Subway approved under Beverly Hills. Can the government ban anonymous posts? “Big Willie” Robinson street racing organizer dies. Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Andy Klein and Henry Sheehan to discuss this week’s new films, including Men in Black 3, Chernobyl Diaries, Moonrise Kingdom and more. TGI-FilmWeek! Those men in black are back.
What’s next for the opponents of the subway under Beverly Hills High?
It’s full steam ahead for the Los Angeles Metro’s Westside subway extension. Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved a plan for the subway to go under Beverly Hills High.
The board is moving forward despite ardent and vocal opposition on behalf of Beverly Hills residents. Detractors say that tunneling under the school would limit development opportunities on the property and it could put students in danger, especially given the risk of earthquakes. However, several seismologists dismissed this claim and assure that the presence of the $5.6-billion project will do no harm.
This plan will allow for nine additional miles of rail to run from the station currently at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue to the VA hospital near UCLA. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is touting the extension as a means to “fundamentally reshape the way we get around the region.” Surely, the presence of a subway line would do a great deal to reduce the crushing amounts of traffic on the Westside.
So what gives, Beverly Hills? If the plan is safe and could make life on the Westside easier, why oppose it? What’s next for opponents of the plan? Can and will they take legal action against it? How would the presence of a subway extension on the Westside affect you?
Guests:
Brian David Goldberg, Ph.D, Board President, Beverly Hills School District
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the Third District; Member of the MTA Board
The end of cyberbullying? Or the end of free speech?
Two identical Republican sponsored bills are making their way through the New York state Senate and Assembly right now that would make it difficult for website commenters to remain anonymous. The bills are dubbed The Internet Protection Act, and they would require all New York based websites to allow users to report a comment if they believe it to be defamatory or bullying.
The site administrator would then have to contact the anonymous poster and if the person refuses to attach their real name, IP address and confirm a home address, the post will be taken down. The goal of the legislation is to curb cyber-bullying and, in the words of one co-sponsor, “lend some accountability in the internet age.” The state legislators pushing the bill say incidents of cyber-bullying as reached epidemic proportions and victims need a way to fight back. Critics of the law decry it as a blow to free speech.
According to one privacy expert it essentially gives a “heckler’s veto” to anyone who disagrees with the content of a comment. Is this the end of free speech on the internet? Do we have a right to anonymous online comment?
Guests:
Michael Fitzpatrick, Republican Assemblyman, New York State. Represents 7th district, Smithtown, NY. He is the co-sponsor of the bill.
Paul Alan Levy, Attorney, Public Citizen Litigation Group – described as a champion for citizen rights; Levy has argued scores of cases in United States Court of Appeals (three en banc). He has argued four cases in Supreme Court of the United States; more recently, Levy has specialized in free speech issues arising on the Internet.
'Big Willie' Robinson, LA drag race organizer passes away at 69
“Big Willie” Robinson, the larger than life figure who founded the National Brotherhood of Street Racers passed away on Saturday at a Los Angeles care center. Standing at a massive 6-foot-6 and weighing nearly 300-pounds, it was his imposing figure and detailed knowledge of street car engines that built the foundation for a brotherhood of drag racers in Los Angeles.
The first races were held in the mid-60s on Crenshaw Boulevard and in commercial alleyways in South Los Angeles. “Big Willie,” a Vietnam War special forces veteran was not only able to organize drag racing activities with the approval and assistance of city officials like the Mayor and the police department but he got the full participation of warring street gang members who otherwise would have been fighting and even killing each other. The Brotherhood’s street racing activities helped cool down racial tensions after the 1965 Watts riots and by 1974 ‘Big Willie’ was able to organize street racing on an old Navy airfield on Terminal Island. He paid $1,000 a month in rent and charged $5 admission.
"Big Willies" goal was to use the Brotherhood as a means to get the youth off the streets and into a safe place were there was no color, only car engines. He is survived by his mother, Lula Mae Simmons, his sister Jean Davis and his brother, Don Ray Robinson.
Do you remember "Big Willie" and the L.A. racing scene of the 60's and 70's? Do you have any stories of watching the racers on Terminal Island?
GUEST
Dick Messer, former director of the Peterson Automotive Museum
FilmWeek: Men in Black 3, Chernobyl Diaries, Moonrise Kingdom and more
Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Andy Klein and Henry Sheehan to discuss this week’s new films, including Men in Black 3, Chernobyl Diaries, Moonrise Kingdom and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
"Men In Black III" trailer:
"Chernobyl Diaries" trailer:
"Moonrise Kingdom" trailer:
Guests:
Andy Klein, film critic for KPCC, Glendale News-Press and the L.A. Times Community Papers chain
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com
Films Reviewed:
Men in Black 3
Agent J must travel back in time to save Agent K’s life and the planet.
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Jemaine Clement
Written by: Etan Cohen
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
PG-13
Columbia Pictures
Chernobyl Diaries
Six tourists visit a ghost town abandoned after Chernobyl.
Starring: Devin Kelley, Jonathan Sadowski and Ingrid Bolso Berdal
Written by: Oren Peli, Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke
Directed by: Brad Parker
R
Warner Bros. Pictures
Moonrise Kingdom
A young boy and girl run away together.
Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton
Written by: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Directed by: Anderson
PG-13
Focus Features
The Intouchables
A rich quadriplegic strikes up a friendship with his poor caretaker.
Starring: Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy
Written and directed by: Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano
Not rated
Weinstein Co.
In French with English subtitles.
Elena
An uneasy marriage is threatened by a sudden illness.
Starring: Nadezhda Markina, Andrey Smirnov and Elena Lyadova
Written by: Oleg Negin and Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directed by: Zvyagintsev
Not rated
Zeitgeist Films
In Russian with English subtitles.
Memorial Day
A WWII vet recounts his war stories to his grandson.
Starring: Jonathan Bennett, James Cromwell and John Cromwell
Written by: Marc Conklin
Directed by: Sam Fischer
R
Image Entertainment
Mighty Fine
A family relocates from Brooklyn to New Orleans in the 1970s.
Starring: Chazz Palminteri, Andie MacDowell, Jodelle Ferland and Rainey Qualley
Written and directed by: Debbie Goodstein
R
Adopt Films
DVDs
The Cats / I Bastardi (The Bastard)
Starring: Rita Hayworth, Guiliano Gemma and Klaus Kinski
Directed by: Duccio Tessari
1968
Certified Copy
Starring: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell
Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
2010
Those 'Men In Black' are back
Today, Earth will once again be reunited with Agents J, K, and aliens from all over the galaxy. In “Men in Black 3,” Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are reunited as Smith’s Agent J must go back in time to prevent the assassination of Jones’s Agent K.
This takes Agent J to 1969, the founding year of the Men in Black headquarters in New York City. To play the young Agent K, actor Josh Brolin has stepped in to Jones’s shoes. While Smith, Jones and Brolin are integral parts of the movie, there is one name audiences might not be so familiar with who has played a huge role in shaping this entire series: Barry Sonnenfeld.
As director of the three movies, Sonnenfeld has played an exclusive role in the direction of the franchise. For instance, it was Sonnenfeld’s idea to place the first movie in New York City, as he could imagine New Yorkers living amongst aliens and not finding them odd or out of the ordinary. Now, he is not only taking the agents back in time, but he’s also putting them in 3-D.
The success of “Men in Black” is no surprise, given Sonnenfeld’s track record, which has numerous hits. He served as director of photography for the Coen brothers on “Blood Simple,” “Raising Arizona” and “Miller’s Crossing.” He worked with Rob Reiner in the same capacity on “When Harry Met Sally” and “Misery,” before getting the chance to direct on his own with “The Addams Family.”
Today, we have Sonnenfeld on AirTalk to discuss “Men in Black III,” his career and what he’s cooking up next.
Guest:
Barry Sonnenfeld, filmmaker, director and actor. He worked as cinematographer for the Coen brothers, then later directed and produced a number of films including “The Addams Family” and its sequel, “Addams Family Values” and the “Wild Wild West,” along with the critically acclaimed “Get Shorty” and “Men in Black.”