Neverland Ranch as a state park? Officials call it a fairy tale
Posted in Entertainment, News on July 14th, 2010 by admin – Comments Off
Smiling docents, green-clad rangers, music piped in everywhere — for Michael Jackson fans, Neverland State Park would no doubt be a thriller. But state park officials say it’s an idea whose time may never come.
Assemblyman Mike Davis, a Los Angeles Democrat, said Tuesday that he’s going to push for a study of the possibility when the Legislature meets again in August.
Jackson “was one of the world’s preeminent entertainers and California is fortunate to have such a site in its jurisdiction,” said Davis, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism & Internet Media. “It will absolutely be a destination for many who admire music and the performing arts.”
Villaraigosa’s acceptance of tickets raises political issues
Posted in Entertainment, News, Science on June 29th, 2010 by admin – Comments OffLos Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has argued for weeks that his acceptance of free tickets to concerts, awards shows and athletic events is not subject to state gift disclosure law because his attendance is part of his official duties.
Yet beyond the thorny legal issues, Villaraigosa faces a political question: Can he drive a hard bargain with entities that do millions of dollars in business with the city if they are also giving him access to pricey entertainment?
Villaraigosa has been spotted in a box behind home plate singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” with Frank McCourt, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, at one of 15 games he says he attended free of charge since 2005. Yet he and his appointees are also charged with addressing issues involving the stadium and the McCourt-owned Los Angeles Marathon.
Anschutz Entertainment Group confirmed recently that it welcomed the mayor into its own luxury suites at Staples Center and Nokia Theatre — two venues that it owns — during an unknown number of games and concerts. Villaraigosa supported AEG in a recent dustup over billboards and backed its 2005 request for at least $246 million in tax breaks for a hotel at L.A. Live.
Pixar, with ‘Toy Story 3,’ shows increasing reliance on sequels
Posted in Entertainment, News, Video, what on June 17th, 2010 by admin – Comments Off
Pixar Animation Studios, the pioneering digital studio that long prided itself on creating novel stories and characters, is now treading a well-worn Hollywood path.
Three of the company’s next four releases are sequels.
On Friday, Pixar debuts the highly-anticipated third chapter of its popular “Toy Story” saga, to be followed in the next two years by new installments of “Cars” and “Monsters, Inc.” Pixar won’t have another original movie until 2012, when “Brave,” about a young Scottish girl of royal blood who dreams of becoming a champion archer, arrives in theaters.
The surfeit of sequels for a studio that had produced only one —”Toy Story 2″— since its first movie premiered 15 years ago, marks an important turning point for Pixar, which was acquired in 2006 by Walt Disney Co. It also shows how the Northern California-based digital animation pioneer, which has held itself aloof from the grubby realities of Hollywood, is any longer immune from the economic laws of the entertainment marketplace.
