Our Town

Like the tragic shooting of publicist Ronnie Chasen in Beverly Hills, the May 1 disappearance of Fox film executive Gavin Smith has transfixed members of the film and TV industry. Today, the formidable Daily Beast reporting tandem of Maria Elena Fernandez and Christine Pelisek takes a look at the latest circumstantial evidence and tries their best to uncover something new.

Contrary to the family’s initial statements, Smith was staying with a female friend in Ventura County far longer than just the night before his disappearance. According to the reporters, he had been there basically since returning to LA from CinemaCon in Las Vegas around April 20:

“They were kind of friends and he was hanging out there for a few days,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. homicide division’s Sgt. John O’Brien said. “There was no romance in that at all. Just hanging out with a friend for a couple of days.”

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Joe Mathews is certainly not alone in expressing the sentiment that tonight’s big fundraiser in Studio City for President Obama will cause another needless LA traffic nightmare. But the NBC Southern California blogger and Zócalo Public Square associate editor takes it a step further with this headline taunt – “Starmageddon: Obama Could Make Us Hate Clooney”

FishbowlLA thinks it will take something much more cataclysmic for Angelenos to start hating on the Charming-est Man Alive (e.g. like stealing Angelina Jolie away from Brad Pitt). Then again, we’re not planning on being anywhere near the 91604 zip code at rush hour tonight. From Mathews’ Prop Zero post:

It would be one thing if the presidential stop at Clooney’s pad was for a public, governmental purpose. But it’s not. It’s for a fundraiser. When the president and a movie star schedule something like this, they’re demonstrating arrogance: our party and our politics are more important than your life.

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According to a report on Malibu Patch, high school seniors need only apply if they are firmly and popularly entrenched within the beach culture of west LA.

The upcoming reality TV show, titled Our Summer, is looking to cast eight students from the same single institution. It will be executive produced by Sean Travis (The Hills, The City) and directed by a veteran of The Real World. Here’s what casting director Shaggy Bajrami told Malibu Patch editor Jessica E. Davis:

“The project will shoot over the summer, not on school campuses,” Bajrami said. “The series will document the cast’s lives as they unfold during the summertime. Storylines all depend on the cast that will be the chosen…”

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Inspired by Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences formally unveiled their new outdoor screening venue and “Oscars Outdoors” summer series.

Located at the Academy Hollywood campus on 1341 Vine Street, screenings will be held every Friday and Saturday starting June 15. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for students and Academy members.

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KCRW paid a visit to L.A. Youth, the local teen newspaper that needs to raise $500,000 by next Monday in order to remain open.

According to Lisa Napoli’s report, the 24-year-old paper has received $13,000 in donations since the news broke.

If L.A. Youth is unable to raise enough money, the nation’s second-largest independent newspaper written by and about teens will close on June 30.

Should an establishment coming to the heart of an upstanding SoCal community be allowed to call itself Bastards? Even if the name is inspired by the “Magnificent Bastards” nickname of a 2nd Battaltion 4th Marines infantry unit?

Eric Pierce, a blogger for the Downey Patriot, revisits that topic today in light of Thursday’s official statement from the city about the imminent arrival of the B-named sports bar. It would seem that this will remain a contentious issue, as Downey has decreed that it cannot force owner Nick Velez to change the shingle. Per Pierce:

This newspaper has published several letters on the subject and this week we even received a petition signed by more than 20 local residents in opposition to the Bastards name.

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Following the success of December 2010 pilot project the Newsroom Cafe at the Register Citizen in Torrington, Connecticut, Digital First Media has announced plans to expand community outreach at a dozen papers across the country. Two of which are in California.

The San Jose Mercury News is going to hit the streets of Silicon Valley with a special van featuring an awning and portable furniture, so that it can create a “pop-up living room” with staff members leading classes and meetings. The Pasadena Star-News meanwhile will be opening up its newsroom on East Colorado Blvd. in August. Per a note to readers from editor Frank Girardot:

We want to show you that we practice what we preach. But, there’s another reason too – the Star-News is a part of your community – just like your neighborhood grocery store, your favorite coffee shop, or the place where you and your family worship.

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Reality TV superstar Kim Kardashian filmed a public service announcement about the Armenian genocide for the city of Glendale’s official commemoration of the tragedy. During the genocide, which lasted from 1915-1923, 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Watching Kardashian struggle to read the cue cards is a little tedious, but it’s still a worthy history lesson.

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In what ranks as an epic Tinseltown version of killing two birds with one stone, it was announced today that for the next 20 years, the Kodak Theatre will be known as the Dolby Theatre, with the venue’s gold-standard tenant faithfully returning each winter for the duration to throw the annual Academy Awards bash.

From the press release:

“Our ability to swiftly conclude two significant contracts with global entertainment leaders affirms Hollywood as a thriving district,” said Shaul Kuba, co-founder of CIM Group, owners of the Hollywood & Highland Center…

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Long before my days as co-editor of FishbowlLA, I spent my Saturday afternoons at L.A. Youth, a newspaper for teens, by teens. It was during these weekly meetings with my peers from schools all across Los Angeles that I realized I wanted to pursue journalism as a profession.

So, it broke my heart to read in Monday’s Los Angeles Times that the non-profit needs to raise $500,000 in funding by mid-May or it will run out of cash:

But as the newspaper approaches a quarter-century, it is struggling to hang on. The foundations whose grants have long been the primary source of funding have pulled out, and board members who once brought in corporate donations have been laid off, said Donna Myrow, L.A. Youth’s executive director.

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