Los Angeles
Hollywood-backed Quibi to shutter six months after launch
Streaming service Quibi said on Wednesday it intends to wind down its operations and start a process to sell its assets, just six months after its launch. The announcement highlights the dominance that Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV+ hold over smaller streaming service providers, which struggle to keep up against their large content budgets and vast libraries of shows. “The world has changed dramatically since Quibi launched and our standalone business model is no longer viable,” founder Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement. Los Angeles-based Quibi offers entertainment and news in episodes of 10 minutes or less on mobile phones, initially promoted for on-the-go viewing. The service was priced at $5 a month with advertisements, or $8 a month without them. “Our failure...
Gold rises on renewed US stimulus hope, dollar falls
Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,910.56 an ounce at 3:37pm, New York time, after falling as much as 0.5 percent. Gold rose on renewed optimism for a preelection aid package in the U.S., while the dollar fell to a one-week low. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a bill for a compromise stimulus package is being written as she awaits a key phone call with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his chamber would take up a comprehensive coronavirus package if an accord is struck. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index headed for the third straight decline. Pelosi said in a Bloomberg Television interview that while there are areas where more work is required to get a compromise, she was pleased with the Trump administration’s latest position on coronavirus testing ...
L.A. Strippers Innovate With The Times, Launch Virtual Strip Club Venture
Source: Peathegee Inc / Getty Adult entertainment has always thrived in the online realm, but the fast money and swift returns of traditional strip clubs are unmatched in this regard. With the COVID-19 pandemic all but upending brick and mortar business traffic, a quarter of dancers took matters into their own hands and launched a lucrative online venture. The Los Angeles Times profiled dancers Gabrielle, Reagan, Coco Ono and Kitty, the Stripperina, all of whom worked at Jumbo’s Clown Room, a popular strip joint in Los Angeles’ East Hollywood district. As noted in the piece, the women realized that managers and owners at their establishment were blindsided like the rest of the nation and dug deep to find an innovative way to keep the lights on. What has been born in Jumbo’s stead is Cyber ...
Blumhouse’s ‘The Craft’ remake heading straight to VOD on Amazon
School may be out for a theatrical release of Blumhouse’s remake of The Craft. The teen horror fantasy remake written, directed, and produced by Zoe Lister Jonesis headed straight to video-on-demand on Amazon this October, according to a new press release of incoming Prime Video titles. Just in time for Halloween. The Craft remake release has been set for Amazon Prime Video on October 27, 2020, four days before Halloween. An Amazon Prime Video press release reveals that The Craft will make its VOD premiere on the platform for rental or purchase. Here is the description of The Craft‘s Amazon premiere date: The Craft (2020), a remake of the 1996 film of the same name, follows a group of high school students that form a coven of witches. Available to buy or rent October 27. We haven’t heard m...
City of Los Angeles Brings Charges Against TikTok Influencers Who Threw Illegal House Parties
The Los Angeles City Attorney has brought charges against two prominent TikTok influencers, Bryce Hall (21) and Blake Gray (19). The young men threw a series of parties — including a massive birthday bash — in defiance of emergency pandemic orders. As TMZ reports, both have been slapped with one misdemeanor for violating a local ordinance. They’ve also each been issued a noise citation. The city described the charges as a “crackdown on party houses.” The biggest of the bashes took place August 14th at “Sway House”, a $50,000-a-month rental in the Hollywood Hills. It’s occupied by a small collective of hard-partying, often shirtless TikTok influencers, including Gray and Hall. The party was thrown in honor of Hall’s 21st birthday and his first legal consumption of alcohol. The resulting bac...
Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh Was in ICU for COVID-19, Recovery Disturbed by TikTok Party House
Bryce Hall’s “Sway House” crew (photo via Instagram) and Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh (photo by Heather Kaplan) Buried in a story about how obnoxious young social media stars can be (surprise!) is a report that Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh apparently had a severe bout with COVID-19. Mothersbaugh’s wife, Anita, revealed the news to The Daily Mail, saying her 70-year-old husband came “close to death” while in the ICU in June. “This virus is no joke, I’ve experienced it first-hand,” she told the tabloid paper. “There was a week where my daughters thought he would die.” All this despite Devo having their own line of energy dome face shields. So why is this coming out now? Because rich youths are inconsiderate, privileged, jagoffs, that’s why. The Daily Mail’s story is ac...
Kobe Bryant To Get Street By Staples Center Named After Him
Source: WENN/Avalon / WENN A basketball legend continues to get his much-deserved flowers. Kobe Bryant is getting a street named after him. As spotted on TMZ the late great is getting a unique commemoration within the community he became synonymous for. On Monday, August 24 the L.A. City Council President confirmed that planning is underway to title a public road in Mamba’s honor. “Figueroa St. will soon be Kobe Bryant Boulevard between Olympic & MLK,” Herb J. Wesson Jr. revealed. The drag in question extends from the Staples Center all the way to the University of California. “Kobe’s legacy is bigger than basketball. Kobe Bryant Blvd will be a reminder to everyone, young and old who drive down it, there is no obstacle too big and that with the #Mambamentality … anything is p...
YG Details Guns Being Drawn On Him & His Family During Police Raid
Source: Rich Fury/Getty Images / Rich Fury/Getty Images YG is opening up about his frightening encounter with the police during his recent arrest in Los Angeles days before he was scheduled to perform at the Grammys in January. Earlier this week during his interview with online radio show, The Morning Hustle, YG touched on the incident, revealing that while he was being arrested the police not only had their guns drawn on him but the entire family that was with him at the time. “Around the Grammys, the police raided my house while I was there with my family and my kids,” YG recalled. “They came at like four in the morning when everyone was still sleep, they had the helicopter going around and everything so I hopped up to see what was going on. So I open the door and boom they draw down on ...
The Caucasity: Patrolling Patty Tries To Block Black Man From Making Postmates Delivery
Source: @jordanmykelgipson / Instagram A white woman in Los Angeles is being dragged online after a video of her attempting to stop a Black man from doing his job has gone viral. On Wednesday (Jul 22), Jordan Gipson took to Instagram to upload a video of the negative encounter he had with an unidentified white woman with the video starting with the eccentric, aggressive, and nosey, woman asking why Gipson is wearing “that green thing,” referring to his protective face covering. “Is this a hold-up or something?” She asks. “Just take it off.” “I have food I have to deliver to somebody ma’am,” Gipson explains, to which the woman replies, “Don’t deliver anything here. We don’t want you delivering. I don’t want you here.” Although Gipson initially uploaded a snippet of his encounter, he later u...
Floating Movie Theaters Coming to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and More US Cities
Parisians were treated to a floating movie theater adventure this past weekend. Apparently it went swimmingly because now a different company, Beyond Cinema, is bringing a similar idea to America. Starting this September, Beyond Cinema will launch 12 to 24 mini boats — each of which can hold upwards of eight people — in US cities. Movies will be projected on a large screen outdoors near the water, and patrons can pay to watch the film in comfort from one of the floating vessels. The Australian entertainment and event company originally found success with their “boat-in” events back during pre-COVID times. Once the current pandemic set in, though, they decided to modify the event to uphold safety measures while still capitalizing on this creative way to keep movie lovers entertained. O...
FBI: Hushpuppi attempted to dupe Premier League club of £100 million
Alleged international fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Ray Hushpuppi, on Friday made his first court appearance in an American court where the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleged that he attempted to dupe an English Premier League football club of £100m (N48.4bn). The allegation is contained in an affidavit deposed to by FBI Special Agent, Andre Innocenti, who is assigned to the Los Angeles Filed Office High-tech Organise Crime Squad. According to the FBI, the suspect is facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering among others. The affidavit read in part, “Abbas and others further conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100 million (approximately $124 million) from an English Premie...
Probe demanded over Latino police shooting death in Los Angeles
Los Angeles officials Tuesday demanded an independent probe into the death of a young Latino security guard, whose shooting by police has fueled more protests against police brutality and racism. Andres Guardado, 18, was killed last week after a deputy fired multiple gunshots in Gardena, Los Angeles County. Police say Guardado was shot when he fled from an auto repair shop after he “produced a handgun.” Guardado’s death came during a period of nationwide demonstrations that began with the death in police custody of an African American man, George Floyd, in Minnesota last month. Los Angeles County’s board of supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a motion for a “robust and independent investigation to ensure the truth is uncovered and justice is served.” A day earlier, Los Angeles Sheriff...
