President Joe Biden kicked off a weekend of fundraising activity in Los Angeles Friday night, speaking at an event, which also featured Steven Spielberg and Shonda Rhimes.
As the first Hollywood-centric fundraiser of his reelection campaign, Biden used his time on the stage to call out Donald Trump and explain why he poses the “greatest threat” to democracy.
“This is an incredibly successful night,” the president said at the beginning of his speech, according to the Associated Press, before joking that he didn’t want to talk long because he was “the only thing standing between you and Lenny Kravitz.”
The Grammy-winning singer performed at the event hosted by celebrity interior designer Michael Smith and his partner, James Costos. The latter of whom said earlier that supporters from across the country came to attend the fundraiser: “This is not just a Hollywood gathering, it’s more like a national event.
As the first Hollywood-centric fundraiser of his reelection campaign, Biden used his time on the stage to call out Donald Trump and explain why he poses the “greatest threat” to democracy.
“This is an incredibly successful night,” the president said at the beginning of his speech, according to the Associated Press, before joking that he didn’t want to talk long because he was “the only thing standing between you and Lenny Kravitz.”
The Grammy-winning singer performed at the event hosted by celebrity interior designer Michael Smith and his partner, James Costos. The latter of whom said earlier that supporters from across the country came to attend the fundraiser: “This is not just a Hollywood gathering, it’s more like a national event.
- 12/9/2023
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
An entertainment-industry crowd turned out on Wednesday for the Los Angeles premiere of “Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre,” a controversial 47-minute documentary assembled by the Israeli Defense Forces.
“Witness” features extremely graphic footage from the atrocities committed last month that claimed the lives of 1,400 Israelis and resulted in terrorist group Hamas taking 240 hostages. The images were culled from hundreds of hours of footage retrieved from terrorist body cams, security cameras, victims’ mobile phones and other sources.
Protesters waving Israeli and Palestinian flags gathered outside the Museum of Tolerance, which was under heavy protection by the Los Angeles Police Department, where the screening took place. Multiple fights reportedly broke out outside the event but no arrests were made.
The incident prompted LA Mayor Karen Bass to take to social media to lament the “unacceptable violence,” and called for “unity in our city.”
While organizers took pains to keep the screening under wraps,...
“Witness” features extremely graphic footage from the atrocities committed last month that claimed the lives of 1,400 Israelis and resulted in terrorist group Hamas taking 240 hostages. The images were culled from hundreds of hours of footage retrieved from terrorist body cams, security cameras, victims’ mobile phones and other sources.
Protesters waving Israeli and Palestinian flags gathered outside the Museum of Tolerance, which was under heavy protection by the Los Angeles Police Department, where the screening took place. Multiple fights reportedly broke out outside the event but no arrests were made.
The incident prompted LA Mayor Karen Bass to take to social media to lament the “unacceptable violence,” and called for “unity in our city.”
While organizers took pains to keep the screening under wraps,...
- 11/9/2023
- by Andrew Wallenstein
- Variety Film + TV
After Hollywood studio CEOs met on Friday to recommit to finding a path back to the negotiations with the striking actor and writer guilds, their labor executives redoubled efforts on Monday to come to mutual agreement among themselves.
“Talks have intensified,” acknowledged an individual with knowledge of the conversations. “There’s more activity. The studios are looking to get back – soon.”
Whether “soon” means days or weeks is not yet clear, but it can’t be soon enough for an industry stalled at a full work stoppage as the historic double strike by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America stretched into its third week.
After a punishing two weeks of public shaming by well-known actors from Bryan Cranston to Jane Fonda to Rosario Dawson — who each scolded Hollywood leaders from the picket lines — the studio chiefs seem to have determined they need to find a way back to negotiations.
“Talks have intensified,” acknowledged an individual with knowledge of the conversations. “There’s more activity. The studios are looking to get back – soon.”
Whether “soon” means days or weeks is not yet clear, but it can’t be soon enough for an industry stalled at a full work stoppage as the historic double strike by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America stretched into its third week.
After a punishing two weeks of public shaming by well-known actors from Bryan Cranston to Jane Fonda to Rosario Dawson — who each scolded Hollywood leaders from the picket lines — the studio chiefs seem to have determined they need to find a way back to negotiations.
- 8/1/2023
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
More than 10,000 people are hoping their signatures on a petition will eventually result in higher unemployment benefits for out-of-work crew members and vendors who have been impacted by the strike.
The change.org petition was started by Farah Bunch, a makeup artist who wrote a column for Deadline in May about the strike’s impact on below-the-line workers. She was working on the reboot of Frasier for Paramount+ when the WGA hit the picket line.
“Crew members and vendors in the entertainment industry have been forced out of work for over two months with no end in sight,” Bunch says on the petition. “With SAG now on strike we are facing financial ruin with no opportunity to work. Edd benefits max amounts of $450 a week are not even close to paying something a person can live off of, when an average one bedroom apartment rents for $2,800 a month. We need...
The change.org petition was started by Farah Bunch, a makeup artist who wrote a column for Deadline in May about the strike’s impact on below-the-line workers. She was working on the reboot of Frasier for Paramount+ when the WGA hit the picket line.
“Crew members and vendors in the entertainment industry have been forced out of work for over two months with no end in sight,” Bunch says on the petition. “With SAG now on strike we are facing financial ruin with no opportunity to work. Edd benefits max amounts of $450 a week are not even close to paying something a person can live off of, when an average one bedroom apartment rents for $2,800 a month. We need...
- 7/20/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
As soon as the Writers Guild announced its strike on May 2 over a failure to agree on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued statements to make it clear the work stoppage was top of mind. “Los Angeles relies on a strong entertainment industry that is the envy of the world while putting Angelenos to work in good, middle-class jobs,” Bass said. “I encourage all sides to come together around an agreement that protects our signature industry and the families it supports.”
For his part, Newsom noted that “when called in by both sides we’ll intervene, to the extent both sides are willing and interested in that,” adding that the strike “has profound consequences direct and indirect.” (A week later, President Biden also weighed in, noting that he hoped “the writers are given...
For his part, Newsom noted that “when called in by both sides we’ll intervene, to the extent both sides are willing and interested in that,” adding that the strike “has profound consequences direct and indirect.” (A week later, President Biden also weighed in, noting that he hoped “the writers are given...
- 6/27/2023
- by Gary Baum
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SAG-AFTRA has bought an office building in the San Fernando Valley for $46.6 million that will serve as its new national headquarters. Located at 12020 Chandler Blvd. in North Hollywood, the property features more than 118,000 square feet of commercial office space and includes the building on 1.22 acres and a nearby 0.71-acre vacant lot.
Up until now, SAG-AFTRA has been the only major Hollywood union that didn’t own its own headquarters. The old Screen Actors Guild – and now SAG-AFTRA – hadn’t owned their own national offices for 37 years and have been leasing at two different locations since 1986.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said that “As National President, I began to investigate ways to diversify our investment portfolio and was surprised to learn we were the only entertainment industry union to not own our own headquarters versus paying large rents. After multiple sessions with my Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and CFO Arianna Ozzanto, it...
Up until now, SAG-AFTRA has been the only major Hollywood union that didn’t own its own headquarters. The old Screen Actors Guild – and now SAG-AFTRA – hadn’t owned their own national offices for 37 years and have been leasing at two different locations since 1986.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said that “As National President, I began to investigate ways to diversify our investment portfolio and was surprised to learn we were the only entertainment industry union to not own our own headquarters versus paying large rents. After multiple sessions with my Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and CFO Arianna Ozzanto, it...
- 4/11/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Katy Perry is taking heat for a voting-booth photo she posted to Instagram revealing she cast her Los Angeles Mayoral race vote for billionaire developer Rick Caruso.
“l am voting for a myriad of reasons (see the news) but in particular because Los Angeles is a hot mess atm,” wrote Perry in the post.
Caruso is running as a Democrat in overwhelmingly Blue L.A. County, but he was a registered Republican until recently. Perry, who performed for Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, was quickly and widely criticized for the post, on which the comments were disabled.
In reaction, comedian Travon Free tweeted, “As much as the right try to spin it, Katy Perry voting for Rick Caruso is not an indication of anything other than a rich white woman voting for a fake democrat who will ultimately have no effect on the quality of her life...
“l am voting for a myriad of reasons (see the news) but in particular because Los Angeles is a hot mess atm,” wrote Perry in the post.
Caruso is running as a Democrat in overwhelmingly Blue L.A. County, but he was a registered Republican until recently. Perry, who performed for Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, was quickly and widely criticized for the post, on which the comments were disabled.
In reaction, comedian Travon Free tweeted, “As much as the right try to spin it, Katy Perry voting for Rick Caruso is not an indication of anything other than a rich white woman voting for a fake democrat who will ultimately have no effect on the quality of her life...
- 11/9/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
U.K.-based Wildstar Sales has locked its first sale of Tribeca title “The Perfect David” with specialty distributor Tla Releasing, which has secured rights to the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Ireland.
“The Perfect David” (“El Perfecto David”) world premiered at Tribeca and is described as “a probing depiction of the pressures on a high-school bodybuilder to conform to a perfect image of masculinity.”
The feature debut of Argentine commercials director Felipe Gómez Aparicio, a multiple Cannes Lions winner, who co-wrote it with Leandro Custo, “The Perfect David” turns on 16-year-old David (played by newcomer Mauricio di Yorio) whose mother (Umbra Colombo), a troubled multi-disciplinary artist, demands that he get into perfect shape by the time he turns 17. In his desperate attempt to please his mother, he spends most of his days at a gym and starts taking dangerous steroids. As he spirals further into a cycle of physical and emotional turmoil,...
“The Perfect David” (“El Perfecto David”) world premiered at Tribeca and is described as “a probing depiction of the pressures on a high-school bodybuilder to conform to a perfect image of masculinity.”
The feature debut of Argentine commercials director Felipe Gómez Aparicio, a multiple Cannes Lions winner, who co-wrote it with Leandro Custo, “The Perfect David” turns on 16-year-old David (played by newcomer Mauricio di Yorio) whose mother (Umbra Colombo), a troubled multi-disciplinary artist, demands that he get into perfect shape by the time he turns 17. In his desperate attempt to please his mother, he spends most of his days at a gym and starts taking dangerous steroids. As he spirals further into a cycle of physical and emotional turmoil,...
- 2/15/2022
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was among the tens of thousands at SoFi Stadium on Sunday who decided to doff their masks. A shot of the mayor maskless in his Rams gear at the game began circulating online on Sunday afternoon, prompting criticism from many who pointing out that L.A. County’s mask mandate for outdoor mega-events is still in effect.
The mayor was also seen without his mask at the NFC Championship game two weeks ago at Sofi, after which he said he held his breath while going barefaced to take a photo with Laker great Magic Johnson. That photo, and a similar image of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, became national news in the says after the game.
Deadline Covers The Super Bowl: Ads, Halftime Show, Hollywood Sign Alerterd, Reaction & More
Deadline reached out the the mayor’s office for comment but did not hear back.
LA Mayor...
The mayor was also seen without his mask at the NFC Championship game two weeks ago at Sofi, after which he said he held his breath while going barefaced to take a photo with Laker great Magic Johnson. That photo, and a similar image of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, became national news in the says after the game.
Deadline Covers The Super Bowl: Ads, Halftime Show, Hollywood Sign Alerterd, Reaction & More
Deadline reached out the the mayor’s office for comment but did not hear back.
LA Mayor...
- 2/14/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
U.K.-based Wildstar Sales has acquired world rights to Tribeca world premiere “The Perfect David” (“El Perfecto David”), a probing depiction of the pressures on a high-school bodybuilder to conform to a perfect image of masculinity.
A standout at the 2019’s Ventana Sur, where it was screened in its Copia Final final-cut-stage showcase, “The Perfect David” reps the latest movie from Argentina’s Oh My Gómez!, which broke out to attention with its first movie, Marco Berger’s “Plan B.,” a sales hit at the 2009 inaugural Ventana Sur. Its credits also include “The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet,” Ana Katz’s 2021 Sundance World Cinema player and Rotterdam winner.
“The Perfect David” also marks the feature debut of Argentina’s commercials director Felipe Gómez Aparicio, a multiple Cannes Lions winner who became in one year the world’s 13th most awarded director, according to The Gunn Report, a comprehensive global listing of top advertising talent.
A standout at the 2019’s Ventana Sur, where it was screened in its Copia Final final-cut-stage showcase, “The Perfect David” reps the latest movie from Argentina’s Oh My Gómez!, which broke out to attention with its first movie, Marco Berger’s “Plan B.,” a sales hit at the 2009 inaugural Ventana Sur. Its credits also include “The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet,” Ana Katz’s 2021 Sundance World Cinema player and Rotterdam winner.
“The Perfect David” also marks the feature debut of Argentina’s commercials director Felipe Gómez Aparicio, a multiple Cannes Lions winner who became in one year the world’s 13th most awarded director, according to The Gunn Report, a comprehensive global listing of top advertising talent.
- 7/15/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.