City Culver City Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Charna Flam City Year Los Angeles announced board member and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer will be honored at the organization’s 12th annual Spring Break: Destination Education event on May 6. Spencer’s “The Help” co-star Viola Davis will present her with the award at the fundraiser, which is taking place at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City. In addition to Spencer, Kevin Demoff, COO of the L.A. Rams and City Year board member, will also be honored. For years, Spencer has participated in the City Year mentorship program, which aids thousands of children across Los Angeles public schools through tutoring programs and social opportunities. Spencer has been advocating for education throughout her career, all in an effort to ensure more students have access to the tools they need to succeed.

Julia MacCary editor Rising filmmakers were honored Wednesday night at the inaugural Sony Future Filmmaker Awards. The award show, created by Creo and Sony, celebrates creators and independent filmmakers across the globe. The filmmakers received a cash prize, a trip to Los Angeles and an industry immersion experience led by Sony Pictures execs. Thirty filmmakers were honored across six categories, with six individuals winning the awards. Director Justin Chadwick chaired the panel that created the shortlist and chose the winners. Also serving on the jury was Nicole Brown, president of TriStar Pictures, Jeremy Barber, a partner at UTA for motion picture literary and talent, and Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger A. Deakins.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent It’s Monday after the Super Bowl, and at 8:30 a.m., Emma Grede has been awake for hours. After getting up at 5:00 a.m., Grede has just dropped off one of her four young children at school, and is now on her way to her offices in Culver City. The British businesswoman lives with her family in Bel Air, but is feeling extra rested after having spent the weekend at her second home in Malibu where she woke up this morning. “What have I ever been doing? This is why you live in California,” a chipper Grede says over the phone from her car. “I worked a paper route when I was 12, and I really learned the joy of the morning — that quiet time, it’s so precious. I have my coffee, I like to have a moment to think and I do a workout. But I wake up naturally. I wake up 15 minutes before any alarm goes off.”

Charles Kimbrough, best known for his portrayal of network anchorman Jim Dial on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown, died Jan. 11 in Culver City, Calif. No cause was given by his son, who confirmed the death.

Ricky Strauss starts Tuesday as Head of Apple TV+ Marketing. A 30-year veteran, Strauss spent more than nine years at Disney, most recently as president of content and marketing for Disney+, where he spearheaded the launch of that service and was president of programming for Hulu and Disney+.

Technicolor Creative Studios has teamed with state-of-the-art virtual production company NantStudios on the creation of a new virtual production stage, which will open as part of its 60,000 square-foot Creative Hub in Culver City in 2023.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Los Angeles-based real estate developer The Ratkovich Company, which brought the Hercules Campus in Playa Vista to life for Google and YouTube Studios, and a J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives investment group have acquired a three-acre property near Downtown Culver City with plans to develop it into a creative campus like others in the area occupied by Amazon, Apple, WarnerMedia, Sony, TikTok, Nike and Adobe, Variety has learned exclusively. Dubbed “The Bowcroft Collection,” the 73,035-square-foot group of connected buildings stretches from 5950-5978 Bowcroft Street, near the intersection of Jefferson and Obama Boulevards in Los Angeles.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) today announced the establishment of its first LED virtual production stage, located at Sony Innovation Studios in Culver City. With LED virtual production transforming the way film and television are made, the new stage is the world’s largest using Sony’s high brightness and wide color gamut Crystal LED display panels. The panels were created in collaboration with top engineers at SPE for use in virtual production. The establishment of this LED stage allows Sony Innovation Studios (SIS) to expand its virtual production workflow across various entertainment platforms and seamlessly merge the real and virtual worlds with its Atom View technology and proprietary stage-integration software.

Michael B. Jordan is putting his buff arms on full display!

The cast of the new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power stepped out for the L.A. premiere!

Jeff Bezos is supporting Amazon at the premiere of the company’s new Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power!

K.J. Yossman “Stranger Things” star Nikola Djuricko has been tapped to present the Serbian edition of NBCUniversal Formats’ entertainment series “Hollywood Game Night.” This is the 24th international edition of the series, joining adaptations in the U.K., France, Greece, Hungary and Thailand, among others. The show pairs celebrities with contestants as they compete in a variety of party games.

Right from the start, you know exactly what you are in for with Bullet Train, a non-stop mix of violence, comedy, and more violence, Japanese-style, as filtered through the lens of director David Leitch, a stuntman turned filmmaker whose past credits of Atomic Blonde, Fast & Furious: Hobbs And Shaw, and Deadpool 2 pretty much prepare you for what to expect here. However, even though this was mostly shot on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, with some killer production design and a cool train courtesy of David Scheunemann, it undoubtedly feels we are in Tokyo where I am sure the Sony bosses were delighted with the dailies as they came in. Unfortunately, from my vantage point this just seems like a lark for star Brad Pitt, coming off an Oscar for the far superior Quentin Tarantino masterpiece, also from Sony, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and the underrated Ad Astra, both pre-pandemic in 2019. His most notable appearance since has been in a comedic supporting role in The Lost City with Sandra Bullock who returns the favor here in a mostly voiceover role as his “handler,” therapist, self help guide, guru – whatever you want to call her – who is constantly guiding him through the messes he gets himself into.

There is an update on the tragic murders of model Christy Giles and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola.

Editor’s Note: Deadline closely covered the seismic impact that disruption, and the pandemic had on every segment of film, TV and stage, and the companies that make and distribute them. This will start a series of occasional features on how they’ve emerged from the darkness of the past two plus years. 

Ellise Shafer Big news for “Ghostbusters” fans: the franchise is in development on an animated film, and the sequel to “Afterlife” is returning to the original films’ home of New York City.Several announcements were delivered by Sony Pictures and Ghost Corps’ Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan as part of Ghostbusters Day, the annual celebration of the first “Ghostbusters” film’s release on June 8, 1984. The new animated film is based on “Ghosbusters” IP and being developed by Jason Reitman and Kenan along with Sony Pictures Animation.

Michael J. Fox picks his roles very carefully these days.

Shirley Ju The Kid Laroi’s “Stay,” his monster hit with Justin Bieber, is creeping up on 1 billion on-demand streams, per data from Luminate, with its official music video racking 546 million views on YouTube and counting. To say that Laroi has officially arrived would be an understatement.At only 18 years old, the Australian singer-songwriter has accomplished what many musicians aspire to inin a lifetime: signed to Columbia Records, whose roster includes Adele, Bruce Springsteen and Harry Styles, he’s been nominated for a Grammy, performed on “Saturday Night Live” (alongside Miley Cyrus for his breakout hit, “Without You”) and collaborated with his idol, the late Juice WRLD.Laroi’s most recent release, “Thousand Miles,” written about his current girlfriend before they started dating, made another big splash when it debuted in April, thanks in large part to a TikTok promoting the record, which featured images of Laroi’s former manager Scooter Braun, implying that Braun was a “mistake.” (Braun was in on the hoax, he later revealed; and Laroi has since parted with his most recent representative, Adam Leber.) Variety spoke with Laroi in Culver City, Calif., where he was performing virtually for Kid Cudi’s Encore app.

closed on Friday.Zaslav’s travel agenda will take him to WarnerMedia’s global headquarters in New York on Monday, Warner Bros. offices in Atlanta on Tuesday, WarnerMedia/HBO offices in Culver City on Wednesday, and concluding with a town hall at WarnerMedia offices on the iconic Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, according to the individual.

Jennifer Lopez has revealed her stunning engagement ring from Ben Affleck, confirming that after 20 years they are giving marriage a second chance.In a video sent to fans via her newsletter, the singer shared a video of her showing off the gorgeous green ring as she could be heard saying: "You're perfect," and looking close to tears. She wore a green crop top and oversized cream cardigan and could be seen putting her hand to her mouth in shock.

Jennifer Lopez has sparked further engagement rumors after being pictured wearing a large diamond ring on her left hand.MORE: Jennifer Lopez sizzles in lacy lingerie in jaw-dropping new campaignIn pcitures shared by the New York Post, the singer was spotted shopping in Culver City with her 14-year-old daughter Emme; wearing a casual maxi print dress with large sunglasses, Jennifer added the stunning ring to her finger.WATCH: JLo shares the morning ritual she never missesThe 52-year-old has been dating Ben Affleck since 2021, after the pair reunited two decades after they first ended their engagement.They have been more open about their romance in recent months, and Jen was joined by Ben and Emme as she received the iHeartRadio Icon Award in March.MORE: Jennifer Lopez announces heartwarming news close to her heartThe Jenny From the Block hitmaker took to the stage at the star-studded bash at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles as Ben and Emme cheered her on.JLo's daughter wasn't the only family member to join them either as Ben's son, Samuel, from his marriage to Jennifer Garner was also with them. VIEW GALLERY Jennifer was joined by Ben at the iHeartRadio AwardsThe family outing comes just days after it was reported that the reunited love birds have bought a $55million Bel Air mansion together.They are now said to be investing in an incredible property in the star-studded neighborhood, where Jennifer already has a $28million home nearby.

A sad update has been made in the investigation into late model Christy Giles and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola’s deaths.

Lady and the Tramp, Los Angeles style? Kourtney Kardashian, 42, and Travis Barker, 46, adorably shared a matcha milkshake with two straws as they stopped in to visit Monty’s Good Burger in Culver City. Rocking matching rectangular black shades as they posed together for a pic for the restaurant’s official Instagram account, the duo tackled the enormous frothy shake in ultimate style.

Simone Ashley stuns in a chic white ensemble during the Bridgerton Dinner celebrating South Asian culture held at Arth Bar & Kitchen on Tuesday night (March 29) in Culver City, Calif.

A-lister Mila Kunis, born Milena Markovna Kunis, is now best-known for being a huge Hollywood star but her start in life was worlds away from the glitz and glamour of the movies. Mila was born in Ukraine in 1983 and then was forced to leave her home country seven years later, as her family fled just before the fall of the Soviet Union in 19991.The actress – who’s starred in films Black Swan and Ted as well as TV’s Family Guy – has previously stated anti-semitism as the reason why she left for America, saying her "whole family was in the Holocaust". "One of my friends who grew up in Russia, she was in second grade," she explained.

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Television unveiled the 15 helmers selected for the next class of its Diverse Directors Program. They are Alison Rich, Alexandra Chando, Kristen Buckels, Mauro Mueller, Dale S. Lewis, Alvaro Ron, Caitlin Gerard, Cameron Ali Fay, Kandis Fay, Ria Pavia, David Mahmoudieh, Bao Tran, Gustavo Cooper, Zoe Stewart and Aron Kantor.

Sony Pictures Television has named kids programming vet Joe D’Ambrosia has been named EVP & General Manager of its Silvergate Media subsidiary.

Travis Engel, a former agent who co-founded the talent management firm Trinity Artists International, died Monday of cardiac arrest in Culver City. He was 37.

Doja Cat is bringing the heat to a Super Bowl party!

The stars are kicking off Super Bowl Weekend!