Los Angeles Local – Morning Dailies

Kurt The Cyberguy Wins Big Bucks In Long Legal Battle With KTLA; Tribune To Appeal

Nearly six years is an eon in the digital world, but after first filing a breach-of-contract and age-discrimination suit against KTLA-TV and owner Tribune Media back in early 2013, the man once widely known in SoCal and around America as Kurt the Cyberguy got a multimillion-dollar 2.0 reset from a jury. After just three hours of deliberation Thursday, a collection of Kurt Knutsson's peers in Los Angeles Superior Court awarded the TV tech personality just over $3.9 million…

Stan Lee Public Memorial Celebration Being Planned By His POW! Entertainment

Comics icon Stan Lee was laid to rest earlier this week in a private funeral, but his POW! Entertainment company is planning a large public celebration of his life and legacy, according to a Twitter tweet. “Stan was always adamant that he did not want a large public funeral, and as such his family has conducted a private closed ceremony in accordance with his final wishes. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with him,” read a statement released from POW…

Some Malibu Areas, Roads Reopened After Woolsey Fire Evacs

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has opened several Malibu areas affected by the Woolsey Fire. The areas are open as of 5:30 PM today.
The following areas inside of the impacted fire area are now opened:
This will include the following areas…

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has opened several Malibu areas affected by the Woolsey Fire. The areas are open as of 5:30 PM today. The following areas inside of the impacted fire area are now opened: This will include the following areas of Las Virgenes Road / Malibu Canyon Road: o Malibu City limit (south) o Mulholland Highway (north) o EXCEPTION: A traffic closure remains in effect to westbound traffic on Mulholland Highway from Malibu Canyon Road The…

AMPAS Governors Awards Red Carpet Limited Because Of California Wildfires

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to “scale back” its Sunday red carpet event at the Governors Awards because of the devastating wildfires in California. “In light of the tragic wildfires burning through California, we have decided to scale back our red carpet at the Governors Awards this year, making it exclusively photos only,” said an AMPAS spokesperson. “The dinner and ceremony will continue in order to honor the achievements of these artists…

NBC Opens Submissions For 2019-2020 Scripted Directing Programs

NBC has issued a call for submissions for the 2019-20 classes of its scripted directing programs, Female Forward and the Emerging Director Program.
Both pipeline programs are designed to increase diverse representation in episodic directing. Female For…

NBC has issued a call for submissions for the 2019-20 classes of its scripted directing programs, Female Forward and the Emerging Director Program. Both pipeline programs are designed to increase diverse representation in episodic directing. Female Forward aims to achieve gender parity in the director's chair, while the Emerging Director Program focuses on ethnically diverse men and gender non-binary talent. They are both part of the tent pole initiatives within the NBC Ta…

‘This Is Us’ Pays Tribute To Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Victims Tonight

As America still reels from the massacre in Pittsburgh this past weekend This Is Us paid an homage to the city where much of the Dan Fogelman created series takes place. At the end of Tuesday’s “Kamsahamnida” episode on NBC, a titled card went up addressing the murder of 11 people in the Tree of Life synagogue on October 27. Now facing the death penalty, suspect Robert Bowers’ vile action was the worst concentrated case of anti-semitism in American history. Executive…

UCLA Buys Crest Theater, Will Become The Nimoy Theater Honoring Leonard Nimoy

The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture and its performing arts program, the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, has acquired the Crest Theater on Westwood Boulevard. The landmark venue will be transformed into a new off-campus performing arts space that will serve as an important addition to UCLA's cultural venues and resources across the city. UCLA's purchase of the long-dormant theater was made possible by major gifts from actor, writer and director Susan…

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti Enhances Synagogue Security In Wake Of Pittsburgh Shootings

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has sent out a tweet assuring the local Jewish community that city police are enhancing security around local Synagogues in the wake of the Pittsburgh mass shooting. Garcetti said that the LAPD would step up patrols and has reached out to community leaders to address any concerns in the wake of the incident. He said the Pittsburgh incident has no specific connection to anything in Los Angeles. No nexus to LA if the shooting in…

Robert Durst, HBO Miniseries Subject, Must Stand Trial For Friend’s Murder

Robert Durst, who famously may have confessed to a murder on an HBO documentary, will have to stand trial for the 2000 slaying of his best friend, writer Susan Berman. A judge ruled Thursday there is enough evidence for Durst to stand trial. Durst is charged with shooting Berman in the back of the head at her Benedict Canyon home. Durst, age 75 ,was the subject of HBO’s The Jinx, a miniseries examining his wife's disappearance, Berman's death, and the killing of Durst…

Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke Talks TV, Film Biz At USC Forum

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, who oversees film and series for the streaming service, isn’t shoveling dirt on broadcast TV.
“I don’t think that it’s on its deathbed,” said Salke, speaking today at the Gould School of Law’s Institute o…

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, who oversees film and series for the streaming service, isn’t shoveling dirt on broadcast TV. "I don't think that it's on its deathbed," said Salke, speaking today at the Gould School of Law’s Institute on Entertainment Law and Business, a media summit at the University of Southern California. "I think it is evolving quickly. But I still believe, knowing the amount of people we were reaching at NBC, that there's a huge audience that…

APA Promotes Bhargava, Nahai And Heller To Agents In Talent Department

APA has promoted Varun Bhargava, John Nahai, and Kris Heller to agents in the Talent Department. All three were agent trainees in APA’s Agent Training Program.
Their positions are effective immediately, it was jointly announced today by partners and t…

APA has promoted Varun Bhargava, John Nahai, and Kris Heller to agents in the Talent Department. All three were agent trainees in APA's Agent Training Program. Their positions are effective immediately, it was jointly announced today by partners and talent department co-heads, Ryan Martin and Jim Osborne, to whom they all report. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Bhargava is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he earned a degree in economics. He began his…

Cartoon Network, Black Women Animate Set Boot Camp

Cartoon Network has partnered with Black Women Animate (BWA) to host the production company’s first-ever Boot Camp Training Day on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank.
What’s described as an intensive training day will provide…

Cartoon Network has partnered with Black Women Animate (BWA) to host the production company's first-ever Boot Camp Training Day on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank. What’s described as an intensive training day will provide BWA's collective members and extended community the opportunity to develop and enhance their animation skills through a series of master classes and panels with industry leaders. The event will kick off with a conversation…

E! People’s Choice Awards Finalists Set – Voting Open Through Oct. 19

The finalist voting for the E! People’s Choice Awards is underway through Oct. 19. The results will determine the winner in each of 43 categories for the Nov. 11 awards. Fans can vote using various methods, including online at pca.eonline.com, through Facebook and Twitter, as well as Xfinity and Google search option. Fans can vote up to 25 times per method, per category, per day if they vote via online, Facebook and Twitter. For Google search, users must be logged into…

FFFest Brings Female Perspective On Filmmaking To Downtown Los Angeles

The all-female FFFest, the Female Filmmakers Festival, has set its inaugural lineup, highlighted by the world premiere of Maverick, directed by Cara Stricker.
The three-day screening and talk series will celebrate accomplished female filmmakers and emp…

The all-female FFFest, the Female Filmmakers Festival, has set its inaugural lineup, highlighted by the world premiere of Maverick, directed by Cara Stricker. The three-day screening and talk series will celebrate accomplished female filmmakers and empower women who want to break into the industry. It will take place at The Downtown Independent in Los Angeles October 12-14 and hopes to provide guidance, resources, and community for women filmmakers aspiring to break into…

Matthew Perry Gets Online Sympathy After Revealing Health Issue

An outpouring of sympathy has taken over Twitter, as Friends star Matthew Perry revealed in a tweet that he’s spent the last three months in a hosptal bed.
Perry tweeted on Friday: “Three months in a hospital bed. Check.” Earlier info…

An outpouring of sympathy has taken over Twitter, as Friends star Matthew Perry revealed in a tweet that he’s spent the last three months in a hosptal bed. Perry tweeted on Friday: “Three months in a hospital bed. Check.” Earlier information from his representative revealed he underwent surgery to repair a gastrointestinal perforation. He is 49 years old, and no updates on why the surgery required the extensive hospital stay was revealed. “He is grateful for the…

Emmys See Big Drone Debut As Security Techs Up For Monday’s Ceremony

EXCLUSIVE: If the atmosphere inside the 70th Primetime Emmys on Monday could be heavy on the multi-nominated Game of Thrones, outside the Microsoft Theater, the security buzzwords this year will be drones, more drones and even more drones.

“New techno…

EXCLUSIVE: If the atmosphere inside the 70th Primetime Emmys on Monday could be heavy on the multi-nominated Game of Thrones, outside the Microsoft Theater, the security buzzwords this year will be drones, more drones and even more drones. "New technology offers new opportunities and we plan to utilize drones in a greater capacity this year that ever before for Monday's ceremony," a prominent law enforcement source told Deadline of the procedures in place for the Emmys…

Beyond Fest Sets Programming, Opening With Gaspar Noe’s ‘Climax’

The Beyond Fest genre film festival has announced the full programming slate for its Sept. 26-Oct. 9 run at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The 2018 programming offers 46 features and 24 west coast premieres, all screened as a fundraiser for the American Cinematheque non-profit. The festival opens with Gaspar Noe's Climax, starring Sofia Boutella, and closes with S. Craig Zahler’s crime-opus Dragged Across Concrete. A special highlight will be the triumphant return of T…

LA Film Festival Selects David Raymond Thriller ‘Nomis’ For Closing Night

The Los Angeles Film Festival will close with the world premiere of first-time writer/director David Raymond’s psychological thriller Nomis, which will screen on Sept. 28 at the Arclight Hollywood Cinerama Dome.
The film focuses on a police trap …

The Los Angeles Film Festival will close with the world premiere of first-time writer/director David Raymond’s psychological thriller Nomis, which will screen on Sept. 28 at the Arclight Hollywood Cinerama Dome. The film focuses on a police trap for online predator Simon Stulls. They soon realize that the extent of his crimes go far beyond that of his own psychological trauma. Nothing quite makes sense – that is, until people involved in the case on both sides of the law…

Disneyland To Sell Alcohol In New ‘Star Wars’ Attraction Cantina, A First

The happiest place on earth will get a little happier for a lot of people starting next summer, as Disneyland has decided to sell liquor at the theme park for the first time in its history. Although the theme park already offers alcohol in its adjacent California Adventure park (and in its exclusive private Club 33 at Disneyland itself), the public liquor sales mark a first in the park’s 63-year history. The initial rollout of liquor sales will take place at the Star…

HGTV Greenlights Second Season For Jasmine Roth’s ‘Hidden Potential’

HGTV has given the go-ahead for a second season of host Jasmine Roth’s Hidden Potential, which updates generic homes in the Huntington Beach, Calif. area.

Roth is the founder of Built Custom Homes, and had her show’s season order upgrade…

HGTV has given the go-ahead for a second season of host Jasmine Roth’s Hidden Potential, which updates generic homes in the Huntington Beach, Calif. area. Roth is the founder of Built Custom Homes, and had her show’s season order upgraded from 13 episodes to 17 in the second season. The focus remains the same: customizing the cookie-cutter bungalows and tract homes in the coastal area. A social media maven, Roth uses her Facebook and Instagram accounts to find new…

Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter Has Sex Assault Charges Under Review By DA

A sexual assault allegation against Backtreet Boys singer Nick Carter by actress/singer Melissa Schuman is under review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The charges were presented July 31 by the Santa Monica Police Department and stem from an incident that dates to 2003. Schuman publicly revealed the incident in a November online post. Carter, age 38, has denied the allegations. Schuman filed her police report in February, claiming the #MeToo movement…