Sideshow Don - is Trump a viable candidate? Grocery workers vote to authorize strike against Ralph’s. Frank McCourt’s legal fight to get the Dodgers back. FilmWeek: KPCC film critics Claudia Puig and Wade Major join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including Water for Elephants, Meek’s Cutoff, The Bang Bang Club, Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold and more. TGI-FilmWeek! Hollywood drops a “Blonde Bombshell” - Jean Harlowe's short and storied career.
The Trump card: is he for real?
Could Donald Trump actually run for president of the United States? Why not? He’s got name recognition that any candidate would die for and pop culture cred that very few politicians in the history of presidential campaigns could rival. He takes bold stands that appeal to those who see the present administration as weak and waffling, but is he really a viable option either as a Republican or an Independent? Would his candidacy for president compare to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s when he ran for governor, or is he on his way to becoming another Ross Perot?
Guest:
Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist and former speech writer for Gov. Pete Wilson
Grocery workers vote to authorize strike
The union representing thousands of Southern California grocery workers has voted to authorize a strike against the three largest grocery chains, Ralphs, Safeway (which own Vons and Pavilions stores) and Albertsons. The labor contract between the union and their employers, ratified four years ago, expired March 6th, and workers have continued on a day-to-day basis since then. While a work stoppage isn’t a foregone conclusion, the threat does bring up painful memories of 2003-2004’s protracted strike and lockout, which lasted four months and cost the stores roughly $2 billion. During that time, many shoppers drove out of their way to non-union stores rather than cross picket lines, either in support of the action or to avoid risking heated confrontations with striking workers. If you’re one of the 62,000 members of Local 770, do you support the union’s decision? Whether you’re an employee or a customer, how was your life affected during the last grocery strike? And are you ready for another one?
Guest:
Rick Icaza, President, United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Local 770
McCourt’s options to get the Dodgers back
Embattled Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is facing a full count in what may turn out to be a long fight over who gets to retain the management of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig seized the Dodgers on Wednesday, citing McCourt’s tenuous financial position – he had to borrow $30 million to make payroll – and mismanagement of the franchise. McCourt is weighing his options to try and retain the team. Legal experts say that McCourt’s choices are limited, but he could opt to fight the League in court – an outcome that likely does not favor the troubled millionaire. Declaring bankruptcy would allow McCourt to retain his financial interest in the Dodgers but would not return control of the team to him. His final option is to sell the team, an outcome experts say is the League’s intent. Is it time for McCourt to cut and run? What is the best path forward for the Dodgers organization and its legion of loyal fans?
Guest:
Clark C. Griffith, a Minnesota-based sports law attorney
FilmWeek: Water for Elephants, Meek’s Cutoff, The Bang Bang Club, Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold and more
KPCC film critics Claudia Puig and Wade Major join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including Water for Elephants, Meek’s Cutoff, The Bang Bang Club, Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and boxoffice.com
Live tweeting this week's reviews:
Hollywood drops a “Blonde Bombshell”
In the late 1920s, a young woman drove an aspiring actress to Fox Studios in Hollywood for an appointment. The aspiring actress went on to become Rosalie Roy, who worked mostly in uncredited roles throughout her career. The other woman who drove her, named Harlean Carpenter, was noticed while sitting in the car by Fox executives and encouraged to audition at Central Casting. She started auditioning under the name Jean Harlow, and as they say, a star was born. In Harlow in Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital, co-authors Darrell Rooney and Mark A. Vieira provide a comprehensive look at the Blonde Bombshell’s career in cinema, her glamorous life offscreen and her untimely death after only a decade in Tinseltown. What were the high points of Harlow’s time on film? How did she influence actresses which followed her? What exactly made this young woman so very desirable and attractive to men and women alike?
Guests:
Darrell Rooney, co-author, Harlow in Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital, 1928-1937 (Angel City Press)
Mark A. Vieira, co-author, Harlow in Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital, 1928-1937 (Angel City Press)