Tag Archives: hollywood

Entertainment

The h.Wood Group Opens Keys Nightclub Sunset Blvd West Hollywood

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Sundown Boulevard has a brand new tenant on the strip, with the arrival of Keys, a brand new music and nightlife venue that goals to deliver again the glory days of Hollywood glamor and leisure.

From hospitality agency, The h.wooden Group, the 12,420-square-foot, multi-story venue opened this week at 9039 Sundown Blvd. the location of the unique Key Membership, which closed in 2013. The brand new identify, “Keys,” pays tribute to the constructing’s former tenant whereas ushering in a brand new musical expertise that can introduce a house for L.A.’s burgeoning digital dance music scene.

Keys options three distinct ranges, every providing its personal bar and ambiance. The bottom stage is the place the Moroccan-inspired inexperienced room will sit, with The h.wooden Group set to welcome high DJs and artists to the area. The second stage options the primary dance ground, backed by an expansive LED show and soundtracked by a customized L-Acoustics sound system designed by longtime Drake sound engineer, Demetrius Moore. The third ground gives a hen’s eye view of the get together proceedings down under, set amongst a lounge-like vibe full with a poker desk and retro arcade video games. An opera viewing-style balcony will perform like a personal field for VIP friends.

The membership says the multi-level setup and distinct traits of every area have been purposefully designed “to cater to each clientele who yearn to be within the coronary heart of the motion, and to those that are in search of a extra intimate ambiance amidst a night-out.” And sure, true to the property identify, there are lit-up “piano keys” embedded all through the membership’s 4 partitions.

Elizabeth Daniels

The h.wooden Group calls Keys an “homage to an iconic period of LA’s get together scene” that can re-capture the “historical past, glamour and vivacious vitality that has formed town’s legendary nightlife tradition for many years.” The opening of Keys additionally marks The h.Wooden Group’s first foray into the digital music area, although the homeowners say the venue may also welcome artists throughout the musical panorama, from rock to hip-hop to pop.

“We’re thrilled to lastly introduce Keys to Sundown Boulevard,” say Brian Toll and John Terzian, the 2 co-founders of The h.wooden Group. “As a model, we actually embody Los Angeles, and all that it stands for. It’s our aim to honor not solely the revered venues which have beforehand referred to as this area residence, however to reinvigorate the wealthy musical historical past of the Strip.”

After all, there was one different notorious tenant within the area after the Key Membership shut down: the huge Sundown Boulevard venue was residence to the celeb hotspot 1Oak, which shut down shortly after the pandemic.

Keys launches with opening hours on Thursday and Saturday nights, from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Entertainment

Kamala Harris Nightclub Fundraiser at The Abbey Targets Young Voters

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Again when Kamala Harris was working for California legal professional common in 2010, a younger professionals group threw a marketing campaign fundraiser at a now-defunct nightclub in Los Angeles known as h.wooden. A whole bunch attended for a door payment of $45. “The nightclub was so packed out, she needed to stand on prime of a desk with a view to be heard,” says then occasion co-chair Todd Hawkins of Hawkins Mikita, a social affect group that connects Hollywood with political and philanthropic causes.

Hawkins has been lively in main varied incarnations of younger political organizations since 2006 when Gen44, a fundraising group that charged a $44 entry payment for such informal outings as nightclub occasions and basketball video games was based to help Barack Obama because the forty fourth president. Taking a web page from bigwig Hollywood bundlers like Jeffrey Katzenberg and Haim Saban, Hawkins adopted the mannequin of must-attend occasions with stars who join with the youthful demographic of Gen44. Celebrities like Jared Leto, Olivia Wilde, Kerry Washington, Darren Aronofsky and John Legend have attended, helped manage or carried out at such occasions.

From left: Todd Hawkins, celeb photographer Mike Rosenthal, Chrissy Teigen, Kamala Harris and John Legend at a younger professionals fundraiser in 2016 in Los Angeles.

Courtesy of Todd Hawkins

In Los Angeles the place donors and bundlers increase multiples of tens of millions for his or her candidates, one could also be inclined to overhype the cool issue whereas underestimating the political clout of teams like Gen44 — which later morphed into Younger Professionals for Hillary Clinton, Younger Professionals for Joe Biden and Younger Professionals for Kamala Harris for a number of campaigns together with the present Democratic presidential nomination. However they’d be mistaken. Whereas such teams have collectively raised over $10 million from small donations, the actual prize is within the candidates connecting with this elusive demographic and the power it brings. “The thrill of the tradition round Kamala Harris is obvious in what we’re seeing proper now, in viral movies, memes on TikTok, Brat, Megan Thee Stallion performing on the rally in Atlanta and issues she says, like ‘Falling out of a coconut tree’ being remixed into music,” says Hawkins, who notes that he hasn’t seen this degree of power since 2012 with Obama. “She is aware of that the significance, energy and power of younger folks is so essential to campaigns. And younger persons are enthusiastic about her pleasure and dancing, all of that.”

An invite to a Kamala Harris fundraiser on Aug. 1.

Courtesy of Harris Victory Fund

Hawkins, who now serves on Harris’ Nationwide Finance Committee, the place all of the bundlers are housed underneath, will likely be first out of the gate with a grassroots fundraising occasion for the marketing campaign. This time, the doorways will open for everybody, not simply younger folks. Solely ten days after Harris was endorsed by President Biden as his alternative for his successor, “A Dance Get together for Kamala” will happen at legendary West Hollywood nightclub The Abbey on Thursday, Aug. 1 at 8:00 p.m. Hosted by Hawkins, his enterprise companion Justin Mikita and The Abbey proprietor Tristan Schukraft, tickets are priced at $25 every to facilitate a excessive turnout of politically minded Angelenos, “be they seniors who like to bop or folks voting for the primary time,” says Hawkins. The cash goes on to the marketing campaign, the Harris Victory Fund. Jesse Tyler Ferguson (who’s married to Mikita), Glee‘s Darren Criss, Bachelor alumn Colton Underwood, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Jinkx Monsoon, Solely Murders within the Constructing‘s Ashley Park, music artist Vincint and different celebrities and influencers will likely be particular friends. The sense of urgency is actual, says Hawkins: “We’re attempting to shortly manage. Up to now, we had two years forward of the marketing campaign to organize, and now we solely have 100 days or much less. So we thought we’d kick off the motion with a simple dance social gathering that’s open to everybody.”

Angelenos can anticipate extra fundraisers from this grassroots arm, which Hawkins says is planning extra of those “distinctive occasions — we’re occupied with Artists for Kamala, Cooks for Kamala…” And whereas he hopes such occasions will add to the coffers being quickly crammed by donations from Zoom calls held by such identification teams as Black ladies and “White dudes” for Harris — totaling $81 million raised over a number of days — he stays cautious, noting that it takes $1 billion to run for president, and that former president Trump raised $400 million within the 48 hours following the assassination try. “And now the stakes are a lot higher,” Hawkins says, “however there’s confidence and pleasure and we need to be sure that everybody has one thing that they really feel they’ll do and a chance to contribute.”

Entertainment

Kevin Spacey on New Sexual Assault Allegations in ‘Spacey Unmasked’

Kevin Spacey has fired again at new allegations of sexual harassment and assault set to be heard as a part of a Channel 4 documentary, Spacey Unmasked, premiering within the U.Ok. on Could 6-7.

“I’ve received nothing left to cover,” Spacey advised former U.Ok. broadcaster Dan Wootton throughout a two hour, 20 minutes interview titled Kevin Spacey: Proper of Reply, which streamed on X (previously Twitter).

Having seen off earlier allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct in civil and legal courtroom circumstances within the U.S. and the U.Ok., Spacey stated he refused to face by and keep silent as recent allegations had been made within the Channel 4 documentary. “I can’t undergo this once more, permitting myself to be principally attacked with out defending myself as properly,” he advised Wootton.

Whereas accepting that he might have flirted with or attached with fellow actors previously, Spacey denied that he had ever finished something unlawful. “I take full duty for my previous conduct and my actions, however I can’t and won’t take duty or apologize to anybody who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated tales about me,” Spacey stated.

He added: “I’ve been promiscuous, flirty. I’ve been annoying at occasions. Positively persistent. However I’ve by no means, not as soon as, blocked somebody from leaving a room or locked the door. I cried as soon as to attempt to preserve any person within the room. However I’ve by no means put my arm in entrance of the door or locked it,” Spacey stated at one level.

The actor stated having his Hollywood profession lower quick had hit him financially. “I’ve misplaced my home. I’ve received one foot in chapter,” he stated, including that returning to work previously 12 months on a trio of indie tasks had been each welcomed and difficult.

“It does really feel very particular, a really, very worthwhile time as a result of, , performing is actually mendacity for a career. You’re making an attempt to persuade an viewers that you simply’re any person else, which might be why it’s simple for me and why many suppose I’m good at it,” Spacey stated at one level.

He added: “The fact is that I did solely ever have one dream in life and that was to be an actor. And whereas I most actually did love the eye I received, the reality is, I might be fairly content material to by no means present up at one other award present ever once more.”  

However Spacey repeatedly insisted he needed to combat again in opposition to recent allegations, in any other case he would don’t have any hope of resurrecting his Hollywood profession. “I might actually like to be above all this and never have to speak about it, return to my every day life, get again to work, however I’ve lastly realized that, if I don’t combat again, this can by no means finish!” he stated throughout one emotional excessive level.

As he pushed again on the Channel 4 documentary, Spacey stated the U.Ok. broadcaster giving him solely every week to reply to accusations within the documentary reminded him of getting to reply to the 2017 BuzzFeed Information story that first went public with sexual misconduct allegations in opposition to the Oscar winner. Spacey stated it took him a 12 months to seek out the proof to disprove the allegations in opposition to him from Anthony Rapp after the preliminary story that derailed his Hollywood profession.

In October 2022, a jury concluded Spacey didn’t molest Rapp whereas each had been comparatively unknown actors in Broadway performs within the Eighties. Spacey advised Wootton that having to reply to the BuzzFeed Information story’s allegations shortly didn’t allow him time to incorporate a agency denial. “The purpose is what was alleged to have occurred, one thing 30 years earlier, I had no time to analyze any of it. So I didn’t deny that. However what I did say was I don’t bear in mind, which at that time was true as a result of it didn’t occur,” he stated.

The affect of the BuzzFeed story was compounded, Spacey conceded, by his utilizing a press release to say he had no recollections of an incident involving Rapp to additionally announce publicly for the primary time that he was homosexual. “It was terribly timed and thought out,” the actor stated of his rising from the closet, regardless of lengthy conversations with Evan Lowenstein, Spacey’s supervisor, over learn how to finest accomplish that.

“After being so fiercely closeted for thus lengthy, I had no thought what was on the opposite facet of that door,” Spacey stated. However whereas failing previously to completely deny what he thought to be false accusations of sexual advances, Spacey stated he was ready to reply for previous inappropriate conduct he had finished.

“Completely, and I’ve. For the previous 10 years, I’ve reached out to many individuals to make amends,” Spacey admitted, with out specifying to whom he had apologized. He added he by no means felt the necessity to go public along with his apologies for previous conduct.

“It’s meaningless and fully impersonal to apologize on Oprah or Anderson Cooper for one thing you might need finished to another person,” he stated, noting throughout the on-line interview that over the previous seven years he had had ample time to rake over his previous.

“For me, the true disgrace is that it took me years to start to simply accept myself, and it’s a course of that I’m nonetheless combating day-after-day. And I’ve come to grasp that it’s a big a part of why I’ve all the time loved being another person. I didn’t need to be me. And being blocked from working has compelled me to play the one function I’ve been avoiding my complete life: myself,” Spacey stated.

He additionally addressed the query of energy imbalances in Hollywood that allowed him to work in motion pictures and TV sequence as whispers and hypothesis over his inappropriate conduct hung within the air.

“If I used to be actually this monster, and everybody knew about it, then why aren’t folks asking questions concerning the networks and the studios who had been all too comfortable to monetize off of me, whereas permitting me to roam the streets freely? I imply, why didn’t the studios do something? Why do folks stand on the purple carpets with me and say how nice it was to work with me? I imply, do you actually suppose that I had extra energy than them?” Spacey questioned.  

He additionally admitted to flirting and hooking up with fellow actors. “However I used to be not using them. I used to be not their boss,” he insisted. Regardless of that criticism, Spacey insisted he was prepared to return clear along with his previous.

“I wished to make sure that by the point I did communicate out, now publicly, I might be assured that I’ve taken duty for the errors I’ve made. … That stated, no person in Hollywood has ever introduced a path again for me,” Spacey argued. “There’s no coursework materials I’ve been given to test, nothing. It appears that evidently some are content material with simply canceling me perpetually. It’s a life sentence.”

Throughout a lot of the X interview, Spacey tried to preempt and rebut typically lurid allegations of sexual seduction and harassment set to be made within the Channel 4 documentary by younger males, a few of which had been supplied earlier in courtroom trials. A few of the allegations had been bleeped to make sure the net interview didn’t breach U.Ok. privateness guidelines.

One declare set to be heard on Spacey Unmasked concerned an intern who labored alongside Spacey on the 1999 comedy-drama Massive Kahuna, and who alleged he agreed to offer the star actor a therapeutic massage that progressed to sexual harassment. “Properly, I’ve to say that this man’s story strikes me way more in step with one thing that I might need finished … So yeah, I can settle for the potential of this to date,” Spacey admitted.  

He additionally opened up about how, as a well-known film star, he needed to cope with individuals who might need wished to have a relationship with him in alternate for serving to them climb the ladder in Hollywood. “Do you suppose that is perhaps as a result of many guys knew that you simply had been homosexual? It was a little bit of an open secret within the trade, they usually knew you would possibly discover them enticing, so that they opted to flirt with you in alternate for some hopeful final result that possibly would profit them?” Wooton requested Spacey at one level.

After a pause, he replied: “It actually hurts to suppose so.”