Well that was quick: Cinerama Dome and Arclight to be restored and reopened

Sony didn't waste any time. They've just made it official: they will restore and reopen the Cinerama Dome and the Hollywood Arclight.

 

As I suspected, the Dome needs some work and because of that it will not open until 2028. Alamo Drafthouse, owned by Sony, will turn the now former Arclight into an Alamo Drafthouse.

 

I have to say, it's so good to see a piece of Hollywood/Los Angeles history being preserved instead of razed and replaced by soulless modern construction, which is what usually happens. I may even need to mosey over to Hollywood in 2028. It's been years since I was in either of these theaters.

 

Well done, Sony. 

 

Sony to save the Cinerama Dome and Arclight Hollywood?

Given Los Angeles's propensity for destroying its historic buildings, this is wonderful news: Sony Pictures Looking to Bring Cinerama Dome and Arclight Back to Life. 

 

A few points to consider before I get too excited:

• According to some of the comments, Sony also recently bought the Alamo Drafthouse chain and the commenters didn't seem impressed with what they've done with it, so there's some concern they would do the same thing with the Dome and Arclight.
• Speaking of Arclight, due to its current owners filing for bankruptcy, the name cannot be used in the future, so the Arclight would get a new name (although locals would probably continue to refer to it as the Arclight, at least for a while. I know I would.)
• The theaters have been closed since the COVID shutdown in 2020, so we're probably looking at a lot of work needing to be done, not just a simple reopening. Depending on what it will cost to get them up and running, this could be a deterrent. 

But for now I'm choosing to stay hopeful. Both L.A. and Hollywood could use some good news for a change.

 

Recent reading: "L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood"

L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood

by Anne Soon Choi

This is a terrific look at the career of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, L.A.'s legendary "coroner to the stars". Noguchi was a fixture in local news during my younger years and I'd always heard he'd done amazing work with the L.A. County Coroner's office. He was regarded as a brilliant pathologist by many, but his political savvy and administrative/management skills were lacking. His most fatal flaw, and the one that eventually cost him the job he loved, was developing an affinity for the limelight, and this book doesn't sugar coat how this affected his reputation and career. At times this weakness made him his own worst enemy.

 

Initially shy of it, Noguchi soon succumbed to the lure of the media spotlight, and this (along with administrative issues in the department) would cost him dearly when he was regarded as overstepping the bounds of his position. Beyond establishing causes of death, he would increasingly lay out for the press his interpretations of crime/death scenes, something that irritated the police and DA's office. He also created a badly conceived "reinactment" of one case with cameras in tow. Finally, following the deaths/autopsies of Hollywood legends William Holden and Natalie Wood in which he gave detailed versions of his interpretations of the deaths to the media, the County Board of Supervisors had enough. These issues combined with managerial disarray at the coroner's office, plus Noguchi's increasingly distracting outside endeavors, resulted in the end of his career as L.A.'s coroner.

Among the high-profile cases covered in the book is the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy and the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Holden, and Wood, as well as the Manson Family Murders. The book is also a revealing look at the racism faced by the Japanese-American community in Los Angeles in the 1960's-1980's, especially in terms of their assimilation back into the city following internment in World War II (Noguchi wasn't among them; he emigrated from Japan after the war ended). 

 

Anne Soon Choi is a local historian and college professor, and the notes in her acknowledgement detailing the research she did for this book are as fascinating as the book itself. If you're a fan of L.A. history (especially the time period Noguchi served as coroner) this is well worth your time. Highly recommended. Disclaimer: I bought this book directly from Anne when she was signing at the Sisters in Crime L.A. booth at the L.A. Times Festival of Books in April and she was kind enough to sign it for me.

From the book:

With the investigation in its early stages, Noguchi refrained from any speculation. As the chief coroner, his job was to report the cause of death and let the investigation move forward. Subsequently, Noguchi's "perfect autopsy" of Kennedy would become the standard in forensic science and vault him into national prominence in the field.

Recent Reading: "Brothers"

 

Brothers by Alex Van Halen

 

I saw Alex Van Halen interviewed online when this book was released and was blown away by how introspective he was. I'm old enough to remember when Van Halen was at the peak of their David Lee Roth-era heights, and they lived the rock star lifestyle to the hilt. While so many classic rockers never seem to mature past that part of their life, trying to recreate the old magic in their twilight years, Alex Van Halen seems content to rest on his laurels. One reason for that is that he understands that part of his life is in the past in ways that other rockers can't seem to let go of. Another reason he's done is loss of his brother and lifetime bandmate, guitar legend Edward Van Halen, who died in 2020.

Brothers tells the story of Van Halen's rise to superstardom, as well as the story of the two inseparable brothers who started the band and gave it its name. It starts with their early childhood in Holland, through their relocation to Pasadena, California, and particularly the importance of music in their family and upbringing. Their father was a musician and their mother wanted her sons to continue the family tradition as classical musicians. Alex also doesn't hold back on the prevalence of alcohol in their household and its later effects on him and Eddie ("I had my first drink when I was six - schnapps; my dad gave it to me.")

The book then covers how they went from immigrants who arrived not knowing any English to international rock stars, from their development as a band (those guys spent years paying their dues), their signing by Warner Bros. Records, the recording of their first five albums (Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Diver Down) and their wild adventures on tour.

Lead singer David Lee Roth could be a maddening combination of brilliant performer and raging egomaniac. Alex is effusive in his praise for Roth being the frontman Van Halen needed to move up to an elite level. He also gave Roth props for inviting their father, Jan Van Halen, to play clarinet on "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now") on Diver Down. Ditto for Roth's support in changing the band's name from Mammoth to the more unique Van Halen. 

 

But he also doesn't shy away from pointing out Roth's ego and need for attention, and the sometimes negative effect it had on the band. Still, Alex was badly upset when Roth left Van Halen because a band is a family and in the Van Halen household, you always stick with family. "It was the most disappointing thing I'd experienced in my life, the thing that seemed the most wasteful and unjust. Until I lost my brother." Still, one of the biggest surprises of the book was this: "Dave was the first guy I called after Ed passed, the first guy I wanted to talk to. Just out of mutual respect for what we had done together with my brother..." I think a lot of fans didn't even realize the Van Halens were still on speaking terms with Roth at that point. I certainly wasn't.

Bassist Michael Anthony, who wasn't mentioned once in Alex's interview, is also given short shrift here. I guess that's what you get for being the steady guy who doesn't bring the drama. But Alex does credit him for the incredible harmonies he had with Ed that became a staple of Van Halen's sound. I did find it was hilarious to learn that Van Halen played at Anthony's wedding. They were one of the biggest bands in the world and they played his wedding. Membership has its privileges, I guess.

 

And of course there is a lot about Ed, his musical brilliance, and the sensitivity that rendered him more susceptible to intoxicants than his older brother, who unlike Ed was eventually able to put those bad habits behind him. But in spite of his love for his brother, Alex also takes him to task when necessary, taking exception to Ed's claim that his mouth cancer issues were due to holding metal picks in his mouth, rather than his heavy smoking habit. He also wasn't thrilled when Ed decided to play his iconic guitar solo on Michael Jackson's "Beat It", because not only did he object to Ed's time, energy, and focus being taken away from Van Halen, it also set a precedent for Roth to do the solo work that contributed to his split from the band.

 

There's a lot of reminiscing and you really feel the overwhelming loss Ed's death has on Alex. They were probably as close of siblings as you could ever find. This is a wonderful, heartfelt memoir, and I highly recommend it. 

 

From the book:

I know I'll see you again. And we'll jam for hours - for days. That was always our most intense from of intimacy, and you never, ever pulled rank. You never said - or even thought - "You're just the drummer, Al, and I'm the world's greatest guitarist, so we're doing it my way." We were equals, and you never forgot that. We supported each other unconditionally, no matter how much we fought. We were a team.

 

We were brothers. We're still brothers. Even death can't change that.

RIP Fernando Valenzuela

There was a time when I was a huge Dodgers fan. I'd been raised a Dodgers fan by my father and grandmother. I haven't really cared about baseball for years (decades) and I don't give a rat's ass about the Dodgers making it into the World Series this week. But there was a time, many Dodgers lineups ago, when I bled Dodger blue and that included the Fernandomania era.

So God damn, this one hurts: Fernando Valenzuela dies at 63.

What I remember about Fernandomania was that as I was stuck commuting in traffic on L.A. freeways after yet another day at yet another crappy office job, the bright spot in my day was listening to the Dodgers games on the radio on the way home. The commute was made bearable when Vin Scully would announce, "It's time for Dodger baseball!" And I remember that Fernando would pitch himself into ridiculous holes and then proceed to pitch his way right out of them, while I sweated his flirting with disaster in my car in traffic. It's an old memory, but one I've never forgotten and will never forget.

Credit

Recently I'd seen something online about Valenzuela being ill, but couldn't find any news about it, so I figured he'd be okay. The announcement of his passing popped up on Facebook tonight and I wasn't expecting that at all. Just horrible news for Angelenos, Dodgers fans or not. Valenzuela was a huge part of life in L.A. in the 1980's and now another part of that awesome decade is gone.

His presence on the Dodgers along with his amazing accomplishments on the mound were huge for the Mexican-American community in Los Angeles, but as someone who is about as lily white as they come, I can assure you it wasn't just that community that loved him. He was universally loved by Los Angeles and will be universally mourned and missed. 

RIP #34 and condolences to your family and friends from a fan from a long time ago.

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.

When California was the (fake) world

This turned up on Lost Angeles on FB, and it's so cool!

 

 

Look, I live in Venice, Italy!

My FOB haul

Last weekend marked the first time I got back to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books since I don't know when (pre-COVID?) and I think I actually used some restraint in buying books, especially on Day 1 when the only book I bought was the Mike Farrell autobiography.

 

The haul:

 

• Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist by Mike Farrell
• Behind the Door: The Dark Truths and Untold Stories of the Cecil Hotel by Amy Price (she was on an L.A. based panel and worked at the Cecil Hotel for ten years, including during the Elisa Lam disappearance)
• The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels by Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans (also from the L.A. panel) 

And from the discount bookstore:

• The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard by John Birdsall
• Let Me Feed You: Everyday Recipes Offering the Comfort of Home by Rosie Daykin 
• Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon (I usually don't go for celebrity cooking/lifestyle books, but the aesthetics of this one snagged me)

 

I tried to get an autographed copy of David Mamet's Everywhere an Oink Oink after seeing him interviewed, but the bookstore sold out before I could grab one. Bummer.

 

It was really good to get back to the FOB. Next year's festival is April 26-27, 2025 at USC and is the 30th anniversary. Looking forward to it!

I was today years old when I found out there was a Tower Records in Marina del Rey

Never knew. It's a DSW Shoe Warehouse now. 

Spent a lot of time and money at the West Covina location back in the day.

End of an era in L.A.

RIP, Larry H. Parker, TV advertiser/lawyer extraordinaire.

 

 

Parker was well known to Angelenos for his spots that had clients boasting about the millions he got for them and how he'll fight for you. I'm not sure how seriously we took them, but that doesn't change the fact that he and his in-yo-face commercials were part of our Angeleno world and if he and his firm really did have a 95% success rate, more power to them.

RIP sir.

Recent reading: "Love Me Fierce in Danger"

 

Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy by Steven Powell

 

This is an in-depth look at the never-a-dull-moment life of legendary Los Angeles-born author James Ellroy.

 

We get a lot of background on Ellroy's childhood, including the notorious unsolved murder of his mother, as well as his father's experience as a minor player in Hollywood. It was an upbringing that led to a dissolute young adulthood, but props to Ellroy for figuring out by his late twenties that he needed to get sober and straighten himself out. It was this discipline that would eventually make him a successful and prolific writer.

 

On the other hand, Ellroy's behavior and treatment of people has often been cruel and brutal, and discussion of these instances are frequently followed by statements from friends that in spite of this, Ellroy can be sweet, gentle, and generous. But the book makes clear is that in addition to being a brilliant writer, as a person Ellroy can be difficult to deal with. It seems that to his friends, he's worth the difficulty. This includes the many women who have been a part of his life (no joke, you'd need a spreadsheet to keep them all straight).

What Powell could have gotten more in-depth on was the novels themselves. My personal favorite, L.A. Confidential, gets a surprising short shrift considering that it's one of Ellroy's most well-known. What surprised me the most was learning that Ellroy's shocking criticism (contrary to the praise he heaped on it when it was released) of the film version of this novel didn't just start at last year's L.A. Times Festival of Books (the first time I'd heard of it) but shortly after director Curtis Hanson's 2016 death. At one film festival, hosted by Noir Czar Eddie Muller, he lashed out at Hanson, insulted the film, then headed home, leaving Muller to deal with the fallout from shocked festival attendees.

 

I was also surprised to learn how much of Ellroy's adult life was spent outside L.A., with time in Denver, Kansas City, Connecticut, and Carmel-by-the-Sea. I'd heard he's moved out of L.A. at times, but didn't realize how much of his life has been spent away from it.

Written with Ellroy's cooperation, this is about as a comprehensive and official bio of the author that we're likely to get. The book's title comes from the closing line of Ellroy's 1992 novel White Jazz, the fourth book in his L.A. Quartet.

From the book:

L.A. Confidential began principal photography in May 1996. Ellroy visited the set and witnessed the filming of a scene in which Bud White rescues a bound and gagged Inez Soto from her kidnappers. Ellroy developed a rapport with the main cast, with the exception of Kevin Spacey, describing him as "a venomous individual" and James Cromwell who he regarded as "aloof and imperious". Ellroy shared many of Milchan's concerns about the casting. He looked at the cast and saw people who did not look or sound like the characters he had created on the page. Helgeland recalls that during one rehearsal an actor disagreed with Hanson about how to play a scene and even brought an "expert" on set to prove his point. "Curtis disappeared for a moment and returned with a phone. He said to the actor 'Here's my expert' and passed him the phone". Ellroy chewed the actor out over the phone, who then sheepishly agreed to play the scene the way Hanson wanted.

Update: Love Me Fierce in Danger is an Edgar Award nominee in the Best Critical/Biographical category.

Updated 5/1/24: Love Me Fierce in Danger is now an Edgar Award winner! Congratulations to author Steven Powell.

Wayfarer's Chapel closed

This is devastating news for locals - historic Wayfarer's Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes had to be closed suddenly due to land movement.

They're refunding weddings that were scheduled, so it doesn't sound like they think they'll be able to reopen any time soon. I feel bad for the brides and grooms, but loss of this beautiful place would be a huge blow to all of Los Angeles. I really hope they can save it.

Full story here.

A fond farewell to a Los Angeles legend and another part of my L.A. youth/early adulthood is gone forever

95.5, KLOS!!!

Legendary Los Angeles radio DJ Jim Ladd has passed away and taken a huge chunk of L.A. music history and life with him.

This one really hurts. Can someone please invent a time machine so I can go back to the 80's? ASAP, please!

 

The mighty MET.

 

Jim Ladd, high in the Hollywood Hills ;) As we all should be, forever.

43 Years Ago Today: The Murder of John Lennon

 

 

Crazy it's been so long. I still remember when this happened. Can't even remember which crappy office job I was working at the time, but I called in sick the next day. I drove all over trying to find newspapers but they were all sold out.

My Mom saw the Beatles in concert at the Hollywood Bowl and Dodger Stadium back in the day. She had programs from those concerts but back in the 80's they disappeared thanks to my druggie sister, who snicked them for drugs or drug money (and not the only things she stole). 

 

A couple decades after my Mom saw the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, I saw Monty Python there. Full circle.

Recent reading: "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger"

 

The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger: The Inside Story of California's First Drive-Thru and How It Became a Beloved Cultural Icon 

by Lynsi Snyder

 

It may sound weird (especially if you've never had the pleasure of eating at In-N-Out) but one of the best things about being a Californian - especially in this sorry age of the not-so-Golden State - is the ability to claim the In-N-Out Burger chain as our own. 

Lynsi Snyder had the great fortune to be the only In-N-Out heir born into her generation and after her uncle, father, and grandparents passed away, she inherited the successful and beloved chain while only in her twenties. Now forty-one, she has stepped up and grabbed the baton, continuing the high standards set by previous generations and has led In-N-Out to even greater growth than ever imagined, and without any compromise. After reading this book, I have a great deal of admiration for her. She works hard, she works smart, she holds herself to high standards, and she doesn't let it overwhelm her. If you check out her social media, you'll find someone who is having a blast and living her best life.

 

Lynsi repeatedly praises the In-N-Out workers (known as associates) and the customers, always giving them credit for the continued success of the company. Before I even finished this book, not only was I craving their food, but also found myself wondering why I never applied to work there. My first-ever real job as an unskilled sixteen-year-old was at McDonald's, which is the perfect place for someone unskilled and inexperienced. It was actually pretty good training. But In-N-Out is on another planet in terms of how they train, treat, pay, and promote their associates. The examples of In-N-Out's beyond the call of duty way of doing things are too numerous for a blog post - read the book and learn.

To her credit, Lynsi also addresses some of the issues that have plagued her family, including drugs and abuse, her ill-advised early and unsuccessful marriages, and she does it simply, without apology, and with grace. She is currently in a happy, healthy place, and has become the great leader that In-N-Out needed after losing both members of the second Snyder generation before their time, leaving the company in a potentially vulnerable position. She has also dedicated her company and herself to multiple non-profit organizations that combat against and aid victims of child abuse, substance abuse, and human trafficking.

Snyder has four children of her own and I imagine they are being groomed to continue the glory that is In-N-Out Burger without compromise for generations to come. And that is great news for Californians and fans of great burgers, amazing service, and high quality food. 

From the book:

Together with my team, I began studying our menu on the most intricate level to see if we could improve quality even more, making items better and healthier. We discovered a number of practices we were using were outdated. For instance, we worked with all our bakers to remove calcium propionate (a mold inhibitor) in our buns and replaced it with natural enzymes. With our chilis and pickles, we removed artificial Yellow 5 and replaced the additive with natural turmeric. In our strawberry shake syrup we removed artificial Red 40 and replaced it with natural fruit juice. In our vanilla shake we removed ethyl vanillin and replaced it with natural vanilla. In all our shakes and lemonade we cut out high fructose corn syrup and replaced it with natural sugar.

 

September Words of Wisdom

Slow month...

 

There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness. --Edgar Allan Poe

 

Everybody has these grandiose dreams and these daydreams about success and fame and power, and I always say winning never visits you in your daydreams. It sees you in your nightmares. --Unknown

 

And finally...

Personally, I dig this shit...Noir is the most scrutinized offshoot of the hard-boiled school of fiction. It's the long drop off the short pier, and the wrong man and the wrong woman in perfect misalliance. It's the nightmare of flawed souls with big dreams, and the precise how and why of the all-time sure thing that goes bad. Noir is opportunity, it's fatality, social justice as a sanctified shuck, and sexual love as a one-way ticket to hell. --James Ellroy Note: I'm currently taking a film noir class, and check out this (which is where this quote came from): LA Film Noir: The Capital of Hollywood's Most Pessimistic Era.

Recent reading: "Clark and Division"

 Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara 

 

I scored this critically acclaimed novel in my book bag at California Crime Writers, and since Naomi Hirahara was attending, I was also able to get it signed! 

In Clark and Division, young Aki Ito relates the story of her family - her parents and her adored older sister Rose. The young women are Nisei, first generation American-born children of Japanese immigrants in pre-World War II Los Angeles. Their father is a grocery manager and despite sometimes experiencing discrimination, Aki and Rose have a pretty content life in California. That is until Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor propels the United States into World War II.

The Ito family spends time at Manzanar before being re-settled in Chicago. Rose precedes her family to the windy city by a few months, but when the rest of the Itos arrive they are greeted with horrific news: Rose is dead, having just been hit by a subway car in the Clark and Division Station. 

Having always existed contently in Rose's beautiful, sophisticated shadow, Aki is not only devastated by her sister's death but also compelled to investigate it. When the coroner, who has ruled Rose's death a suicide, informs Aki that her sister recently underwent a highly illegal abortion, she is even more determined to find out what happened and to prove that Rose wouldn't have taken her own life. What follows is a determined journey in which Aki blooms from the mousy, subservient sister into a smart, beautiful, and relentless woman fearlessly taking on the mystery of her sister's brief life in Chicago even when it puts her in dangerous situations, while also dealing with the brutally unfair hand that life has dealt her and her Japanese-American family and community. And she does it with admirable grace and strength.

 

The story sucks you in and I just devoured this book. One thing that really stood out to me was that in addition to Aki, the large number of supporting characters are so well fleshed out. Each is a unique individual with their own voice. While Aki is compelling, she is also surrounded by a colorful cast that rings true.

I didn't realize it until now, but Clark and Division is the first of a series featuring Aki. The second, Evergreen, will be released in August and I'm looking forward to reading more about the life and times of Aki Ito.

Recent reading: "In-N-Out Burger"

 

In-N-Out Burger:

A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules

by Stacy Perman

This is a wonderfully comprehensive story of the legendary Southern California-born burger chain that has remained family-owned through three generations. Founded in Baldwin Park in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder, the first In-N-Out was a modest operation that grew into a beloved institution that has always kept food quality and exceptional service at the forefront of its operations, while resisting pressure or temptation to take the path of franchising or going public as other successful chains have done, often to their detriment.

The Snyders had a simple philosophy of offering great food and service while treating their associates (as In-N-Out has always referred to their employees) like family. Well paid and often staying with the company for years, associates start at the bottom and are given ample opportunity to move up through the ranks; in fact, In-N-Out prefers home grown talent.

 

A large part of In-N-Out's history has to do with the California car culture. Snyder was one of the first to utilize the concept of the drive-through lane. As the company grew, stores were strategically located near on- and off-ramps as Southern California's notorious freeway system expanded over the years. It wasn't until the 1990's when they began opening in more urban areas beginning with an In-N-Out in Westwood by UCLA. 

 

Harry and Esther had two sons: Harry Jr. (known as Guy) and Rich. Harry developed a love for auto racing and speed in general leading to a 1970's motorcycle crash, the injuries of which would lead to a prescription drug addiction that would eventually kill him. Rich, considered the more mature and business-like of the two brothers, took over as the head of In-N-Out when Harry Snyder passed away in 1976. When Rich died in a private plane crash just before Christmas 1993, he had expanded the chain from 18 to 93 locations while maintaining the dedication to quality established by his parents.

After Rich's death Guy took over with Esther, who would survive until 2006, at his side. Although he had held a Vice President title, by this time Guy's drug-abuse had sidelined him from pretty much any In-N-Out activities and Rich was in the process of buying him out altogether. But since the paperwork hadn't been signed, Guy was still in. He kept In-N-Out's limited expansion and high standards in place by basically following the blueprint developed by Rich. Guy was devoted to the family business, but continued to struggle with drug addiction and no one seemed to be able to force him to face up to his demons. As a result his health deteriorated and he died of heart failure brought on by his drug abuse in 1999, and since Rich had died childless, Guy's daughter Lynsi became the sole heir to In-N-Out Burger.

 

One thing I didn't notice until I finished the book is that it was published in 2010, so there's been a lot of In-N-Out growth since then. And yet the company still remains in the hands of the Snyder family, still offers great food and service, and remains a beloved Southern California icon with a fanatically devoted following. I'd love to see a more updated version. If you decide to purchase the book, look for the 2010 paperback that includes an update to the original 2009 edition.

The book begins with coverage of an April 2007 opening of the first In-N-Out Burger in Tucson, Arizona, describing the frenzy that accompanied the store's first day of operations as fans descended on it, then tells the story of Harry and Esther and their little burger stand from the beginning. It's a terrific read about the power of family, integrity, and hard work, with some local Southern California history as a backdrop of the story. Just a warning, though: this book will make you crave In-N-Out.

From the book:

One of In-N-Out's most successful marketing strategies came in the form of bumper stickers. In Southern California, starting in the early 1980's, placing an In-N-Out sticker on the back of one's car signified membership in a peculiar sort of club; all along the freeways, horns were honked, thumbs were raised, and head were tipped in recognition.

 

At one point, it became common practice among young men across the Southland to excise the "B" and "R" from the word B-U-R-G-E-R, modifying the sticker to read "IN-IN-OUT URGE"; the clean-cut company was not amused. As a result, the chain discontinued the original sticker and printed up a new one. This time a well-placed image of a Double-Double was placed on the spot where the word "burger" once stood.

 

LOL, I remember those IN-N-OUT URGE stickers...

 

Not gonna lie, this is disappointing

I was thinking about going back to the L.A. Times Festival of Books this year for the first time since The Plague shut things down in 2020, but I ended up home this weekend working on school assignments. 

 

One reason I wanted to go (in addition to hitting up the discount booksellers and adding about a dozen more books I don't need to the "will I ever get around to reading this" pile) was learning that legendary Los Angeles writer James Ellroy would be present. I've been a fan of his work for years, especially both the novel and film version of L.A. Confidential. Now I'm glad I missed it: James Ellroy Says He Can Now Disparage Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential" Adaptation. Not gonna lie, I was stunned to read this.

When L.A. Confidential was released in 1997 Ellroy was very active in promoting it. I remember him saying that the book and the film adaption both stood on their own successfully, like two sides of the same coin. I even wrote a paper about the adaptation in a film class in the early 2000's using examples of the differences between the novel and film, characters and subplots that were reduced or eliminated, and I remember reading quotes from Ellroy praising the adaptation. In fact, I particularly remember a comment in which, having sold the rights to the novel to Warner Bros., Ellroy said that he and his agent considered it unadaptable and as a result I titled the paper "Adapting the Unadaptable". But it turned out that Ellroy and his agent were wrong.

 

While researching the paper, I don't remember seeing one negative comment from Ellroy about the film, director Curtis Hanson, the script adaptation by Hanson and Brian Helgeland (for which they earned a well-deserved Academy Award), or the stellar acting. Kim Basinger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of elegant call girl Lynn Bracken and the film introduced American audiences to Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe, thank you very much. The film also earned nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Art/Set Direction, Sound, Film Editing, and Original Dramatic Score, all of which were lost to Titanic. I've seen it mentioned multiple times over the years that if L.A. Confidential had been released in any other year than Titanic, it would have dominated its Oscars, something I happen to agree with. In fact, what I find interesting that despite ruling the Academy Awards that year, there was one category in which James "King of the World" Cameron's epic failed to score even a nomination: that of screenplay.

Adapting a novel into a film or TV show is an art form completely separate than writing a novel or an original screenplay, or developing an original television series. There's different expectations from readers and viewers. Just one example - if I'm reading a novel, I don't expect to get through it in one sitting. It doesn't feel odd to stop at some point and return to it later. With a film, on the other hand, the theater experience expectation is that you'll sit through the whole thing without interruption. Even viewing at home, if you stop watching partway through, there's a good chance it's because the film isn't meeting your expectations or attention sufficiently to stick with it. And television is a whole other animal because you have to take a limited story and figure out how to stretch it over a number of seasons/years.

Another thing to consider is that despite several efforts, the Hanson/Helgeland version of L.A. Confidential is the only adaptation that was successful. An HBO pilot that more closely followed the novel was produced in 2003 (with Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Vincennes and Eric Roberts as Pierce Patchett) but failed to receive an order to series. Another unsuccessful attempt was made by CBS in 2019, with Walt Goggins as Vincennes. In fact, of all the Ellroy works that have been filmed, not one has been anywhere near as successful as L.A. Confidential. I don't know why, after all these years, he felt the need to disparage the 1997 version and the filmmakers who were so passionate about it. 

I'm glad I wasn't in that Festival of Books audience - it would have been shocking and depressing to have to listen to Ellroy rip on such fine work and the amazing people involved in producing one of my all-time favorite films based on one of my all-time favorite novels. Even worse that Ellroy mentioned Hanson's death as a reason to express his displeasure with the film twenty-five years after the fact. Maybe Ellroy should have followed his own advice, taken the high road, and kept this particular opinion (in the immortal words of Sid Hudgens), "Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush." 

Updated 4/25/23: Check out the comments in this thread. I'm not the only one who thinks L.A. Confidential is an all-time great.

Another great one gone - RIP Vin Scully

Vin Scully, long-time voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, died yesterday at the age of 94. It was a life well-lived, but also a tough loss for Los Angeles, where Scully was a legend and part of the soundtrack of so many Angeleno childhoods and lives, including mine. It's been years since I've watched a Dodgers game, but I can still hear Scully's voice in my head announcing, "It's time for Dodger baseball!"

Part of Scully's appeal was that in addition to being one of the very best at what he did, he was also a class act. I have literally never heard a negative word about him. A devout Catholic, he credited his faith and his work in surviving the premature deaths of his first wife and his eldest son. His second wife, to whom he was married for 48 years, passed away last year. 94 years is a good, long life, but the world is a poorer place without Vin in it.

This article on mlb.com has some great vids of some of Scully's many finest moments in the broadcast booth.

"You and I have been friends for a long time, but I know in my heart that I've always needed you more than you've ever needed me, and I'll miss our time together more than I can say. But you know what? There will be a new day and eventually a new year. And when the upcoming winter gives way to spring, rest assured, once again it will be "time for Dodger baseball." So this is Vin Scully wishing you a very pleasant good afternoon, wherever you may be." (Vin Scully's signoff after his final game.)