Hollywood Unwrapped

10/10/2026

Happy 100th birthday to the sweetest little bridge in the Los Angeles area!

The Shakespeare Bridge in Franklin Hills turns 100 this year and you can join in the celebration TODAY ✨

10 DAYS TO GO! 🎉
In just 10 days, we’ll celebrate 100 years of the Shakespeare Bridge - and 100 years of connecting communities.

We’re kicking things off with a neighborhood parade filled with some familiar Franklin Hills faces (and paws): vintage cars, the Marshall High Jazz Band, Silver Lake Conservatory of Music Highsteppers, students and families from our neighborhood schools, the Los Feliz Public Library, some very good dogs & their walkers & a few special neighbors who have their own place in Franklin Hills history!

Then we’ll gather beneath the bridge on Monon Street for an afternoon of live music, food, family fun and Centennial festivities.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
Parade lineup: 11 AM
Parade begins: 12 PM
Centennial Block Party: 1–4 PM
Free & open to all.
100 years. One very special bridge. See you in 10 days!

10/09/2026

Earlier this week I posted about the gorgeous Googie 1950’s era Mel’s Diner / The Penguin potential demolition in Santa Monica.

Urbanize LA is now sharing with us the mixed use project planned to replace Mel’s.

Coming soon: an eight-story building featuring 138 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments above 5,667 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and semi-subterranean parking for 123 vehicles.

Full details here:

https://la.urbanize.city/post/mixed-use-project-slated-replace-mels-drive-santa-monica

How you can help:

https://www.laconservancy.org/learn/historic-places/penguin-mels-drive-in-diner/

10/08/2026

The Capitol Records Building always makes me happy ✨

10/07/2026

Amazing life casts at the Culver City Historical Society! A must visit 🤍✨

Say hello (to the actual life casts) of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, W.C. Fields, and Edward G. Robinson. The actors themselves sat through the life cast process while they were contracted at the studios.
Come visit us on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sundays of October, we’re open from 12 pm - 3 pm.

Say hello (to the actual life casts) of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, W.C. Fields, and Edward G. Robinson. The actors themselves sat through the life cast process while they were contracted at the studios.
Come visit us on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sundays of October, we’re open from 12 pm - 3 pm.

10/06/2026

The Warner Bros. water tower has already been repainted to add “A Skydance Corporation” on the same day the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger closes.

10/06/2026

Live on Sunset is back ✨

Via LIVE ON SUNSET:

This is your November 14 soundtrack.

Sheryl Crow headlines Live On Sunset, joined by Local Natives, Empress Of, Grace Bowers, Doug Locke, and Mia Moretti for a day of live music on the Sunset Strip.

One stage. Six artists. One very big day in the neighborhood.

Saturday, November 14, 2026�Sunset Strip • West Hollywood

Free with registration. Limited capacity. Registration opens October 14.

Sheryl Crow�Local Natives�Empress Of�Grace Bowers�Doug Locke�mia moretti

10/06/2026

Welcome to Warner Brothers, a Skydance Company…

Via VARIETY:
Paramount-Warner Bros. $111 Billion Merger Officially Closes: ‘Today Is a Historic Day, Not Just for Skydance but for Our Entire Industry,’ David Ellison Says.

It’s official: Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are now a single company — joined together as Skydance Corp., led by chairman and CEO David Ellison.

The deal, valued at $111 billion including the assumption of WBD debt, brings together two major studios, TV networks including CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV and TBS, and streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max. The new Skydance will have annual revenue of nearly $70 billion, the company said — but it also will have to wrestle with $80 billion in net debt.

“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Ellison said in a statement.

The CEO continued: “From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere. Now that ambition is a reality…. Our focus now turns to the future: building a company that empowers creatives, entertains audiences and rewards shareholders.”

Cost savings at the merged Paramount-WBD will come “primarily” from technology, integration and procurement, marketing and real estate rationalization, according to Skydance. “That will make the company leaner and more nimble, freeing it to grow its investment in the stories, creators and technology that matter most,” the company said. But some experts are skeptical such cost reductions can be achieved without negative consequences to its operations.

However, the new Skydance will also look to reduce expenses through mass layoffs, with thousands of employees at the former Paramount and WBD expected to be pink-slipped over the next several months.

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/paramount-warner-bros-merger-officially-closes-skydance-david-ellison-1236900047/

10/03/2026

After a wonderful celebration in 2018 recognizing Mel’s Drive-In Diner for restoring the Penguin Coffee Shop in Santa Monica to its original use, this 1959 Armet and Davis-designed Googie beauty is now facing possible demolition.

Yes, somehow in 2018 the Santa Monica Conservancy awarded (rightly so!) their annual Historic Preservation Award to Mel’s Drive-In and owner Steven Weiss but never landmarked the building?!

In 2025, this 1950’s era property was listed for sale.

After a landmark application from a joint effort between the Santa Monica Conservancy and the LA Conservancy was deemed complete by the City, the new owners filed an application to demolish Mel's and build an 8-story mixed-use building, making the upcoming Landmarks Commission hearing even more critical.

To learn more about this designation and how you can help save this end of Route 66/ Mother Road please visit:

https://www.laconservancy.org/learn/historic-places/penguin-mels-drive-in-diner/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Act-On+Software&utm_content=email&utm_term=Learn%20More&utm_campaign=Enews

10/03/2026

We all Love Lucy❣️

This Sunday, October 4, MeTV celebrates I LOVE LUCY's 75th Anniversary with a 5 hour marathon of favorite episodes:
https://www.metv.com/stories/metv-celebrates-75-years-of-i-love-lucy?marketid=267

10/02/2026

New Name of Paramount-Warner Bros. Unveiled: Skydance

Via VARIETY:

The soon-to-merge Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery officially has a name: It’s simply going to be “Skydance,” according to chairman and CEO David Ellison.

In the end, Ellison picked the name of his original film production company, Skydance Media, to encompass everything that is getting stuffed into the new conglomerate.

The deal forming the new Skydance is set to close Oct. 6, the companies have announced. The merger will combine two of Hollywood’s biggest movie studios; the HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming services; and TV businesses including CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central, Food Network and more. The new company’s entertainment franchises will span Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, “Game of Thrones” and other HBO hits, the DC Universe, “Yellowstone,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun” and the Nickelodeon kids’ empire.

“Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture,” Ellison wrote in a post on X Friday announcing the Skydance name, the first tweet on a newly created account. “By combining them, we aren’t rewriting history — we’re equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling.”

Ellison continued, “We chose this name for a few important reasons. First and foremost, as we bring Paramount and Warner Bros. together, we wanted to preserve what has made each of these studios iconic. Both have distinct identities, extraordinary legacies and brands that have resonated with audiences for generations. We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one. Instead, we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. — and all our extraordinary brands — to remain in the spotlight.”

“We have big goals for Skydance, and we intend to pursue them with passion, imagination and a willingness to take smart risks,” Ellison wrote. “At the same time, we will honor what makes Paramount and Warner Bros. special — giving both studios the opportunity to grow, tell more great stories and bring those stories to even broader audiences around the world, powered by the scale and capabilities of Skydance. I couldn’t be more excited about what we’re going to build together.”

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/name-of-paramount-warner-bros-unveiled-skydance-1236893761/