Visitors keep Venice afloat, but locals say they are slowly killing the city's distinctive culture. Venice is locked in a love-hate relationship with its tourists. The hordes of foreign visitors that flood into the picturesque Italian port city — an estimated 30 million each and every year — are the lifeblood of the Venetian economy, financing everything from hotels, restaurants and bars to the city's craft and souvenir shops and its iconic gondoliers. But the combination of low-cost flights, Airbnbs and flotillas of giant cruise ships, is “killing Venice,” according to Marco Gasparinetti, 55, a spokesman for Gruppo 25 Aprile, an advocacy group representing 2,000 citizens of the city. He notes that tourists outnumber residents in Venice 140 to 1, with peak days seeing cruise ships dropping upward of 44,000 onto the city's narrow, cobbled streets. “When I was a child we could play football in the streets. The air quality was amazing,” says … [Read more...] about How the Battle Over Tourism Is Dividing Venice
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Death of a Porn King
Bryan Kocis spent the last day of his life working the phones, shades drawn, trying to save his porn empire. Only a few years before, Kocis had been an unemployed medical photographer in Dallas Township, a small community in eastern Pennsylvania, so strapped for cash that he had been forced to declare bankruptcy. Now he was one of the most successful producers of underground gay pornography in the country. The garage of his two-story home on Midland Drive overflowed with expensive rides: a BMW, a Maserati, an Aston Martin. Most of his wealth came from filming”twinks” — young boys who are the age of consent but don’t look it. And in his stable of boys, none was more of a star — and more responsible for paying for those cars —— than Sean Lockhart. Kocis, a reclusive middle-aged man with a paunch who liked to troll the Internet for boys, had discovered Lockhart online. The kid was a rare find — a dead ringer for Zac Efron, … [Read more...] about Death of a Porn King
‘Avenue 5’ Premiere Date: HBO Sets January Liftoff For Hugh Laurie-Josh Gad Space Comedy From ‘Veep’ Creator Armando Iannucci
Avenue 5, we are go for launch. One day after its Sunday night veteran Silicon Valley wrapped its run, HBO said today that its new comedy from Veep creator Armando Iannucci starring Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad will lift off at 10 p.m. Sunday, January 19. Created and co-written by Iannucci, Avenue 5 is a space tourism comedy set 40 years in the future when the solar system is everyone’s oyster. With Hugh Laurie as the Captain, nothing can go wrong. Laurie is Ryan Clark, the confident and suave captain of Avenue 5, a space cruise ship with luxury amenities including gourmet buffets, a spa, an observation deck and yoga classes. As the series begins, Avenue 5’s eight-week journey around Saturn is underway, and its systems are optimal. But when the ship suddenly encounters technical difficulties, it’s up to Ryan and his crew to calm the disgruntled passengers and find a way to deal with unexpected events onboard – though they might or might not be equipped for the … [Read more...] about ‘Avenue 5’ Premiere Date: HBO Sets January Liftoff For Hugh Laurie-Josh Gad Space Comedy From ‘Veep’ Creator Armando Iannucci
‘Riverdale’ Star Trevor Stines Signs Modeling Contract
Exclusive Launch Gallery Brandon Andre The guy who played the high schooler who gets killed in the first season of "Riverdale" is now killing it with his good looks ... and he just landed his first modeling deal. Trevor Stines -- best known for playing Jason Blossom on the teen drama TV series -- signed with DT Model Management and the agency says it has high hopes for the hunky actor. DT agent, Ricardo Guerrero, tells us he knew about Trevor from Riverdale, but what really caught his attention was his sexy role in the Lifetime movie, "Purity Falls." Stargazer Films USA In the flick, Stines plays a high school wrestler who gets entrapped in a neighborhood woman's male escort business ... but the movie poster really says it all. Guerrero says the team met with Trevor, and along with his flawless features ... his personality won them over. He adds that DT's hoping to book Stines in ad campaigns, and because of his "classic beauty" and charm ... they want him in fashion shows … [Read more...] about ‘Riverdale’ Star Trevor Stines Signs Modeling Contract
Venice: Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland Condemn Trump, Boris Johnson for “Ruining the World”
"The U.S. should be the world leader in environmental control, but now it has decided to go the other way," the Rolling Stones star said at the Italian film festival. The Venice Film Festival ended with a bang of star power in the form of Mick Jagger and Donald Sutherland, who journeyed to the Lido on Saturday to promote the closing film from director Giuseppe Capotondi, The Burnt Orange Heresy. The two stars quickly turned political when they were asked to comment on a peaceful demonstration that overtook the red carpet in front of Venice's main venue, the Palazzo del Cinema, earlier in the day. Hundreds of activists took to the festival to protest climate change, anti-immigration policies and Venice's cruise ship problem. "I'm absolutely behind that," said Jagger unequivocally of the protest. "I'm glad they're doing that because they're the ones who are going to inherit the planet." Jagger blasted Trump for pulling out of the Paris Agreement. "We are in a very difficult situation at … [Read more...] about Venice: Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland Condemn Trump, Boris Johnson for “Ruining the World”