James Gandolfini, best know for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO hit series "The Sopranos" died yesterday. We'll look back on his life and the complexity of his character on and off the screen. Then, will yesterday's fatal stabbing on Hollywood Blvd. affect tourism? And what can be done to make Hollywood safer? Later, should interns be allowed to work for free? And should women be able to make a profit from donating their eggs to research? Then we'll talk about the farm bill and how it might affect access to food stamps. And finally, we'll discuss a new documentary that explore the chaos of life as a doctor in an overburdened medical system.
James Gandolfini leaves behind a bigger-than-life impression on TV
News broke yesterday that James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano on the long-running HBO smash hit “The Sopranos,” died Wednesday in an emergency room in Rome, where he was vacationing. Gandolfini, 51, worked in TV, film, and on stage, but it was in his first big role, as a New Jersey mob boss whose depression drove him into therapy, that he will be remembered for by the millions who subscribed to HBO to see the villain you loved to hate kill and emote each Sunday night.
Gandolfini’s Tony was simultaneously funny, brutal, smart, manipulative, and about as complex as a TV character can be, and in the show’s 8-year run (1999-2007), he helped redefine the gangster genre, transforming mobsters from one-dimensional cartoonish figures into vibrant, sympathetic anti-heros. The Sopranos revitalized pay television, paving the way for shows like The Wire and Game of Thrones, and as it emerged on DVD was one of the first binge-watched television shows.
Gandolfini joined us in the AirTalk studios on May 13, 2011, while he was in Los Angeles acting in “God of Carnage” at the Ahmanson Theater. Ten minutes into the interview, Larry turned the conversation to the character of Tony Soprano and what the character means to him now, four years after the show’s final episode, and Gandolfini’s answer reflected the complexity of his own character. “The volume of the work was all encompassing,” Gandolfini said of his time on “The Sopranos.”
Will Tuesday's fatal stabbing affect Hollywood tourism?
A woman was fatally stabbed Tuesday on Hollywood Boulevard. Christine Darlene Calderon, 23, was walking down the Walk of Fame with a coworker when she saw a cardboard sign displayed by a group of transient men asking for money with expletives and a smiley face written on it. Calderon took out her camera to take a picture and one of the men asked her to pay $1 for the photos. When she refused, police say, the men pinned her down and stabbed her in the stomach. Calderon was pronounced dead later that day at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Three men, between 27 and 34 years old, will be arraigned today in connect to the death.
Should more be done to make Hollywood safer? How would the incident affect tourism in the area?
RELATED: Woman fatally stabbed in Hollywood tourist center
Guests:
Oscar Arslanian, publisher of Discover Hollywood Magazine and past Chairman and a current board member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
Amie Quigley, Director Diaconal & Community Ministries, First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood; Quigley works with both the long-term homeless and transient population in Hollywood
Interns fight back against working for free
Warner Music Group is the latest company to be hit with a lawsuit by a former unpaid intern. Justin Henry filed a class action lawsuit against Warner on Monday alleging that he should have been paid for the four months he spent interning for Atlantic Records. A federal judge in New York opened the floodgates for these types of lawsuits when he ruled that unpaid interns who worked on the Fox Searchlight Pictures film "BlackSwan" should have been paid for their work. The judge ruled that Fox violated minimum wage and overtime laws by not paying the interns.
In Los Angeles, a court case is pending against fashion designer Brian Lichtenberg, who was sued by former unpaid intern Karissa Labriola.
For some, unpaid internships are a great way to get your foot in the door, gain connections and earn valuable work experience. Others see them as a way for companies to exploit young people who are eager to work in competitive industries.
Are unpaid internships exploitative or helpful to young people just starting out? What makes an unpaid internship illegal? Should these interns be allowed to sue when they agreed to work for no pay? Would you consider taking an unpaid internship just for the work experience?
Guests:
Maurice Pianko, Director and lead attorney for Intern Justice, a website that gives legal information and services to unpaid workers.
Neal McCluskey, PhD, associate director of Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom
Should women make a profit on donating their eggs for research?
The amount of money a woman can receive for donating eggs could shoot up from hundreds of dollars to thousands if a new law passes the state Senate. The Senate is expected to vote on a bill today that would allow women who donate their eggs for research to be paid over and above “direct expenses”. Fertility researchers complain that there is a shortage of eggs because women don’t have many incentives to go through the often painful procedure. But opponents argue that there’s not enough research into the safety of egg donation and it shouldn’t become a for-profit enterprise.
Guests:
Barbara Collura, President/CEO of Resolve: The National Infertility Association founded in 1974; listed as official support for AB926.
Diane Tober, PhD, Associate Executive Director of the Center for Genetics and Society
Why did food stamps help spell doom for Farm Bill?
After intense battles this week, today lawmakers in the House rejected the latest version of the Farm Bill. A major part of the fight has been over the food stamp program -- known locally as CalFresh and nationally as SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance program). Amendments have see-sawed, but there was the possibility of billions of dollars in cuts over five years to the nearly $80-billion-a-year program.
California Rep. Janice Hahn (D - 44) called the proposed cuts harsh and she wrote that 145,000 people in her district rely on SNAP, half of whom are children. Conservative lawmakers says the cuts tried to address the massive expansion of SNAP that now feeds one in seven Americans. Local advocates for the program say 1.1 million Angelenos use CalFresh for their food needs.
Why have rolls ballooned in recent years? Who uses the program? Is there a better way?
Guests:
Jim Weill, President, Food Research and Action Center - described as a top advocacy organization focused on hunger and malnutrition public policies
Robert Rector, Senior Research Fellow specializing in domestic policy, Heritage Foundation - described as a think tank dedicated to conservative public policies based on free enterprise and limited government
A new documentary contrasts emergency room medicine then and now
The trauma bay known as the “C-booth” was notorious for being one of the busiest ERs in the country. That was until 2012 when the C-booth closed to a new ER facility, which Ryan McGarry would argue changed the way doctors and patients interact, and what doctors care about.
McGarry’s documentary “Code Black” follows a group of young doctors going through a residency program with the LA County Hospital. Even in the new facilities, waiting times in the ER average 12 hours. The idealistic young doctors in the film learn about the realities of working in healthcare in an overburdened system where bureaucracy is king, and doctors spend more time filling out paperwork than helping patients.
Guests:
Ryan McGarry, director of “Code Black”
Dr. Jamie Eng, emergency room doctor featured in “Code Black”
Dr. Billy Mallon, emergency room doctor featured in “Code Black”
Code Black is premiering at the 2013 L.A. International Film Festival. Tickets are available for a screening Saturday at 4:50 PM. For more ticket information, click here.