In early July, the Los Angeles Philharmonic quietly canceled all four Hollywood Bowl performances featuring Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The L.A. Phil, in a statement, attributed the cancellations of the L.A. leg of the orchestra’s 50th anniversary tour to “travel complications,” and said it looks forward to “welcoming the Orchestra back in the future.”
Venezuela is on the list of countries on President Trump’s recently announced travel ban list. The ban for the country is partial, but it does affect the types of visas typically used for tourism and business. A number of readers wrote in about the cancellations, speculating about visa issues and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies. Asked if this was the case, or if any further details about the cancellations were available, a rep for the L.A. Phil declined to comment beyond what was provided in the organization’s statement.
In a review of the Bowl’s opening night, Times classical music critic Mark Swed credited the loss of the orchestra‘s visit to Trump’s travel ban and lamented that the cancellation would reduce Dudamel’s appearances on the Bowl’s stage to a single week during his 16th and penultimate season before he leaves L.A. to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic in 2026.
The Bolívar Orchestra likely won’t have any trouble traveling to the United Kingdom, however, because it is set to play as a special guest alongside Dudamel for 10 sold-out shows with the rock band Coldplay at Wembley Stadium in late August and early September. (Turns out Coachella was just a warm-up for Dudamel, who really has achieved rock star status in the music world.)
Ticket holders for the canceled Bowl shows received emails about the cancellations and were told that their tickets would remain valid for newly announced programming: Elim Chan, James Ehnes, and the L.A. Phil on Aug. 12 for Tchaikovsky and The Firebird; Gemma New and the L.A. Phil performing Tchaikovsky’s 4th on Aug. 14 with Pacho Flores; and Enrico Lopez-Yañez and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra performing Aug. 15-16 with Los Aguilar.
When the Bowl season was first announced, L.A. Phil President and Chief Executive Kim Noltemy told me that much of the season was organized to highlight Dudamel’s work, including performances featuring composers, musicians and music that he is particularly fond of.
At that time, Dudamel was set to conduct eight shows in August, four of which were with the Bolívar Orchestra — a situation that speaks to his deep, decades-long ties with the organization, which started as a youth ensemble and is composed of musicians trained by Venezuela’s famed music education program, El Sistema, which also counts Dudamel as an alumnus.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, dreaming of a trip to London for an extraordinary show. In the meantime, here’s your arts news for this weekend.
Best bets: On our radar this week
Newsletter
You’re reading Essential Arts
Our critics and reporters guide you through events and happenings of L.A.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Tiffany Tatreau, from center left, Nick Fradiani and Kate A. Mulligan in “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.”
(Jeremy Daniel)
’A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical’ This jukebox musical that ran on Broadway for more than a year finally reaches L.A. on its national tour. Featuring nearly 30 of Diamond’s songs, including “Solitary Man,” “Sweet Caroline,” “I Am … I Said” and “Song Sung Blue,” the show is framed by therapy sessions in which the singer-songwriter reflects on his life’s highs and lows and the genesis of his writing with different actors playing “Neil – Then” (2015 “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani) and “Neil – Now” (Tony nominee Robert Westenberg). 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, through July 27. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. broadwayinhollywood.com
“Portrait of a Man,” Hendrick Goltzius (1607), pen and brown ink and black chalk, with touches of gray wash, incised for transfer. 11 5/8 × 7 15/16 in. (29.5 × 20.2 cm)
(Getty Museum)
‘Lines of Connection: Drawing and Printmaking’ The exhibition shares the narrative of how European artists worked on paper with various media from the 15th through 19th centuries. The show also includes large-scale works by L.A.-based artist Toba Khedoori. 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays; closed Monday; through Sept. 14. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
Joan Crawford, left, and Bette Davis in the 1962 film “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”
(Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images)
A Joan Crawford Triple Feature The Academy Museum screens three late-period Crawford vehicles in 35 mm in its Ted Mann Theater. “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962), directed by Robert Aldrich and co-starring Bette Davis (who received an Oscar nomination) relaunched the actors’ careers and became a cult classic. In “Strait-Jacket” (1964), directed by British horrormeister William Castle, Crawford played a woman released from a psychiatric hospital 20 years after being convicted of murdering her husband and his lover with an ax. Finally, Crawford’s last big-screen appearance came in “Trog” (1970), wherein she starred for director Freddie Francis, the noted cinematographer, as an anthropologist who attempts to domesticate a caveman in the 20th century U.K. 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Composer Alexandre Desplat conducts an evening of his award-winning film scores at the Hollywood Bowl.
(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)
The Cinematic Scores of Alexandre Desplat Hot on the heels of the release of the hit movie “Jurassic World Rebirth,” in which Desplat incorporated John Williams’ stirring “Jurassic Park” theme into his new score for the film, the celebrated French composer takes the Hollywood Bowl stage to conduct a career-spanning evening of his work. In addition to his Oscar-winning scores for Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” the program includes musical selections from “The Imitation Game,”“The King’s Speech” and more. 8 p.m. Tuesday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
Culture news
Playwright Richard Greenberg is seen in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood in 2013.
(Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)
Times theater critic Charles McNultywrites an appreciation of playwright Richard Greenberg, who died July 4 of cancer at age 67. Greenberg’s rise to fame began with his 1988 play “Eastern Standard,” which received a rave review by theater critic Frank Rich in the New York Times. McNulty remembers seeing the play on Broadway as a student and was “dazzled by Greenberg’s New York wit, which struck me as an acutely sensitive, off-angle version of George S. Kaufman’s Broadway brio.”
The casting news continues for “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Hollywood Bowl. We already know that Cynthia Erivo is set to play Jesus and Adam Lambert will play Judas — now we have it that Milo Manheim will play Peter and Raúl Esparza will play Pontius Pilate. The musical will run Aug. 1, 2 and 3.
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theatre of California, is offering a robust slate of educational offerings.
(Jeff Lorch)
The Pasadena Playhouse is fast moving toward artistic director Danny Feldman’s goal of once again making its historic campus a buzzing hive of educational activity. The playhouse announced earlier this week that it is expanding its offerings, adding options for adults and seniors to its still-growing roster of classes and camps for kids and teenagers. A musical theater community choir, a storytelling workshop and acting lessons for non-actors are also joining the lineup. Check out the schedule, and sign up, here.
IAMA Theatre Companyannounced its 18th season at the Atwater Village Theatre, featuring the world premiere of Matthew Scott Montgomery’s “Foursome,” a story about queer love and family that is produced in association with Celebration Theatre. There will also be two original workshop productions, including Mathilde Dratwa’s “Esther Perel Ruined My Life,” directed by Ojai Playwrights Conference Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen. The 8th annual New Works Festival gets things started from Oct. 9 to 13, and offers audiences the ability to see fresh stagings by playwrights in need of early reactions to help develop and hone their writing. The season ends with a final workshop production of JuCoby Johnson’s “…but you could’ve held my hand,” about the ongoing relationships of four Black friends.
Pack snacks and a blanket and head for the 405 because the Getty’s annual Garden Concerts for kids are back. The series begins Aug. 2 and 3 with 123 Andrés. The next weekend will bring Kymberly Stewart to the stage, followed by Divinity Roxx Presents: Divi Roxx Kids World Wide Playdate on Aug. 16 and 17. The fun begins at 4 p.m., so make a day of it and check out the art first. A free reservation at Getty.edu is required for entry.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Need a stiff drink after a hard day of doomscrolling? The Food team has created a handy guide featuring 14 martinis that are shaking and stirring the cocktail scene.
Nathan Fillion straddles the line between everyman and hunk — and he’s built a career out of it. He’s a natural in roles that require both charisma and a touch of self-awareness, whether he’s solving crimes, commanding a spaceship or enforcing the law.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Fillion played the wisecracking mystery novelist Richard Castle in ABC’s crime drama “Castle” and stars in ABC’s “The Rookie” as John Nolan, a forty-something who navigates his midlife crisis by joining the LAPD. Of course, to sci-fi fans, Fillion will always be Captain Mal Reynolds from “Firefly,” the short-lived but beloved space Western that has kept him a staple at comic conventions for over two decades. Though “Firefly” lasted just one season in 2002, its cult status has endured, cementing Fillion as a fan-favorite in the genre world.
Now he’s stepping into an even bigger universe: the DC Universe. Fillion plays the role of the Guy Gardner / Green Lantern (complete with the iconic bowl cut) in James Gunn’s “Superman,” a highly anticipated reboot hitting theaters on today.
“You got to be really lucky,” he says of his 30-year career. “It’s just not up to you whether or not you stay relevant and popular and on TV and in movies.”
Living close to the hills in Hollywood, Fillion’s ideal Sunday involves relaxing at home, catching up with his favorite people and some late-night gaming. Here’s how he’d spend a perfect day in the city.
7:30 a.m.: Greet my cat and make some art
I much prefer waking up to sunlight than an alarm. I like having open curtains so the sun comes in, I wake up and feel awake, whereas if an alarm goes off in the dark, I don’t. My cat doesn’t sleep in my room, but every morning when I wake up, he’s at the foot of my bed. This is Bowie. I named him Bowie because he has heterochromia: one blue eye, one gold. He’s massive, 25 pounds, a Norwegian Forest Cat and Turkish Angora. He’s great about not waking me up, which I appreciate. Then he follows me around while I make my coffee — creamy and sweet, like my cat. I’ll sit in my kitchen — I’ve got nothing but birds chirping and the sun’s coming in — doodling for hours if I’m allowed. I say “doodle” instead of “draw” because my work is abstract, just black ink on paper, but only with the right pen, ink and paper. It’s an ASMR thing.
9 a.m.: Eggs benny at Sweet Butter
I love eggs for breakfast. I will do a classic scramble and toast with a little bacon or some sausages. But if I really want to be treating myself, it’s eggs Benedict. There’s a place called Sweet Butter down on Ventura Boulevard, and they do a real nice eggs benny.
10 a.m.: A hike with a view (and a rainy day contingency plan)
After breakfast? A hike. I live close to the hills in Hollywood. You’re up there, you’re in nature, you’re seeing animals, you’re seeing the birds. You’re just out there, looking out over the city. It’s better for your body to move a little bit after you’ve got some food. If it’s a rainy day, all bets are off. You’ll find me at the IPIC Theaters because of their luxurious seats and their incredible food, seeing a matinee.
12 p.m.: Nothing beats a backyard hang
I love having friends over. I’ve got a really beautiful backyard. I just had some friends over and their three-year-old twins. We threw them in the pool, and we made pork ribs. We had an incredible salad with some roasted tomatoes. We made corn on the cob. It was perfect weather. We found some shade, and we just sat there for hours and ate and laughed. And that’s a fantastic way to spend a Sunday, with people that you don’t get to see very often. Los Angeles is a beautiful city, but it’s rather spread out and gathering can be a little bit difficult. So when people make the time, it’s really nice.
4 p.m.: Channel my inner Marie Kondo
My house has too much clutter, so lately I’ve been trying to pick out a room or a closet or a drawer, and I’m organizing everything and getting rid of anything I don’t use or don’t like. Just trying to declutter the house — that’s something I’ve been engaging in in the last month. Do I enjoy it? I don’t enjoy the process. I do enjoy the results. And also just the inventory, knowing what you have. Oh, I’ve got these. I don’t need to buy any more of these. I got five of them in the back here.
6 p.m.: Sushi and streaming
Sunday nights are for ordering in. There’s a pho place, a ramen place and Iroha Sushi, my favorite sushi in the city. And LALA’s Argentine Grill. And [Sunday nights are also] for binging television. And right now we just finished binging “From.” [Editor’s note: Fillion is notoriously private and didn’t state who “we” is.] Super scary, and we love being judgmental of the parenting done by the one couple that have their kids there with them. They really let their kids run around unsupervised in this horror town. Also “Invincible” and “Landman.” We’re making our way through those.
9 p.m.: Answer the “Call of Duty”
In the very late evening, I have a group of about 25 guys who have been playing Xbox Live together for about 20 years. We do “Destiny 2,” “Halo” and “Call of Duty.” Some different games get sprinkled in now and again, but it’s mostly just those top three. There’s a text thread, and you’ll just say, “Hey, I’m jumping on for about an hour.” Or sometimes we’ll play late into the evenings, and we catch up, we laugh, we chat and maybe twice a year, we gather. I say, “This is my last game because I’m getting tired,” and I just roll into bed and wait for the next Sunday.
The announcement last month that Occidental Studios would be put up for sale marked a historic turning point in a studio once used by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks to make silent films.
It also underscored how dramatically the market has shifted for the owners of soundstages across Los Angeles that have been buffeted by a confluence of forces — the pandemic, strikes in 2023 and the continued flight of production to other states and countries.
As film activity has fallen to historic levels in the L.A. region — film shoot days dropped 22% in the first quarter of 2025 — the places that host film and TV crews, along with prop houses and other businesses that service the industry, have been especially hard hit.
Between 2016 and 2022, Los Angeles’ soundstages were nearly filled to capacity, boasting average occupancy rates of 90%, according to data from the nonprofit organization FilmLA, which tracks on-location shoot days in the Greater L.A. area.
That rate plummeted to 69% in 2023, as dual writers’ and actors’ strikes brought the industry to a halt.
Once the strikes were over, production never came back to what it was. In fact, last year the average occupancy rate dropped even further to 63%, according to a FilmLA report released in April.
So far this year, there is “no reason to think the occupancy numbers look better,” said Philip Sokoloski, spokesperson for FilmLA.
“It’s a trailing indicator of the loss of production,” he said. “The suddenness of the crash is what caught everybody by surprise.”
Studio owners, who have watched their soundstages go from overbooked to frequently empty, are celebrating the new state tax credits meant to boost their industry and create action on their lots.
The California Legislature’s decision to more than double the amount allocated each year to the state’s film and television tax credit program to $750 million could be a tipping point toward better times, studio owners said, but the climb out of the doldrums is still steep.
“This is definitely a defining moment and to see whether or not L.A. is going to get itself back up to the occupancy levels that it had prior to COVID,” said Shep Wainwright, managing partner of East End Studios. “Everyone’s pretty bullish about it, but it’s obviously been such a slog for the past few years.”
Sean Griffin of Sunset Studios called the tax credit boost signed into law last week “a massive stride in the right direction” while Zach Sokoloff of independent studio operator Hackman Capital Partners called the decision “an enormous win for the state.”
Sokoloff hopes to see its Southern California facilities, which include Radford Studio Center and Culver Studios, perk up the way their New York properties did when the state increased its film and TV subsidy to $800 million in May.
“We had stages that had been sitting empty, and almost 24 hours after the passage of the tax credit bill in New, York, our phones were ringing,” he said. “We had renewed interest in soundstage occupancy there.”
Community member William Meyerchak, left, Los Angeles City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, center, and Zach Sokoloff, senior vice president of Hackman Capital Partners, right, celebrate after the passing of the $1-billion TVC project, which will expand and redevelop the old CBS Television City site at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, on Jan. 7, 2025.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles Center Studios, where such shows as “Mad Men” and “Westworld” filmed, also has felt the effects of the production slump.
The 26-year-old facility in downtown L.A. has six 18,000-foot soundstages and three smaller stages, along with a number of practical locations on the lot for shooting. Before the pandemic, its stages were 100% full for more than 10 years, said Sam Nicassio, president of Los Angeles Center Studios.
He declined to state the studio’s current occupancy rate, though he said it was above the average for about 300 soundstages throughout the area, which his company tracked at 58%.
“It’s been a struggle,” he said. “The slowdown in overall production activity, coupled with coming out of the strikes and all of us expecting to have a jump-start again and we didn’t, was very difficult. There’s a lot of soundstages for not a lot of users right now.”
Not long ago, private equity firms saw L.A. studio stages as good business opportunities.
A billboard for a Netflix streaming show “The Diplomat,” on a building across the street from where WGA members walk a picket line around Bronson Sunset Studios, in May 2023.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
WGA members walk a picket line around Bronson Sunset Studios lot, where Netflix leases space for production and offices, in May 2023.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
A number of firms participated heavily in the construction of new facilities, which seemed like smart bets due to advancements in production technology, the desire of studios and streamers to cut down on unpredictable risk from on-location shoots and — especially after the pandemic — health and safety systems like air filtration and more space to prevent workers from getting sick.
“Stages are critical to being able to do, especially TV, on time and on budget,” said George Huang, a professor of screenwriting at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. “They are the backbone of making movies in Hollywood.”
But after the pandemic, strikes and a cutback in spending at the studios, production slowed. Then in January, the Southern California wildfires hit, further affecting production and causing many in the industry to lose their homes — and reconsider whether they wanted to stay in the Golden State.
Working with influencers
As Hollywood production slowed, soundstage operators looked for new ways to make up revenue, including shoots for the fashion industry, music videos, DJ rehearsals, video game production and even private events like birthdays or weddings.
Hackman Capital Partners, which owns and operates Television City in Los Angeles, recently announced a partnership with Interwoven Studios to open a boutique production facility catering to social media influencers, online media brands and other creators who work in nontraditional formats such as YouTube.
Among the well-known creators who have worked lately at Television City — home to such classic shows as “All in the Family” and most recently “American Idol” — are Logan Paul and Jake Shane, actress-singer Keke Palmer, livestreamers FaZe Clan and hip-hop artist Big Sean.
“As the segment of the content-creation universe grows on the smaller end of production, we’re going to be a partner to them,” Sokoloff said. “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
Sunset Studios, which operates 59 stages in the Los Angeles area, has long made a point of working with short-form creators through its smaller Quixote division, said Griffin, who is head of studio sales. “We’ve always been involved with influencers, music videos and commercials.”
Such tenants working on smaller stages sometimes move up to TV and movie-sized stages when they land a big television commercial or music video, such as Selena Gomez’s “Younger and Hotter Than Me” music video recently shot at Sunset Las Palmas Studios.
Paul McCartney leased a studio at Sunset Glenoaks Studios to rehearse for his 2024 tour and and made a music video there.
In general, though, stages are still underused, he said.
“Once the strikes ended, we got a about a good healthy quarter” of production, he said. Then business “really quieted down, and we haven’t seen the show counts rebound very much.”
The vacancies have created a tenant-friendly market as studio owners compete for their business on rental prices, Griffin said.
“This is a very tough market,” he said. “Everyone is competing very, very hard.”
One reason for optimism about the new tax credits is that they apply to 30-minute shows for the first time, he said.
“L.A. is a television town,” Griffin added. “Opening up the tax credit to 30-minute comedies is going to be really helpful.”
And there are signs of life for longer scripted shows that take multiple stages and shoot for longer than other productions, Griffin said.
Developer David Simon is betting heavily on a turnaround. He is building a new movie studio from the ground up in Hollywood. His $450-million Echelon Studios complex is set to open late next year on Santa Monica Boulevard.
“We think content creation is here to stay in various forms,” he said, and that big soundstages will continue to be used even as the technology to make content changes.
Simon said he is close to signing leases with fashion brands that are creating content with celebrities and collaborating with influencers.
“We’re not nearly where we were prepandemic,” he acknowledged, but “California is the entertainment capital of the world, and the producers and directors and actors that want to stay in state will help bring back and retain our fair share of production.”
For now , at least, soundstage operators are still “treading water,” said Peter Marshall, managing principal at Epic Insurance Brokers & Consultants, who works in media insurance and counts some L.A.-based soundstages as clients.
“Most operators are pretty concerned,” he said.
Yet, the fact that there are still new soundstages opening and others are in development suggests a “high level of confidence” that production will eventually return to L.A., Sokoloski of FilmLA said.
“I am optimistic that we will keep more production here than we have in the last few years,” Nicassio said. The new tax credit program “puts us on a competitive level now with other states and countries.”
Others in the industry say that more is needed and have advocated for a federal tax credit that would help make California a morecompetitive location. Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed for the idea, urging President Trump to work with him on the issue.
“When you have a governor and big private equity firms both focusing on promoting one thing, that might, who knows, get the federal government involved,” Marshall said. “That would be the game changer.”
LANGLEY, Va. — At CIA headquarters, beyond the handsome granite seal on its lobby floor and a wall of stars carved in honor of the agency’s fallen, experts are at work in the complex tasks of spycraft: weapons-trained officers, computer engineers, virologists, nuclear scientists.
But there are also storytellers, makeup artists, theater majors and ballerinas — Americans who probably never thought their skills would match the needs of a spy agency. Yet the CIA thought otherwise.
Though it rarely gets the spotlight, there’s a revolving door of talent between the country’s premiere intelligence agency and its entertainment industry, with inspiration and influence often working both ways.
The agency is targeting professionals at the intersection of arts and technology for recruitment, CIA officers told The Times, and continues to cooperate with entertainment giants to inspire the next generation of creative spies.
This month, the agency is assisting a New York Times bestselling author on a young adult book examining the foundations of the CIA laid during World War II. Scenes from a major upcoming film production were just shot at its headquarters, a logistical feat at an intelligence campus tucked away in the Virginia suburbs behind rings of security perimeters, where officers roam cracking down on Bluetooth signals. Another popular streaming TV series will be back at Langley to film this fall.
But their collaboration goes far deeper than that, officers said. Creative minds in Hollywood and the entertainment industry have long had a role at the Central Intelligence Agency, devising clever solutions to its most vexing problems, such as perfecting the art of disguise and harnessing a magician’s ability to cast spellbinding illusions. Indeed, in the 1950s, a magician from New York named John Mulholland was secretly contracted with the agency to write a manual for Cold War spies on trickery and deception.
These days, the officers said, creative skills are more valuable than ever in such a technologically complex world.
“You’re only limited by your own imagination — don’t self-censor your ideas,” said Janelle, a CIA public affairs officer, granted the ability to speak under her first name at the request of the agency. “We’re always looking for partners.”
An elusive history
David McCloskey, a former CIA analyst and author of “Damascus Station” and other spy thrillers, offered several theories on why the agency might be interested in fostering a robust relationship with Hollywood, calling it “a two-way street.”
“There definitely have been operational applications for espionage,” McCloskey said. “It’s probably the exception to the rule, but when it happens, it’s compelling.”
It’s easy to see why CIA leaders would be interested in Hollywood, he said, in part to shape impressions of the agency. “But their bread and butter business is receiving people to give secrets,” he continued, “and part of that is getting close to people in power.”
“The closer you are to Hollywood,” McCloskey added, “that’s a really interesting ‘in’ to having a lot of interesting conversations.”
The CIA’s mission to rescue six American diplomats out of Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, the subject of the film “Argo,” featured a detailed ruse centered around a fabricated movie project.
(CIA Museum)
Some of the CIA’s most iconic missions — at least the declassified ones — document the agency’s rich history with Hollywood, including Canadian Caper, when CIA operatives disguised themselves as a film crew to rescue six American diplomats in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, an operation moviegoers will recognize as the plot of “Argo.”
“‘Argo’ was almost too far-fetched to even believe,” said Brent, an in-house historian at CIA headquarters. “It’s almost more Hollywood than Hollywood.”
Canadian Caper was both inspired by Hollywood and relied on Hollywood talent. Agent Tony Mendez had been a graphic artist before joining the agency and helping craft the mission.
Another key player was John Chambers, the makeup artist who gave the world Spock’s ears on “Star Trek” and won an honorary Oscar for his trailblazing simian work on “Planet of the Apes.” He was awarded the CIA’s Intelligence Medal of Merit for his work on the covert rescue effort.
The Los Angeles Times broke the story in February 1975 that business tycoon Howard Hughes had lent his ship, the Glomar Explorer, as cover for a CIA operation.
(CIA Museum)
Just a few years before, Howard Hughes, then one of the world’s richest men and a tycoon in media, film and aerospace, agreed to work with the CIA to provide cover for an effort by the agency to lift a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine off the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
Deploying Hughes’ Glomar Explorer under the guise of mineral extraction, the CIA was able to salvage most of the sub before The Times broke a story blowing its cover — “the story that sunk our efforts,” in CIA parlance.
And another mission was made possible thanks to a device invented by a professional photographer — a gadget that later became the inspiration of an over-the-top scene in the blockbuster Batman film “The Dark Knight.”
In Project Coldfeet, CIA agents gathering intelligence on a Soviet station erected on a precariously drifting sheet of ice in the Arctic needed a reliable extraction plan. But how does one pick up an agent without landing a plane on the ice?
The answer was the “skyhook”: Balloons lifted a tether attached to a harness worn by an agent high into the sky. A CIA plane snagged the tether and carried the agent off to safety.
In “The Dark Knight,” Batman makes a dramatic escape deploying the same kind of balloon-harness contraption.
‘The superhero spy’
CIA leadership often says that acceptance into the agency is harder than getting into Harvard and Yale combined. Yet the agency still has challenges recruiting the type of talent it is looking for — either in reaching those with unconventional skills, or in convincing them that they should leave secure, comparatively well-paid, comfortable jobs for a secretive life of public service.
It is no easy task managing work at the agency, especially with family, CIA officials acknowledged. Deciding if and when to share one’s true identity with their children is a regular struggle. But Janelle said the CIA tells potential recruits there is a middle ground that doesn’t require them to entirely abandon their existing lives.
A professional photographer working with the CIA invented what became known as the “skyhook,’ a surface-to-air recovery system used by the spy agency in an Arctic mission and later featured in the 2008 Batman film “The Dark Knight.”
(CIA Museum)
“People don’t have to leave their companies to help their country and to work with CIA,” Janelle said. “People come here because they love their country and know they can make a difference.”
Janelle is part of a team that regularly engages with creatives who want to portray the agency or spies as accurately as possible.
“Some producers and directors reach out and they do care about accuracy,” Janelle said, “but they ultimately pick and choose what’s going to work for the film or show.”
CIA analysts have also been known to leave the agency for opportunities in the entertainment industry, writing books and scripts drawing from their experiences — so long as they don’t track too closely with those experiences.
Joe Weisberg, the writer and producer behind the television series “The Americans,” and McCloskey, who is working on a fifth novel focused on U.S. and British intelligence, were both part of the agency before launching their writing careers. And as CIA alumni, they had to submit their works for review.
“There’s a whole publication and classification-review process,” Brent said.
That process can be a bit of a slog, McCloskey said: “They quite literally redact in black ink.”
But it is far more difficult for nonfiction writers than novelists.
“There could be bits of tradecraft, or alluding to assets, or people at the agency, which are clear no’s,” McCloskey said. “But with novels, it’s not that hard to write them in a way to get them through the review board.”
Try as they may, studios often repeat the same falsehoods about the CIA, no matter how often they are corrected. Officers and agents aren’t the same thing, for one. And as disappointing as it may be for lovers of spy thrillers, the majority of officers are not licensed or trained to carry weapons.
“One thing Hollywood often gets wrong is the idea that it’s one officer doing everything, when it’s really a team sport here,” Janelle said.
Jessica Chastain, center, plays a member of the elite team of spies and military operatives who secretly devoted themselves to finding Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Columbia Pictures 2012 film “Zero Dark Thirty.”
(Jonathan Olley / Sony Pictures)
“Zero Dark Thirty,” an Oscar-winning film released in 2012 about the hunt for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was widely acclaimed but criticized by some within the intelligence community over the credit it lends a single, fictional CIA analyst for tracking him down.
McCloskey sympathizes with the writer’s dilemma.
“I can’t have 35 people on a team. From a storytelling standpoint, it just doesn’t work,” he said, acknowledging that little in the field of espionage is accurately captured on screen, even though there are plenty of former spies available to work as consultants.
“There’s no lack of sources to get it right,” he said. “It’s that the superhero spy — the Jack Ryans and Jason Bournes — are pretty much the Hollywood representation of espionage.”
However inaccurately glorified and dramatized, the agency hopes that Hollywood’s work can keep the revolving door moving, inspiring atypical talent to join its ranks.
“We have architects, carpenters, people who worked in logistics,” Brent said. “People might not realize the range of skill sets here at CIA.”
And as Canadian Caper showed, sometimes spycraft requires stagecraft. It’s possible that what’s needed most to complete the next mission won’t be oceanography or data mining, but costume design. Or maybe another ballerina.
Dodgers utility player Kiké Hernández was not born and raised in Los Angeles.
A North Hollywood mural seemingly inspired by the San Juan, Puerto Rico, native’s stance on immigration sweeps shows that doesn’t matter.
Hernández began a June 14 Instagram post by stating, “I may not be Born & Raised, but this city adopted me as one of their own.”
Local artist Louie Palsino has cemented the second part of that statement in a new mural on the side of the Noho Tires & Wheels building on the 5600 block of Lankershim Boulevard. It features Hernández’s image surrounded by the words “Born X Raised” and “Los Angeles.”
Hernández said plenty more in the post, which seems to have inspired Palsino. The two-time World Series champion expressed support for his adopted city’s immigrants and dismay at how many of them were being treated in a series of sweeps by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The sweeps in Los Angeles have sparked protests locally and elsewhere in the country.
“I am saddened and infuriated by what’s happening in our country and our city,” Hernández wrote. “Los Angeles and Dodger fans have welcomed me, supported me and shown me nothing but kindness and love. This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights.”
Under the name Sloe Motions, Palsino has painted a number of high-profile murals, including one in the Fashion District of Kobe and Gianna Bryant that was vandalized, restored, then vandalized again all within the last few months.
He declined to discuss the Hernández mural for this story, instead directing The Times to a statement he posted about it on Instagram last week.
“Thank you @kikehndez for standing up for what is right and for Los Angeles,” Palsino wrote. “this ain’t a political post or anything to stir up any government agenda to divide us. this is just paying homage to standing up for what is right and a real one.god over government.”
Palsino painted the Hernández mural on a building that already featured two of his other Dodgers-themed pieces — one of legendary broadcaster Vin Scully on an adjoining wall and one of iconic Mexican pitcher Fernando Valenzuela on the gate in front of the garage’s driveway
When the gate is pulled open, a split image of Valenzuela and Hernandez is created.
Local artist Louie Palsino has painted several Dodgers-themed murals on the Noho Tires & Wheels building in North Hollywood, including images of (clockwise from left) Vin Scully, Kiké Hernández and Fernando Valenzuela.
(Chuck Schilken / Los Angeles Times)
Hernández has been a Dodgers fan favorite since his first stint with the team in 2015-20. In 2017, he hit three home runs, including a grand slam, in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs to help send the Dodgers to the World Series.
Last postseason, Hernández was a key member of another Dodgers championship team. He hit one of the Dodgers’ two solo home runs in a 2-0 win against the San Diego Padres in the decisive Game 5 of the NL Division Series. He then contributed seven hits and four RBIs in the NLCS against the New York Mets and five hits against the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series.
Musical icon Angélique Kidjo has become the first black African performer to be selected for a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Kidjo, who comes from the West African country of Benin and has won five Grammy awards, was among the 35 names announced as part of the Walk of Fame’s class of 2026 list.
The 64-year-old was hailed as Africa’s “premier diva” during a press conference announcing the list on Wednesday.
Singer Miley Cyrus, actor Timothée Chalamet, actress Demi Moore and former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal are also among those set to be honoured with a star on Los Angeles’ famous walk.
Kidjo receives the honour after making music for more than four decades and releasing 16 albums.
The songstress has won fans across the world with her commanding voice and ability to fuse West African styles with the likes of funk, jazz and R&B.
Her long list of collaborators includes forces such as Burna Boy, Philip Glass, Sting and Alicia Keys.
Kidjo joins Charlize Theron, a white South African actress, in representing Africa on the Walk of Fame. Theron received her star in 2005.
The date on which Kidjo will see her star unveiled on the Walk of Fame has not yet been announced.
After recipients have been selected for a star, they have two years to schedule induction ceremonies.
Kidjo grew up in Benin, but left for Paris in 1983, citing oppression from the country’s then communist government.
“From the moment the communist regime arrived in Benin, I became aware that the freedom we enjoy can be snatched away in a second,” she told the BBC in 2023.
She said she has been driven by curiosity since childhood, adding: “my nickname was ‘when, why, how?’. I want to understand things, to understand my place in this world.”
Kidjo worked as a backing singer in France before striking out as a solo artist in 1990, with the album Parakou.
She is a Unicef and Oxfam goodwill ambassador, and has her own charity, Batonga, which is dedicated to supporting the education of young girls in Africa.
Inductees were selected across five categories: motion pictures, television, live theater and live performance, recording and sports entertainment. There were no radio honorees. Others who made the class of 2026 include actors Emily Blunt, Rachel McAdams, Molly Ringwald, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rami Malek and Noah Wyle; former NBA star turned sports analyst Shaquille O’Neal; and “Good Morning America” co-anchors Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, who will have a double ceremony. Italian special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi and director Tony Scott will be posthumously honored.
Cyrus, who released her ninth studio album, “Something Beautiful,” in May, rolled around the Walk of Fame for the music video for her aptly titled single “Walk of Fame,” later revealing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that she developed an infection on her kneecap from the bacteria on the famed Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk. Still, the singer shared some of the footage on Instagram shortly after her star was announced.
“When I first came to LA from Nashville as a little girl, my family would stay at a hotel on Hollywood Blvd, and I would go on late night walks with my dad when no one would recognize him. We’d have the gift shops to ourselves & buy knock off Oscars and Marilyn Monroe merchandise,” she wrote. “To now be cemented on this legendary boulevard, surrounded by the icons who inspired me, feels like a dream.”
Her father, singer Billy Ray Cyrus, doesn’t yet have a star on the Walk of Fame.
Meanwhile, Chalamet is coming off the success of the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” He earned an Oscar nomination for his role as the legendary singer-songwriter. He’s set to begin filming the third installment of the “Dune” film franchise, titled “Dune: Messiah,” this summer, according to Deadline.
Moore, who rose to prominence with the 1985 film “St. Elmo’s Fire,” earned her first Oscar nomination this year for her role in “The Substance,” in which she starred opposite Margaret Qualley. She and Ringwald will be the latest of the Brat Pack to join the Walk of Fame, following Rob Lowe in 2015. It’s also a family affair for Blunt and brother-in-law Stanley Tucci, who appeared in “The Devil Wears Prada” together and are set to return for the sequel.
Once selected, honorees are expected to cover an $85,000 sponsorship fee to pay for the creation and installation of the star, as well as maintenance of the Walk of Fame. Recipients have up to two years to schedule their ceremonies before the offer expires.
Motion Pictures Demi Moore Emily Blunt Timothée Chalamet Chris Columbus Marion Cotillard Keith David Rami Malek Rachel McAdams Franco Nero Deepika Padukone Molly Ringwald Stanley Tucci Carlo Rambaldi (posthumous) Tony Scott (posthumous)
Television Greg Daniels Sarah Michelle Gellar Lucero Gordon Ramsay Melody Thomas Scott Bradley Whitford Noah Wyle Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos (double ceremony)
Recording Air Supply Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Paulinho da Costa The Clark Sisters Miley Cyrus Josh Groban Intocable Angélique Kidjo Lyle Lovett
Nine months ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to more than double the annual amount of funds allocated to California’s film and television tax credit program.
Flanked by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, legislative leaders and union representatives, Newsom said the state “needed to make a statement and to do something that was meaningful” to stop productions from leaving the state for more lucrative incentives in other states and countries.
Though Hollywood was born in California and the entertainment business became the state’s signature industry, “the world we invented is now competing against us,” he said at the time.
On Wednesday, Newsom signed a bill that will increase the cap on California’s film and TV tax credit program to $750 million, up from $330 million. Industry workers say the boost will help stimulate production that slowed due to the pandemic, the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023, a cutback in spending by studios and streamers and the Southern California wildfires earlier this year.
“We’ve got to step up our game,” Newsom said in a speech before he signed the bill. “We put our feet up, took things for granted. We needed to do something more bold and significant.”
Rebecca Rhine, Directors Guild of America executive and Entertainment Union Coalition president, credited Newsom for staying committed to the production incentive boost even after the wildfires in Southern California, federal funding cuts, the state’s budget deficit and the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles.
“You understand that our industry is vital to the state’s economy and cultural vibrancy, while also sustaining thousands of businesses and attracting visitors from around the world,” she said during the signing ceremony. “Now, let’s get people back to work.”
Critics of the program and taxpayer advocates have said, however, that the tax credit is a corporate giveaway that doesn’t generate as much economic effect as promised. California’s increase also comes as states like Texas and New York have also ramped up their own film and TV tax credit programs.
But the fight isn’t over yet. Lawmakers and Hollywood industry leaders are gearing up for a vote Thursday in the legislature on a separate bill that would expand the provisions of the film tax credit program, which they say is key to making production more attractive in California and must pair with the increased program cap.
That bill, AB 1138, would broaden the types of productions eligible to apply for the program, including animated films, shorts, series and certain large-scale competition shows. It would also increase the tax credit to as much as 35% of qualified expenditures for movies and TV series shot in the Greater Los Angeles area and up to 40% for productions shot outside the region.
California currently provides a 20% to 25% tax credit to offset qualified production expenses, such as money spent on film crews and building sets. Production companies can apply the credit toward any tax liabilities they have in California.
The bump to 35% puts California more in line with incentives offered by other states such as Georgia, which provides a 30% credit for productions.
“This bill is the second step,” Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur said during Wednesday’s press conference. “It’s about maximizing economic impact, prioritizing equity and turning the tide on job loss.”
Newsom also held out hope for the possibility of a federal film and TV tax incentive, which he had floated in May after President Trump called for tariffs on film produced overseas.
“We’d like to see [Trump] match the ambition that we’re advancing here today in California with the ambition to keep filmmaking all across the United States, here in the United States,” Newsom said. “I am hopeful that we, in the hands of partnership, continue to work with the administration.”
Hollywood’s relationship with artificial intelligence is fraught, as studios balance the need to cut costs with growing concerns from actors, directors and crew members. But in China, efforts to use AI in entertainment are taking a more no-holds-barred approach.
The China Film Foundation, a nonprofit fund under the Chinese government, plans to use AI to revitalize 100 kung fu classics including “Police Story,” “Once Upon a Time in China” and “Fist of Fury,” featuring Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee, respectively. The foundation said it will partner with businesses including Shanghai Canxing Culture & Media Co., which will license 100 Hong Kong films to AI companies to reintroduce those movies to younger audiences globally.
Chow Yun-fat stars in director John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” in 1986.
(Cinema City)
The foundation said there are opportunities to use AI to tell those stories through animation, for example. There are plans to release an animated version of director John Woo’s 1986 film “A Better Tomorrow” that uses AI to “reinterpret” Woo’s “signature visual language,” according to an English transcript of the announcement.
“By empowering cultural storytelling with technology, we can breathe new life into the classics and tell China’s stories farther and louder,” said Zhang Pimin, chairman of the China Film Foundation, at the Shanghai International Film Festival earlier this month.
The project raised eyebrows among U.S. artists, many of whom are deeply wary of the use of AI in creative pursuits.
The Directors Guild of America said AI is a creative tool that should only be used to enhance the creative storytelling process and “it should never be used retroactively to distort or destroy a filmmaker’s artistic work.”
“The DGA strongly opposes the use of AI or any other technology to mutilate a film or to alter a director’s vision,” the DGA said in a statement. “The Guild has a longstanding history of opposing such alterations on issues like colorization or sanitization of films to eliminate so-called ‘objectionable content’, or other changes that fundamentally alter a film’s original style, meaning, and substance.”
The project highlights widely divergent views on AI’s potential to reshape entertainment as the two countries compete for dominance in the highly competitive AI space. In the U.S., much of the traditional entertainment industry has taken a tepid view of generative AI, due to concerns over protecting intellectual property and labor relations.
While some Hollywood studios such as Lionsgate and Blumhouse have collaborated with AI companies, others have been reluctant to announce partnerships at the risk of offending talent that have voiced concerns over how AI could be used to alter their digital likeness without adequate compensation.
But other countries like China have fewer guardrails, which has led to more experimentation of the technology by entertainment companies.
Many people in China embrace AI, with 83% feeling confident that AI systems are designed to act in the best interest of society, much higher than the U.S. where it’s 37%, according to a survey from the United Nations Development Program.
The foundation’s announcement came as a surprise to Bruce Lee Enterprises, which oversees legal usage of Lee’s likeness in creative works.
Bruce Lee’s family was “previously unaware of this development and is currently gathering information,” a spokesperson said.
Woo, in a written statement, said he hadn’t heard from the foundation about the AI remake, noting that the rights to “A Better Tomorrow” have changed hands several times.
“I wasn’t really involved in the project because I’m not very familiar with AI technology,” Woo said in a statement to The Times. “However, I’m very curious about the outcome and the effect it might have on my original film.”
David Chi, who represents the China Film Foundation’s Special Fund for Film and Urban Development, said in an interview that Chan is aware of the project and he has plans to talk with Chan’s team. A representative of Chan’s did not respond to a request for comment.
“We do need to talk … very specifically how we‘re using animated or AI existing technology, and how that would combine with his image rights and business rights,” Chi said. Chi did not have an immediate response to the DGA, Bruce Lee Enterprises and Woo’s statements.
AI is already used in China for script development, content moderation and recommendations and translation. In postproduction, AI has reduced the time to complete visual effects work from days to hours, said He Tao, an official with the National Radio and Television Administration’s research center, during remarks at the festival.
“Across government agencies, content platforms, and production institutions, the enthusiasm to adopt and integrate AI has never been stronger,” He said.
During the project’s announcement, supporters touted the opportunity AI will bring to China to further its cultural message globally and generate new work for creatives. At the same time, they touted AI’s disruption of the filmmaking process, saying the “A Better Tomorrow” remake was completed with just 30 people, significantly fewer than a typical animated project.
China is a “more brutal society in that sense,” said Eric Harwit, professor of Asian studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “If somebody loses their job because artificial intelligence is taking over, well, that’s just the cost of China’s moving forward. They don’t have that kind of regret about people losing jobs and there are less opportunities for organized protest against the Chinese government.”
A scene from the movie “Once Upon A Time In China.”
(Golden Harvest)
Hollywood guilds such as SAG-AFTRA have been outspoken about the harm AI could have on jobs and have fought for protections against AI in contracts in TV shows, films and video games. The unions have also pushed state and federal legislators to create laws that would give people more protections against deep fakes, or videos manipulated to show a person endorsing an idea or product that they don’t actually support. There is no equivalent of that in China.
“You don’t have those freestanding labor organizations, so they don’t have that kind of clout to protest against the Chinese using artificial intelligence in a way that might reduce their job opportunities or lead to layoffs in the sector,” Harwit added.
U.S. studios are also going to court to challenge the ways AI companies train their models on copyrighted materials. Earlier this month, Walt Disney Co. and Universal Pictures sued AI startup Midjourney, alleging it uses technology to generate images that copy the studios’ famous characters, including Yoda and Shrek.
In China, officials involved in the project to remaster kung fu films said they were eager to work with AI companies. They said that AI will be used to add “stunning realism” to the movies. They are planning to build “immersive viewing experiences” such as walking into a bamboo forest duel and “feeling the philosophy of movement and stillness.” In areas such as animation, new environments could be created with AI, Chi said.
“We are offering full access to our IP, platform, and adaptation rights to partners worldwide — with the goal of delivering richer, more diverse, and high-quality AI enhanced film works to global audiences,” said Tian Ming, chairman of Shanghai Canxing Culture & Media Co. in his remarks earlier this month. Tian said there is no revenue-sharing cap and it is allocating about $14 million to co-invest in selected projects and share in the returns.
The kung fu revitalization efforts will extend into other areas, including the creation of a martial arts video game.
Industry observers said China is wise to go back to its well of popular martial arts classics out of Hong Kong, which have inspired U.S. action movies for decades.
There’s also not as much risk involved for China, said Simon Pulman, a partner at law firm Pryor Cashman.
“They’ve got very little to lose by doing this,” Pulman said. “If it can potentially enhance the value of those movies, there’s very little downside for them.”
China’s film industry has grown significantly compared to decades ago, boosted by the proliferation of movie theaters, including Imax screens, in the country.
In the past, China’s box office relied heavily on U.S. productions like movies from the “Fast & Furious” and Marvel franchises, but now local movies dominate the market. The Chinese animated movie “Ne Zha 2” grossed $2.2 billion at the box office globally.
But those Chinese productions generally don’t draw large U.S. audiences when they’re released in the States. The classic martial arts movies, however, have a global following and enduring legacy.
“People love martial arts movies, because action travels,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “It doesn’t matter what language it’s in, if you have a great action sequence and great fighting sequences.”
After weathering a pandemic, dual strikes and massive wildfires, Hollywood is finally getting a lifeline.
California legislators voted Friday to more than double the amount allocated each year to the state’s film and television tax credit program, raising that cap to $750 million from $330 million.
Other states and countries have increasingly lured productions away from California with generous tax credits and incentive programs, leaving many in Hollywood without work for months. In interviews, town halls and legislative committee hearings, industry workers said that without state intervention, they feared Tinseltown would be hollowed out, similar to Detroit after the heyday of its auto industry.
“It’s now time to get people back to work and bring production home to California,” Directors Guild of America executive and Entertainment Union Coalition President Rebecca Rhine said in a statement. “We call on the studios to recommit to the communities and workers across the state that built this industry and built their companies.”
From there, state lawmakers looked to expand the provisions of the program. A separate bill going through the Legislature would broaden the types of productions eligible to apply, including animated films, shorts and series and certain large-scale competition shows. It would also increase the tax credit to as much as 35% of qualified expenditures for movies and TV series shot in the Greater Los Angeles area and up to 40% for productions shot outside the region.
That bill, AB 1138, was unanimously approved Thursday by the state Senate Revenue and Tax Committee. It will be up for final votes next week.
California provides a 20% to 25% tax credit to offset qualified production expenses, such as money spent on film crews and building sets. Production companies can apply the credit toward any tax liabilities they have in California.
The bump to 35% puts California more in line with incentives offered by other states, such as Georgia, which provides a 30% credit for productions.
Lawmakers and industry insiders have said the increased tax credit cap and the proposed criteria changes to the incentive program must both be approved to make California more competitive for filming. The bill was written by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles) and state Sen. Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica).
“After years of uncertainty, workers can once again set the stage, cue the lights, and roll the cameras — because California is keeping film and TV jobs anchored right here, where they belong,” Zbur said in a statement about the $750-million cap. “This is a historic investment in our creative economy, our working families, small businesses, and the communities that depend on this industry to thrive.”
Like most busy working mothers who struggle with work-life balance, three-time Grammy Award winner Victoria Monét cherishes spending time with her 4-year-old daughter, Hazel, who she shares with ex-boyfriend fitness trainer John Gaines.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Known for writing hits like Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next,” Blackpink and Selena Gomez’s “Ice Cream” and Chloe x Halle’s “Do It,” in addition to “On My Mama” from her debut album “Jaguar II,” the L.A.-based R&B singer-songwriter recently penned something for younger audiences: the heartwarming children’s picture book “Everywhere You Are,” due out June 24.
In a recent interview, Monét revealed the inspiration behind her book. (She will discuss her new book at Malik Books on Saturday and the Reparations Club along with moderator Gabrielle Union on Sunday. Tickets are required.)
“As a parent, it’s hard to miss those pivotal moments,” she said of the separation anxiety that many children feel when their parents are working and unavailable. “It’s important for children to know that there is a purpose behind them. I wanted to offer assurance and relay an important message: Everything will be OK.”
Despite her demanding schedule, Monét always finds a way to make quality time for Hazel. In 2023, Hazel, then 2, became the youngest Grammy nominee in history when she was nominated for her vocals in “Hollywood” alongside her mother. And when Beyoncé kicked off her “Cowboy Carter” tour at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood last month, Monét took Hazel to her first concert. Their ideal Sunday in L.A., which Monét fondly calls “me time,” would involve playing outdoors, enjoying a visit to a family fun center, indulging in vegan sweet treats and reading “Everywhere You Are” to one another before bed. Here, Monét shares a joy-filled Sunday spent with her daughter.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
8:30 a.m.: Awake with gratitude
On Sundays, me and Hazel wake up later than usual because we probably stayed up late the night before if I didn’t have to work. We normally start our day by doing our gratitude journaling, where she doodles and I write. Then we do our self-care, where we brush our hair and teeth. I will then go downstairs and make her character pancakes with chocolate chips or Fruity Pebbles cereal.
After that, we may make some art. She loves to draw, and we have a nice art section in the house featuring everything from crayons to markers, scratch-off art, watercolors and rainbow paints.
10 a.m.: Dance, dance, dance!
Hazel is active and enjoys doing things, but on the weekends, we have instructors come to the house for dance lessons. So far, she has taken ballroom dance, ballet and tap. She was in gymnastics for a while. We’re looking forward to taking ballet and tumbling at To The Pointe Dance and Pilates Centre.
She loves being outside and enjoys riding her bike or visiting the park. During the week, she plays soccer twice a week. She loves it because it isn’t serious yet. It’s more about giving them a chance to have fun. They do drills on how to kick and run at the same time. It’s hard when you think about it.
12 p.m.: Indulge in fresh pasta at Uovo
Hazel loves pasta, so we often go to Uovo Pasta, which has several locations in Los Angeles. Their handmade al dente noodles are perfect — they overnight them from Italy. We would get the pomodoro and make sure that it’s not too spicy. Their cacio e pepe is great, but that’s a once-in-a-blue-moon thing for me because I’m [mostly] plant-based. Hazel usually gets what I get. When I was pregnant with her, I ate Flamin’ Hot Cheetos all the time, and now she likes them too. After lunch, I’d have to bring her home because she naps around 1 p.m.
2:30 p.m.: Jump for joy at Off the Wall
After her nap, we’ll hit Off the Wall in Woodland Hills. It’s trampoline heaven, where you can catapult higher than you intended to. There are rock climbing walls, an arcade and food. They have an air-filled basketball court that’s on a soft floor and there are birthday party rooms in the back. Hazel loves that place, especially the trampoline. She likes me to chase her, so I get a workout while we are there. I’ll literally be sweating when we leave.
4 p.m.: Sample sweet treats at Happy Ice or Magpies
For a sweet treat, Happy Ice is a favorite. It’s the best-tasting slushy snow cone, especially during the summer when it’s hot. They have locations in Northridge and Hollywood, but they also have a truck [at Smorgasburg on Sundays in downtown L.A.]. For Hazel’s birthday party, we had the truck come to our house. I usually get the Rainbow Rocket, which is a mix of all their Italian ice flavors, and Hazel gets the same thing I do. She is happy to get anything, frankly. Magpies Softserve is another one of our favorites. Their vegan honeycomb soft serve is so good. Hazel likes their soft-serve pies.
6 p.m.: Tapas-style dining at Joey
Hazel is newly picky, but if she were to go out to dinner with me, she would love Joey in Woodland Hills, which offers a wide-ranging menu. They check off a box for everybody. I’m a tapas-style girl, so I like to order a variety of different dishes: guacamole, tuna and avocado crunch roll and Korean fried cauliflower. I’ll order the sake-glazed Chilean sea bass and pasta for Hazel.
We’re homebodies, so another dinner option would be spending time together at home, cooking and playing in the pool. We enjoy making veggie and tofu tacos together. Things you can eat with your hands are always fun with kids. That’s one reason they like s’mores so much. Occasionally, we’ll make something pescatarian like grilled salmon or other fish.
8 p.m.: Watch “Moana 2” … again
At night, we would watch a movie and wind down with some Skinny Pop popcorn. Hazel would probably watch “Moana 2” again right now. We saw it in the theaters, and she goes through phases where she wants to watch different things, but she recently said that she wants a “Moana 2” party for her fifth birthday. I thought she’d like something else by then. But then, she thinks there will be 20 Moanas.
10 p.m.: Read “Everywhere You Are” before bed
Before bed, Hazel often asks me to read “Everywhere You Are” to her. She loves to read and enjoys being read to. I’ve read it to her so many times that she can read it back to me. She recorded a segment of the audiobook with me and was excited to hear herself when she recorded it in the studio. Reading the book to her, I realized that missing a parent is a lot like losing a loved one. You can still feel their presence even though they’re not around. Love binds people together despite physical distance. Even when they don’t see you, children need to know that you’re still there and that you’ll always be with them.
“We’ve had a good couple of days training. We’re looking forward to the game now.”
England u21s clash with Germany SUSPENDED as stadium plunged into semi-darkness and players taken off pitch
After Carsley’s side slapped Spain 3-1 in the quarter-finals on Saturday, he is now hoping they produce another masterclass to sink the Dutch.
He said: “Ideally and I’ve spoken to the players about it, you want to coach a team where you watching them play and you’re enjoying watching them. That Spain game and the second half of the Germany game, you are on the side, enjoying watching the players play and expressing themselves.
“You want foreign journalists to speak about our players the way we sometimes speak about their players, in terms of their technical ability or the way they can take the ball.
“We’re definitely changing that perception of English players.”
His side beat Portugal 1-0 last time out despite Ruben van Bommel’s 21st- minute red card.
4
Michael Reiziger has been impressed by England’s style of playCredit: Getty
Reiziger said: “They’re not playing in a typical English style.
“They are playing really well with a lot of good quality and they are growing into the tournament.
“It will be a tough game but that is logical.
“We’ve watched every match of England.
“Two strong teams that love to play football, two teams that have quality.
“It is going to be an interesting game. We have some comparison with England.
“We started not that well but are getting better every time, resulting in the fact we won a game with ten men.”
After over two decades of misery in penalty shootouts, Sir Gareth Southgate helped instil a no fear factor into England players, with the seniors winning three of their last four.
And Carsley insists his lads are ready for penalties if it comes down to it tonight. He said: “There’s more of an awareness of penalties and the technique and structure that goes behind a shoot-out.
“We are fortunate to have a lot of players who take penalties for their clubs.
“It is very difficult to replicate the walk from the halfway line to the penalty spot, especially if you are not used to it.
“It’s something Gareth pushed which filtered down the pathway.
“It is so important because of the amount of resources thrown at the senior team to be the best at shootouts.
“That awareness of how important they are has definitely trickled down and we have benefited from that.”
England’s Under-21 Euros squad in FULL
ENGLAND are looking to retain their status as Under-21 European champions this summer in Slovakia.
Here is Lee Carsley’s full squad for the blockbuster tournament:
Goalkeepers: James Beadle (Brighton and Hove Albion), Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Chelsea), Tommy Simkin (Stoke City)
Defenders: Charlie Cresswell (FC Toulouse), Ronnie Edwards (Southampton), CJ Egan-Riley (Burnley), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Brooke Norton Cuffy (Genoa), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton and Hove Albion), Tyler Morton (Liverpool), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth)
Forwards: Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), Sam Iling Jnr (Aston Villa), James McAtee (Manchester City), Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), Jonathan Rowe (Marseille), Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City)
SHOCKED fans, former co-workers, loved ones and friends flooded social media with sad tributes to Liam Payne after news of his death emerged.
Harry Styles’ mum Anne was among the first from One Direction’s camp to share her reaction, posting a photo of Liam and writing ‘Just a boy…’ alongside a broken heart emoji.
Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden shared an image of the pair together with the words: “Such an awful tragedy.
“Sending love to his family and all those who loved him.”
X Factor star Olly Murs told fans he was “devastated” and “lost for words”.
He wrote on social media: “Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I’m truly gutted and devastated for his Family and of course his son Bear losing a dad x”.
Liam Gallaghersaid he was “very sad” and told his followers on X: “Life is precious Kids, you only get to do it once, go easy.”
He said: “I remember him as a 14 year old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing.
“He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble.”
BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball reacted to the “devastating news” on her show and told fans she hugged her own son Woody tight this morning.
JLS band member Marvin Humes reflected on his memories with the singer, sharing: “I first met Liam in 2008 with the JLS boys whilst auditioning for X Factor..he was 14 years old..
“We instantly clicked and looked at him as a little brother..that year it worked out for us but not for him and then 2 years later he went back to audition and One Direction was born..the rest is history..
“Absolutely heartbroken by the tragic news..Liam you wanted to be a global superstar and you did it bro..just can’t believe that things have ended this way..it’s shocking..my thoughts and prayers are with all your family and friends brother..RIP.”
Niall Horan’s brother Greg shared an emotional tribute to Liam, praising him as a “top young man”.
He added: “You will be forever missed. Liam, words can’t describe how much I want to grab my brother and mind him now while the world shows their memories of you and him and the boys.
“My heart goes out to your family parents and sisters and your son Bear and your 1D brothers.
“10th October we met and we started out that evening as 5 families into one big one 1D family thank you for all the laughs bro watch down on all your family and mind them lots of love kiddo x x x 1D 4 LIFE x x x”
German DJ Anton Zaslavski, otherwise known as Zedd, has taken to X with a devastated statement.
The producer, who worked with Liam on his 2017 hit Get Low, wrote: “RIP Liam… I can’t believe this is real…absolutely heartbreaking…”
American singer,Charlie Puth, who was friends with Liam and also collaborated with him on a song called Bedroom Floor, has posted a series of Instagram stories dedicated to him.
Alongside photos of the two of them together in their younger days, Charlie wrote: “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me.
“He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe he is gone…
“I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace. I am so sorry…”
Irish singer duo Jedwardalso took to social media, saying: “RIP Liam Payne. Condolences to friends and family.”
In another tweet, they added: “Sending strength to Cheryl and his son Bear. And all the One direction Family. RIP Liam Payne.”
American media personality Paris Hilton shared: “So upsetting to hear the news of Liam Payne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend.”
ITV weather presenter Alex Beresford shared a news video about Liam’s tragic death on Instagram, adding: “Can’t believe this! RIP Liam.”
Meanwhile Love Island star Molly Marsh penned: “I’m so taken aback, rest in peace.”
James Cordon also paid his own tribute, describing the star as a “loving and kind soul”.
The Gavin and Stacey actor wrote on Instagram: “Talking about Liam in the past tense is utterly heart-breaking.
“I will treasure the moments I got to spend with him. My thoughts are with his family today x.”
Payne previously appeared on Cordon’s The Late Late Show in America.
Former Little Mix star Jade Thirwall – who won X Factor with her bandmates one year after One Direction took part – described him as “the first friend I made in this industry”.
She said: “We fell out of touch as the years went by, but back in 2008 he was the first friend I made in this industry.
“Both of us so young, so ambitious, both hoping we’d ‘make it’. I hope you are at peace now”.
Camila Cabello described his death as a “tragedy” and said he “made an impression” on her when she was a young girl.
One of the oldest movie studios in Los Angeles is up for sale, perhaps to the newest generation of content creators.
The potential sale of Occidental Studios comes amid a drop in filming in Los Angeles as the local entertainment industry faces such headwinds as rising competition from studios in other cities and countries, as well as the aftermath of filming slowdowns during the pandemic and industry strikes of 2023.
Occidental Studios, which dates back to 1913, was once used by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks to make silent films. It is a small version of a traditional Hollywood studio with soundstages, offices and writers’ bungalows in a 3-acre gated campus near Echo Park in Historic Filipinotown.
Kermit the Frog above the Jim Henson Company studio lot in Hollywood.
(AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
The seller hopes its boutique reputation will garner $45 million, which would rank it one of the most valuable studios in Southern California at $651 per square foot. A legendary Hollywood studio founded by Charlie Chaplin in 1917 sold last year for $489 per foot, according to real estate data provider CoStar.
The Chaplin studio known until recently as the Jim Henson Company Lot was purchased by singer-songwriter John Mayer and movie director McG from the family of famed Muppets creator Jim Henson.
Occidental Studios may sell to one of today’s modern content creators in search of a flagship location, said real estate broker Nicole Mihalka of CBRE, who represents the seller.
She declined to name potential buyers but said she is showing the property to new-media businesses who don’t present themselves through traditional channels such as television shows and instead rely on social media and the internet to reach younger audiences.
Occidental Studios, which dates back to 1913, was once used by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks to make silent films.
(CBRE)
New media entrepreneurs may not often need soundstages, “but they like the idea of having the history, the legacy” of a studio linked to the early days of cinema, she said. It might lend credibility to a brand and become a destination for promotional activities as well as being a place to create content, she said. Mihalka envisions the space being used for events for partners, sponsors and advertisers as well as press junkets for new product launches.
Entertainment businesses located nearby include filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s Array Now, independent film and production company Blumhouse Productions and film and production company Rideback Ranch.
Neighborhoods east of Hollywood such as Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park and Highland Park have become home to many people in the entertainment industry, which Mihalka hopes will elevate the appeal of Occidental Studios.
“We’ve been seeing film and TV talent heading this way for a while,” she said, including executives who also live in those neighborhoods.
The owner of of Occidental Studios said it’s gotten harder for smaller studios to operate in the current economic climate that includes competition from major independent studio operators that have emerged in recent decades.
“Once upon a time, you did not have multibillion-dollar global portfolio companies swimming in the waters of Hollywood,” said Craig Darian, chief executive of Occidental Entertainment Group Holdings Inc., citing Hudson Pacific Properties, Hackman Capital Partners and CIM Group. “They are not content producers, but have a long history of providing services for multiple television shows and features.”
Competition now includes overseas studios in such countries as Canada, Ireland and Australia, he said. “When production was really robust and domiciled in Los Angeles, it was much easier to remain very competitive.”
Another factor threatening the bottom line for conventional studios is rapidly changing technology used to create entertainment including tools as simple as lighting.
“You used to know that equipment would last for decades,” Darian said. “The new tools for production are becoming obsolete in far shorter order.”
Writers’ bungalows at Occidental Studios.
(CBRE)
Nevertheless, Darian said, the potential sale “is not motivated by distress or urgency. Nothing is driving the decision other than the timing of whether or not this remains to be a relevant asset to keep within our portfolio. If we get an offer at or above the asking price, then we’re a seller.”
Darian said he may also seek a long-term tenant to take over the studio.
Occidental Studios at 201 N. Occidental Blvd. comprises over 69,000 square feet of buildings including four soundstages and support space such as offices and dressing rooms.
It’s among the oldest continually operating studios in Hollywood, used by pioneering filmmakers Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith and Pickford, who worked there as an actress and filmmaker in its early years. Pickford reportedly kept an apartment on the lot for years.
More recently it has been used for television production for such shows as “Tales of the City,” “New Girl” and HBO’s thriller “Sharp Objects.”
Local television production area declined by 30.5% in the first quarter compared with the previous year, according to he nonprofit organization FilmLA, which tracks shoot days in the Greater Los Angeles region. All categories of TV production were down, including dramas (-38.9%), comedies (-29.9%), reality shows -(26.4%) and pilots (-80.3%).
Feature film production decreased by 28.9%, while commercials were down by 2.1%, FilmLA said.
Warner Bros. Discovery is in poor shape — so much so that Chief Executive David Zaslav has decided to unwind the 2022 merger he orchestrated by splitting the company in two.
But Zaslav himself is doing just fine, to the chagrin of shareholders.
In a rare searing rebuke, investors recently cast a symbolic vote disapproving of Zaslav’s 2024 compensation package, which rose 4% to $51.9 million compared with the year before.
The package, approved by the company’s board of directors, ensured that Zaslav remained one of the nation’s highest-paid corporate leaders. Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, known as ISS, described the company’s executive compensation packages as “an unmitigated pay-for-performance misalignment.”
The situation renewed scrutiny of the compensation levels for leaders of the top entertainment companies, which remain high compared with peers in other industries.
Although 2024 was a bad year for Hollywood, it was a very good year for some of the industry’s top executives, according to a survey of data by Equilar, which studies executive pay, for The Times.
The median compensation for those executives for 2024 was $33.9 million, up 7% from 2023, Equilar said. That’s about double the median compensation of CEOs at S&P 500 companies, which was $17.1 million last year.
The compensation data include stock options, base salaries, bonuses and other perks for CEOs from Netflix, Fox Corp., Roku, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., AMC Networks, Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery and the Walt Disney Co.
Paramount was excluded from the median data because of a change from one CEO to three in April 2024.
“The compensation packages remain somewhat out of whack based on the good old days where the margins were substantially higher,” said Evan Shapiro, a former NBCUniversal executive who now runs his own company. “The Hollywood era got used to very specific — some would argue irrational — pay packages and never readjusted itself when the business went haywire.”
Pay packages increased for Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, reflecting the streaming giant’s strong performance. The value of Sarandos’ pay package went up 24% to $61.9 million, while Peters’ went up 50% to $60.3 million.
Other executives whose compensation increased included Bob Bakish, who was ousted as CEO of Paramount in April 2024. He had a package worth $86.96 million in 2024 (which included his roughly $69 million severance), up 178% from $31.3 million a year earlier.
Disney chief Bob Iger, who spent 2024 mounting a turnaround for the Burbank-based company, earned $41.1 million, up 30% from the previous year. During the year, Disney had renewed strength at the box office and achieved streaming profitability after years of losses.
Fox Corp.’s CEO Lachlan Murdoch’s total pay rose 9% to $23.8 million, while Roku CEO Anthony Wood got a bump of 37% to $27.7 million.
Others got a pay cut. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts’ 2024 compensation declined 5% to $33.9 million, primarily due to a lower cash bonus. AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan had a 40% drop to $8.7 million last year related to a $6.8-million equity award she received in 2023 tied to her promotion to CEO.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer earned $18.2 million in the company’s fiscal 2024 year, down 15% compared with $21.5 million from fiscal 2023.
For 2024, the highest-paid chief executives among publicly traded media and entertainment companies compiled by Equilar for The Times were Bakish, Zaslav, Sarandos, Peters and Iger.
Most of the companies declined to comment or referred The Times to proxy statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fox Corp. did not return a request for comment.
The increase in pay reflects a broader trend at publicly traded companies. Compensation is increasing as companies try to align pay with performance by handing out large stock awards, said Amit Batish, senior director of content for Equilar. Certain awards such as stock options typically benefit executives only if the stock goes up.
Some executives are also adding security perks after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year, he said.
Several Hollywood executives had pay packages last year that were worth substantially more than the median, Equilar said. With so much change and disruption happening in the entertainment business and plenty of competition for skilled leadership, companies believe they need to pay up to hold on to executive talent.
“Especially in the entertainment industry that’s constantly evolving, with streaming services taking over, there’s constant fluctuations in the market, so companies are looking to find ways to keep their executives on board and motivated,” Batish said.
Sky-high executive compensation has resurfaced debate about a subject that has been simmering since even before the 2023 strikes led by writers and actors — the widening pay gap between executives and workers.
Many entertainment workers have left Southern California due to the lack of work, as more productions are moving out of the area due to increased costs. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal and Paramount have continued to lay off employees. Some entertainment workers struggling to find jobs have adopted the saying “Persist to ’26,” replacing last year’s “Survive ‘til ’25.”
“Any survey of executive pay, generally there’s a disconnect between what people see in their own checking accounts and when they see what executives, particularly for top Fortune 500 companies, earned,” said David Smith, a professor of economics at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. “There’s often discontent with the chasm between the rank and file and CEOs.”
Zaslav became a symbol of that ire in 2021 when his compensation package was valued at $246.6 million, which included stock options tied to the merger. The value of his 2024 compensation was much lower at $51.9 million, but still higher than other executives such as Disney’s Iger.
Following the nonbinding shareholder “say on pay” vote, Warner Bros. Discovery pledged to address shareholder concerns. Those changes are expected to lower Zaslav’s future payouts. Similarly, Disney and Netflix in recent years have been hit with negative shareholder votes on the pay, leading to adjustments.
Zaslav’s target annual cash bonus opportunity will shrink from $22 million to $6 million after splitting Warner Bros. Discovery in two, separating studios and streaming services from linear cable networks, the company said. Zaslav’s base salary would remain $3 million.
“We structured the new compensation packages to address shareholders’ feedback by fostering pay-for-performance alignment,” Warner Bros. Discovery board chair Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. said in a statement.
While Warner Bros. Discovery worked on retiring $4.4 billion in debt through cost-cutting and launched its streaming service Max (which is being rebranded back to HBO Max) in 70 markets last year, the company also had some fumbles, including losing the NBA on its TV networks.
“It appears the board may have been out-negotiated,” said Lloyd Greif, chief executive of Los Angeles investment bank Greif & Co. “They created incentives that did not directly translate into a higher stock price, or higher revenue and EBITDA growth” — referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. “So,” he added, “you have to look at the results and say, the board blew the call.”
The company’s compensation committee said it took into account Zaslav’s performance across different goals including revenue, cash flow, enhancing the motion picture slate, cost controls, launching Max globally and securing talent.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue in 2024 fell 5% to $39.3 billion, compared with 2023. Adjusted earnings excluding certain items fell 11% during that same time period. The stock price declined about 7% in 2024.
“It just sends a very bad message to your teams,” said Paul Verna, vice president of content at research firm Emarketer, adding that leaders should inspire their teams amid challenges facing the industry. “It’s very hard to do that when you’re firing thousands of people but not really absorbing any pain yourself in your own compensation.”
The committee saw the loss of the NBA U.S. TV rights as a positive, saying it resulted in a “more efficient long-term relationship with the league,” according to the company’s proxy filing.
When the compensation committee evaluated those figures, it took out costs related to a joint venture called Venu Sports that was meant to launch in 2024 but was scrapped, as well as new sports rights programming and packages.
That irked some groups, including ISS, though some executive compensation experts said it is not uncommon for companies to factor out some costs deemed to be out of the executive’s control.
The reverberations of the shareholder vote continue.
It could cause the board to put pressure on the compensation committee to improve its performance or activist shareholders to target the company for a proxy contest, Lawrence Cunningham, director of the University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, wrote in an email to The Times.
“Shareholder votes on pay, even when non-binding, send a signal that can be important,” Cunningham wrote. “A 60% no vote is huge.”
Doc Martin star Martin Clunes has signed up for a huge-budget film that will see him star alongside Margot Robbie as well as Euphoria actor Jacob Elordi
Martin Clunes will star alongside some huge names in the upcoming release(Image: Neil Genower/ITV)
Martin Clunes is set to star in a major Hollywood film, alongside big names like Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
The Doc Martin actor’s next role will be in the upcoming Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell, slated for release in February 2026. However, many details about the film remain a secret.
In a recent interview with The i Paper, Martin unveiled his involvement in this “massive, Warner Brothers, huge-budget movie, all built on sets at Elstree”.
He will take on the character of Mr Earnshaw, father of Catherine Earnshaw, in Wuthering Heights. Margot Robbie is set to play Catherine, while Jacob Elordi will portray Heathcliff.
Martin Clunes will appear in Wuthering Heights(Image: David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Other cast members include Hong Chau as Nelly Dean and Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton, with Alison Oliver playing Isabella Linton. Owen Cooper, Charlotte Mellington, and Vy Nguyen will also feature as young Heathcliff, teenage Catherine, and young Nelly respectively, reports Wales Online.
Wuthering Heights is based on Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel of the same name, which explores the turbulent relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, an orphan adopted by Catherine’s family.
If the film stays true to the book, audiences can anticipate a gripping story of love and revenge set in 19th-century Yorkshire, with themes of social class, obsession, and love taking centre stage.
Margot Robbie will also star in the new film(Image: Getty)
Emerald is set for her third venture with LuckyChap Entertainment, the production company helmed by Margot Robbie, her spouse Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara. She has previously joined forces with them for the acclaimed films Promising Young Woman and Saltburn.
Although Emerald has kept quiet about the particulars of her upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights, her fascination with gothic themes is no secret.
In a piece for the Los Angeles Times, Emerald confided: “I’ve always been obsessed with the gothic. Whether it was Edward Gorey’s children who are variously choked by peaches, sucked dry by leeches or smothered by rugs; Du Maurier’s imperilled heroines or the disturbing erotic power of Angela Carter’s fairy tales, the gothic world has always had me in its grip.”
She continued: “It’s a genre where comedy and horror, revulsion and desire, sex and death are forever entwined, where every exchange is heavy with the threat of violence, or sex or both.”
Wuthering Heights will be released 13 February 2026
The story is so good, so rich, that Hollywood couldn’t resist.
The Lakers, a golden brand. The stars on the basketball court. The celebrities on the sidelines. The spotlight on the show flying up and down the floor 24 seconds at a time.
HBO made a series. Books have been authored. Documentaries have been filmed. No hyperbole is too outrageous.
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird helped save basketball. The Lakers were the greatest show in town. The highs and lows, the devastation and the jubilation, made them iconic.
And the ringmasters for the last 45 years have been the Buss family.
That era culminated Wednesday when a majority of Buss’ six children agreed to sell controlling interest of the franchise to Mark Walter for a record price — a $10-billion valuation that’s the highest in pro sports history.
The initial reaction to the news — a sale that shocked the Lakers’ biggest partners inside and outside of the NBA — centered on what it will mean for the organization. Will Walter and his partners pour the same financial resources that they’ve deployed to turn the Dodgers into the best team in baseball? How will their capital boost the weakest areas of the franchise’s infrastructure? What will happen next?
We don’t know for sure. We do, though, know what just wrapped — an era of pro-sports ownership unrivaled in success and melodrama.
The start
Dr. Jerry Buss wasn’t a physician — the title came from a degree in chemistry at USC. And the money? It didn’t come from science. It came from real estate. But Buss was always one to sense an opportunity, and Jack Kent Cooke’s record-breaking divorce settlement meant that he was about to capitalize on one.
In 1979, Buss scrambled to put together a wild business deal — properties and cash moving between Buss, third parties and Cooke before the self-made man ended up with The Forum, the Los Angeles Kings and, in what would be his legacy, the Los Angeles Lakers. The price was $67.5 million.
The timing was impeccable. The team would win a coin flip and with it the right to select Johnson with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Buss’ and Johnson’s relationship helped lay the groundwork for the player-empowerment era that dominates the current NBA, Buss realizing faster than his peers that the biggest and best players were what drove the league’s success.
In his first season as owner, the Lakers won an NBA title, kicking off a decade-long battle with the Boston Celtics that helped the NBA move from the margins of pro sports to the mainstream.
In this 1979 photo, Lakers owner Jerry Buss is shown with children (clockwise from top left) Janie, Johnny, Jim and Jeanie.
(Gunther / mptvimages.com)
Yet it was more than Johnson leading fastbreaks, flashing smiles and dishing no-look passes. It was the merging of sports and entertainment that helped define what fans now experience.
In 1979, shortly after purchasing the Lakers, Buss commissioned the first Laker Girls dance team. The Forum Club became one of the city’s hottest nightspots. The games were more than athletic contests. They were events.
For the first 12 seasons Buss owned the team, they never won fewer than 54 games in an 82-game season. Titles came in 1982 against the 76ers, 1985 and 1987 against the hated Celtics and 1988 against Detroit.
The Lakers built one of basketball’s most unstoppable machines — Jerry West in the front office, Pat Riley on the sideline and Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper flying on the break.
As Buss became one of the NBA’s most powerful figures, his children were at his side, learning the business. His daughter, Jeanie, famously helped organize events at the Forum. The family’s true promoter spirit couldn’t be suppressed — soccer, indoor tennis, roller hockey, the Buss family tried it all.
Even after Johnson’s stunning retirement after his HIV diagnosis, the Lakers missed the playoffs just once before they fully reloaded, first with Shaquille O’Neal, then with Kobe Bryant and finally with Phil Jackson.
Nothing, though, would last forever.
The transition
In 2005, The Times’ Hall of Fame basketball writer, Mark Heisler, wrote about Buss’ succession plan coming into focus.
“Jerry Buss wanted a crowd-pleasing basketball team the movie stars could relate to but might have gone too far,” Heisler wrote. “He wound up with the greatest floating soap opera in sports, and basketball was almost beside the point.”
Still, it was Buss’ legacy.
“I just can’t visualize myself walking away, relinquishing control,” Buss said in a 2002 story in The Times. “My relationship with this team is a lifelong marriage.”
The thing about family businesses, it turns out, is that family drama is always at play.
A Sports Illustrated feature in 1998 painted a story of jealousy and unease that seemed prophetic.
Kobe Bryant, left, holds the Larry O’Brian Trophy as Shaquille O’Neal holds the NBA Finals MVP trophy in 2000.
(AFP / Getty Images)
As Buss scaled back his involvement, Jeanie took on a greater role in the business side of the franchise while son Jim became a basketball executive. And the Lakers kept on winning.
Tensions between O’Neal, Bryant and Jackson ended with the dissolution of another dynasty after three consecutive championships. Belief in Bryant led to two more rings once they reunited him with Jackson and added Pau Gasol to the mix.
Through it all, the Lakers remained a family business in its truest sense, Buss’ youngest sons Joey and Jesse learning the ropes in business and scouting in the same way his older children did.
Jeanie‘s romantic relationship with Jackson, at best, complicated things in the organization. Still, she was always the one her father intended to lead the organization, beginning when Buss put her in charge of the team’s indoor tennis franchise when she was just 19.
“I figured, ‘If Dr. Buss [she refers to him by his preferred title] says he thinks I can do it, I must be able to do it,’” Jeanie told The Times in 2002.” If he never doubted me, how could anyone else? It was only later that I thought, ‘What the hell was I doing?’”
In 2005, son Jim began to take on a bigger role in the organization, becoming the team’s vice president of player personnel.
“When I hear somebody say, ‘Are you qualified?’ I’m like, ‘If you had eight years of Jerry West plus Mitch Kupchak and all the talented scouts working on a daily basis tutoring you, I don’t know what other credentials you could have,’” Jim said then.
When Buss died in 2013 from complications of cancer, all six of his children held titles with the Lakers.
“Jerry Buss helped set the league on the course it is on today,” then-NBA commissioner David Stern said. “Remember, he showed us it was about ‘Showtime,’ the notion that an arena can become the focal point for not just basketball, but entertainment. He made it the place to see and be seen.”
While Buss was living, the Lakers missed the playoffs only twice. In the six seasons after his death, the Lakers never won more than 37 games.
Something had to change.
The fallout
Bryant took a fateful step at the end of a game late in the 2013 season, his Achilles tendon rupturing in his left leg. He miraculously made two free throws before heading to the locker room — a moment codifying him as an all-time Los Angeles legend and a moment, it turned out, that signaled the good times were about to end.
The following season, coach Mike D’Antoni’s Lakers won just 27 games, Nick Young leading the Lakers in scoring and Bryant playing only six times. After the year, Jim Buss told The Times that he saw a pathway forward and he told his family the same in a meeting earlier in 2014.
“I was laying myself on the line by saying, ‘If this doesn’t work in three to four years, if we’re not back on the top’ — and the definition of top means contending for the Western Conference, contending for a championship — ‘then I will step down because that means I have failed,’” he said. “I don’t know if you can fire yourself if you own the team … but what I would say is I’d walk away and you guys figure out who’s going to run basketball operations because I obviously couldn’t do the job.
“There’s no question in my mind we will accomplish success. I’m not worried about putting myself on the line.”
In 2015, the Lakers won only 21 games. In 2016, the team lost a franchise-most 65 times against a franchise-worst 17 wins. In 2017, they were headed to another season in which they would be more than 30 games under .500 when Jeanie fired Jim and Kupchak, the team’s general manager.
They were replaced with Bryant’s former agent, Rob Pelinka, and Johnson.
Jeanie Buss applauds the Lakers’ efforts during the team’s 2010 NBA championship ring ceremony at Staples Center.
(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
Shortly after the decision, Jim, along with his brother Johnny, tried to remove Jeanie from the team’s board of directors, sparking a legal feud that included Jeanie filing a restraining order while she wrested control of the team.
“I must also point out that Jim has already proven to be completely unfit even in an executive vice president of basketball operations role and I recently had to replace him,” Jeanie said in court documents.
The Lakers signed LeBron James in 2018, traded for Anthony Davis and built a title team in 2020, the family’s biggest success in the years following their father’s passing.
With Jeanie firmly in charge, brother Joey helped run one of the league’s most-respected developmental teams in the South Bay Lakers — a program that helped develop players such as Alex Caruso. Jesse Buss and his scouting department found value in late first-round picks like Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma as well as an undrafted star in Austin Reaves.
In 2022, Jeanie produced a documentary for Hulu that dealt with heaps of the family’s drama, and Wednesday’s sale not coming from a majority — and not unanimous — vote again means that not everyone is on the same page.
While the Buss family will retain minority ownership, things will never be the same in the organization. The influx of money, of modernization, of more corporate structure could help the Lakers on the court.
But what they were under the Buss family, they’ll never be again.
“I really tried to create a Laker image, a distinct identity,” Jerry Buss once said. “I think we’ve been successful. I mean, the Lakers are pretty damn Hollywood.”
James Gunn has his own theory about why the movie industry is “dying.”
The filmmaker, screenwriter and co-head of DC Studios contends that the reason for bad movies is Hollywood’s tendency to begin productions before screenplays are complete, he told Rolling Stone in a new interview.
“I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies. It’s not because of home screens getting so good,” Gunn said. “The number one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.”
That’s why one of his main rules at DC Studios is that movies must have finished scripts before they go into production. In fact, Gunn just scrapped a project because the screenplay wasn’t ready, he said. On the other hand, he described the scripts for the upcoming DC films “Supergirl,” “Lanterns” and “Clayface” as “so f—-ing good.”
Before taking the reins of DC Studios in 2022, Gunn co-wrote and directed three “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies for now-competitor Marvel Studios, which he said has been “killed” by Disney’s directive to increase output.
“We don’t have the mandate to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year,” Gunn said of DC Studios. “So we’re going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality.”
During the interview, Gunn also addressed rumors that Matt Reeves’ sequel to “The Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson, has been axed. The film, which Gunn confirmed is still titled “The Brave and the Bold,” has been delayed a year and is now expected in October 2027.
“That’s the other thing I hear all the time — that ‘Batman Part II’ is canceled. It’s not canceled,” Gunn said. “We don’t have a script. Matt’s slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he’s doing. God, people are mean. Let him do his thing, man.”
Finishing the scripts for the “The Batman” sequel and “Wonder Woman” are among DC Studios’ top priorities, Gunn noted.
Additionally, Gunn reflected on the 2018 scandal that saw him briefly fired from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” when tweets resurfaced of him joking about pedophilia and rape. He said without that experience, his script for “Superman” — hitting theaters July 11 — would have been much different.
“That opened the door for me to stop creating so that people would like me. That’s downplaying it — so people would love me,” Gunn said. “I think on some level, everything I had done came from a pleasing place.”
When asked whether he’s worried about ever running out of ideas, Gunn didn’t seem too concerned.
“If I do, then I’ll go raise goats,” he said. “I really am fine. There’s a lot of directors who get worse as they get older, and I don’t wanna do that. Or maybe I do — I don’t know. It’s like, if it runs out — it hasn’t so far. But who knows?”
Hollywood’s workforce just needed to “survive ’til ’25.” That was last year’s hopeful mantra for entertainment industry pros battered by layoffs and limited film and TV production.
But now as the year approaches its halfway point, a bleaker saying seems apt: “Exist ’til ’26.”
Rosy projections of a robust recovery this year have not materialized. If anything, the downturn, at least in terms of employment at the studios, has continued.
It is yet another sign that the industry is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023, while also trying to navigate the changing media landscape.
As people continue to cut the cord and viewership of traditional broadcast television declines — taking with it valuable ad dollars — companies are reallocating resources to their streaming platforms. They’re cutting back on spending after massive investments during the so-called streaming wars. And now, economic uncertainty from President Trump’s tariffs has rattled the markets, creating a difficult overall business environment.
“We’re going through this squeezing of our ecosystem in Hollywood,” said J. Christopher Hamilton, a practicing entertainment attorney and a professor at Syracuse University who focuses on the business of media. Companies are “trying to find a new normal, adjust to the financial pressures that the global economy is under and also figure out what is the smartest business model and path forward.”
It’s a far cry from the hints of optimism some in the industry had toward the end of last year. With the strikes finally in the rearview mirror, and delayed films debuting in theaters and production slowly coming back, the thought was “we’re out of the strikes, we’ll be able to go back to the market, sell and buy,” Hamilton said.
Instead, many of the recent conversations he’s had with clients and media executives have been centered on fear and uncertainty. People will tell him that it’s hard to sell a TV show, or that they don’t know if their job will be around in two weeks. The international market has also become more favorable to local content, meaning U.S.-made shows are now heavily competing with homegrown series.
“It’s a horrible time in the business from the content creation, content production standpoint,” Hamilton said. “People don’t want to take risks. They’re fearful of losing their jobs.”
The idea of “survive ’til ’25” was always a myth, said Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. The issues the industry is facing are long term and disruptive.
“The industry is retrenching,” he said. “And there’s going to be a shake-up that lasts for quite a while.”
The continued decline of linear TV is one issue nearly all studios are grappling with. Though viewership is down and can drag on a company’s stock price, traditional broadcast TV still makes money, making it important to manage costs and generate profit for as long as possible.
That also means job cuts in those areas.
Disney’s layoffs hit its film and television marketing teams, television publicity, casting and development as well as corporate financial operations. Warner Bros. cut employees from its cable TV channels. While Paramount did not disclose the departments affected by the layoffs, its co-chief executives acknowledged in a note to staff that the decision came as the company navigates “continued industry-wide linear declines.”
Linear TV’s struggles have led media companies to spin off their traditional television assets, including cable networks, into separate entities. Santa Monica-based Lionsgate got the ball rolling in 2023 when it said it would sever its film and TV studio business from its pay cable unit Starz, a transaction that was completed this year.
The Warner Bros. split is “an acknowledgment that the idea of building something big enough to compete in the streaming war didn’t work,” said Peter Murrieta, a writer and deputy director of the Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University. Moreover, Netflix’s dominance in the streaming space has made many companies reevaluate their plans.
“There were already signs pointing to the unsustainability of the number of shows and the number of streamers,” he said. “It’s the aftereffects of trying to compete at the streaming level and thinking that’s the future. Resources were put there, and now they have to retrench.”
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger has said as much in comments to Wall Street, acknowledging that the House of Mouse pumped out too many shows and movies to compete against Netflix.
The company has since pulled back amid Iger’s call to focus on quality over quantity and to reach profitability in its streaming services, which it achieved last year. The company’s latest job postings now include a number of openings for software engineers.
The larger economic environment, too, is of concern to those in Hollywood. In addition to industry-specific concerns about artificial intelligence and the decline of traditional TV and cable, the entertainment business is also grappling with domestic and global financial uncertainty. Paramount’s executives cited the “dynamic macro-economic environment” in its note to employees.
“Right now, there is an absolute sense of terror among people in the business that they’ll be out of a job, that the old models aren’t working, that they won’t earn what they once did,” said Galloway of Chapman. “They’re not wrong to be afraid. I think they’re wrong to be as afraid as they are because it’s a retrenchment, and it’s a retrenchment following a gigantic expansion.”
White-collar jobs in other industries are also being threatened by technological change, greater investment in AI and retrenchments after pandemic-era hiring sprees. Earlier this year, tech companies such as payment firm Square, Meta, Google and Workday said they would lay off employees.
But Hollywood has always been a boom-and-bust industry, Galloway said, noting that in times of change, new opportunities always arise. Jobs in virtual production or AI are becoming more numerous. As studios cut back on their staff, they will still need producers to shepherd shows and films, said Susan Sprung, chief executive of the Producers Guild of America trade group.
“These companies aren’t getting out of the business of producing great programming, movies and television,” she said. “If you don’t have as large of an executive team that can help supplement that, it makes it even more important that you have good producers working on every one of your projects.”
While the current environment is tough, the industry has always been difficult, and people in this business are resourceful and intentional about their work, said Murrieta of Arizona State.
Though it is a trying time, he said, “there’s got to be hope.”
“Spaceballs 2” is incoming, director Mel Brooks confirmed Thursday on social media, 38 years after the original “Spaceballs” crashed onto the space-opera scene.
Hey, what’s a few decades between friends, amirite?
Given that three-quarters of the current moviegoing audience was not even born 38 years ago, a person might wonder why they should care about a “Spaceballs” sequel. Well! We. Have. Answers.
‘Spaceballs 2’ will have a director
The sequel will have a director and that director is not Brooks, perhaps because Brooks is 98 years old. Plus the jokester hasn’t directed a movie since 1995’s “Dracula: Dead and Loving It.” But Brooks was, indeed, the auteur behind “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein,” so he might make it in Hollywood someday. Tell the folks at CAA: “Spaceballs 2” could be the boost his resume needs.
The news so far, according to Variety, is this: Brooks will be back as Yogurt — just plain Yogurt — and Josh Gad will star. Perhaps he’ll star as Outerspace Olaf, a mercenary snowman who likes warm hugs and thinks a space princess is a person worth melting for. Gad, Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez are writing the script, and Josh Greenbaum (“Barb and Starr Go to Vista Del Mar”) will direct.
Everybody loves Bill Pullman
Please don’t argue. It’s a known fact that Everybody loves Bill Pullman.
The “Spaceballs 2” team loves Bill Pullman so much that, according to Variety, in addition to inviting him to reprise his character from the original comedy, they have also cast his son Lewis Pullman in a role to be named later. Let’s hope the elder Pullman’s Lone Starr has eased into retirement and Pullman the Younger gets to play a younger version of the Luke Skywalker-scented hero.
‘Spaceballs’ was good, but not that good
Exactly! There’s still room to improve!
“‘Spaceballs’ might have been much funnier and more inventive on a much smaller budget,” The Times said in its 1987 review of the movie. “Occasionally the expense pays off, as in the wonderful opening shot of an insanely elaborate starship that sweeps over us against inky infinity, going on and on … and on and on! But sometimes the elaborate jokes just clang and clunk, as when Lone Starr jams the Spaceballs radar with real jam — and no peanut butter.”
That sounds like an argument for half the budget, double the jokes and a variety of Uncrustables at the craft services table.
‘Spaceballs 2’ is slated for release in 2027
For the record:
6:42 p.m. June 13, 2025An earlier version of this article said 2027 will be the 40th anniversary of “Star Wars.” It will be the 50th anniversary.
The year 2027 is so close, yet sounds so far, far away. It also will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the original “Star Wars” movie, which was once known simply as “Star Wars,” not “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.”
As the glorious celebrations of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Obi-Wan and the gang ring out in Hollywood in 2027, “Spaceballs 2” should land next to them with a resounding fart. A resounding fart joke, at least. Maybe two.
Jar Jar Binks didn’t exist in 1987
Sure, Rick Moranis will be back for “Spaceballs 2,” per Deadline, reprising the role of Dark Helmet, the villain whose voice resonates and booms when his helmet is down and turns squeaky and annoying when the mask is raised. And Keke Palmer, who was born in 1993, will reportedly have a part as well, though no clues have been given as to who or what she’ll play.
That said, you know there just has to be a Jar Jar Binks gag or two in “Spaceballs 2.” Read aloud with me now: Mesa no tink so, you say? Ex-squeeze me, but yousa be wrong. Terrible tings goen happen if Jar Jar remains nothing more than the most annoying and unnecessary CGI characterever to please George Lucas. Give the Gungan some gas to go with that pidgin English and anything could happen.
Times have changed — or have they?
In our post-#MeToo landscape, rife with “you can’t say that” sensibilities, some “Spaceballs”-style gags might fall flat. Then again, as The Times said in its 1987 review of the original film, “This is a multimillion-dollar extravaganza satirizing other multimillion-dollar extravaganzas — which begins to seem a bit like attacking a President by hitting him over the head with another President.”
Given that in the occasionally dystopian 2020s, hitting presidents over the head with other presidents is no big deal, the new film might make perfect sense, even if it doesn’t improve one bit. Then again, will Yiddish gags play to the keffiyeh-clad youngs? Or will the jokes simply bomb?
