What’s a hit without a sequel? And if the sequel works, why not a franchise?
That’s classic Hollywood thinking, of course. And the United States Olympic Committee seems to be getting on board, at least when it comes to Los Angeles.
The USOC narrowed to three the field of American cities that it would consider backing in a bid for the Summer Olympics in 2016, and our city, San Francisco and Chicago remain in the running. Houston and Philadelphia were eliminated.
Los Angeles has hosted the Games twice, in 1932 and 1984, and by any standard they’ve been blockbusters.
The Coliseum was built for the ’32 Games and has been a landmark since. After those Olympics, the pundits said L.A. had shown the world how to throw a great party and still have some money left. In fact, the 1932 Games turned a $1 million profit.
Turns out we were just getting warmed up.
In 1984, Peter Ueberroth and the L.A. Olympic Committee enlisted America’s and the city’s business community to bankroll one of the most efficiently run Games ever. Despite a Soviet bloc boycott, the Games were an artistic and financial success. The bottom line showed a profit of $232 million, which continues to benefit the city’s youth through the Amateur Athletic Foundation.
There’s no doubt that the USOC remembers all that, and will take it into consideration when it makes it call on which, if any, city to back. The International Olympic Committee no doubt remembers, since many historians say the 1984 Games saved the Olympic movement, which was in danger of succumbing to political posturing. That, L.A.’s terrific sports venue infrastructure including the Rose Bowl and Staples Center and massive fan base, would no doubt aid the city’s cause if it’s among the finalists when the IOC decides in 2009.
“This city is built for the Olympic Games,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement issued after hearing that L.A. had made the final cut. “In addition to our facilities, our vibrant and diverse community, our entertainment genius, and the support of Angelenos and the business community alike provide powerful reasons for Los Angeles to host the 2016 Olympic Games.”
Snake Charmer
Todd Masters takes pride in being the king of the grotesque, at least for this summer.
His Arleta-based MastersFX is the specialty prosthetic, animatronics, and makeup outfit behind the gory snakebites and other grotesque effects in the much-hyped New Line film “Snakes on a Plane,” set for release Aug. 18.
Masters has been in the business for more than 20 years, and worked on features including “Predator” and “Look Who’s Talking.” He won an Emmy for effects work on the HBO series “Six Feet Under.”
He started design work “Snakes on a Plane” in April of 2005 and was shooting by June of last year, using silicone heads, plastic eyes and animatronics body parts in his repertoire of tricks.
This year, when fans that had seen sneaks demanded more gore through an Internet campaign, Masters and others involved in the film were gathered in Venice.
“It was this really funny meeting about how we could create more visual mayhem and violence for the movie,” Master said. “We added some punch to it, made it a little more gross and R-appropriate.”
Among the changes: An added scene in which panicked passengers stampede to a safer area of the plane. Gems from Masters’ work in the new footage include a man knocked to the ground and trampled by a woman wearing stiletto heels, a passenger who falls on a wine glass stem and another impaled on a broken railing.
Staff reporter Anne Riley-Katz can be reached at
[email protected]
or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225.
