The Brief

Gov. Gavin Newsom is advancing a plan that could funnel hundreds of millions in road dollars to a struggling oil refinery — pitching it as a cleaner jet fuel initiative. The credit, drawn from funds voters designated for highways and local streets, could also raise gas prices for most drivers.

UC Berkeley economists warn it could raise California gas prices. And while the plan is pitched as a climate measure, the analysis finds it could cut emissions at more than 10 times the cost economists consider effective, one of the authors told CalMatters.

The proposal is expected to receive a final legislative hearing on Thursday. It has drawn backing from lawmakers and labor groups, who say it preserves jobs at facilities like the Rodeo refinery in Contra Costa County and helps the state achieve its climate goals.

But the plan has drawn criticism from an unlikely mix of voices: oil industry representatives, the Legislature's nonpartisan analyst — who is urging lawmakers to reject the proposal — and environmentalists who argue California is underfunding cleaner, more effective alternatives like mass transit.

Phillips 66 leads the subsidy line

The governor's four-page proposal is a straightforward mechanism granting a tax credit to producers in a small corner of the jet fuel market — with potentially far-reaching implications for most drivers.

Only two companies currently produce state-certified jet biofuel and also owe diesel excise tax in California — the conditions required to claim the credit, said

Andrew March, a Department of Finance budget analyst. Of those, only Phillips 66 has publicly confirmed it would qualify for the credit. The company spent $1.25 billion converting its Rodeo refinery in Contra Costa County from traditional petroleum refining to biofuels.

Jets do not run on gasoline; they run on a fuel refined from petroleum by oil companies that also produce gasoline for cars and diesel for trucks. Because jet fuel requires less processing than gasoline or diesel, it is generally cheaper to produce. But sustainable aviation fuel, made from products like used cooking grease and animal fat, costs significantly more, roughly twice the price of conventional jet fuel, due to the expense of converting refineries and processing organic materials.

Under the proposal, producers would earn credits for selling the fuel here and use those credits to offset the diesel taxes they owe.

The formula for credits isn't flat — the cleaner the fuel, the bigger the credit, ranging from $1 to $2 per gallon.

The state estimates that Newsom’s proposal could cost between $165 million and $300 million, but California's nonpartisan legislative analyst warns that figure could be far higher. That’s because the tax credit is so high that it could incentivize companies outside California to acquire California companies with diesel tax liabilities, said Helen Kerstein, who evaluates climate programs for the Legislative Analyst’s Office. A major California refiner like Chevron could also buy a renewable fuel company elsewhere and ship the fuel here, she said.

If more companies claim the credit than expected, diesel tax revenues could fall more sharply — driving the program’s cost higher than anticipated. In February, a team of UC Berkeley economists estimated the proposal could cause diesel tax receipts to fall by as much as 75%.

“They're going to incentivize a whole lot more sustainable aviation fuel than they're planning,” Aaron Smith, a Berkeley economist who co-authored the report, told CalMatters. “That is going to be a huge hit to the state's diesel tax receipts, and so it's going to be a huge hole in the budget.”

March, the budget analyst, disputed Smith’s findings, saying it assumes an 8-to-10-fold surge in sustainable aviation fuel flowing into California. Other states that have passed similar credits haven’t experienced such growth, he said. The program is designed to grow over time, as more companies begin producing sustainable aviation fuel and become eligible, March said.

One refinery’s bet 

Last year, Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías and a dozen colleagues toured the Rodeo refinery, which sits along the shores of the San Pablo Bay, in the Concord Democrat’s district. What they learned alarmed them, Ávila Farías said.

Phillips 66 officials told lawmakers that due to the loss of federal incentives — and because California's own low carbon fuel program wasn't generating enough revenue — projects like the refinery conversion were struggling, she said.

Phillips 66 lobbied the Governor’s office directly near the end of 2025. Newsom included the tax credit in his budget proposal. Ávila Farías and 40 of her colleagues joined in a “bipartisan” push for the measure.

“In 2026, these facilities are on the brink of closure,” Ávila Farías said in written responses to CalMatters questions.

The Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington, on Sept. 30, 2025. Photo by Stella Kalinina for CalMatters Phillips 66 declined to answer basic questions about the proposal it lobbied to help shape: whether the Rodeo facility is profitable, whether it faces closure without the credit or how much it expects to claim if the credit is approved. Neither the governor’s office nor the company would say what role it played in shaping the proposal.

In 2025, the company made $4.4 billion in profits. The Houston-based company’s renewable fuels segment, which is anchored by the Rodeo complex, lost $380 million in 2025, worse than the $198 million loss it posted the year before, according to the company's annual report.

Disclosures filed with the California Secretary of State show Phillips 66 lobbied the Governor's Office directly on a "proposed sustainable aviation fuel incentive package” in the last three months of the year — after the legislative session had concluded but budget planning for the next year is typically underway. An earlier disclosure specifically referenced 'diesel excise taxes' alongside the fuels incentive package.

Phillips 66 was a member of the Western States Petroleum Association, the state’s main oil lobby, until the end of last year. The association has not taken an official position on the tax credit, though its chief lobbyist has urged lawmakers to stay focused on keeping California’s traditional petroleum refineries open.

Phillips 66 has been a significant contributor to state campaigns through 2024, donating a total of more than $1.1 million to legislators, according to the CalMatters Digital Democracy database. Since 2024, the company has continued to fund legislative campaigns, including those of Ávila Farías, Secretary of State data shows.

For workers at the Rodeo plant, the stakes are high. Joe Jawad, president of United Steelworkers Local 326, represents roughly 250 workers there, many from families who have worked the refinery for generations. In total, the refinery employs more than 400 workers.

“If this incentive passes, it's my understanding this place stays here for years to come,” Jawad said. “That's what we're looking for.”

But the transition has concerned local environmental justice advocates. Community organizer Daphney Saviotti-Orozco, who grew up in the unincorporated community of Rodeo, a few blocks from the refinery, worries biofuels could still pollute local air quality with methane, nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter.

“There'll be more pressure to make even more,” she said.

A hit to California’s highways and byways

California has long protected fuel tax money for roads. Newsom’s proposal could drain those funds.

In hearings, lawmakers have specifically raised concern about the use of road dollars for green jet fuel.

“We don't have sustainable funding for our transportation system,” said Lori Wilson, a Democrat from Suisun City, who chairs the Assembly transportation committee, speaking at a March 11 hearing. “It does give me cause for concern.”

The state constitution protects gas and diesel excise taxes: they must fund highways, local streets and transit infrastructure. Voters reinforced that mandate in 2010, when they passed Proposition 22, which barred the state from borrowing or redirecting those funds.

Newsom’s proposal wouldn’t technically violate the rules, but the proposal would have a similar impact, said Kerstein, of the legislative analyst’s office.

"Every dollar that goes to this credit is one fewer dollar that goes to local streets and roads, and the state highway system," Kerstein said. "That's the trade-off."

March disputed the framing, saying there were other sources of money for transportation funds.

“The projected impact on road repairs is not a dollar for dollar trade,” he wrote.

The credit would pull money from three programs: Caltrans highway maintenance, local street and road funding and competitive freight grants. California's roads are already starved for cash.

Current funding only covers about 61% of projected highway needs, according to Caltrans, while more drivers switching to electric vehicles are likely to shrink gas tax revenue. Local streets and roads face a $74 billion funding gap, according to a survey from the California State Association of Counties, which advocates for local jurisdictions.

“We definitely need road repairs, but we can't miss this chance on jet fuel,” Ávila Farías wrote. “We must do both.”

A costly climate fix

But the plan’s primary beneficiary isn’t the climate; it’s a refinery whose parent company lost hundreds of millions on renewable fuels last year. And while supporters say the jet fuel credit would cut carbon emissions, critics say it could do so at a steep cost.

The plan would cost $1,000 to $2,700 per ton of emissions reduced — more than 10 times what economists consider a cost-effective way to cut climate pollution, according to the Berkeley analysis.

That’s because California is already getting most of the climate benefits from renewable fuels — also made from plant and animal materials — through its low carbon fuel standard, a program that pushes producers to make what they sell here progressively cleaner. Many of those fuels today go into diesel trucks.

Berkeley’s report contends that the credit would mainly shift the same limited supply of used cooking oil, animal fats and other raw materials into jet fuel instead of replacing fossil fuels.

March said the state has invested in similarly-priced and more expensive policies in the past in order to boost emerging technologies. “Public investment does what private capital won’t,” March said.

Matthew Botill, a division chief with the California Air Resources Board, said boosting sustainable aviation fuel is critical because demand for jet fuel is expected to grow and state policies aim to cut fuel use in trucking by shifting to electric vehicles.

Without stronger incentives for sustainable aviation fuel, petroleum use in aviation will rise as more people fly, undermining the state’s climate goals, Botill said at a March 11 hearing.

But by diverting renewable diesel from trucks, producers could drive gas and diesel prices up by 10 to 15 cents per gallon, according to Smith and the Berkeley economists – pushing trucks back toward petroleum and making the fuel mix dirtier and more expensive to clean up.

“Markets chase the subsidies,” said Danny Cullenward, an energy policy researcher who agreed with the Berkeley findings. “You make a very attractive subsidy, and people say, ‘Well, I'd rather be delivering that thing.’”

Environmentalists say the state would be better off investing in proven, emission-cutting solutions like electric cars and trucks and mass transit.

“We're not funding the low-hanging fruit,” said Christina Scaringe, California climate policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There's just a very basic argument that we don't have a lot of money.”

March, the state budget analyst, told CalMatters that predictions about the governor’s biofuel proposal’s impact on gas prices are “highly uncertain.”

Lawmakers, including Ávila Farías, have compared jet biofuel to solar or wind power in their early stages arguing California “must act boldly now,” to support sustainable aviation fuel.

Smith is skeptical sustainable aviation fuel will ever get cheap enough to stand on its own. And the economics have only worsened since the U.S. began strikes on Iran in late February, sending fuel prices sharply higher.

Before the conflict, conventional jet fuel ran about $2.50 a gallon, according to Argus Media – which also tracked sustainable fuel’s cost at more than twice that — $5.48. Since the strikes on Iran, both have climbed. At west coast airports this week, Globalair.com reports the price of sustainable fuel has reached $10.20.

"You need a lot of government support to make it work," Smith said. "I just don't ever see that happening."

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Today and Friday will be the warmest days of the week here in Southern California followed by cooler weather this weekend.

Where it's going to be the warmest: Coachella Valley temperatures will range from 104 to 109 degrees. In the Antelope Valley, afternoon highs will reach 103 degrees. Meanwhile, in the Inland Empire, afternoon highs will reach 96 degrees and in L.A. County valleys, temperatures could reach 93 degrees.

Where it's going to be the coolest: Head to the coast if you want to beat the heat. L.A. County beaches will see highs from 67 to 72 degrees, while in Orange County, coastal temps will range from 71 to 79 degrees.

The men's soccer World Cup kicks off next week at 16 stadiums across North America, just as summer weather arrives in many of the host cities. Millions of fans, players and workers could be exposed to potentially harmful heat, an NPR analysis finds.

More than one-third of World Cup matches are at high risk for dangerously hot, humid conditions, NPR found, and dozens more matches come with moderate heat risk.

NPR looked at two decades of temperature data for each host city, as well as the time each World Cup match is scheduled to start, and checked those temperatures against heat hazard guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American College of Sports Medicine.

The high-risk events identified in NPR's analysis include multiple high-profile matches, such as the game that determines which team takes home third place in the World Cup, and the World Cup final.

"Players can overheat, and match officials as well," says Donal Mullan, a climate scientist at Queen's University Belfast, who co-authored a study last year about heat risk at the 2026 World Cup.

"They can also overheat and collapse," Mullan warns. "This has happened to people."

In an email to NPR, a spokesperson for FIFA, the governing body for international soccer, wrote that the organization "is committed to protecting the health and safety of players, referees, fans, volunteers and staff."

FIFA scheduled many games for cooler afternoon and evening hours, added extra water breaks for players and referees and installed air conditioning on the sidelines for those who are sitting on the benches, the email states.

"Outdoor matches during the hottest parts of the day have been strategically limited, kick-off times adjusted in certain markets, and matches expected in warmer windows prioritized for covered stadiums where possible," the email also states. FIFA did not respond to further questions about why some matches were nonetheless scheduled for high-risk locations and times.

When the weather is especially hot, "spectators will be permitted to bring one factory-sealed water bottle, and venues will activate additional cooling capacity, including shaded areas, misting systems, cooling buses and expanded water distribution," the FIFA spokesperson wrote to NPR.

FIFA did not respond to questions about how hot it would need to be to trigger protections, whether every venue has misting systems available or whether workers at stadiums would have the same access as spectators.

Dangerous heat and limited cooling

Out of the 104 games, 67 of them are being held at locations and times that come with potential danger for heat illnesses, with 39 of those at high risk, according to their historical wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). The WBGT measurement is a strong indicator of overall heat risk because it takes into account humidity, shade and solar radiation to calculate the temperature.

"All hot weather is dangerous, but hot, humid weather tends to be more dangerous," says Jennifer Vanos, who studies heat policy at Arizona State University.

Miami, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta rank near the top in temperature for their games, with averages as high as 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Attendees and workers in those stadiums will have air conditioning.

Stadiums in other parts of the U.S. don't have the same infrastructure, with games in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Kansas City, Mo., averaging as high as 79 F with no roofs covering their stadiums.

Miami's stadium is the hottest venue without air conditioning. The historical average temperature this time of year is around 80 F. That threatens multiple matches with dangerously hot weather, including the match that determines which team wins third place in the tournament.

Multiple scientific studies have come to similar conclusions, including one published last month by researchers at Imperial College London and collaborators, who found that about a quarter of World Cup games this summer are likely to be held while temperatures exceed 79 F.

It is possible that individual matches in Miami and other high-risk cities will get lucky and see overcast skies and cooler-than-average temperatures. But climate change makes such luck less likely. Overall summer temperatures across North America are steadily rising, as global warming drives longer, hotter heat waves. The last 10 years were the hottest decade ever recorded on Earth.

The risk is not theoretical

The dangers of hot, humid weather are not new to professional soccer players and tournament organizers, though the risks are getting more pronounced as the planet warms.

The last men's World Cup tournament was held in the winter because of concerns about dangerously hot, humid weather in the host country of Qatar. Summer weather in Qatar's capital is often so hot and muggy that the human body can no longer cool itself by sweating.

Many North American cities also get extremely hot and humid, and heat emergencies have happened at professional soccer matches in the United States in the past.

Two years ago, hot, humid weather caused a health emergency at a stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. During a June 25, 2024, international soccer match, referee Humberto Panjoj collapsed on the field due to heat illness and had to be rushed to the hospital.

A nearby stadium in Kansas City, Mo., will host the World Cup match between Tunisia and the Netherlands exactly two years later, on June 25, 2026, raising concerns about the safety of conditions during that upcoming game.

At another 2024 match, held in Miami, a star player for Uruguay left the game at halftime and later told The Athletic that he suffered from dizziness and dehydration.

In 2017, professional soccer player Rachel Daly collapsed due to heat exhaustion during a match in Houston, despite additional water breaks during the game. She recovered and later posted on X: "those conditions are not safe to play at your maximum."

The sport's largest players union, FIFPRO, has expressed concern about player safety at the 2026 World Cup. FIFPRO did not respond to specific questions from NPR about heat safety at the tournament.

The reasons for avoiding the heat of the day go beyond protecting player and fan health. Soccer is a more dynamic game when it's played in cooler weather, studies have found, because players run faster and cover more ground.

Evening games are safer than afternoon ones

One of the simplest ways to protect people from hot weather during the World Cup is to schedule games for the evening, when temperatures are slightly cooler and there is less direct sunlight.

"The heat risk goes down significantly after about 6 o'clock in the evening, typically," Mullan says. "FIFA have by and large avoided the worst times of the day."

In an email to NPR, a FIFA spokesperson wrote that the organization took such considerations into account when it created the World Cup schedule.

FIFA did not answer questions about why the World Cup final is scheduled for the heat of the day, 3 p.m., on July 19 at an uncovered stadium outside New York City.

That start time, during the hottest part of the day, may have been chosen to maximize the global audience, much of which is located in later time zones. An evening start time would have required fans in Europe, Africa and Asia to tune in late at night or in the very early morning.

But the heat risk at that match is clear, Mullan says. "Obviously, if you schedule these matches for the midafternoon at some of these hottest locations, then that's your recipe for disaster," he explains. NPR's analysis found that the World Cup final match is likely to see wet bulb globe temperatures of 79 F, putting players and fans at risk for dangerously hot, humid weather.

World Cup fans and workers are also at risk for heat illness

The players and referees running around on the field are not the only ones at risk from very hot weather. Spectators and workers are also threatened.

That's because you don't need to be exercising to be affected by heat illness.

"I think about the person dying at the Taylor Swift concert in Brazil," says Vanos, of Arizona State University. In 2023, a Brazilian university student died while waiting for a brutally hot concert by the pop star.

In 2024, more than 1,300 people died during the Hajj, when that pilgrimage coincided with very hot weather in Saudi Arabia.

Both of those tragedies occurred during heat waves, when temperatures exceeded 100 F. While average summer temperatures in World Cup host cities generally remain lower than that, North American heat waves in recent years have led to triple-digit temperatures. And climate change means record-breaking heat waves are happening more often.

Vanos says large gatherings, like concerts, pilgrimages and sporting events, exacerbate the threat posed by heat because people are in large crowds, often visiting areas they are unfamiliar with. "Understanding the local context of the climate, where you can go to get water, where the water is safe, where you can go to find air conditioning — all of these things that sometimes it's easy to take for granted, but that can actually be really hard to find and get if you're in a really different context that you've never been in before," Vanos explains.

More than 6 million tickets are available for World Cup matches, according to FIFA, although the organization is not disclosing exactly how many it has sold.

Such a large event requires thousands of extra workers and overtime hours for local employees, many of whom will be working outside. The federal government is spending $625 million on local security in U.S. host cities — for example, NPR member station KCUR reports that Kansas City is using $59 million of that funding to cover police overtime at matches and extra officers from other locations.

Vanos says such workers could face dangerously hot conditions, especially if they're exposed to the sun during the hottest part of the day. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends that workers be given water and shade breaks to prevent heat illness, but some states, including Florida, do not have laws on the books to enforce such recommendations.

This story was edited by Neela Banerjee. The graphics were edited by Alyson Hurt.
Copyright 2026 NPR

What better way to welcome L.A.’s newest resident than with a fruit cart, paletas, pastries from Porto’s, Philippe’s French dip sandwiches and Kogi tacos passed out by Roy Choi himself? That’s exactly how the L.A. Philharmonic heralded new music director Daniel Harding at a conversation and reception last week, and I don’t think you can top it. Well, maybe only with the big sendoff happening for Gustavo Dudamel, who conducts his final shows at the big “Gracias Gustavo” celebration at Disney Hall this weekend after a glorious 17-year run. Bravo, maestros!

For more music, Licorice Pizza has your picks. On Friday, Secondhand Serenade is at the Roxy, Latin rock stars Maná play their first of two nights at the Honda Center and Scottish indie-pop darlings Belle & Sebastian perform their album Tigermilk in full at the Palladium with special guests Beachwood Sparks — they’ll be there Saturday, too, doing If You’re Feeling Sinister, with Tyler Ballgame opening.

Saturday, Alex Warren and Nat and Alex Wolff are at Crypto.com Arena, Snoop Dogg and Friends play a hometown show at the Long Beach Amphitheater and Mongolian folk metal band the Hu are at the Wiltern.

Sunday, Paul Simon plays the Hollywood Bowl and “School’s Out, ICE Out: An All-Ages Celebration of Community” hits the Echoplex with the Linda Lindas, Starcrawler, Illuminati Hotties, Allison Wolfe and more. But perhaps THE biggest concert tour of the year, the reunion of Rush, kicks off that night at the Forum.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can learn about the weird things people leave behind in L.A. Ubers and check out our interview with Ziggy Marley.

Events

WeHo Pride Street Fair, Parade and Outloud Festival

Friday to Sunday, June 5 to 7
West Hollywood 
COST: VARIES, MANY FREE EVENTS; MORE INFO

Pride kicks off big time in the mother of all Pride hubs: West Hollywood. This year’s street fair features free performances and appearances by Meg Stalter, Willa Ford, Cailin Russo, Say Now, Elio and more along Santa Monica Boulevard. Sunday’s parade starts at noon and is grand marshalled by Kathy Hilton; the weekend’s big Outloud Festival is ticketed and includes headliners Ashlee Simpson and Confidence Man, drag performances and much more

Primary Trust

Through Sunday, June 28
Mark Taper Forum 
135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.
COST: $40.25; MORE INFO

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Jeff Lorch

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Center Theatre Group

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Knud Adams, who just recently directed the fab production of English at the Wallis, returns for the L.A. premiere of Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Primary Trust. The one-act play tells the story of a young man (played with a light touch by Petey McGee) who has to find his way on his own after losing his bookstore job in upstate New York. It’s a tight, moving look at the changes in small-town America (the set gives Mr. Rogers vibes) and the challenges of moving through the world and finding your community — kind of an Our Town for our times.

Sound Pedro

Saturday, June 6, 7 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Angels Gate Cultural Center
3601 South Gaffey St., San Pedro
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Sound Pedro is one of my favorite immersive art events of the year. Perched up on the hill overlooking the harbor, art installations featuring sound echo across the former Army barracks at Angels Gate. This year, the event celebrates its 10th anniversary with a riff on the traditional gift, tin. The one-night-only event includes sculptures, environments, installations, timed and ongoing performances, interactions and more throughout the site.

LACMA Therapy Session 

Sunday, June 7, 4 p.m.
Barnsdall Gallery Theater
4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz 
COST: $15; MORE INFO 

Share your love (or hate) of LACMA's new galleries at a "therapy session."

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James Chow / LAist

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I got many, many emails from you all after the first previews of the David Geffen Galleries, and everyone had strong feelings. So if you sent us a note, this event is for you. Get your hot takes out and hear from architects and art experts about the new LACMA building at the LACMA Therapy Session, brought to you by our friends at L.A. Material, Punch List and the New York Review of Architecture. Bring your own Erewhon smoothie.

L.A. Festival of Tarot

Through Sunday, June 7 
Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Feliz 
Tarot Arts, 1017 Mission St., South Pasadena
COST: FROM $39; MORE INFO

Your weekend plans are in the cards. Meet tarot experts, take a card-reading workshop, find your favorite new deck and get special readings with the best card readers in Los Angeles at the L.A. Festival of Tarot.

Cut Chemist: Expert of None

Sunday, June 7, 5 p.m. 
Only the Wild Ones 
1031 Abbot Kinney, Venice 
COST: $39.66; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Dust & Grooves

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Cut Chemist (Lucas MacFadden) has to be in the running for coolest Angeleno. The accomplished DJ and producer has worked with Jurassic 5, Ozomatli and so many more. He’s hosting a series of intimate conversations and music sessions on the back patio of natural wine and vinyl bar Only the Wild Ones in Venice all summer long. Part VH1 Storytellers, part living room hang, it’s a really fun, low-key Sunday-night party. This week, the focus is Tuned In, Comped Out, about McFadden’s musical education; there will also be events on July 5 and August 2.

Venice Hike Club

Saturdays, 10 a.m.
Westridge Trail, Brentwood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Put on your hiking boots and head up to Westridge Trail above Brentwood to make some new friends and get some exercise with the Venice Hike Club. The group heads out weekly, so make this Saturday your week! Can’t promise there won’t be a rattlesnake sighting.

Ocean of Sound 

Saturday, June 6, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
Annenberg Community Beach House
415 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Ocean of Sound comes to Annenberg Beach House Saturday.

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Courtesy Annenberg Beach House

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Clearly, sound is the theme this week. Dublab is hosting Ocean of Sound, a free event at Santa Monica’s Annenberg Community Beach House. It’s currently sold out, but check back to see if you can score a ticket to this evening of restorative listening. Periphone, a sound installation by Nina Keith, will be presented alongside Light & Air Studies, a textile installation by Faith-Ann Kiwa Young. Find a spot poolside or hop in to listen to work by Meg Duffy and Qur’an Shaheed via underwater speakers.

In the new live-action Prime Video series Spider-Noir, based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, actor and comedian Lamorne Morris plays a reporter named Robbie Robertson who is best friends with Ben Reilly (played by Nicolas Cage), a private investigator grappling with his superhero past.

Morris is best known for his roles as Winston in the 2010s sitcom New Girl (which he currently co-hosts a rewatch podcast about called The Mess Around), and more recently as a North Dakota deputy in FX’s Fargo, which earned him an Emmy.

In Spider-Noir, Morris told LAist host Julia Paskin that he got to borrow from both experiences, and “play in both the levity and the stakes.”

And while the show is set in a version of 1930s New York City, it was filmed in Los Angeles. Morris noted, “ Downtown L.A. looks probably more like 1930s New York than New York does,” and confirmed a fun tidbit — a real-life bar used as a filming location in the series, The Prince in Koreatown, was also regularly featured in New Girl.

Morris stars alongside Nicolas Cage who Spiderman fans will remember as the voice of a version of Spider-Noir in the 2018 animated film Into the Spider-Verse. The Amazon Prime series does blend in some original comic book characters like Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, played by Morris.

Some highlights of their conversation are below, including why the anticipation of comic book fans’ reactions to the show made him more nervous than meeting Nicolas Cage for the first time.

Entering the MCU, where fans are ‘serious’

While Morris said he welcomes fan reactions to his work, going back to his New Girl days (“ I love when I read fan feedback [...] I'm one of those actors that can appreciate it”) entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where fans can be “ real precious about their characters,” did intimidate him a bit.

 ”It being a comic book genre, that's where I feel the pressure because the fans are serious. The fans are like, ‘Hey, don't f--- this up.’ And you're just like, "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.’ So that pressure is there. We've gotten some pretty cool reviews so far, [but] the ultimate test is what the fans are saying. That's the final boss right there.”

Morris said the advantage of portraying the character of Robbie Robertson was that while there is some information about him in the comic books, and a portrayal of Robertson by the late actor Bill Nunn (who Wilson called “one of the greats”) in the 2000s Spider-Man trilogy of films by director Sam Raimi — there still was some room for Morris to make his own interpretations of the character.

“I got a chance to really make Robbie my own,” Morris said. “Which is all you can ask for.”

A real-life and a fictional inspiration

In doing some research on real-life Black reporters from that era, Morris’s friend brought up reporter Ted Poston, who was the first Black reporter for The New York Post (and only the third Black reporter to work for a major daily New York City newspaper) and was with the paper for more than three decades, from 1936 to 1972.

After finding out about Poston’s life and work, Morris said,  ”uncovering truths and breaking down walls [...]  it was one of those things where I said, ‘Man. I know I'm doing research on Robbie Robertson, but I would love to shed more light on Ted Poston just because he meant so much to culture and he meant so much to the profession of journalism.”

Another inspiration was the 1995 film Devil in a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle, and based on Walter Mosley’s novel set in post-WWII Los Angeles.

When showrunner Oren Uziel encouraged Morris to lean into an “old-timey” texture and tone for the character’s way of speaking,  paying homage to “the noir of it all, to the black-and-white of it all” (all of the episodes of the series are available in both color and black-and-white) Morris looked for a character from around that time period who wouldn’t sound “too cartoony” or “over the top.”

So he watched Devil in a Blue Dress and studied Washington and Cheadle’s approaches: “They came at it from two different energies. And I thought if I can watch two master actors make two completely different choices, but they both work brilliantly for the film, then [it was] dealer's choice for myself.”

Getting past his own fandom, with Nicolas Cage

When it came to working with Nicolas Cage, Morris said he had to work past his own fandom to get to a place where he could work comfortably.

To do that, Morris said, he tried to get his “million” questions out of his system as quickly as possible — like “What’s it like being Nic Cage?” and “What do you eat for lunch?”

When he went on a weekend trip with friends to New Orleans, Morris said he texted Cage, who he’d heard “bought a haunted hotel or something in New Orleans” — a mansion, it turns out — and asked Cage what they should do.

“The messages I got back in return were insane,” Morris said. “He broke down every restaurant, who to talk to when I got there, where to get the best drinks, where to get this, where to get that.”

Beyond being a lesson that meeting your heroes isn’t always a bad idea, Morris said it also served a purpose for the work they were doing.

 ”What you're doing is you're breaking down those walls so you can remove those nerves,” Morris explained. “When you don't know someone personally and you have to jump right into something where you're best friends, you need to build that chemistry quickly. So for me, that's what it was. It was just being silly, asking him everything.”