Even Hollywood is abandoning Hollywood

Hollywood is following the exodus out of Hollywood, although they aren't going as far as others: The Oscars are leaving the Dolby Theatre for the Peacock Theater.

 

What this means is that the Academy Awards will depart its Hollywood Boulevard location of over twenty years for the L.A. Live complex in Downtown L.A. This will put them near the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center).

 

The problem with this, in my opinion, is two-fold. All of Los Angeles has gone downhill in the past 5-10 years, overrun with drug-addled homeless, increasing crime, and rising cost of living that hugely outpaces the rest of the country (in fact, this pretty much applies to all if not most of California). So Hollywood the town loses one of the few things left that gives it shine and prestige, but the event moves to an area (DTLA) that has even worse problems than Hollywood. I haven't been to DTLA in years, not even to see a Kings game, partly because I no longer feel safe on Metro or the area, and only partly due to the team's lackluster play. So neither location is particularly desirable, but at least Hollywood Boulevard put the ceremony in the heart where it all started for Tinseltown.

 

I lived in Hollywood for fifteen years (1997-2012) and watched it bloom after years of deterioration with the addition of the Kodak Theatre, the return of the Oscars, and the installation of the Red Line subway. You couldn't pay me to live there now. And I remember when the Oscars moved to the Kodak/Dolby - after years at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in DTLA - bringing the ceremony to the industry's namesake town was presented as a big, meaningful deal. I think it's a real hit for Hollywood and Hollywood Boulevard as a destination (albeit one that needs to be cleaned up big time).

 

And it's not just Hollywood the town that's lost much of its luster - the film industry has been dying, especially in the past few years after the 2023 writers and actors strikes. Viewership for the Oscars has plummeted over the years. It's no longer appointment television. What was once a yearly event now barely registers with a huge portion of the public.

 

This isn't the only recent move made by the Academy. They recently announced the broadcast was leaving its long-time home on ABC to YouTube. While this may be a statement about the power of tech over broadcast television, I think it also says something about the drop in viewership. This may make it easier for more people to watch, giving them a chance to claim increased interest and restored importance. Both moves take effect with the 2029 ceremony.

 

Updated 4/3/26: The exodus continues to hollow out the home of the entertainment industry: J.J. Abrams is closing the Los Angeles location of Bad Robot, his production company. 

 

Recent reading: "Behind the Door"

Behind the Door: The Dark Truths and Untold Stories of the Cecil Hotel 

by Amy Price

I picked this up at the L.A. Times Festival of Books last month after seeing Price on a historic L.A. panel. Price was the general manager of the notorious Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles near Skid Row for ten years. In spite of the hotel's depressing location and often tragic history, she fell in love with the place, hoping that the gentrification of DTLA would reach it and restore it to its former glory. 

When Price arrived at the Cecil in 2007 it already had a checkered past. Built as a luxury hotel, its fortunes had fallen decades earlier as it deteriorated along with the area. Numerous deaths - both suicides and homicides - occurred at the Cecil. At least two serial killers (Richard Ramirez, aka the Night Stalker - and Jack Unterweger) had called the Cecil home during the commission of their crimes. 

Price - then a jewelry designer and aspiring interior decorator - was originally hired by a friend to help give the Cecil a hipster update to bring the hotel back to life. This was complicated by a number of long-term residents who were more reflective of the Skid Row neighborhood than the Cecil's former glory. Other issues had to do with the hotel's design - many rooms did not have their own bathrooms or showers, requiring the use of communal facilities, and the Cecil also had neither heat nor air conditioning. The residents had been relocated to just a couple of lower floors, while Stay on Main, as the hotel aspect was dubbed, utilized non-resident floors. And for a while, Stay worked as a popular, dirt-cheap, hipster hostel. However, when summer arrived the lack of AC became a major issue, and Stay's reviews began to reflect the disenchanted guests. 

 

Then came the Elisa Lam case. When LAPD failed to locate the missing young woman, they released security video of Elisa behaving oddly in a Cecil elevator and the case became an internet sensation. Several weeks later Elisa was found on the premises, and the Cecil became world-infamous as the hotel where the missing girl turned up in its water tank after guests complained about issues with water, including low pressure, filth, and a weird taste.

After ten years at the Cecil, attempting to restore the hotel and manage its colorful residents, Price was relieved of her duties by new ownership. She embarked on a successful interior decorating career and an unsuccessful marriage. Then Netflix came calling about a planned documentary about the Cecil Hotel, and Price, led to believe that Elisa Lam wouldn't be the focus and eager to let the world know there was more to the hotel than the girl in the water tank, signed up to participate.

 

One thing I remember about the resulting docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, is that I thought it was a major cheat that Lam's mental illness and her issues with her medications weren't brought up until late in the story, instead suggesting several theories of who murdered Lam when it turned out she wasn't really a murder victim. And not only did the show focus on the Lam case, it also gave some viewers the impression that Price was possibly suspect in Lam's death, or that she may have tampered with the infamous elevator video footage. When the show debuted, Price's life was turned upside down. She received vicious and even threatening messages online by people obsessed with the Lam case.

 

Fortunately, Price came through the ordeal a self-described stronger person. She showed a great deal of compassion toward the Cecil's unfortunate residents during her tenure, but seems to have made her peace with the whole experience. Today, the Cecil Hotel has been repurposed as a low-income housing facility.

 

From the book (discussing the "tragedy tourism" triggered by the Elisa Lam case:

 

But booking a stay to be closer to tragedy paled in comparison to the weird performances spawned by Elisa's death. Once, I got a call from someone at the Pacific Electric Building telling me there was a man playing the guitar on top of one of the water tanks. It was ten o'clock at night. The man had risked his life to put on this show. He'd had to climb the fire escape up to the top of a 150-foot building, just as Elisa had most likely done.

Recent reading: "Heart Attack and Vine"

Heart Attack and Vine: A Crush Mystery 

(Crush Mysteries #2)

by Phoef Sutton

Disclaimer: Phoef Sutton is the editor of People Are Strange, an anthology that will be released later this year. My short story, "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" is part of the anthology and so Sutton will be editing it.

This is actually one of those books that's been on my bookshelf for a while, and since I'll be working with Sutton I decided this would be a good time to bust it out. And I'm glad I did. Between a clever mystery, local settings (even the section set in New Orleans was familiar from having been there for Bouchercon in 2016) and the fact that not only is it set in the entertainment industry but takes great glee in poking fun at Hollywood types, this one is a winner. I didn't realize until I was almost done that this is actually the second book featuring bouncer/bodyguard Caleb "Crush" Rush. Unfortunately it looks like there was only one more in the series after this one (2017's Colorado Boulevard). 

In addition to the roller-coaster thrill ride that this story is, there's also a pretty amazing twist at the end that for me serves as a master class on writing a mystery as well as being entertaining as hell. I will definitely check out the other two Crush novels; my only concern is that they will leave me wanting more. I'll have to ask Phoef Sutton about it when I get the chance.

The 2021 Academy Awards

So in case you hadn't heard, last night the Academy Awards were held for a bunch of 2020 movies that barely saw the light of a movie theater. 

Because of the pandemic, this was no ordinary Oscars, which was held at Union Station in Downtown L.A. and not at the event's usual home at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. 

One thing that didn't change was the opulent swag bag handed out to nominees in the Director, Actor, and Actress categories. This year's bag was worth a whopping $205,000 each. You can see the dizzying list of items in the bag here. I thought about actually making a list then decided not to torture myself, as it's a mind-boggling collection of excess (although if anyone wants to gift me a trip to Golden Door, I'd happily accept). The only thing that made me feel better about the bag is that the recipients at least have to pay income tax on its value.

Unfortunately for the show itself, a change of scenery didn't seem to inspire a more entertaining awards show than we've seen in the past. Here is a boatload of mostly harsh reviews courtesy of PrimeTimer. Alison Martino of Vintage Los Angeles had a brilliant suggestion about honoring the unusual and historic location, which no doubt would have been an improvement to the show. Maybe next year they should hire her to be part of the production team. 

One of the stranger things the producers did was moving the Best Picture announcement to third from the end, rather than at the end as has always been done. There is a lot of talk online that they did this in the belief/hope that the late Chadwick Boseman would win Best Actor (for a number of reasons) and they felt what no doubt would have been a very emotional acceptance speech by his widow would be a great capper to the evening. Instead, Anthony Hopkins won and on top of that wasn't present to accept the award in person, so what was supposed to be a big finish to the show ended up being embarrassingly anti-climactic (or so I've read; I haven't actually watched an awards show in years). But it ended up backfiring on them big time. I bet they move Best Picture back to the finale next year. 

I can almost understand their reasoning. Boseman's death was tragic (he was only 43), he was gifted, respected, and well-liked, and it would be the last opportunity for the Motion Picture Academy to honor him. It's easy to see how he would have been a deserving sentimental favorite in the vein of Heath Ledger. Add in the whole "Oscars So White" movement over the past few years and Boseman seemed like a shoe-in. But in retrospect, that's what happens when you pander and/or try to make a big change just for the sake of doing something different. It can bite you in the ass big-time. 

There's also a great article in the PrimeTimer link that opines that the change ended up being unfair to the producers of Nomadland, three of whom were women, robbing them of their big moment at the conclusion of the broadcast. It's an interesting take and I don't completely disagree. 

Congratulations are due to Hopkins for becoming the oldest Best Actor winner at age 83. It was his second win in six nominations, and his first since winning for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. Also congrats to Frances McDormand, who became a three-time Best Actress winner last night, and just for good measure scored a fourth Oscar as a Nomadland producer. In unrelated news, The Brother and I are going to see a screening of Fargo on the big screen this weekend. There is no limit to how many times I can watch McDormand as Marge Gunderson. 

Another criticism I'm seeing a lot of was the In Memoriam segment. When will awards show ever learn that if there's one thing fans and viewers don't want less of, it's this segment? If your broadcast is going to be bloated anyway, take a couple minutes more to honor your dead. And include everyone. I can't remember the last time there was an awards show and there weren't complaints about people being left out. You'd think producers would pick up on that at some point. 

And now early ratings are in and they aren't pretty: Oscars Ratings Crash To All-Time Low; Viewership Falls Below 10M For First Time Ever. These are only early Nielsen numbers, but they're still horrific:

In delayed fast national results just released by Nielsen, the 93rd Academy Awards were watched by a mere 9.85 million, with a dismal rating of 1.9 among the 18-49 demographic.

That is an all-time low for Hollywood's biggest night - by a huge margin.

In fact, it is a drop of over 48% in terms of audience from what the previous low of the 2020 Oscars snared on February 9 last year. In terms of the key demo, the 2021 Oscars is down a crushing 64.2% in the earlier ratings from the 2020 Oscars.

I'll leave you with this, because it's freaking hilarious, although I'm pretty sure they cleared out any homeless near Union Station so the beautiful people didn't have to see what's becoming increasingly common in Southern Cal neighborhoods:

Updated 4/27/21: Final numbers pushed the audience up to 10.4 million - still a stunning fall from grace for a broadcast that used to be a worldwide event that few missed.

Who just won the jury duty lottery? THIS. GIRL.

So this drama has been going on for a few months.

In July I received a notice for jury duty in mid-August. I don't usually mind doing this, but I was assigned to a courthouse in downtown L.A. and this was after the rioting had started. I was seeing footage of things like The Grove being looted, streets and freeways being blocked, motorists being accosted and their vehicles being damaged, people being attacked on trains, and no one responding to the attacks. I wasn't about to drive into DTLA and didn't feel safe being on the Metro, especially since I couldn't carry my usual arsenal of pepper spray and a small but extremely sharp knife if I was going into a courthouse. 

So of course I got on social media and bitched about it, as we do in this day and age. And I was informed that I could request a change of venue. Again, I don't mind doing jury duty, but I do have an aversion to placing myself in a potentially dangerous situation and/or location, especially for the benefit of some law-breaking dirtbag. I lived in Hollywood for fifteen years with a minimum of issues, so I trust my gut on these things. And with all the crazyness going on, my gut told me to avoid downtown Los Angeles like the plague. 

It turned out that I could request a change of venue via the L.A. Courts online portal. So I did. I explained as tactfully as I could that I didn't mind doing it, but I didn't want to go downtown or on the Metro these days due to the "unrest" (I purposefully avoided calling them riots - which is exactly what they were - because, you know, Los Angeles and political correctness and all that bullshit). I asked that I be assigned to a court closer to home. I also figured that if the change was rejected, at least I'd be done with it all by the time my week in the middle of August was done.

I requested a change of venue. What I got was the same courthouse, but with my jury duty week changed to late October, in fact, the week right before the election. My tax dollars at work.

Which means that I could have been done with this crap a couple months ago. Instead I had to wait until the very end of October. And that week was this week. I braced myself for it.

The system has changed since I was last called for jury duty. In the past, you could call in starting at 4:45pm the day before to find out if you had to report. Now you have to wait until 7pm. You can also check in online. 

So this is what happened:

Saturday, I logged on to watch the orientation and it turned out they already had my Monday non-assignment. So I was off the hook for Monday.

For the rest of the week, each night I watched the clock inch toward 7pm. Tuesday: "You do not need to report." I emailed The Brother each day: "Three down, two to go." Wednesday night I learned I didn't need to report on Thursday, which was the good news. The bad news, I felt, was that if I was called in Friday, my jury duty might bleed into the following week and possibly longer if I was chosen to be on a jury, and for reasons that I think are sad but obvious, I didn't want to be anywhere near DTLA on or after election day.

So last night I watched the clock lurch slowly towards 7pm. I couldn't believe I would get lucky enough to get through the whole week without being summoned. It has actually happened once before, years ago, when I worked for a post-production house and got called for jury duty during pilot season. I didn't know at the time I could request a delay, so every day at quarter to five I called in to see if I was going to be at work or at court the next day and surprisingly made it through the whole week without being called in, much to the relief of my boss. 

And lo and behold, last night I log on to the L.A. Courts portal and find a message that I have completed my jury duty service, and thank you very much.

I called The Brother and told him I just won the jury duty lottery. I think a lot of it has to do with the COVID-19 crap; they can't call several hundred people in to sit in a room all day waiting to see if their services will be needed. But whatever. 

This kind of made up for them not moving me to a closer courthouse. By the way, the reason given for not moving me was that the courthouses are supposed to be assigned at random. Yeah, right. This is the first time I was assigned to this particular courthouse, one other time I was sent to San Fernando, other than that I had done multiple jury duty services at the same exact courthouse every time. Not terribly random. And it also didn't explain why they changed my dates, which I didn't request. But whatever. I've done my civic duty and I'm done with it.

On my way

I recently made my first author appearances, a reading and a panel, and survived to tell the tale!

On June 17, ten of the sixteen LAst Resort authors participated in a reading at The Last Bookstore in Downtown L.A. I had gotten my hair blown out at Drybar the day before, so I wouldn't have to worry about having more frizz than curls (ongoing battle). But the bookstore was like a sauna - it was actually cooler outside than inside, even during a heatwave. I could have saved the fifty bucks I spent on my hair. It was a mess.

Luckily, everything else went well. I had requested some advice on reading for an audience from other participants, and they really came through. I have a speaking voice made for writing and have an unfortunate tendency to slip into a monotone, but thanks to some great advice, it went really well. It was great to get that one under my belt, as well as meeting some of my fellow anthology authors.

Last Saturday I was on a panel at the Santa Monica Public Library (Ocean Park Branch) on the topic of female investigators. The panel was moderated by Laurie Stevens, who is also a contributor to LAst Resort, and she did a fantastic job. The other panelists were Craig Faustus Buck, whose Go Down Hard is amazing (I'm in the middle of it) and Vanessa A. Ryan. It went really well, with the added bonus of my Mom and Brother making the traffic-laden drive. It was also my birthday, making it also the one year anniversary of my story being accepted for the anthology.

Next up: All sixteen contributing authors at Vroman's in Pasadena.

Last Remaining Seats 2017 schedule announced

The Los Angeles Conservancy has announced the schedule for this year's Last Remaining Seats, which features classic films screened at restored Downtown L.A. and San Pedro theaters. Ticket for members go on sale March 29 and to the general public on April 5.

L.A. Confidential (1997)
Saturday, June 3, 8pm
Orpheum Theatre (DTLA)

Laura (1944)
Wednesday, June 7, 8pm
Million Dollar Theatre (DTLA)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Saturday, June 10, 2pm
Warner Grand Theatre (San Pedro)

On the Waterfront (1954)
Saturday, June 10, 8pm
Warner Grand Theatre (San Pedro)

La muerte de un burocrata (Death of a Bureaucrat) (1966)
Wednesday, June 14, 8pm
Palace Theatre (DTLA)

Easter Parade (1948)
Saturday, June 17, 8pm
Los Angeles Theatre (DTLA)

Wings (1927)
Wednesday, June 21, 8pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel (DTLA)

E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Saturday, June 24, 2pm
Orpheum Theatre (DTLA)

Jaws (1975)
Saturday, June 24, 8pm
Orpheum Theatre (DTLA)

Jaws on my birthday! Yes please!

Welcome back, Olivet and Sinai!

Looks like Angels Flight is finally coming back! According to Curbed L.A.:

Angels Flight -  a very short railway that runs up and down the hill between Hill and Olive streets in Downtown Los Angeles - will resume operation again for the first time in more than three years.

...a new private operator, ACS Infrastructure Development, Inc., in partnership with the city, is taking over for the next 30 years, and it will reopen the funicular by Labor Day, city officials announced Wednesday.

Will need to plan a day in DTLA once this opens. I've never ridden it, really need to.

Official Angels Flight.

Great Angels Flight image I found on the net a couple years ago.

An Olympian task

The fine folks over at Curbed L.A. have put together an interactive map of proposed locations for L.A.'s bid for the 2024 Olympic Games. And it is all over the place.

Each of those red dots represents a different location. The Coloseum, Staples Center, the Los Angeles Convention Center, Forum, Rose Bowl, Microsoft Theatre, Universal Studios, USC, UCLA, the new L.A. Rams/Chargers football stadium, and Riviera Country Club are among the venues that are actually in the Los Angeles area. Additional events would take place at the Long Beach Convention Center, Honda Center in Anaheim, and Bonelli Park in San Dimas, which is at the far east end of L.A. County (adorable little town, I lived there years ago). Another sports venue in Encino would also be used, but the winner for the most remote venue would be Lake Perris in Riverside County.

One thing I noticed is that the equestrian events would be in Encino. I think they were at Santa Anita when L.A. had the Olympics in 1984. Arcadia recently opened their Gold Line Station with a shuttle to and from Santa Anita, but it also looks like the Orange Line goes right by the Sepulveda Basin Sports Complex, so it looks like they've got public transportation covered. In fact, if we get the Olympics, Metro will have to really step up because they're gonna get slammed, especially to Downtown and Santa Monica. They're slammed now since the Expo Line to the beach opened. The company in Japan that makes their cars is cranking them out as fast as they can, but Metro is really behind in having the number of cars they need.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this bid. I'm wondering if they have backup locations in case some of the more long-distance venues prove to be a negative.

This is pretty much one of my worst nightmares realized

Construction worker falls from 53rd floor of Wilshire Grand construction.

I just drove past that project on Sunday, going through downtown on the 110 and wondered how terrifying it must be to be on one of the higher, open floors. And this is why.

I feel bad for the woman whose car he landed on. That must have been traumatic as hell. Thank God he landed on the back of the car instead of the top or we'd probably have two fatalities.

Last Remaining Seats 2016 schedule announced

The Los Angeles Conservancy has announced the schedule for this June's Last Remaining Seats series, featuring classic films screened at historic Downtown Los Angeles theatres. I think its a great lineup.

2016 Schedule*

Top Gun (1986)
Saturday, June 4, 2pm & 8pm
Los Angeles Theatre

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Wednesday, June 8, 8 pm
Million Dollar Theatre

Some Like It Hot (1959)
Saturday, June 11, 8pm
Los Angeles Theatre

Dos tipos de cuidado (Mexico, 1953)
Wednesday, June 15, 8 pm
Palace Theatre
Co-presented with Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Saturday, June 18, 2pm & 8pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel

Double Indemnity (1944)
Wednesday, June 22, 8pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel

Safety Last! (1923)
Saturday, June 25, 8 pm
Orpheum Theatre

*films and theatres subject to change

OH. HELL. NO.

This is really, really messing with my fear of heights: US Bank Tower in DTLA to get a glass slide along the outside of the building, between the 70th and 69th floors. Curbed L.A. as all the gory details here.

Guess what I'm never doing.

That's some seriously crazy shit right there.

Pic snicked from the linked article.

An L.A. Live by any other name

Nokia Plaza? Nokia Theatre, yes. Club Nokia, certainly. But up until now I had no idea Nokia's world domination extended to a plaza as well.

The comprehensive partnership between AEG, owners and operators of L.A. LIVE and Microsoft will also include rebranding L.A. LIVE’s 40,000 sf. outdoor plaza into Microsoft Square among other assets.

And then I dug out this pic I took at a Kings game a couple years ago:

Huh. There it is. In lights and everything.

I hate to break it to Microsoft, but I'm not sure I've ever heard of the general public referring to or thinking of the place as Nokia Plaza. Angelenos will continue to refer to it as L.A. Live.

Lucky for Microsoft, they've got money to burn. Money Nokia apparently doesn't have anymore.

Awesome Angels Flight imagery

via Nathan Masters on Twitter:

A is for Angels Flight!

This is just really gorgeous.  I'd buy it on a poster.  I can't imagine anyone living in DTLA not wanting this is their home.

Also really hoping that Angels Flight re-opens soon.

If you love historic L.A., be sure to follow Nathan and Angels Flight on Twitter.

Oh Christmas Tree: Kings vs. Blues

The Brother and I hit Staples Center last night for the fifth game of our ten-pack.  We were treated to another exciting game as the Kings held on to beat the St. Louis Blues, giving us a record of 4-1 so far this season in games attended.  The past couple of years our beloved boys in black have lost most of the games we've attended, so it's nice not to feel like we're bad luck.  The Kings took a 3-0 lead into the third with two goals from rookie Tyler Toffoli and one from Jarret Stoll.  The Blues scored in the third period, then got another one past Ben Scrivens with about fifteen seconds left after pulling their goalie, however they were unable to tie it up and L.A. took the two points in a game that was nowhere near as close as the score.  We were kind of surprised Sutter didn't put Toffoli out when the Blues net was empty to try and get him a hat trick, but the important thing is that we won, and Toffoli got top star of the game.

Interesting factoid: Hockey players like to give each other nicknames, which are usually just a pretty unimaginative play on their actual names (Brownie, Kopi, Quickie, Cliffy, Cartsy, Kinger, Marty, Mitchie, etc) but Toffoli's teammates in Manchester (the Kings minor league team) bestowed a rather unique one on him: Top Titty.  Heh.  Boys will be boys.

On the opposite end of the fun spectrum there were the three guys sitting behind us who talked nearly non-stop throughout the entire game.  It was kind of weird because they did seem to be into the game, but they would not shut up.  I was tempted to turn around and tell them they were missing a good game.  It seemed more civil than SHUT THE FUCK UP.  I could feel a headache coming on in the third period, but the Kings win tempered that.  Some samples of the obnoxiousness:

• Lots of talk about their work (apparently they all work together) including a discussion about an apparent former co-worker who used to be fat but is now thin and might be coming back to the company.
• One of the guys listing off the countries of origin of most of the Kings roster (including states for a lot of the American players).
• During a break in play, the music played apparently reminded them of an AC/DC song, leading to a discussion of what years various AC/DC albums were released and with which lead singer, along with the observation that, "Those guys are in their sixties now."
• Chatting about going to see an upcoming movie.
• And best of all this comment late in the game: "What happened to the Quick guy?"  That does it.  Turn in your fan cards.

It would have been one thing if the game had been boring, but it was a great game.  Imagine how annoying those guys must be in the office.

In other news, L.A. Live lit up their Christmas tree last night and it is beautiful (and huge):

Very sparkly.  I'd like to have the money spent just on electricity for L.A. Live for just one night.  Season tickets for life.

Our seats this season are right next to the tunnel, however the Droid has proven to be less than adept at catching shots of players striding out onto the ice.  This is pretty much the only one that wasn't a total loss:

Mitchie, Cliffy, Slava.

One of these days I need to dig out my camera and see if I can get some decent shots of the players with that.  In the past I've tried getting shots of them skating and they just move so fast most of the time they're a blur, so I'm not sure if tunnel shots will be any better.  Usually I can get some pretty decent shots with the phone (the picture that I have as my header, for example) but it's just not up to action shots.

All in all, a fun and exciting night at the Stape!

Staples Center, we are in you!

The Brother and I decided to go the 10-pack route again this season.  We did it last year, although thanks to the lockout it became a 5-pack.  Gary Bettman is the devil.

We've hit four games so far:

• 3-2 loss to the lowly Calgary Flames, made especially painful due to the fact that they started their backup goalie.  Full recap here.
• 7-4 win over the loathsome Phoenix Coyotes, which wasn't as much fun as the score makes it look.  The Kings had a 4-0 lead after the first period, but by two minutes into the third period Phoenix had tied it up at 4-4.  Luckily, Mike Richards scored a shortie to retake the lead, then the team added two more to seal the deal.  Full recap here.
• 2-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres, notable as it was Linden Vey's NHL debut and Jonathan Quick's 300th career game.  Quick celebrated the milestone with a shutout.  Also noteworthy was the presence of eleven former Manchester Monarchs, the Kings AHL affiliate, in the lineup (the official tally was ten, but they missed Kyle Clifford).  Full recap here.
• 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are very much missing injured scoring machine Steve Stamkos.  Full recap here.

Quick suffered a groin injury during OT in the game at Buffalo on November 12, which was the first game of a four game road trip.  The game went to a shootout and backup goalie Ben Scrivens looked absolutely awful (Quick owns shootouts).  The result was a 3-2 loss.  I just knew we were going to lose in the shootout the minute Quick finally gave in to the injury and skated away from the net.  Luckily, Scrivens bounced back, winning the final three games of the road trip, including two shutouts.  The team played extremely well in front of him in the Tampa game.  The Brother and I were close to the goal and Scrivens had a clear, wide-open view of pretty much every shot.  I don't think he actually had to make a difficult save until the third period.  Hopefully he and the team can keep up the good work to minimize the loss of Quick, who won't be back until around Christmas. 

Here are some mostly fuzzy game pics courtesy of my Droid:

Having trouble getting used to the new slogan.  It reminds me of that creepy "We All Have AIDS" celebrity promo from a few years back.  No, we don't.

This idiot was sitting right in front of us at the Calgary game.  Idiot.

A fuzzy look at our Stanley Cup banner.

Our seats this year are right next to the tunnel.  I thought this would enable me to get some wicked shots of the guys headed to the ice.  I was wrong.

I spy a blurry Brown and a blurry Greene.

Blurry Kings Dwight King, Muzzin, Carcillo and Clifford heading out to fight Flames.

The always awesome Bailey decided to make himself at home in our section during the Phoenix game:

Bailey at his typical cheerleading best:

Sitting this close to goal means never having to miss out on fangirling Quick.

"Thank you, oh Hockey Gods, for the immense gifts you have bestowed up me.  I am in fact so very, very worthy."

KINGS WIN!!!  YES THEY DO!!!

Bailey about to greet the three stars of the game: Kopi, King and Doughty.

Pao Gasol of the L.A. Lakers made an appearance the other night and was very gracious about taking pictures with fans.  The crowd roared when they showed him on the jumbo tron.

"Hello,  I am very tall and thin."

Then there was this guy:

This idiot was sitting right in front of us at the Tampa Bay game.  Idiot.

Screening: All About Eve at the Los Angeles Theatre

As part of its annual Last Remaining Seats program, the Los Angeles Conservancy presented the classic All About Eve at the beautifully ornate and historic Los Angeles Theatre on Broadway in Downtown L.A.  Renowned film critic and historian Leonard Maltin introduced the film to the 2,000 strong audience.

All About Eve (Twentieth Century-Fox, 1950)

Starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe and Marilyn Monroe

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the short story 

"The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Sanders), Best Screenplay, Best Costume Design (Black & White) and Best Sound Recording

Also nominated for Best Actress (Davis and Baxter), Best Supporting Actress (Holm and Thelma Ritter), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Black & White), Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography (Black & White) and Best Music/Scoring

Margo Channing (Davis) is a star of the New York theatre.  As introduced by Addison DeWitt (Sanders), she is a great star, a true star.  But she is also a star who has just turned forty years old and that's a problem for an actress, even one as great as Margo.  It doesn't help that Margo's director/boyfriend Bill Sampson (Merrill) is a distantly young thirty-two.

In the midst of all this greatness turns up a mousy, devoted uber-fan who never misses a single Margo Channing performance.  The ever-humble Eve (Baxter) is brought into the golden inner circle of her idol's life by Karen Richards (Holm), the non-industry wife of Lloyd Richards (Marlowe), Margo's go-to playwright.  Eve's tragic life story of a poor, boring existence made meaningful by a small-town theatre company, only to be dashed by the World War II death of Eve's husband touches Margo so much that she takes the waifish fan into her life and home.  The unassuming girl quickly becomes an indisposable friend and assistant.

But as time goes on, Eve makes moves into Margo's personal and professional lives, eventually persuading Karen to pitch her to Margo's producer as the star's new understudy.  By now Margo feels threatened by her youthful charge and things reach an ugly head when Bill returns home from a brief stint in Hollywood during a maudlin party in which Davis as Margo, after arguing with Bill about "the kid" utters the immortal line to her guests: "Fasten your seatbelts.  It's going to be a bumpy night!"

As the story progresses, Eve is revealed to be anything but the humble angel she has presented herself as.  She manages to tear apart both Margo and Bill as well as Karen and Lloyd.  Unable to seduce Bill, Eve moves on to the weaker Lloyd, who she persuades to leave his wife for her, envisioning for them a future as a Broadway super-couple.  However, in her quest for stardom Eve has enrolled the assistance of the deceptively civil but ultimately vicious Broadway critic DeWitt, and he will make her pay for her transgressions with Lloyd Richards.  To DeWitt, he and Eve are cut from the same cloth - ruthlessly ambitious, utterly devoted to the theatre and disdainful of their fellow man, unable to love or be loved, and therefore strangely meant to be together.  The scene where DeWitt rips Eve apart by exposing her true backstory and destroys her ambitions as the future Mrs. Lloyd Richards, followed by him forcing her to admit they are meant to be together is one of the all-time horrifically great scenes ever committed to film.

And I loved it at the end, when Davis uttered the much less famous but no less awesome line to Baxter, "I wouldn't worry about your heart, my dear. You can always put that award where your heart ought to be."  The Los Angeles Theatre erupted in delighted applause.  Take that Eve, you bitch!!!

Some All About Eve facts and trivia:

• Claudette Colbert was originally cast as Margo, but had to drop out after injuring her back shortly before filming began and Davis stepped in.  Other actresses considered for the role included Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, Susan Hayward, Ingrid Bergman, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford and Gertrude Lawrence.  Other actresses considered for Eve included Jeanne Crain, who had just appeared in Mankiewicz's previous film, A Letter To Three Wives, and Donna Reed.
• All About Eve earned fourteen Oscar nominations, the most ever by a motion picture.  This record has never been exceeded and was only equaled decades later by Titanic.
• Tallulah Bankhead was widely considered to be the real-life inspiration for Margo Channing.  While Davis based her performance on the larger-than-life Bankhead, author Mary Orr personally told Bankhead that Margo was not based on her.  Bankhead was reportedly not amused by this news.
• Davis' husky voice was the result of screaming matches with her then-husband, William Sherry, as their marriage was deteriorating.  She fell in love with her co-star Merrill during filming.  Davis and Merrill eventually married and the result was a ten-year roller coaster ride that ended in divorce.  During their marriage they adopted a daughter they named Margot, who was later found to suffer from mental retardation so severe that she was institutionalized.  They also adopted a son, Michael.  Davis' daughter by Sherry, B.D. Sherry (later known by her married name of B.D. Hyman) would go on to write My Mother's Keeper, in which she detailed a chaotic and dysfunctional life with Bette, who disowned her as a result.
• The film was originally titled Best Performance.  The title was changed by Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck, who took the new title from Addison DeWitt's opening monologue.
• Future superstar and icon Marilyn Monroe made one of her early appearances in this film.  She played a ditzy blonde aspiring actress making nice with a producer in the position to help her career.  Other actresses considered for the small role were Angela Lansbury and Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was married to George Sanders at the time.
• Mary Orr's story The Wisdom of Eve was based on a real-life incident involving Austrian stage actress Elisabeth Bergner.  In the short story, which originally appeared in Cosmopolitan in 1946, Eve's exploits are detailed by Karen, who at the end is revealed to be on her way to Reno to obtain a divorce from her playwright-husband, whom Eve has stolen away from her.
• A Broadway musical version of the film, titled Applause, opened in 1970 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.  It ran for almost 900 performances.  Margo was first played by Lauren Bacall; when Bacall left the show she was replaced by Anne Baxter.
• All About Eve has a staggering 100% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

The Los Angeles Theatre is located at 615 Broadway in DTLA, on the same block as Clifton's Cafeteria, which is currently closed for remodeling.  Before the film began we were informed that the family that owns the Los Angeles Theatre also own a couple other historic theatres in the area and they are committed to restoring those to their former glory as well.  The DTLA renaissance hasn't quite made it to Broadway yet, but with the restoration of Clifton's and the old movie houses, hopefully it won't be long until it does.

Some shots of the interior (unfortunately not great quality as I took them with my phone):

Links/sources:
All About Eve on imdb - Joseph L. Mankiewicz on imdb - Bette Davis on imdb - Anne Baxter on imdb - George Sanders on imdb - Celeste Holm on imdb - Gary Merrill on imdb - Hugh Marlowe on imdb - Thelma Ritter on imdb - Marilyn Monroe on imdb - All About Eve on Wikipedia - All About Eve on Rotten Tomatoes - Bette Davis: The Official Site

Trendy = Douchey, at least for L.A. bars

Some of L.A.'s trendiest and most well-known bars made this hilarious list: The 25 Douchiest Bars in Los Angeles.  I have a feeling if I met the list's writer I'd really like him/her.  Someone who loves their booze, loathes pretentious douchebag types and can make me laugh like a hyena?  You are awesome.

Some of my favorite snarky comments from the list:

24. Renee's Courtyard Cafe (Santa Monica) (Patrons) take shots right from the bottle because no one taught them how to drink in public.

22. O'Brien's (Santa Monica) O'Brien's is living proof that if you combine an Irish pub with a beachside sports bar you will create hell on earth.

20. Baja Cantina (Marina del Rey) Baja is overrun with very pretty people with very little substance. You'll find men in tight t-shirts who have trickled down from Muscle Beach alongside actresses/models/singers who forgot to pursue their career because they were wasting their time at Baja on terrible margaritas and said men in tight t-shirts.

19. Dillon's Irish Pub (Hollywood) The all-female staff dresses in slutty Catholic schoolgirl outfits, making it a great place for douchebags of all ages to come get their creep on. Dillon's is not an Irish pub. It's a poor man's Hooters.

17. The Rooftop Bar at The Standard (DTLA) Admittedly, The Rooftop Bar at The Standard has one of the most incredible views you can find in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, someone went and told every pretentious Hollywood asshole in town.

16. SkyBar at The Mondrian (West Hollywood) When SkyBar opened, it was the place to go for anyone in the entertainment business. Although its time in the spotlight has passed, the sleaze lingers. The ladies here are either waiting to be “discovered” or looking for a sugar daddy. There's more L.A. cliché here than even a season of Entourage could contain.

14. The Hudson (West Hollywood) (re: The "straight frat bros" that populate the bar): They're loud.  And they're high-fiving like roofies just became legal.

12. Brennan's Pub (Marina del Rey) You'll leave here feeling so dirty you were even in the same room with these douchebags that the IHOP across the street starts looking like the Four Seasons. 

9. South (Santa Monica) The bros at this Southern themed bar offer the best in vapid conversation and man jewelry. Stay late enough and you can watch these charmers turn into desperate drunken shitshows. The patrons at a real Southern bar handle their liquor with class.

3. Baja Sharkeez (Hermosa Beach) Los Angeles locals have been fleeing Sharkeez over the last few years. This bar has become a haven for naïve L.A. transplants and the South Bay's broiest bros. Frat guys and newly-legal girls love this place for the cheap booze and party-type atmosphere. Everyone else loves this place for rounding up the worst people on Hermosa Pier and keeping them there for the night.

1. Saddle Ranch (West Hollywood) Step aside, every other bar on this list, we've come to the very definition of douchey: Saddle Ranch. This is the bar of the douchebag, by the douchebag, for the douchebag. With the watered-down cocktails, overflowing toilets, and abundance of bedazzled clothing, you have to constantly remind yourself that you're a patron at a bar and not an extra on Jersey Shore. 

Do read the whole thing.  Seriously, as a writer, it made me insanely jealous.  There's nothing like hilariously sarcastic reviews of people, places and things that take themselves sooooo seriously.  I enjoyed this one immensely.

Hat tip to my friend Liz for putting this up on Facebook.

Some observances from The Brother and I from last night's Kings game

The Brother and I invaded Staples Center in person for the fourth time this season and for the fourth time this season did not leave with a victory to show for it.

Some observances:

• Jonathan Quick's birthday sucked.
• Justin Williams looks like a movie star.
• The blimp is cool but was better when it was purple and festooned with a Kings logo instead of advertising.
• We didn't see the first Ghost Rider movie and we aren't seeing the second one.
• The continued lack of Clifford gear for sale in the arena is a massive disappointment to both of us.  Despite The Brother's totally not gay love of Quick, Cliffy is currently his boy and he wants a number 13 jersey.  Which he will apparently have to go to shop.nhl.com for as one cannot be found for sale on the Staples Center premises.  What is up with that?  It's not like the guy just arrived in town.
• We are both sick and tired of seeing Johnson and Doughty pass.  SHOOOOOOOT!!!!!
• We have found the best seats in the arena and no, I'm not telling you where they are. *seasonseatscoughseasonseats*
• There is an awesome sports memorabilia exhibit in the arena that has apparently been there for three years but is so not publicized that we just found it last night for the first time.  And it is awesome.  Someone dropped the ball on making sure the world knows about it.  They have Babe Ruth's fur coat for crying out loud.  The Brother and I: "Eddie Shore!!!..."

Some fuzzy crackberry pics from last night:

The Marriott and Ritz Carlton at sundown.

L.A. Live from the Staples Center balcony.

View of warmups from our awesome seats.

Update: Right after I published this post, I found this on Twitter:

Yeah, he's officially losing it.
 Someone get this man some goals!

On my final day of jury duty...

A couple of shots taken during lunch break of our beautiful and iconic City Hall.