs and Glynn Turman present for a conversation with academy governor and filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
Written by Eric Monte and based on his own experiences growing up in Chicago, the film is set in 1964 and follows two high school friends through a series of endearingly freewheeling misadventures.
In a 2019 article on the occasion of a screening and tribute at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater — now included on the Criterion Collection disc of the film — Susan King spoke to many involved in the making of “Cooley High.” Robert Townsend, who would go on to make “Hollywood Shuffle” and most recently be seen on “The Bear,” had a one-line role as a teenager. “The movie changed my life,” he would say.
“It’s a movie, but it’s making me laugh, it’s making me think, and to me that’s what real movies do — speak to people that look like me and speak to everybody,” said Townsend. “That was my first lesson from Michael Schultz.”
‘The Lovers on the Bridge’ in 4K
Denis Lavant and Juliette Binoche in the movie “The Lovers on the Bridge.”
First shown at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, the movie would not get a release in America until 1999. The story of a street performer (Denis Lavant) and an artist losing her eyesight (Juliette Binoche), the film is told with dazzling flair and overwhelming style. Unable to shoot on the actual Pont Neuf bridge in Paris where the plot is set, Carax built a full-scale replica, said to be at the time the largest set ever built in France.
Writing about the film in 1999, Kevin Thomas said, “Leos Carax’s ‘The Lovers on the Bridge’ has the raw, gritty look of a documentary on the homeless, but it is in the grand tradition of heady screen romances. It’s a throwback to the golden era of both Hollywood and of the fatalistic French cinema that teamed such international icons as Jean Gabin and Michelle Morgan … a go-for-broke dazzler that takes constant chances, dares to go over the top, indulges in one anticlimactic scene after another, only to make such risks pay off all the more at the finish.”
SANTA BARBARA — It’s likely a first: A politician wins a statewide election, but is rejected by the people who presumably know him best–the voters of his own community.
Amazed, I came to Santa Barbara to ask why Rep. Michael Huffington couldn’t carry his own county while capturing the Republican U.S. Senate nomination by a landslide margin of 26 percentage points.
The super-rich rookie congressman– dubbed “Perot by the Sea”–lost by two points in Santa Barbara County to a hard-line conservative from Orange County, former Rep. William Dannemeyer.
I quickly learned that the result had much less to do with Dannemeyer than with former Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino, the veteran Republican officeholder and local native whom Huffington had beaten in 1992 soon after moving here with his many millions from Texas.
The Republican party locally is still deeply split over Huffington’s fratricidal ousting of Lagomarsino. And the schism only widened when the newly elected representative announced just eight months after taking office that he would leave the seat to run for the Senate.
“That didn’t set well,” noted Mabel Shults, a Santa Barbara party activist and hotel designer. “He’s been working politically for himself instead of this area.”
Asserted Barney Klinger, a manufacturer and major GOP fund-raiser: “He’s not only done nothing as a congressman, he lied. He said he’d stay in the office for three (two-year) terms.”
Klinger now is organizing a $500,000 fund-raiser for Huffington’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
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To get Huffington’s side, I went to his local congressional office–in one of those typical light stucco buildings with a red-tile roof–and began asking questions. You’d have thought I had a contagious disease.
“You’ll have to call the campaign office,” I was told.
I’d already called and was told by the candidate’s state campaign manager, Bob Schuman, that “it’s not a big deal” because Santa Barbarans also had rejected Huffington in the 1992 primary; he’d made up for it by carrying adjacent San Luis Obispo County. “There’s still some residual Lagomarsino loyalty. That’s all.”
But Huffington has been representing Santa Barbara in Congress since the last election and should have been able to build up his support. I wanted to know what he’d done for the county. “We don’t have that,” said his district representative, Angeles Perez.
How about the name of a supporter I could talk to? Another aide pointed to a woman in a chair and said she was a local GOP official. I asked the woman if I could talk to her. She ducked out the door and sped off in her car.
Perez wrote down the phone number of another woman but wouldn’t let me call her from the office. That would be mixing politics with congressional business, she said. “There’s probably a pay phone somewhere on State Street.”
I found one and called Marian Koonce, who owns rental properties and once backed Lagomarsino but switched to Huffington in 1992. “I see Michael as a shining star, a comer,” she said.
Asked what Huffington had done for the county, Koonce told me of a case where he had helped obtain a green card for the daughter of one of her tenants, an immigrant farmer.
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Koonce herself brought up probably the most controversial case involving Huffington–his refusal to help Raytheon Corp., one of Santa Barbara’s biggest employers, obtain State Department permission to sell $100 million worth of shipboard missile defense systems to Taiwan. “He has an aversion to helping companies with armaments,” she said.
Astonished, Raytheon turned to Feinstein, who quickly went to bat for the company.
Huffington later explained to a Times reporter, “I’m not going to be a paid or unpaid lobbyist for any company. That’s not my job. I represent everyone equally.”
That clearly is a new concept in representing your constituents in Washington.
Huffington likes to say he is not “beholden” to any special interest because he refuses PAC contributions. With an oil fortune estimated at $70 million, he can afford to finance his own campaigns and does–spending $5.2 million to win the House seat and expecting to write checks for at least $15 million in this Senate race.
I drove down the coast, past Montecito where Huffington has his $4.3-million mansion, all the way to Solimar near Ventura. There, I found Lagomarsino at his beach house.
He’s now 67, tanned and relaxed–but still bitter. Recently, he handed over to the Feinstein campaign two boxes of Huffington research material.
Huffington’s race could be a classic: Can a rich newcomer with almost no political base or record buy himself a U.S. Senate seat?
Though many voters were undecided, Harris was the choice of 41% of survey respondents, compared to 29% who opted for an unnamed Republican candidate, according to a poll by the University of California Irvine. She also had the greatest favorability ratings and is most well known compared to all of the candidates who have announced.
“The path to governor seems well-paved for Vice President Harris if she decides to run,” said Jon Gould, dean of UCI’s School of Social Ecology, in a statement. “Although she lacks majority support at the moment, people know her better than the other candidates and generally view her favorably.”
Only 5% of Californians had never heard of Harris, while every other announced candidate was unknown by a far larger number of respondents, including those who had run for statewide office previously. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who ran for governor in 2018, was unknown by 47% of survey respondents; 48% were unfamiliar with former Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2024.
When tested against candidates who have announced, Harris was the choice of 24% of voters, the only candidate to crack double digits, according to the poll. However, 40% of respondents were undecided, according to the poll.
Among Democrats, who account for 47% of the state’s voters as of February, Harris had the support of nearly half, while every announced candidate had single-digit support. Harris led among Californians in every region and in every racial group, according to the poll.
Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 2022 and is reportedly debating whether to run for mayor again or governor, was the favored choice of GOP voters, with the backing of 27% of survey respondents.
Harris, whose representatives did not respond to a request for comment, is expected to decide whether she enters the race by the end of the summer, a delay that has prompted criticism from several candidates in the crowded field of candidates who have already announced their bids.
The statewide poll of 4,143 Californians was conducted online in two separate polls, one between May 27 and June 2, and another between May 29 and June 4. The margin of error in either direction varies between 2.9% and 3.6%, according to UCI.
FAN-favourite Survivor star Jane Bright – who won $100,000 in the reality TV show – has passed away aged 71.
Her daughter Ashley Hammett announced the tragic news of her mum’s passing on Thursday, saying that she was found dead in her home.
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An iconic Survivor star has diedCredit: Getty
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Jane Bright, who appeared on Survivor: Nicaragua, has died aged 71
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She placed 6th out of 20 on the show but was given the fan-favourite awardCredit: Getty
She died nearly 15 years since appearing on the CBS competition series.
Bright was born in North Carolina, and worked as a dog trainer before appearing on Survivor in 2010.
After being crowned as fan-favourite on the show, she earned $100,000, but missed out on the $1million first place prize.
The beloved TV star placed 6th out of 20 contestants on season 21 the reality game show, and started the season in the Espada tribe.
She was known for her straight-talking personality and underdog story.
Her daughter announced her death on Facebook, saying: “Today Jane Hammett Bright was found passed away within her home by a good friend and county sheriff.”
Grieving fans poured out on social media, with many remembering her iconic moments on Survivor.
One fan said: “RIP. She was iconic, she had some of the most entertaining moments on that (slightly underrated) season.”
Another said: “Rest in peace Jane. one of if not the best part about Nicaragua.”
The user added: “She was a legend and of my favourite that season. I really wish I could have met her. RIP Jane.”
Her cause of death is currently unclear.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.
Corona High, armed with the best pitcher and having a team that has hit 39 home runs this season, was awarded the No. 1 seed for the Southern Section Division 1 baseball playoffs on Monday.
The defending champion Panthers (26-2) drew a first-round bye and will open the playoffs next Tuesday against the winner of Thursday’s first-round matchup between Cypress and host Los Osos.
Corona pitcher Seth Hernandez has a 17-0 lifetime record. He and shortstop Billy Carlson are likely top 10 picks in this summer’s amateur draft. Corona Santiago showed the Panthers are not unbeatable with a 1-0 league win earlier this season.
The 28 teams selected for Division 1 are filled with top pitchers, so the Panthers can expect lots of competition in their favorite’s role. The championship game will be played at Cal State Fullerton on May 30. Crespi is the No. 2 seed.
This is the first season teams were placed in divisional brackets based on computer power rankings at the end of the season. There will be nine divisional champions. A .500 or better record was needed to be considered for an at-large spot.
La Habra is seeded No. 1 in Division 2 and Colony is No. 1 in Division 3. Divisions 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 play on Thursday, the others on Friday.
