Entertainment

How the 2028 Olympics should showcase L.A.: 9 wild ideas from our wish list

Published

2 years ago

August 11, 2024

How the 2028 Olympics should showcase L.A.: 9 wild ideas from our wish list

Inspired by the profound (and often profoundly silly) Frenchness of the Paris Games, we — like much of the internet — have been thinking about how to showcase L.A. when the Olympics come to town in 2028. While the next edition of the Summer Games has come in for criticism and complaints, it’s also likely to match or exceed events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars in terms of turning the world’s attention to the city. In the spirit of the loud, chaotic, inimitable City of Angels, here are nine wild ideas for making L.A. itself the star in four years’ time.

Erect the Olympic cauldron at Griffith Park…

In the land of sunshine and palm trees, one landmark that (literally) stands out above the rest, situated on the side of a mountain range overlooking the greater L.A. area, is the Griffith Observatory. That it can be seen from nearly every neighborhood and surrounding cities makes it a perfect location to build the cauldron. Imagine taking an evening stroll around the Silver Lake Reservoir and seeing the flame across the surface of the water? Or walking out of a bar in Koreatown and staring north up Normandie at the cauldron? Or staying in Mid-City and seeing the light of the burning fire from miles away? Imagine the photos taken on a clear night from all over Southern California. If the cauldron were built at the Griffith Observatory, it would also take advantage of being next to one of our most famous landmarks honoring our greatest cultural export: the Hollywood sign. —David Viramontes

… and make sure the torch relay visits California’s most iconic peaks

The Griffith Observatory at dusk.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Celebrate California’s 14ers and the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S. by having a hiker or ultra-trail-marathoner take the flame up Mt. Whitney. Or the flame could be taken by a climber (Alex Honnold, maybe roped this time?) up Yosemite’s El Capitan. —Rebecca Bryant

Perform a “La La Land”-inspired dance on the 105 and 110 interchange

Paris has the glimmering Seine, we have . . . majestic freeways. It seems only appropriate that Olympic festivities involve commuters (or actors pretending to be commuters) in bumper-to-bumper traffic. An opening ceremony that acknowledges L.A.’s infamous traffic woes, rather than pretending they don’t exist, would be a sly way to nod at the inevitable slow roadways that the 2028 games will bring. And hey, I bet Ryan Gosling would be game to participate. — Alyssa Bereznak

Plant out L.A.’s ugliness

LAX, for example, is bleak. Aside from the difficulties of getting in and out of the airport, it’s such an ugly introduction to L.A. Back during World War II, The Times encouraged residents to plant victory gardens and even led by example; this time, residents, business owners and municipalities should plant trees and install planter boxes outside their homes and businesses and LAX should use them to soften passenger arrival and departure lanes. Why not counter the starkness of the cityscape with color and fragrance unique to our region? The catch: L.A. needs to start planting now, with trees, shrubs, etc. that take about three years to get established. Already, there are community groups trying to organize this, but their voices are small. Let this be their megaphone: If everyone pitches in, we can make our city more beautiful before the world comes calling. —Jeanette Marantos

Create a mechanical surfing ride for spectators

There could be several with different degrees of difficulty, so beginners can simply try to stand up on the board, while semi-pros ride waves closer to those faced in competition. It’s safer than the open water, and of course comes with lots of possibilities for commemorative photos. They do water rides at theme parks, where people get drenched. Why not the Olympics? —Jeanette Marantos

Mount a Randy’s Donut’s / rhythmic gymnastics crossover

Picture it: A giant Randy’s Donut, modeled on the famed Inglewood shop, rolls right into the stadium during the opening ceremony, helped along by a CGI rhythmic gymnast. Then a troupe of actual rhythmic gymnasts rolling rings that look like the doughnuts spread across the field. I’m kidding. But only sort of. —Rebecca Bryant

Griffith Park's resident mountain lion and unofficial mascot of sorts

Make a mountain lion the LA28 mascot

Recently, I’ve taken a deep dive into Olympic mascots after being wholly enamored by France’s Phryge — a red hat with expressive eyes that has taken a tumble, jet-skied and become a celebrity in Paris.

In 1984, Sam the Olympic Eagle strutted down in a stars-and-stripes top hat and bowtie at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. And in 2028, it should be a mountain lion — donning sparkly eyeglasses or streetwear or whatever else is adorable — that welcomes athletes to Los Angeles.

It makes sense, and, no, it’s not too niche. L.A. is the only place on this side of the Earth that has big cats living within city limits, according to the National Park Service. Not only will this pay homage to the mountain lion king of Griffith Park — P-22 — but it’s also a chance to highlight a species that has long captured the zeitgeist of L.A. —Angie Orellana Hernandez

Turn the Hollywood pitch meeting into an Olympic short film

In this vision, an Olympic torchbearer makes their way into a studio building — could be a lot, could be CAA or somewhere corporate. It’s all filmed with GoPro. They get a fist bump from the valet. Run through the mailroom. Ride up in an elevator (Sly Stallone cameo). Race down a hallway. Finally, they sit in a private conference room or office. We cut to the runner and it’s Timothée Chalamet or someone of similar star quality. They make a beautiful pitch about the “spirit of the Games, the essential humanity of the moment. It’s bigger than Hollywood — bigger than all of us.” Cut to the studio executive and it’s Albert Brooks: “That was more than 25 words.” —Joshua Rothkopf

Launch a parade of taco trucks (and other homages to L.A. culture)

This one’s a no-brainer. Match them with lowriders cruising, maybe with Snoop Dogg leading the cruise. Aztec dancers and some ballet folklorico at Placita Olvera. How about a sea of performers dressed up as the al pastor vertical spit? Dancing trompos! I’d like to see two murals that are critical to L.A. art history and which were originally censored to be celebrated grandly: “America Tropical” by Siquieros and Barbara Carrasco’s “L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective” at Union Station. Reopen the murals in time for 2028! Plus, let’s see evocations of the tagged up walls of the L.A. River, Five Points in East L.A., the Compton civic center, a soccer game at MacArthur Park, the Korean Friendship Bell, a bonfire at Dockweiler, and cameos by Tommy the Clown, Angelyne if she’s available, and please, please, Harry Perry, the roller skating guitarist from the Venice Beach walk. —Daniel Hernandez

Movie Reviews

Film reviews: ‘How to Make a Killing,’ ‘Pillion,’ and ‘Midwinter Break’

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

‘How to Make a Killing’

Directed by John Patton Ford (R)

★★

“Trying to find your niche as a movie star isn’t easy,” said Frank Scheck in The Hollywood Reporter. Take Glen Powell. A year ago, the Twisters and Anyone but You star was being talked about as possibly the next
Tom Cruise. But he “stumbled badly” when he tried to play a macho action hero in November’s remake of The Running Man, and he’s now turned in a second straight box office flop. He took a risk with How to Make a Killing, playing a guy cheated by fate who we’re supposed to root for as he begins murdering off the seven rich relatives standing between him and an enormous inheritance. But c’mon. “Powell is charming, but he’s not that charming.”

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The movie “needed to pick a side,” said Jacob Oller in AV Club. It could have been “a clownish class comedy” or “bitter sociopathic satire,” but it winds up being neither, and “at the center of it all is Powell, making the
same face for an hour and 45 minutes, too unflappable to root for, too smug to magnetize as an inhuman American Psycho.” I’m not ready to give up on him, said Nick Schager in the Daily Beast. To me, he and co-star Margaret Qualley, who plays the femme fatale who eggs on the killing spree, come across as “such alluringly nasty delights” that this reworking of the 1949 black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets “ survives its potentially lethal missteps and works on its own limited terms.” Though its teeth aren’t as sharp as they should be, “it’s smart and spiky enough to leave a pleasurably painful mark.”

‘Pillion’

Directed by Harry Lighton (Not rated)

★★★★

While this gay BDSM rom-com from a rookie director “might sound niche,” said Amy Nicholson in the Los Angeles Times, “free yourself to see it and you’ll discover it’s a universal romance.” Former Harry Potter side figure Harry Melling stars as a shy singleton who’s figuring out what he wants in a relationship when he happens into a submissive-dominant entanglement with a tall, handsome biker played by Alexander Skarsgard. Soon, Melling’s Colin is obeying his lover’s every order, including by shaving himself bald and sleeping like a dog on the floor. But the “kinky-funny” screenplay, which won a prize at Cannes, makes sure we see that Colin is not stuck but growing.

While the movie’s sex scenes are “refreshingly graphic,” they’re “never used or shock value,” said Odie Henderson in The Boston Globe. “The real shock comes from how emotionally involved the characters become within the construct of their kink.” And when Colin brings his new lover
home to meet the parents, Skarsgard and Lesley Sharp, as Colin’s suburban London mom, do memorable work because “neither of them
approaches the scene in a way you’d expect.” Until the ending, which “feels a little neat,” said Zachary Barnes in The Wall Street Journal, the movie “proceeds with an assurance of tone that’s especially impressive for a first-time filmmaker handling material like this.” Harry Lighton’s debut “could have been simply shocking, revving its engine in sexed-up style. Instead, Pillion purrs.”

‘Midwinter Break’

Directed by Polly Findlay (PG-13)

★★

Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds “would be appealing to watch just fumbling for their reading glasses,” said Natalia Winkelman in The New York Times. Unfortunately, this “staid” drama about an aging Irish couple puts that claim to the test. A “slow-moving film with a sappy score and mellow mood,” Midwinter Break opens with Manville’s Stella surprising Hinds’ Gerry by arranging a spur-of-the-moment trip to Amsterdam. Alas, “precious little conflict occurs until long afterward.”

But while Polly Findlay’s adaptation of a Bernard MacLaverty novel is a “delicate” film, said Lindsey Bahr in the Associated Press, its impact can be profound “if you can get on its level.” Stella, a devout Catholic, has an ulterior motive for dragging Gerry abroad, and when she nervously proposes how she’d like to live more purposefully in retirement, “it feels earth-shattering.” This is a couple accustomed to leaving much unsaid,
including how the violence of the Troubles led them to flee Belfast years earlier for Scotland. Manville and Hinds give the movie everything they’ve got, said Caryn James in The Hollywood Reporter. In a scene in which Stella pours out her heart to a stranger, “Manville delivers one of her most magnificent performances, which is saying a lot.” Alas, the script lets them down, “not because it needs more action but because this ordinary couple’s problems seem so unsurprising, their inner lives so veiled.”

Entertainment

After ‘Yellowstone’ and a twist of fate, Luke Grimes rides again as Kayce in ‘Marshals’

Published

5 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

After ‘Yellowstone’ and a twist of fate, Luke Grimes rides again as Kayce in ‘Marshals’

This story contains spoilers for the pilot of “Marshals.”

When the curtain came down on “Yellowstone” last year, Kayce Dutton had finally found his happily-ever-after.

The youngest son of wealthy rancher John Dutton (Kevin Costner) had secured a modest cabin in a mountainous region where he could reside in secluded peace with his beloved wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and son, Tate (Brecken Merrill), far from the turbulent dysfunction of his family.

“Kayce found his little peace of heaven, getting everything he ever wanted and fought for,” said Luke Grimes, who plays the soft-spoken Dutton in “Yellowstone.”

Grimes reprises the role in CBS’ “Marshals,” which premiered Sunday. But in the new series, Kayce’s serenity has been brutally shattered, forcing him to find a new path forward after an unimaginable tragedy.

The drama is the first of several planned spinoffs of “Yellowstone,” which became TV’s hottest scripted series during its five-season run. And while some familiar faces return and events unfold against the magnificent backdrop of towering mountains and lush greenery, “Marshals” is definitely not “Yellowstone” 2.0.

Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton in “Marshals,” which combines the gritty Western flavor of “Yellowstone” with the procedural genre.

(Sonja Flemming / CBS )

In “Marshals,” Kayce joins an elite squad of U.S. Marshals headed by his Navy SEAL teammate Pete Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green). The drama combines two distinct brands — the gritty Western flavor of “Yellowstone” with the procedural genre, a flagship of CBS’ prime-time slate.

During an interview at an exclusive club in downtown Los Angeles, Grimes expressed excitement about dusting off his cowboy hat and boots, though he admitted to having initial concerns about whether the project was a fit.

“I had never watched a procedural before, so I had to do some homework on what that was,” Grimes said hours before the gala premiere of “Marshals” at the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park. “And I just couldn’t wrap my head around it at first. In the finale, Kayce had ridden off into the sunset. So I thought, ‘Let him be, let him go.’ ”

Those doubts eventually ebbed away.

“To be honest, there was a part of me that didn’t want to let Kayce go just yet,” Grimes said. “Saying goodbye to him was really hard, so the opportunity to keep this going was something I couldn’t pass up. We get to show his backstory and also this other side of him that we didn’t see in ‘Yellowstone.’ ”

But this Kayce is a man in crisis. “Yellowstone” devotees will likely be shocked by the “elephant in the room” — the revelation in the pilot episode that Monica has died of cancer. The couple’s sexy and loving chemistry was a key element in the series while also establishing Grimes as a heartthrob.

“I think fans will be upset — and they should be,” Grimes said as he looked downward. “Kayce is very upset. It’s the worst thing that could have happened to him. But as much as I’m really upset not to work with Kelsey, it’s a good idea for the show.”

He added, “His dream life is no longer available to him. Now the only thing he has is his son, who is not so sure he wants the same life as Kayce. A big part of the season is Kayce learning how to manage all these new things — new job, being a single father.”

A bearded man with his hands in his jeans looking downward.

Executive producer and showrunner Spencer Hudnut (CBS’ “SEAL Team”) acknowledged in a separate interview that viewers may be stunned by the tragedy. “Real life intervenes for Kayce. Unfortunately it happens to so many of us.”

But he stressed that although Monica is physically gone, her presence will be heavily felt this season.

“She is guiding Kayce, and their relationship is moving forward,” Hudnut said. “His dealing with his inability to confront his grief is a big part of the season. It became clear that something horrible had to happen to put Kayce on a different path.”

As the development evolved, Grimes embraced the procedural concept: “This is a very different show and structure. This is an action show, very fast paced. I meet a lot of fans who say they really want to see Kayce go full Navy SEAL.”

Alumni from “Yellowstone” returning in “Marshals” include Gil Birmingham as tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater and Mo Brings Plenty as his confidante Mo.

“Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan, who had already spearheaded the prequels “1883” and “1923,” will further expand the “Yellowstone” universe later this month with “The Madison,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, about a New York City family living in Montana’s Madison River territory. Later this year, Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser will star in “Dutton Ranch,” reprising their respective “Yellowstone” roles as John Dutton’s volcanic daughter Beth Dutton and her husband, boss ranch hand Rip Wheeler.

Hudnut said fans of “Yellowstone” will recognize themes that were central to that series: “The cost and consequences of violence, man versus nature, man versus man.”

“We’re trying to tap into what people loved about ‘Yellowstone’ but to tell the story in a different framework,” he said. “The procedural brand is obviously very successful for CBS. And nothing has been bigger than ‘Yellowstone.’ So the challenge is, how do you marry those things?”

Taking on the lead role prompted Grimes to reflect on how “Yellowstone” transformed his life after co-starring roles in films like “American Sniper” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” and playing a vampire in the TV series “True Blood.”

“‘Yellowstone’ changed my life in many, many ways,” he said. “The biggest change is that I now live where we shot the show in Montana. The first time I went there, I would have never thought I would ever live there.

“I would come back to the city after shooting. But a little bit more each year, I felt more out of place here, and more peace and at home there. I’m a big nature person — I never was a big city person, but I had to be here to do what I wanted. But after the third season, my wife and I decided to move there. We wanted to start a family.”

The topic of a Kayce spinoff kept coming up during the filming of the finale, but “meanwhile we were having a baby, so that was the biggest thing on my plate.”

A man in a blue shirt standing with his arms crossed as horses with saddles graze in the background.

Grimes was also dealing with the off-screen drama that impacted production due to logistical and creative differences between Costner and Sheridan. Costner, who was the show’s biggest attraction, exited after filming the first part of the final season. His character was killed off.

Asked about the backstage tension, Grimes said, “I just tried to do my job to the best of my ability, and not get caught up in all that. It was sort of frustrating, but I felt lucky to have a job.”

He recalled getting a call from Sheridan about the plans for a spinoff: “He said, ‘I think you should talk to the guy who is going to be the showrunner. I’m not telling you to do it, and I’m not telling you not to do it. But Spencer is great and he has some good ideas.’ ”

Hudnut said Kayce “was always my favorite character. Also, Luke is not Kayce. Kayce is an amazing character, but Luke is really thoughtful and smart. He is a true artist and has an artist’s soul, while Kayce is kicking down doors and terrorizing people. And Luke has such a great presence. He can do so much with just a look to the camera. He is a true leading man.”

In addition to starring in “Marshals,” Grimes is also an executive producer. He pitched the opening sequence — a flashback showing Kayce in the battlefield. He also performs the song that plays over the final scene, in which he visits his wife’s grave. The ballad is from Grimes’ self-titled country album which was released last year.

“Luke’s creative fingerprints are all over the pilot,” Hudnut said.

Grimes said he does not feel pressure about being the first follow-up from “Yellowstone” to premiere.

“We’re not trying to make the same show, so no matter what happens, its a win-win,” he said. “I had a blast doing it.”

Movie Reviews

Roll On 18 Wheeler: Errol Sack’s ‘TRUCKER’ (2026) – Movie Review – PopHorror

Published

15 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Roll On 18 Wheeler: Errol Sack’s ‘TRUCKER’ (2026) – Movie Review – PopHorror

I am a sucker for all those straight-to-video slasher movies from the 90’s; there was just a certain point where you knew the acting was terrible, however, it made you fall in love. I can definitely remember scanning the video store sections for all the different horror movies I could. All those movies had laughable names and boom mics accidentally getting in the frame. Trucker seems like a child of all those old dreams, because it is.

Let’s get into the review.

Synopsis

When a group of reckless teens cause an accident swroe to never speak of it. The father is reescued by a strange man. from the wreckage and nursed back to health by a mysterious old man. When the group agrees to visit the accident scene, they meet their match from a strange masked trucker and all his toys with revenge on his mind.

Roll on 18 Wheleer

Trucker is what you would imagine: a movie about a psychotic trucker chasing you. We have seen it many, many times. What makes the film so different is its homage to bad movies but good ideas. I don’t mean in a negative way. When you think of a slasher movie, it’s not very complicated; as a matter of fact, it takes five minutes to piece the film together. This is so simple and childlike, and I absolutely love it. Trucker gave us something a little different, not too gory, bad CGI fire, I mean, this is all we old schlock horror fans want. Trucker is the type of film that you expect from a Tubi Original, on speed. However, I would take this over any Tubi Original.

I found some parts that were definitely a shout-out to the slasher humor from all those movies. Another good point that made the film shine was the sets. I guess what I can say is the film is everything Joy Ride should have been. While most modern slashers are trying to recreate the 1980s, the film stands out with its love for those unloved 1990’s horror films. While most see Joyride, you are extremely mistaken, my friend; you will enjoy this film much more.

In The End

In the end, I enjoyed the entire film. At first, I saw it listed as an action thriller; I was pleasantly surprised, and Trucker pulled at my heart strings, enveloping me in its comfort from a long-forgotten time in horror. It’s a nostalgic blast for me, thinking back to that time, my friends, my youth, and finding my new home. Horror fans are split down the middle: from serial-killer clowns (my side) to elevated horror, where an artist paints a forty-thousand-year-old demon that chases them around an upper-class studio apartment. I say that a lot, but it’s the best way to describe some things.

The entire movie had me cheering while all the people I hated suffered dire consequences for their actions. It’s the same old story done in a way that we rabid fans could drool over, and it worked. In all the bad in the world today, and my only hope for the future is the soon-to-end Terrifier franchise. However, the direction was a recipe to succeed with 40+ year old horror fans like me. I see the film as a hope for tomorrow, leading us into a new era.

Trucker is set to release on March 10th, 2026