🚀 Award season viewership skyrockets

💰️$900m secured for 2028 games

Author

Wyatt Stephens
March 13, 2024 • Estimated time reading vibes without HOV Lane: 23 minutes

MARCH 13TH, 2024

WEDNESDAY

Windy 🍃 
High: 69 | Low: 51
Rise: 7:05a | Set: 7:00p

Surf Report 🏄‍♀️ 
Highs: 12:27p, 12:21a
Lows: 6:20a, 5:56p

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WEDNESDAY’S VIBES

🐫 HAPPY WEDNESDAY, LA!

  • 🍕 TOMORROW IS PI DAY: Tomorrow is Pi Day, and here are some places to celebrate over what many believe are the best places to grab a slice of pizza. *No HOV Lane today: today’s newsletter isn’t too lengthy of a read for the mindless scroll. Getting back into work mode on this end. Have a wonderful Wednesday, LA! - Wyatt

EATS

😋 HEADLINES

🚀 OPENINGS

  • 🌸 SPRING 2024: The eleven most anticipated Los Angeles restaurant openings for Spring 2024 from the ones that know LA grub the best, Eater: LA.

  • 🍰 SANTA MONICA: Fōnuts is opening a new location, with the third serving up 100% gluten-free bakery and cakes in Santa Monica. The new location will open this spring right next to the new Oakberry on Montana Avenue. Fōnuts’ two other locations, West 3rd and Studio City, also serve Fōnuts’ delicious gluten-free donuts. The new Santa Monica location, however, will be the only location to sell gluten-free baked goods. | 🖥️ View Website | 📸 @fonuts

  • 🍗 MARINA DEL REY: Starbird, a super-premium fast food concept, is set to open its fourteenth location in our Golden State and third location in Los Angeles County on Mindanao Way in Marina del Rey March 22nd. To celebrate the grand opening, the first five-hundred customers will receive a free meal, and two lucky orders will contain a Starbird Golden Ticket valid for free Starbird for a year. Starbird's crispy chicken is raised without antibiotics, hand-breaded in gluten-free flours and spices, and served with nine house-made dipping sauces. The menu will include salads, Bahn Mi items, and Vietnamese Sticky Wings.

  • 🍪 WEST ADAMS: Fleurs et Sel, a popular cookie shop, is set to open in West Adams this month, offering small-batch cookies with rotating flavors. The owner, Lara Adekoya, started Fleurs et Sel as a pop-up in 2020 and is now establishing a full bakery with a walk-up window in West Adams. And as previously mentioned, Crumbl Cookies is also opening a shop on West Adams.

🧑‍🍳 BUFFET LINKS

🧭 GUIDES

EVENTS

🔮 TRENDING FUTURES

FRIDAY: Dinosaur Improv w/ Paul Scheer, Largo

MARCH 19TH: Free Tuesdays, Descanso Gardens

FRIDAY: Marc E. Bassy + Michael Minelli, Catch One

MAY 29TH: James Taylor & His All-Star Band, Hollywood Bowl

📆 BIG LIST OF EVENTS

📌 TOMORROW NOTABLES

🧭 GUIDES

ACTIVITIES

  • 🥥 ALL-STAR JIMMY BUFFETT TRIBUTE: Presale tickets start shortly (at 10:00am) for a Jimmy Buffett tribute. The all-star lineup for ‘Keep The Party Going A Tribute To Jimmy Buffett’ includes acts like Paul McCartney, Eagles, Jon Bon Jovi, Zac Brown, Jackson Browne, Brandi Carlie and more at the Hollywood Bowl on April 11th. 🎟️ Ticket link for both presale and general on-sale.

  • 🎸 WEEZER TO PLAY INTUIT DOME: Weezer will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 'Blue Album' by playing the album in full at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood on October 11th. The band will play alongside with The Flaming Lips + Dinosaur Jr. This celebration is part of their Voyage To The Blue Planet tour, marking the legendary self-titled debut of the band. The tour will conclude in Inglewood at the Intuit Dome on October 11th. 🎟️ Tickets to Weezer’s Show

  • 🎡 SANTA MONICA: The Santa Monica Pier's Ferris Wheel will light up for St. Patrick's Day with a festive display featuring a ninety-foot-tall shamrock. This special lighting program will include green colors, patterns, and transitions, including the shamrock design, from this Friday March 15th to Sunday, March 17th and will include 174,000 LED lights. ℹ️

  • 🛋️ SUNDAYS POP-UP: Sundays, a Canada-based furniture brand, has launched its first LA pop-up in Culver City. The pop-up, located at Platform LA, offers a hub for shopping, food, drinks, people watching, outdoor play for kids, weekend events, and more. This pop-up event is until April 28th and provides visitors with a unique experience in the heart of Culver City's eclectic destination. The location at Platform LA, is also home to various independent brands like Reformation, Aesop, and Catbird, complements Sundays' distinctive aesthetic.

COMMUNITY

  • 🏃‍♀️ L.A. MARATHON ROAD CLOSURES: A reminder that the 39th running of the Los Angeles Marathon presented by ASICS will take place this Sunday, March 17th on St. Patrick’s Day. The course starts at Dodger Stadium and finishes on the Avenue of Stars in Century City. 🎟️ Register for LA Big 5k (Saturday) and Sunday’s Events. 🖇️ Linked are planned closures: 🛣️ Street Closures (PDF) 🏡 Local Access Street Closures (PDF) 🏁 Highway Closures (PDF) 🗺️ Full Road Closures Map (PNG image from above)

  • 🚧 N. TOPANGA CANYON: Canyon Trail, North Topanga Canyon Boulevard to Hillside Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains will be closed today due to construction. These closures will start shortly at 8:00am with a planned reopen today at 4:00pm. 🔗 Full List of LA County Road Closures.

  • 🎒 AUTRY MUSEUM: The Autry Museum of the American West has announced its eighth annual Student Visual Arts Exhibition showcasing artistic submissions from local Southern California middle and high school students. The Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony for the artists and the public will take place on Saturday, April 20th from 10:00am to 2:00pm with access to the gallery now open through June 5th.

  • 🚿 13.5 BILLON GALLONS OF STORMWATER: The Department of Water and Power captured a significant amount of stormwater in February, totaling thirteen-and-a-half billion gallons. This capture was part of the city's response to heavy rain and strong winds brought by the second storm of the month. City officials activated their storm response plans, including monitoring impacts, coordinating emergency crews, and preparing for potential mud and debris flows, power outages, and roadway obstructions.

DEVELOPMENT

  • 🛍️ FASHION DISTRICT: The City Council has approved a mixed-use complex in the Fashion District known as the City Market. This project, initially announced in 2013, has now been given the green light after a revised development agreement was voted on March 6. The City Market will feature a mix of low- and high-rise buildings, aiming to revitalize the area with a diverse urban landscape. The proposed project involves demolishing existing structures on the site and redeveloping it into a mixed-use space, bringing new life and opportunities to the Fashion District.

  • 🏅 $900 MILLION FOR 2028 GAMES: Our region secured nearly $900 million in preparation for the 20208 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The funding will strengthen critical infrastructure, expand the Metro Rail System, and reconnect communities. A snapshot of the allocated funds looks as follows:

    • LA METRO: $139 million to reconnect communities across highway and arterial barriers by creating multimodal investments.

    • LA METRO: $9.96 million for construction of a dedicated pedestrian + bicycle overcrossing adjacent to the existing Humphreys Avenue bridge + over the I-710 for the communities of East Los Angeles.

    • PORT OF LOS ANGELES: $5 million to support a pedestrian bridge over two mainline freight tracks in the Port of LA.

    • FRIENDS OF THE HOLLYWOOD CENTRAL PARK: $3.59 million to cap a park over the Hollywood Freeway.

    • CITY OF LOS ANGELES: $2 million to curate 1.7 acres of new open space in one of the most park-poor areas of our city, and to remove a high-injury arterial adjacent to a high concentration of elementary schools by closing Wilshire Boulevard to vehicular traffic from Alvarado Street to Carondelet Street. ℹ️

  • 🚢 PORT OF LA: The Port of Los Angeles has awarded a contract worth $85 million to Skanska for the renovation of the State Route 47/Vincent Thomas Bridge and Front Street/Harbor Boulevard interchange. This project will involve various improvements, including the replacement, construction, and realignment of on- and off-ramps, as well as enhancements to storm drains, curbs, gutters, street lights, traffic signals, bike lanes, curb ramps, and crosswalks. The renovation aims to address safety concerns and reduce traffic congestion in the area, with construction set to commence this month and expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

  • 🎞️ BALDWIN HILLS: The Stocker Street Creative project, located in Baldwin Hills, is a significant development aimed at revitalizing the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Boulevard Corridor. This dynamic film campus is focused on television and film production, entertainment, and technology. The project involves transforming a five-acre site into a creative hub with approximately 200,000 square feet of space, including soundstages, commercial offices, production facilities, and amenities like restaurants and retail spaces.

  • 🏥 UNIV. OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: A new multi-discipline research facility, the USC Discovery and Translation Hub (DTH Building), has been proposed for development at 1590 North Eastlake Avenue in Los Angeles. This seven-story building, designed by Smith Group, will cover approximately 201,292 square feet and accommodate over 84 researchers, supporting both wet and dry laboratory research. The project aims to foster collaboration among researchers at the USC Health Sciences Campus, integrating into the existing infrastructure and offering open space amenities like a central quad area.

  • 🏢 DOWNTOWN: Brookfield is planning to add a 34-story residential tower named the Residences at 333 South Hope Street in Downtown Los Angeles. This project will involve constructing a new multi-family residential building with 366 residential units, featuring a mix of studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom floor plans. The tower will also include a 425-square-foot cafe at street level and various amenities such as a fitness room, pool, and spa overlooking the plaza. The design of the tower will incorporate textured glass, concrete, and metal elements, with outdoor seating and landscaping around the building.

  • 🏰 DISNEYLANDFOWARD CLEARS HURDLE: DisneylandForward cleared a major hurdle on Monday, receiving a 5-1 approval vote from the Anaheim Planning Commission. The final approval now needs to come from Anaheim City Council, which is likely to come mid-April of this year. If approved, Disney will jump-start the roughly $2bn development the will completely revamp our nearby DisneyLand. More information from this jam-packed and exciting project can be found on DisneyLandForward’s website. And of course, CuratedLA will bring the latest with any upcoming developments and articles of interest.

BUSINESS

  • 💰️ BOBBY KOTICK: Former Activision Blizzard CEO + Santa Monica Resident Bobby Kotick is reportedly interested in purchasing TikTok. Kotick, who recently left Activision Blizzard after its acquisition by Microsoft, has expressed his intent to buy TikTok to ByteDance's co-founder Zhang Yiming. Potential purchasing partners could include OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman. This interest comes amidst a new bill in the U.S. that could force TikTok to sell due to concerns about its ties to the Chinese government. The potential acquisition of TikTok by Kotick is estimated to be in the range of hundreds of billions of dollars.

  • 🤝 DANA PIRKLE: Viewture, a U.K.-based firm that offers content creators innovative financing opportunities, has named LA-local Dana Pirkle as their Head of Creator Partnerships. Pirkle previously served with CAA, 3BLACKDOT, Machinima, AwesomenessTV and Blizzard.

  • 🥷 LONG BEACH + THOUSAND OAKS: United Defense Tactical is expanding its presence in the Los Angeles area with two new locations in Long Beach and Thousand Oaks. These additions will offer reality-based firearms training concepts, providing a unique opportunity for individuals in these communities to enhance their skills and knowledge in this field.

  • ❤️ TINDER: Former Twitter Trust and Safety Chief Yoel Roth is joining Match Group, the umbrella company that owns West Hollywood’s Tinder and others. Roth will now serve as Match’s Vice President of Trust & Safety.

  • 🚰 LIQUID DEATH: Liquid Death, a local LA-based startup, achieved a significant milestone by raising new capital that values the company at $1.4 billion. This valuation marks a doubling of its worth from $700 million in 2022. The company, known for its popular social media presence, has expanded into newer categories such as iced tea and flavored waters, contributing to its continued growth and success. The recent financing rounds have attracted notable investors like actor Josh Brolin and NFL's DeAndre Hopkins, among others.

ENTERTAINMENT

🎬️ HEADLINES

  • 🍄 ANOTHER MARIO MOVIE: Nintendo is planning a new animated film based on the Super Mario Bros. game franchise. The movie will be produced by Santa Monica-based animation studio Illumination and is set to be released on April 3rd, 2026. This upcoming film follows the success of the previous Super Mario movie, which grossed over $1.3 billion and became the second-highest-grossing movie of 2023. The new movie will focus on Nintendo's iconic character Mario and the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom, aiming to broaden Mario's world further. Additionally, Nintendo is also developing a live-action film based on the Legend of Zelda game franchise, with plans to expand its entertainment offerings beyond video games and into movies and theme parks.

  • 🧔‍♂️ ZACH GALIFIANAKIS: Zach Galifianakis has joined the cast of Hulu's Only Murders In The Building for the upcoming fourth season as a recurring character. He will be part of a star-studded lineup that includes Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Molly Shannon, Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, and Meryl Streep. The new season will revolve around an investigation into the murder of Sazz Pataki, Charles-Haden Savage's stunt double from the series Brazzos. The trio of Charles, Oliver, and Mabel will start the season with a trip to Los Angeles before returning to The Arconia in search of Sazz's killer.

  • 💵 APPLE TV+ MIGHT GET ADS: Apple TV+ might be considering introducing ads, as indicated by recent developments. The addition of a new hire to Apple's advertising team suggests that the streaming service may follow the industry trend of incorporating advertising. While Apple TV+ currently does not have ads within its shows, there are pre-roll ads for other AppleTV+ content. The hiring of a longtime NBC executive to Apple's advertising team further fuels speculation that Apple TV+ could be moving towards an ad-supported tier, aligning with other major streaming services that have already adopted this model. Although there are no official plans announced yet, the move towards introducing ads on Apple TV+ could potentially offer a cheaper subscription option and boost revenue for the platform.

  • ⭐️ DR. DRE: Dr. Dre is set to be honored with the 2,775th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next Tuesday, March 19th. This recognition comes as a tribute to Dr. Dre’s career + contributions to the music industry.

🏆️ AWARD SEASON

  • 📈 VIEWER-SPACESHIP: All four awards shows this season saw a boost, most notably, The Golden Globes, which saw an upwards of a 50% increase in viewership from last year:

    • 🌍️ GOLDEN GLOBES: Ten million viewers watched The Golden Globes, an increase in 50% compared to last year.

    • 🏆️ THE OSCARS: Sunday’s Oscars were viewed by nearly twenty million, an 8% increase from last year.

    • 🎵 THE GRAMMYS: Saw a 30% increase from 2023, with this year’s viewership of roughly 12.5 million.

    • 📺️ TONY AWARD: This year’s Tony Awards saw a slight viewership in comparison to 2022.

    • 📉 THE EMMYS: The only main award show that did not see a significant Moon-boost was that of The Emmys. However, it is important to note that The Emmys broadcasted live in January after being postponed from September due to industry strikes. ℹ️ 

🔗 CULTURAL LINKS

  • 🔠 WORDLE: Guess the five-letter word in six chances from today’s Wordle via The New York Times.

  • 🎞️ OSCARS 2024: The biggest winners, best moments, and surprises from this year’s Oscars via Los Angeles Magazine.

  • 📺️ 96TH ACADEMY AWARDS: Surprises, triumphs, and memorable moments, including the full list of winners via Yo! Venice.

  • 🤫 OSCARS TEAM TELLS ALL: Getting John Cena naked, Jimmy Kimmel’s Trump Joke and why Al Pacino skipped the Best Picture Nominations via Variety.

  • 🍔 IN-N-OUT + AWARD SEASON: How In-N-Out became an Awards Season essential via The Hollywood Reporter.

SPORTS

🔗 CULTURAL LINKS

CU FRIDAY, LA!

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