Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for Deadpool & Wolverine, San Diego Comic-Con and Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Harold and the Purple Crayon special screening

Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Lil Rel Howery and Benjamin Bottani joined director Carlos Saldanha at a special Los Angeles screening for their Columbia Pictures film on Sunday.

Deadpool & Wolverine premiere

Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Matthew Macfadyen, Aaron Stanford, Brianna Hildebrand, Lewis Tan and Tyler Mane joined director Shawn Levy and producer Kevin Feige at the Marvel film’s New York premiere on Monday, with support from Blake Lively and Gigi Hadid.

San Diego Comic-Con

The annual comics convention kicked off in San Diego with stars from Deadpool & Wolverine, Transformers One, Planet of the Apes, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, What We Do in the Shadows and Those About to Die.

RuPaul’s DragCon LA

World of Wonder hosted the annual RuPaul’s DragCon across Friday and Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, featuring performances, signings and meet and greets with fan-favorite Queens and a Friday night DJ set with RuPaul himself.

Whoopi Goldberg Key to West Hollywood

Whoopi Goldberg received the Key to West Hollywood on Saturday for her consistent support of the LGBTQIA+ community and for having had the first branded/tested woman-owned cannabis brand in California. Later that night, Goldberg celebrated the launch of WhoopFam’s new cannabis brand, Emma & Clyde, and the relaunch of her Whoopi & Maya brand in Venice, with guests including Leslie Jones, Jo Koy and Meagan Good.

Room to Grow brunch

Room to Grow, with co-hosts Uma Thurman, Catherine Carmody, Rashaan Reid and Nancy Twine gathered supporters over a private brunch in Water Mill, New York, on Saturday. The organization provides critical support to families raising babies born into low-income circumstances.

 God’s Love We Deliver party

God’s Love We Deliver, which provides nutritious, medically tailored meals for people too sick to shop or cook for themselves, celebrated the 23rd annual Midsummer Night Drinks on Saturday at the East Hampton home of Lisa and James Cohen, in partnership with GALERIE magazine. 

War Game HamptonsFilm SummerDocs Series screening

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin attended the HamptonsFilm SummerDocs Series screening of War Game on Saturday in East Hampton.

DÌDI (弟弟) special screening

The cast and crew of Focus Features’ DÌDI (弟弟), including writer-director Sean Wang and stars Joan Chen and Izaac Wang, celebrated the film with a special screening in L.A. on Monday.

Pee-wee’s Playhouse Reunion

Paul Reubens’ former Pee-wee’s Playhouse castmates reunited to honor the late comedy legend at The Groundlings Theater in L.A. on Monday.

Dress My Tour premiere

Kathy Hilton, Toni Braxton and Dr. Holly Carter hosted a celebration for the premiere of Dress My Tour, Hulu’s first reality competition show, on Tuesday.

Sing Sing special screening

Colman Domingo and co-star Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin attended an intimate screening of A24’s Sing Sing in NYC on Tuesday, with a conversation moderated by Bevy Smith.

The Decameron premiere event

Netflix celebrated the launch of The Decameron, with stars Tanya Reynolds, Jessica Plummer, Amar Chadha-Patel, Douggie McMeekin, Lou Gala, Karan Gill, Zosia Mamet, Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Tony Hale, in N.Y. on Wednesday.

Deadpool & Wolverine Dogpool screening

Following Monday night’s world premiere, Dogpool (played by Peggy the dog) and Leslie Uggams returned to N.Y. on Wednesday to host a second screening of the upcoming Marvel film, where guests were encouraged to bring their own pups.

Alok screening

UTA held a screening of short documentary Alok on Wednesday, followed by a Q&A with director Alex Hedison and star Alok Vaid-Menon. The conversation was moderated by executive producer Jodie Foster. 

Love Island USA Universal Studios trip

Following the season finale of Peacock’s Love Island USA, Islanders were reunited at Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday for the first time since leaving the villa. 

Jonathan Van Ness x WhatsApp

Jonathan Van Ness took over The Americana at Brand in L.A. with WhatsApp on Thursday to celebrate the app hitting 100 million active users in the U.S.

San Diego District 2 City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell introduced an ordinance proposal Thursday that would require any new or significantly renovated facilities on city property — such as libraries, parks, beaches and recreation centers — to offer all-gender restrooms with clear signage.

Two years ago, California gave cities and counties the power to adopt such policies.

State law already requires existing public single-toilet stalls be all-gender. This ordinance would go a step farther by mandating an all-gender option for all newly constructed projects.

Philadelphia passed a similar ordinance in 2019.

Campbell’s policy advisor, Manuel Reyes, pitched the idea.

“Any public facility should have access because it’s a basic human necessity that all of us experience,” he said.

Reyes said restroom access is not just a matter of safety for trans people, but also of public health.

“Holding it all day” can cause urinary tract infections and dehydration, he said.

San Diego LGBT Community Center staff member Karina Piu called the proposed ordinance an active rebuke of national trends.

It stands in contrast to the bills passed in a dozen states in recent years, which require a person to use the bathroom of the sex assigned to them at birth.

President Biden put a ban on such blanket policies in April, but it faces legal challenges.

While the debate over all-gender restrooms is often focused on trans and gender non-conforming people, they’re also more accessible for caregivers of people needing restroom assistance, like small children, elderly people or people with disabilities.

“For example, a father, out with his daughter, and she has to go to the bathroom. What does he do?” Campbell said. “He doesn’t want to take her in the men’s room, and he can’t go in the ladies’ room. So having all-gender bathrooms is a good solution for everyone.”

And, they help fight a universal enemy: long bathroom lines.

Public comment at the Community and Neighborhood Services Committee meeting was overwhelmingly in support.

One commenter said she was concerned about safety, but said if the restrooms were single-stall it wouldn’t matter.

Campbell signaled the restrooms would be single-stall, saying: “That is the idea.”

Several more public commenters used the topic to ask the committee to address what they saw as a larger issue: the inadequate number of public restrooms in the city overall, which grand juries have repeatedly recommended to help mitigate public outbreaks of hepatitis A, shigella, and COVID-19.

The committee unanimously directed city staff to draft the ordinance.

Reyes said some of the first affected projects would be the expansion of the Ocean Beach Library, the upcoming rebuild of the San Carlos Library, and the Ocean Beach Pier rebuild.

Originally Published: July 25, 2024 at 9:05 p.m.