As the latest in a flood of atmospheric river events hit Souther California today, several local theme parks closed their gates. Magic Mountain shut down for the second time in as many months as winds associated with the current storm blasted a nearby peak with force equivalent to a Cat. 2 hurricane. Magic Mountain Truck Trail , a site on the peak for which the park is named, is often the windiest spot in and around Los Angeles . It lived up to that reputation overnight, clocking wind gusts early this morning has high as 102 mph. Further downslope in Saugus, where the the park is located, winds gusted to 57 mph. As a result, the theme park posted an announcement that it would be closed “due to inclement weather .” L.A.’s other major park, Universal Studios Hollywood, which has good slope and drainage and fewer outdoor, vertically-inclined rides, is maintaining its normal hours today. Further south in Orange County, the National Weather Service issued a High … [Read more...] about Southern California Theme Parks Close Due To Storm; 100 mph Winds Recorded Near Magic Mountain
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Fox Unveils Major Expansion Of Century City Studio Lot With 9 New Soundstages, Media Campus
Fox Corp. is planning a major building overhaul and expansion of its Century City lot including nine new soundstages as well as a media campus, office space and focus on related transportation infrastructure. Los Angeles continues to struggle to meet the demand for soundstages, which increasingly is driving production and entertainment jobs outside the region. The project, called Fox Future, will bring the number of stages to 24. Additional stages will be equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and designed for modern film, television and other content. A new LEED Platinum-designed media campus office building will support lot operations. Located on the Lot along Olympic Boulevard, the 24-floor building will focus on creating collaborative open spaces and shared and private offices, all designed specifically for film and TV production. (LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the widely used green building rating system.) An amended and specific … [Read more...] about Fox Unveils Major Expansion Of Century City Studio Lot With 9 New Soundstages, Media Campus
The Black List And Women In Film Set 2023 Episodic Lab Writers
EXCLUSIVE: The Black List and Women in Film said Monday that they have set the participants for their 2023 Episodic Lab, with seven television pilots from eight writers selected. Now in its seventh year, the lab focuses on preparing women writers and writers of underrepresented genders for careers in writing for TV. More than 40 scribes have participated since its launch in 2016, with the organizations saying half currently have jobs in the industry. This year’s list features Bev Chukwu, Deanna Esposito, Eudie Pak, Laura Malatos & Helen Sun, Katherine Ruppe, Lorin Williams and Thea Rodgers. The lab, supported by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Shivhans Pictures, meets twice a week in March for sessions that include masterclasses, pitch workshops and lectures from guest mentors. This year’s mentors list includes Monica Beletsky ( Parenthood ), Jane Becker ( Ted Lasso ), Glen Mazzara ( The Dark Tower ), Sono Patel ( The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ) … [Read more...] about The Black List And Women In Film Set 2023 Episodic Lab Writers
Los Angeles Braces For Worst Of Storm: Heavy Rain, Winds 45-50 MPH, “Extensive Street Flooding” Possible
Spring 2023 in Southern California looks a lot like winter 2023 in Southern California. The second day of spring in and around Los Angeles brought another in a seemingly endless stream of atmospheric river events and about an inch of rain to most of the region, with more to come this evening. Up to 3 inches of rain could fall in coastal and valley areas by the time the storm subsides Wednesday, with foothill and mountain areas seeing 3-6 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the region already is near double its average seasonal precipitation. The Department of Water and Power headquarters downtown, for example, has seen 32 inches thus far, according the L.A. Public Works data . The seasonal average for this time of year is about 17 inches. That means by Wednesday, the seasonal total could be double the average. The NWS issued a flood watch for most of the Los Angeles area through Wednesday afternoon, with “extensive street flooding and flooding … [Read more...] about Los Angeles Braces For Worst Of Storm: Heavy Rain, Winds 45-50 MPH, “Extensive Street Flooding” Possible
Los Angeles-Area Tornado Was Region’s Strongest In 40 Years
The rare tornado that hit the Los Angeles area Wednesday was the strongest to hit the region in 40 years, officials said today. The National Weather Service rated the Montebello twister as EF1, with winds of 110 mph. That made it the strongest tornado recorded in the area since an F2 caused major damage in March 1983. The last time an EF1 tornado occurred in the area was in January 1998 in Long Beach, NWS said. The tornado that touched down in Montebello, about 12 miles southeast of downtown L.A., tore the roofs off buildings, damaged vehicles and wiped out trees. County fire officials said one person was injured and that nearly a dozen of the 17 businesses examined by inspectors were red-tagged, meaning they are no longer suitable for occupation. You can scroll through a gallery of images from Montebello by clicking on the photo above. The F2 tornado on March 1, 1983, ripped through the area then known as South-Central Los Angeles as drivers were commuting to work. It … [Read more...] about Los Angeles-Area Tornado Was Region’s Strongest In 40 Years
Martin Luther King III: My Father Is “Spinning In His Grave” Over Voting Rights Attacks — SXSW
Martin Luther King Jr. would be stunned by the rollback of voting rights in this country and efforts to suppress the teaching of the struggle for civil rights, according to his eldest son, Martin Luther King III . “People ask me, what do you think your father is doing? He’s not just turning over — he’s spinning in his grave,” MLK III told Deadline in a conversation at the SXSW Conference and Festivals. He imagines his late father thinking, “’What the heck is going on? Me, my team, we opened doors that should never be closed.’ And yet we’re going, it feels backwards — at least temporarily. Which is interesting because he prophetically wrote in his last book, Where Do We Go Here: Chaos or Community? , obviously he wanted us to revert to community, but we are seeing chaos constantly. Every day something else comes out that’s more extreme than the last thing. And, so, our work is cut out for us.” King and his wife Arndrea Waters King were among the panelists at an SXSW … [Read more...] about Martin Luther King III: My Father Is “Spinning In His Grave” Over Voting Rights Attacks — SXSW
Studios Snubbed WGA’s Contract Proposal To Boost Women & Minority Writers
EXCLUSIVE: The WGA made no major gains in its new film and TV contract regarding diversity, which the guild has been pushing for years. “There was a proposal related to diversity on the table,” an industry source said, “but the guild did not get it.” The union did, however, receive additional funding for its training program for episodic TV writers, which is geared toward improving the lot of women and minority writers. Under the new deal, CBS, ABC and NBC will now be kicking in a total of $250,000 a year for the program in each of the three years of the contract – up from $200,000 a year under the previous contract. The new 69-page memorandum of agreement can be seen here , in full, for the first time. Membership ratification of the new pact began today and will conclude May 24. In its 2016 report, the WGA West found that women made up only 29% of the TV writers; that female film writers earned only 68 cents for every dollar earned by their white male … [Read more...] about Studios Snubbed WGA’s Contract Proposal To Boost Women & Minority Writers
No Shockers Among DGA Awards Film Nominees: Cuaron, Greengrass, McQueen, Russell, Scorsese
Today’s eagerly awaited DGA nominations are out and there are no surprises in the bunch. Gravity’s Alfonso Cuaron , Captain Phillips’ Paul Greengrass , 12 Years A Slave’s Steve McQueen , American Hustle’s David O. Russell and The Wolf Of Wall Street ‘s Martin Scorsese were all odds-on favorites to make the five — and they did. Some might have questioned Scorsese’s chances since the film has become a lightning rod for controversy and was the last major release of the year, meaning the 15,000-member guild voters would have to see it in time to cast their ballot. But c’mon, he’s Martin Scorsese. There would be no denying this achievement among his fellow directors. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the guild and 10 other nominations with 3 wins in 3 different categories ( The Departed in film, Boardwalk Empire in TV a nd George Harrison: Living In The Material World in documentary). He’s a god to this guild. Greengrass, McQueen and … [Read more...] about No Shockers Among DGA Awards Film Nominees: Cuaron, Greengrass, McQueen, Russell, Scorsese
Tony Award Nominations: ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘SpongeBob’ And ‘Harry Potter’ Lead New Crop; ‘Angels,’ ‘Carousel’ Top Revivals
This morning’s Tony Award nominations favored the familiar, with Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants leading the field with 12 nods apiece. The American debut of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child paced new plays with 10 nominations, and the revival of Angels in America had a strong showing with 11 nominations, most in Tony history for a play. (See the full list below.) Other shows posting impressive tallies included The Band’s Visit , with 11 nominations going to the original musical based on a 2007 Israeli film. An acclaimed revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel also scored 11 nominations, including one for Renée Fleming, who is better known for her career as one of the opera world’s most venerable stars. Lincoln Center’s posh reboot of My Fair Lady garnered 10 nominations, and the Denzel Washington-starring revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh received eight. Frozen , the latest Disney adaptation to head to Broadway , joining The … [Read more...] about Tony Award Nominations: ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘SpongeBob’ And ‘Harry Potter’ Lead New Crop; ‘Angels,’ ‘Carousel’ Top Revivals
Kanye West Claims He’s Pro-Jewish Again, Thanks to Jonah Hill
TMZ.com Kanye West says he's done a 180 on his views about Jewish people and is no longer an antisemite -- thanks to actor Jonah Hill . The rapper took to Instagram Friday night to announce that he was watching the 2012 film, "21 Jump Street," starring Hill and Channing Tatum , when he had his epiphany about the Jewish race. Kanye said, "Watching Jonah Hill in 21 jump street made me like Jewish people again. No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people." He continued, "No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill. I love you." Kanye's statements are hard to swallow, given his recent professed love for Hitler. He went on a prolonged, scorched earth campaign against Jews as he alluded to issues he had with some execs in the music biz. InfoWars And it was all very ugly. Kanye went on "Infowars" hosted by … [Read more...] about Kanye West Claims He’s Pro-Jewish Again, Thanks to Jonah Hill