A cast member at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando was injured after he was hit by the massive rubber ball used in the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular attraction. It happened when the man was attempting to stop the rubber “boulder” used in the show after it went off course and rolled toward the audience. Video shows the cast member putting his arms up to stop the ball, but he was slammed to the ground instead. Videos of the incident were shared widely on social media. “We’re focused on supporting our cast member, who is recovering,” a Disney spokesperson told WESH 2. “Safety is at the heart of what we do, and that element of the show will be modified as our safety team completes a review of what happened.”The boulder weighs 400 pounds and is made of rubber, the ride’s website says. >> This story will be updated as more information is released.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
A cast member at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando was injured after he was hit by the massive rubber ball used in the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular attraction.
It happened when the man was attempting to stop the rubber “boulder” used in the show after it went off course and rolled toward the audience.
Video shows the cast member putting his arms up to stop the ball, but he was slammed to the ground instead. Videos of the incident were shared widely on social media.
“We’re focused on supporting our cast member, who is recovering,” a Disney spokesperson told WESH 2. “Safety is at the heart of what we do, and that element of the show will be modified as our safety team completes a review of what happened.”
The boulder weighs 400 pounds and is made of rubber, the ride’s website says.
>> This story will be updated as more information is released.
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You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
NEW: During Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios today, a 400-pound boulder prop dislodged from its track. A Cast Member was injured stopping it before it reached the audience. Disney says the Cast Member received immediate care and is recovering. pic.twitter.com/TxbWYV25OX
Universal Pictures’ two-part “Wicked” gamble continues to defy gravity at the box office. Just a year after part one brought droves of audiences to movie theaters around the country, even more people bought opening weekend tickets to see the epic conclusion, “Wicked: For Good.” According to studio estimates on Sunday, “Wicked: For Good” earned $150 million from North American theaters in its first days in theaters and $226 million globally.Not only is it the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, unseating the record set by the first film’s $112 million launch, it’s also the second biggest debut of the year behind “A Minecraft Movie’s” $162 million.”The results are just fantastic,” said Jim Orr, who heads domestic distribution for Universal. “Some films can deliver a false positive when tickets go on sale early but these results speak for themselves.”Universal began rolling out “Wicked: For Good” in theaters earlier this week, with previews on Monday ($6.1 million from 1,050 theaters) and Wednesday ($6.5 million from 2,300 theaters). By Friday it was playing in 4,115 North American locations and had raked in $68.6 million. IMAX showings accounted for $15.5 million, or 11%, of its domestic haul — a November record for the company.IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement that the strong market share shows, “our momentum carries into demos and genres beyond our traditional core, including families.”As with the first film, women powered opening weekend, making up around 71% of ticket buyers according to PostTrak exit polls. Critics were somewhat mixed on the final chapter, but audiences weren’t: An overwhelming 83% of audiences said it was one they would “definitely recommend” to friends. As far as foot traffic is concerned, the box office tracker EntTelligence estimates that about 2 million more people came out for “Wicked: For Good’s” first weekend than for “Wicked’s.”Jon M. Chu directed both “Wicked” films, starring Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande. The first film made over $758.7 million worldwide and received 10 Oscar nominations (winning two, for costume and production design ). The question is how high “Wicked: For Good” can soar. Combined, the two films cost around $300 million to produce, not including marketing and promotion costs.”The first film paved the way,” Orr said. “It’s really become a cultural event I think audiences are going to be flocking to theaters for quite some time to come.”Two other films also opened in wide release this weekend, but further down on the charts behind a buffet of holdovers. Searchlight Pictures opened its Brendan Fraser film “Rental Family” in 1,925 theaters where it earned $3.3 million. The Finnish action film “Sisu: Road to Revenge,” a Sony release, also played in 2,222 theaters. It earned an estimated $2.6 million.Second place went to “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” with $9.1 million in its second weekend, followed by “Predator: Badlands” with $6.3 million in weekend three. “The Running Man” followed in fourth place with $5.8 million, down 65% from its debut last weekend.Although this weekend the box office was more of a winner takes all scenario, “Wicked: For Good’s” success is vitally important for the exhibition industry as a whole as it enters the final weeks of the year.”It sets up a very strong final homestretch of the year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends.After the slow fall season, the Thanksgiving blockbusters could not arrive soon enough. Early next week, “Zootopia 2” enters the mix and is also expected to drive big crowds to the cineplex over the holiday break.Thanksgiving is often one of the biggest moviegoing frames of the year, Dergarabedian said, and both “Wicked 2” and “Zootopia 2” will benefit. Last year “Wicked,” “Moana 2” and “Gladiator II” helped power a record five-day frame.The running domestic box office is currently hovering around $7.5 billion, according to Comscore. Before the pandemic, the annual box office would regularly hit $11 billion, but the post-pandemic goal has lessened to $9 billion. The big question now is whether titles like “Wicked: For Good,” “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar:Fire and Ash” can push the industry over that threshold.Top 10 movies by domestic box officeWith final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:1. “Wicked: For Good,” $150 million.2. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” $9.1 million.3. “Predator: Badlands,” $6.3 million.4. “The Running Man,” $5.8 million.5. “Rental Family,” $3.3 million.6. “Sisu: Road to Revenge,” $2.6 million.7. “Regretting You,” $1.5 million.8. “Nuremberg,” $1.2 million.9. “Black Phone 2,” $1 million.10. “Sarah’s Oil,” $711,542.
Universal Pictures’ two-part “Wicked” gamble continues to defy gravity at the box office. Just a year after part one brought droves of audiences to movie theaters around the country, even more people bought opening weekend tickets to see the epic conclusion, “Wicked: For Good.” According to studio estimates on Sunday, “Wicked: For Good” earned $150 million from North American theaters in its first days in theaters and $226 million globally.
Not only is it the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, unseating the record set by the first film’s $112 million launch, it’s also the second biggest debut of the year behind “A Minecraft Movie’s” $162 million.
“The results are just fantastic,” said Jim Orr, who heads domestic distribution for Universal. “Some films can deliver a false positive when tickets go on sale early but these results speak for themselves.”
Universal began rolling out “Wicked: For Good” in theaters earlier this week, with previews on Monday ($6.1 million from 1,050 theaters) and Wednesday ($6.5 million from 2,300 theaters). By Friday it was playing in 4,115 North American locations and had raked in $68.6 million. IMAX showings accounted for $15.5 million, or 11%, of its domestic haul — a November record for the company.
IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement that the strong market share shows, “our momentum carries into demos and genres beyond our traditional core, including families.”
As with the first film, women powered opening weekend, making up around 71% of ticket buyers according to PostTrak exit polls. Critics were somewhat mixed on the final chapter, but audiences weren’t: An overwhelming 83% of audiences said it was one they would “definitely recommend” to friends. As far as foot traffic is concerned, the box office tracker EntTelligence estimates that about 2 million more people came out for “Wicked: For Good’s” first weekend than for “Wicked’s.”
Jon M. Chu directed both “Wicked” films, starring Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande. The first film made over $758.7 million worldwide and received 10 Oscar nominations (winning two, for costume and production design ). The question is how high “Wicked: For Good” can soar. Combined, the two films cost around $300 million to produce, not including marketing and promotion costs.
“The first film paved the way,” Orr said. “It’s really become a cultural event I think audiences are going to be flocking to theaters for quite some time to come.”
Two other films also opened in wide release this weekend, but further down on the charts behind a buffet of holdovers. Searchlight Pictures opened its Brendan Fraser film “Rental Family” in 1,925 theaters where it earned $3.3 million. The Finnish action film “Sisu: Road to Revenge,” a Sony release, also played in 2,222 theaters. It earned an estimated $2.6 million.
Second place went to “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” with $9.1 million in its second weekend, followed by “Predator: Badlands” with $6.3 million in weekend three. “The Running Man” followed in fourth place with $5.8 million, down 65% from its debut last weekend.
Although this weekend the box office was more of a winner takes all scenario, “Wicked: For Good’s” success is vitally important for the exhibition industry as a whole as it enters the final weeks of the year.
“It sets up a very strong final homestretch of the year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends.
After the slow fall season, the Thanksgiving blockbusters could not arrive soon enough. Early next week, “Zootopia 2” enters the mix and is also expected to drive big crowds to the cineplex over the holiday break.
Thanksgiving is often one of the biggest moviegoing frames of the year, Dergarabedian said, and both “Wicked 2” and “Zootopia 2” will benefit. Last year “Wicked,” “Moana 2” and “Gladiator II” helped power a record five-day frame.
The running domestic box office is currently hovering around $7.5 billion, according to Comscore. Before the pandemic, the annual box office would regularly hit $11 billion, but the post-pandemic goal has lessened to $9 billion. The big question now is whether titles like “Wicked: For Good,” “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar:Fire and Ash” can push the industry over that threshold.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
When ABC executives told Jimmy Kimmel last month that his show was being pulled off the air, the late-night show’s audience was seated, a guest chef had already started making food, the musical guest had performed a warm-up act, and Kimmel was in the bathroom.”It was about 3:00; we tape our show at 4:30,” Kimmel told Stephen Colbert on an episode of “The Late Show” Tuesday. “I’m in my office, typing away as I usually do. I get a phone call. It’s ABC. They say they want to talk to me. This is unusual: They, as far as I knew, didn’t even know I was doing a show previous to this.”Kimmel said he had five writers in his office at the time, and the only private place where he could take the call was the bathroom.”So I go into the bathroom, and I’m on the phone with the ABC executives. and they say, ‘Listen, we want to take the temperature down. We’re concerned about what you’re going to say tonight, and we decided that the best route is to take the show off the air.’”The audience booed, and Kimmel joked: “That’s what I said: I started booing.””I said, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ and they said, ‘Well, we think it’s a good idea.’ Then there was a vote, and I lost the vote.”Kimmel said he called some of the show’s executive producers into his office to share the news, and he turned white.”I thought, that’s it. It’s over, it’s over. I was like, I’m never coming back on the air.”Kimmel said the show had to send the seated audience home. Chef Christian Petroni’s prepared meatballs and polenta that he had been cooking before the taping went to waste. Future musical guest Howard Jones, however, taped a song for a future episode: “Things Can Only Get Better,” which Kimmel acknowledged was ironic.ABC suspended Kimmel’s show in mid-September for a few days after a controversial monologue that mentioned Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer – and the right-wing reaction to Kirk’s murder. Two days later, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, on a conservative podcast, threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses in response. Then Nexstar — the station group which airs “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in approximately two dozen markets — announced they would not air the show. Another affiliate, Sinclair, followed suit. And hours later, Kimmel took ABC executives’ call in the bathroom.Kimmel returned to the air the following Tuesday with an emotional monologue — and mega-ratings.Colbert couldn’t get the line outColbert, who also appeared as a guest on Brooklyn taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday, said he could empathize with Kimmel. The CBS star said executives had made the decision to end his show while Colbert was on vacation. His manager, James Dixon, whom he shares with Kimmel, waited until Colbert returned to share the news.Recounting his desire to tell his audience about the news immediately — despite the fact that “Late Night” is set to run through the spring of 2026 — Colbert told Kimmel that at the end of the following show, he asked his audience to remain in their seats for one more segment. But he had trouble delivering his lines and flubbed the line — twice.”I was so nervous about doing it right, ’cause there was nothing in the prompter. I was just speaking off the cuff,” Colbert said. “They started going, ‘Come on Stephen, you can do it,” because I always messed up on the sentence that told them what was happening. And then I got to the sentence that actually told them what’s happening, and they didn’t laugh.”Although CBS owner Paramount said the cancellation of “The Late Show” was strictly a business decision, many media critics — and Kimmel — questioned that rationale, and some have said it was likely a political decision to appease the Trump administration that needed to approve Paramount’s merger with Skydance.Both Colbert and Kimmel have been frequent and unabashed critics of President Donald Trump and his administration. Trump publicly celebrated when Colbert was canceled, saying in a social media post that Kimmel and NBC’s Seth Meyers were “next.” Trump again celebrated when Kimmel was pulled off the air but criticized — and threatened — ABC when it brought him back on.Meyers made an appearance on Kimmel’s show Tuesday, and the three late night hosts posed for a photograph posted to Instagram. Kimmel added the caption: “Hi Donald!”Kimmel joked with Colbert that Tuesday’s taping was, “The show the FCC doesn’t want you to see.” He introduced Colbert as, “The Emmy-winning late-night talk show host who, thanks to the Trump administration, is now available for a limited-time only.”Kimmel quipped that he was “so honored to be here with my fellow no-talent, late-night loser.” As for the rationale for inviting Colbert onto his program: “We thought it might be a fun way to drive the president nuts.”
CNN —
When ABC executives told Jimmy Kimmel last month that his show was being pulled off the air, the late-night show’s audience was seated, a guest chef had already started making food, the musical guest had performed a warm-up act, and Kimmel was in the bathroom.
“It was about 3:00; we tape our show at 4:30,” Kimmel told Stephen Colbert on an episode of “The Late Show” Tuesday. “I’m in my office, typing away as I usually do. I get a phone call. It’s ABC. They say they want to talk to me. This is unusual: They, as far as I knew, didn’t even know I was doing a show previous to this.”
Kimmel said he had five writers in his office at the time, and the only private place where he could take the call was the bathroom.
“So I go into the bathroom, and I’m on the phone with the ABC executives. and they say, ‘Listen, we want to take the temperature down. We’re concerned about what you’re going to say tonight, and we decided that the best route is to take the show off the air.’”
The audience booed, and Kimmel joked: “That’s what I said: I started booing.”
“I said, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ and they said, ‘Well, we think it’s a good idea.’ Then there was a vote, and I lost the vote.”
Kimmel said he called some of the show’s executive producers into his office to share the news, and he turned white.
“I thought, that’s it. It’s over, it’s over. I was like, I’m never coming back on the air.”
Kimmel said the show had to send the seated audience home. Chef Christian Petroni’s prepared meatballs and polenta that he had been cooking before the taping went to waste. Future musical guest Howard Jones, however, taped a song for a future episode: “Things Can Only Get Better,” which Kimmel acknowledged was ironic.
ABC suspended Kimmel’s show in mid-September for a few days after a controversial monologue that mentioned Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer – and the right-wing reaction to Kirk’s murder. Two days later, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, on a conservative podcast, threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses in response. Then Nexstar — the station group which airs “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in approximately two dozen markets — announced they would not air the show. Another affiliate, Sinclair, followed suit. And hours later, Kimmel took ABC executives’ call in the bathroom.
Colbert, who also appeared as a guest on Brooklyn taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday, said he could empathize with Kimmel. The CBS star said executives had made the decision to end his show while Colbert was on vacation. His manager, James Dixon, whom he shares with Kimmel, waited until Colbert returned to share the news.
Recounting his desire to tell his audience about the news immediately — despite the fact that “Late Night” is set to run through the spring of 2026 — Colbert told Kimmel that at the end of the following show, he asked his audience to remain in their seats for one more segment. But he had trouble delivering his lines and flubbed the line — twice.
“I was so nervous about doing it right, ’cause there was nothing in the prompter. I was just speaking off the cuff,” Colbert said. “They started going, ‘Come on Stephen, you can do it,” because I always messed up on the sentence that told them what was happening. And then I got to the sentence that actually told them what’s happening, and they didn’t laugh.”
Although CBS owner Paramount said the cancellation of “The Late Show” was strictly a business decision, many media critics — and Kimmel — questioned that rationale, and some have said it was likely a political decision to appease the Trump administration that needed to approve Paramount’s merger with Skydance.
Both Colbert and Kimmel have been frequent and unabashed critics of President Donald Trump and his administration. Trump publicly celebrated when Colbert was canceled, saying in a social media post that Kimmel and NBC’s Seth Meyers were “next.” Trump again celebrated when Kimmel was pulled off the air but criticized — and threatened — ABC when it brought him back on.
Meyers made an appearance on Kimmel’s show Tuesday, and the three late night hosts posed for a photograph posted to Instagram. Kimmel added the caption: “Hi Donald!”
Kimmel joked with Colbert that Tuesday’s taping was, “The show the FCC doesn’t want you to see.” He introduced Colbert as, “The Emmy-winning late-night talk show host who, thanks to the Trump administration, is now available for a limited-time only.”
Kimmel quipped that he was “so honored to be here with my fellow no-talent, late-night loser.” As for the rationale for inviting Colbert onto his program: “We thought it might be a fun way to drive the president nuts.”
Americans are famous for our creative dissents against taxes — just take the Boston Tea Party. Last week, a New Jersey man carried on the tradition at a town meeting by dancing to express his response to a property tax hike.In a video livestreamed on Cranford TV-35, Will Thilly, a candidate for the Cranford township committee, gets out of his seat and dances his way up to the podium. An official tells him, “I started your time,” and Thilly holds up his finger as he continues dancing.He pauses to grab a bottle of water and pieces of paper before asking the audience about their weekends. “Did you know I could do the backspin? Anybody?” he says. “Wanna see me do the backspin? No? I’m gonna do the backspin.”After proceeding to do so and unsuccessfully motioning for the audience to applaud, Thilly jumps into his remarks.”Well, why did our taxes go up so much? We were told the referendum was going to bring it up for an average household about $400,” he says. “And mine went up, like, 900 bucks. I think we were told, like, that was from the schools or something? But the school referendum said it would only go up, like I said, 400 bucks on an average assessed home.””So I wanted to know why it went up, if it did much more than that,” he goes on. “And what extra expenses were incurred by the schools that weren’t told to the public when we voted on that referendum?”Thilly then moonwalks back to his seat.”Thank you, Mr. Thilly,” Cranford Mayor Terrence Curran then says, according to NBC. “I like the interpretative dance.”Cranford is a town of less than 25,000 people as of the 2020 census, located 18 miles southwest of Manhattan. Thilly’s campaign website says he is running to “tell you the truth, to fight for what you need, and to defend our Town and schools,” explaining that he opposes “$150 million in 30-year tax exemptions to billionaire developers” for a development in his town.
Americans are famous for our creative dissents against taxes — just take the Boston Tea Party. Last week, a New Jersey man carried on the tradition at a town meeting by dancing to express his response to a property tax hike.
In a video livestreamed on Cranford TV-35, Will Thilly, a candidate for the Cranford township committee, gets out of his seat and dances his way up to the podium. An official tells him, “I started your time,” and Thilly holds up his finger as he continues dancing.
He pauses to grab a bottle of water and pieces of paper before asking the audience about their weekends.
“Did you know I could do the backspin? Anybody?” he says. “Wanna see me do the backspin? No? I’m gonna do the backspin.”
After proceeding to do so and unsuccessfully motioning for the audience to applaud, Thilly jumps into his remarks.
“Well, why did our taxes go up so much? We were told the referendum was going to bring it up for an average household about $400,” he says. “And mine went up, like, 900 bucks. I think we were told, like, that was from the schools or something? But the school referendum said it would only go up, like I said, 400 bucks on an average assessed home.”
“So I wanted to know why it went up, if it did much more than that,” he goes on. “And what extra expenses were incurred by the schools that weren’t told to the public when we voted on that referendum?”
Thilly then moonwalks back to his seat.
“Thank you, Mr. Thilly,” Cranford Mayor Terrence Curran then says, according to NBC. “I like the interpretative dance.”
Cranford is a town of less than 25,000 people as of the 2020 census, located 18 miles southwest of Manhattan. Thilly’s campaign website says he is running to “tell you the truth, to fight for what you need, and to defend our Town and schools,” explaining that he opposes “$150 million in 30-year tax exemptions to billionaire developers” for a development in his town.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
By next year, people around the world will send and receive 376 billion emails every day. Inboxes are jam-packed, so capturing your customers’ attention is only getting harder. Want to stand out and get more clicks? Stop obsessing about your subject lines. Instead, focus on email relevance and quality.
A ZeroBounce report suggests that 47% of people open a brand email not because of the subject line but because they always get relevant messages from that brand. Subject lines come second in enticing someone to open an email, the report shows, based on a survey of American and European email users.
So, how can you make your emails better, deliver constant value and boost your metrics? Here are eight habits to adopt today.
1. Make sure people recognize you
Since email open rates often hinge on trust in the sender, you must be instantly recognizable in people’s inboxes. Make sure your “From” name is consistent across all the different types of marketing emails you send. For instance, if your sales team contacts prospects, their “From” name should reflect your brand, such as “Paul from Entrepreneur” instead of “Paul Jones.”
The value your emails deliver carries the most weight, but it will only make an impact if you send those emails regularly. To determine your sending schedule, be realistic: How many emails can you commit to? If all you can send is one newsletter a month, that’s fine — as long as you show up in the inbox like clockwork.
3. Segment your email list
Sending the same email to all your subscribers is unlikely to drive engagement. Your customers are in various stages in their journey with your business. Some may be new sign-ups yet to make a purchase, while others are regular customers. Use filters to create separate groups and reach out with emails that make sense to each segment.
4. Personalize each message
Segmenting your email list is the first step to email personalization. But if you want to build further trust in your brand, make every subscriber feel as if you wrote that email just for them. Address their pain points and provide easy ways to alleviate them. Offer fresh ideas and content that caters directly to their needs. This approach fosters a deeper, instant connection.
5. Listen to your audience
Want to improve your email content overnight and increase engagement? Dive into your customer support tickets, social media channels and industry forums to find out exactly what people are discussing. If you host webinars, save all the questions people ask in the chat. Gather all this info in a document, and you’ll have a steady stream of relevant topics in your emails.
28% of the email users ZeroBounce surveyed said the length of an email doesn’t matter as long as that email is tailored to them. Once again, we see how important segmentation and personalization are. However, 66% stated they prefer short emails, so if you can make your emails both relevant and short, you’ll get higher open rates. Bonus: you’ll probably spend less time on your email marketing.
7. Infuse warmth into your tone
Before you send your next email, take a moment to read it out loud. Ask yourself, does it sound like a conversation you’d have with your customers in person? Corporate jargon can be a communication barrier. Consider toning it down and infusing your emails with more warmth and personality. In the age of AI, sounding more human helps you stand out.
8. Make unsubscribing easy
Allowing subscribers to leave your email list easily isn’t just sensible; it’s also a critical email deliverability rule. Recent sending requirements from Google and Yahoo emphasize that people should be able to unsubscribe from emails with just one click. Consult with your email marketing platform and test your unsubscribe process. If you don’t follow this rule, you may see a spike in spam complaints, which can relegate your emails to the spam folder.
Bonus tips: ensure your emails arrive in the inbox
Adopting the good habits above will give you a boost in clicks, but imagine putting all this effort into your emails only for them to land in spam. To help them go to the inbox, remember to:
Remove invalid contacts and avoid bounces – your bounce rate should never exceed 2%.
Authenticate your emails to comply with Google and Yahoo‘s requirements.
To prevent spam complaints, avoid emailing people who haven’t given you permission.
Finally, sending emails from a reliable platform is critical to your email deliverability. Choose a trustworthy company and get expert advice if you suspect your emails aren’t landing in the inbox.
One of architect Frank Gehry’s long-standing wishes is finally coming to life: a new concert venue in downtown Los Angeles that will complement his famous Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Preliminary work has begun on a $335-million expansion of the Colburn School of performing arts designed by Gehry that includes a mid-size concert hall he expects to be in near-constant use for events put on by students, professional artists and academics.
“It’s a chance to do a lot of experimenting,” he said.
The long-planned Colburn School addition will be the third Gehry-designed building on Bunker Hill, which already has Disney Concert Hall and the Grand LA, a $1-billion apartment, hotel and retail complex he designed for New York mega-developer Related Cos.
An artist’s rendering of the Colburn Center at 2nd and Hill streets in downtown Los Angeles.
(Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry & Gehry Partners )
The new Colburn structure is under construction on a former parking lot, cater-cornered to the current campus, at 2nd and Olive streets just east of the Grand, creating three contiguous blocks of Gehry-designed buildings.
Colburn Center, the new building, will be modest in appearance compared with the other two but represents a significant leap for the Colburn School, which opened on Bunker Hill in 1998 and has around 2,000 students.
“The Colburn Center will be a game-changer, stepping up everything we do,” said Sel Kardan, president of the Colburn School.
The centerpiece of the expansion will be a 1,000-seat concert hall named for Pasadena philanthropists Terri and Jerry Kohl with an in-the-round design meant to create intimacy between the performers and the audience. The hall will include an orchestra pit and a stage large enough to accommodate “the grandest works,” Kardan said, making it suitable for orchestra, opera and dance.
“There’s always been a dream of having a place where our largest ensembles can play,” he said, such as the school’s symphony orchestra, bands, youth string programs and children’s choirs. “Currently, those programs take place off-site.”
An artist’s rendering of the interior of the concert hall in the Colburn Center.
(Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry & Gehry Partners)
The size puts it in a sweet spot between the 2,265-seat Disney and the popular 415-seat Herbert Zipper Concert Hall already on the Colburn campus. The nearby Dorothy Chandler Pavilion seats about 3,200 guests. Larger still is the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live, which seats 7,100.
“It’s more rare to find a kind of medium-sized venue,” Kardan said. “They’re extremely desirable and highly functional. They also have enough seats to be really economically viable.”
Japanese acoustical engineer Yasuhisa Toyota will be the acoustician for the hall, as he has been for all of Gehry’s concert halls, beginning with Disney Hall.
The Colburn Center will also more than double facilities for the school’s Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, creating what the school called “one of the most comprehensive dance education complexes in Southern California.” The dance facilities will include a 100-seat theater for dance and four professional-size studios for dance instruction and rehearsal.
Architect Frank Gehry, left, and Colburn School President Sel Karden at Gehry Partners with a model of Gehry’s design of an addition for Colburn School, a private performing arts school in downtown Los Angeles.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
The center will include a rooftop garden large enough to host receptions and outdoor performances, as well as a ground-level garden with a performance space that will be open to the public.
“I think it is very exciting that the school is going to expand,” Mayor Karen Bass said. “I think one of the things the school is known for is an incredible facility and experience for young people. It also provides access through scholarships, so it is a treasure for the city that is accessible to all.”
The Colburn School estimates that it already brings in 10,000 people a week, including students attending classes, lessons and rehearsals. Others rent the current performance and lecture spaces, helping attract audiences who attend more than 500 performances a year in the existing small venues.
The Colburn School has raised $315 million to date toward its $400-million goal for the expansion, the school said. The campaign will cover an estimated $335 million in construction costs as well as $65 million in endowment and operating costs to support the activities of the Colburn Center and the Colburn School.
The new building represents the near culmination of decades of efforts to redevelop Bunker Hill, a former residential neighborhood dating from the city’s early years that was razed in the 1960s to make way for “urban renewal,” a popular concept at the time intended to remake blighted city blocks from the ground up that displaced mostly poor people.
A rendering of the Hill Street side of Colburn Center, which will include ground-level and rooftop gardens.
(Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry & Gehry Partners)
First among the new development was the Music Center performing arts complex, followed years later by office skyscrapers, a few apartment buildings and such cultural venues as the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Colburn School for music and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Disney Hall opened in 2003, followed 12 years later by the Broad museum.
Gehry’s design for Colburn Center was influenced by decisions he had to make while creating a mid-size concert hall inside an existing warehouse in Berlin. The space was small, so he had to put some audience members on the same level as the musicians.
“The audience’s feet are on the same floor as the orchestra,” he said. “I had no idea, but that made a ‘wow’ difference.”
Another facet of the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin that Gehry is bringing to Los Angeles is what he calls a floating balcony. In Berlin, it wasn’t structurally possible to hook the balcony to the wall, so he suspended it in a way that gives the impression of floating above the action.
“At first, everybody said, ‘Well, that’s not going to work,‘” Gehry said. “Finally, that became nirvana. So wherever we go now, everybody wants a floating balcony.”
A view of Colburn Center east from Olive Street towards the entrance to the concert hall.
(Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry & Gehry Partners, LLP)
Hanging from the ceiling will be concrete sound clouds designed to improve acoustics and evoke a sense of airiness. Gehry hopes that catwalks can be added above the clouds that can be used in future performances.
“There’s a lot of space up there,” he said. “Our hope is once it’s built we’ll put catwalks through there and bring artists and performers so that will become another space, a part of the music.”
Upon completion in 2027, the Colburn Center should broaden the Bunker Hill arts district that is now mostly confined to Grand Avenue, he said.
“The body language of the building is to try to be user-friendly, not to preempt and become the centerpiece, but to be a part of the feeling of the district and cement it as a cultural district.”
For Armando Herman, the July 11 L.A. County Board of Supervisors meeting was a typical outing.
He called an attorney a “dum dum” and an “Uncle Tom.” During a discussion on the upcoming Olympics, he accused a supervisor of fostering a Holocaust. He used an expletive 25 times, a gay slur twice and a racial epithet once. And he did much of it with a swastika pinned to his back.
Aside from labeling the diatribes as “off topic,” there was little the supervisors could do to stop Herman, 56, an infamous gadfly at both L.A. city and county meetings. His ugly remarks were protected by the 1st Amendment.
“You’re abusing my time,” he responded after one interjection from Board Chair Janice Hahn. “You need to stop that.”
“You’re abusing my ears,” she shot back.
Supervisor Janice Hahn at an L.A. County Board of Supervisors meeting on Oct. 3.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A week later, county officials accused Herman of crossing a line by sending vulgar, threatening emails to four of the five members of the all-female board of supervisors. The emails, the officials argued, went beyond what is allowable under free speech protections. A judge agreed, barring Herman last month from attending board meetings in person for three years — although he is still allowed to speak by phone.
Herman insists he didn’t send the emails.
Inflammatory commentators like Herman, who gleefully indulge in hate speech, have been a continual source of disgust for local public officials. Sometimes, the commentators are forced to leave meetings when they act disruptively, such as shouting from the audience or speaking beyond the time limit — but the ban doesn’t extend to future meetings.
In a few instances, officials have obtained restraining orders requiring a critic to stay away from their homes, cars and offices. In 2019, the city of Los Angeles got three separate restraining orders against Herman after he allegedly threatened Deputy City Attorney Strefan Fauble, Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners Executive President Richard Tefank and City Council President Paul Krekorian.
The city also got a restraining order in 2016 against vocal critic Wayne Spindler after he submitted racially incendiary drawings at a public meeting and labeled then-City Council President Herb Wesson with a racial slur.
In each case, a judge allowed Herman and Spindler to continue attending public meetings as long as they stayed 10 yards from the public official.
The newest order against Herman is unusual in barring him from setting foot inside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration — including during the board’s weekly meetings.
In their petitions for temporary restraining orders, filed July 17, Supervisors Holly Mitchell, Hilda Solis, Kathryn Barger and Hahn each said they had received an email from Herman a few days earlier. Each email asked whether the supervisor would like the sender to “eat her delicious p— at [address],” including the supervisor’s home address in both the subject line and body of the message. The emails were sent from the address “armandoherman@proton.me.”
“l have done my best to tolerate his offensive and vulgar comments and behavior at the public meetings, but his recent email is deeply troubling and an escalation of his behavior that has me concerned for my safety,” Hahn wrote in her petition. “The comments and threats in the email are highly vulgar, deeply offensive, and when coupled with the fact that he tracked down my home address and included it with his comments, I am greatly concerned for my safety.”
The petition from Solis cites other instances in which staffers say they were harassed by Herman. That harassment culminated in July, staffers say, when Herman sent the email to Solis and a text message to one of her field deputies threatening sexual violence.
Herman, who is listed in court documents as a Hacienda Heights resident, denied sending the text and emails, writing in a court filing that he had never seen the email address where the messages originated. He included a complaint that he said he sent to the FBI alleging that he was being set up. He did not specify whether he had a suspect in mind.
“Someone is attempting to impersonate me with the goal of having sanctions placed on me, stripping me of my constitutional rights of attending board hearings,” he wrote. “I am a known activist with a foul mouth, but I have never sent the messages that they alleged that I sent.”
Herman, who was not represented by an attorney in the proceeding, did not respond to several calls for comment. Asked in a text message about his statements that he never sent the emails, he wrote, “Yes , TRUE THEY ARE trying and doing!” but did not respond to follow up messages.
Senior Deputy County Counsel Kent Sommer wrote in a Sept. 7 court filing that the “content, threats and vulgarity” in the emails was “entirely consistent with Mr. Herman’s demonstrated language and conduct” towards the supervisors.
After the court granted the county’s request for a temporary restraining order, Judge Gary Eto issued a permanent order on Sept. 14, barring Herman from going within 100 yards of the four supervisors’ homes, workplaces or cars.
The permanent order also barred Herman from going in person to any public meetings in the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration for three years.
The next meeting he could attend would be Sept. 13, 2026. However, he can still speak at meetings during phone-in public comments.
David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said that even the most offensive speech spewed in city and county public meetings is considered protected speech. However, he said, these protections do not extend to legitimate threats.
“He could be a Democrat, Republican, Nazi, Communist — it doesn’t matter what his point of view is,” said Loy. “What’s relevant is if there’s genuine or true threats to cause harm, unrelated to his politics or ideology.”
Last week, a judge issued an order requiring that Donald Harlan, a frequent speaker at City Council meetings, stay at least 100 yards away from Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, his home, his office and his car.
The case stems from a Sept. 8 council meeting where Blumenfield ordered Harlan removed for yelling from the audience.
After being told to leave, Harlan got up and pointed at Blumenfield, screaming: “Bob, you’re f— dead you f— Jew! I’m going to f— kill all your f— Jewish f— people!”
Harlan, listed in court records as a resident of L.A.’s Westlake neighborhood, is still allowed to attend council meetings in person and speak, but he must stay at least 10 yards from Blumenfield. In a legal declaration, Blumenfield said Harlan had made other anti-Semitic comments earlier this year, during a celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month at City Hall.
“These characters who flit in and out …. are mostly there to be disruptive. They enjoy it.” said Eric Preven, a gadfly whose running commentary is pointed yet civil. “Most of the time you just have to take it.”
Occasionally, however, the casual use of hate speech has caused an uproar among audience members.
Yvonne Michelle Autry, center, is ejected from a City Council meeting on Sept. 18, 2018, while fellow attendee Armando Herman waves his arms.
(Los Angeles Times)
In August, after Herman uttered an anti-Black slur, an activist with Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles demanded that council members have him ejected from the room. As Herman continued to give his remarks, audience members chanted, “Cut his mic! Cut his mic!”
“I understand that the language is offensive,” responded Jonathan Groat, a deputy city attorney. “Nobody condones this. But he legally is entitled to give his public comment.”
Two protesters were eventually ordered to leave the room for yelling, even as Herman continued speaking at the podium.
“The longer we disrupt him, the longer he’s gonna be up here,” Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson told the audience.
While Herman is barred from county meetings, he has remained a reliable presence at City Hall, hurling slurs and epithets and at times using fake foreign accents in ways that target various racial and ethnic groups. He sometimes makes loud bleating noises and has his small dog in tow. He rarely says anything substantive.
On Friday, when Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky — who is Jewish — called Herman’s name at a committee meeting, he arrived at the podium and said, “Thank you, Jew.” At one point, he said Yaroslavsky and Blumenfield were “f— Jews.” At another, he called council members “fucking c—.” He also used the N-word.
“I hope god kills you,” Herman said, punctuating his statement with a profanity.
Yaroslavsky ordered Herman to be removed from the room, not because of the language, but because, among other things, his remarks were off-topic. “Get him out of here, he’s out,” she said.
“We apparently are required to listen to this because of lawsuits,” Yaroslavsky told the audience.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
How well do you know your audience? It’s a question that every entrepreneur must carefully consider if they wish to make their products or services appealing to potential customers.
The better you know your audience, the easier it will be to speak to their specific pain points and to present your business as a desirable solution. While getting to know your audience better isn’t always easy, there are some proven practices that businesses have consistently used to gain the level of understanding needed to succeed.
No entrepreneur is going to launch their company without at least some understanding of their target audience. Whether that knowledge stems from your own personal experience, focus groups you conducted when testing your product idea or even reviewing industry news and surveys, this is a valuable starting point for coming to understand your audience.
This initial set of information should serve as the foundation to help you focus your learning efforts. It probably isn’t as detailed as you need it to be, but it can provide a useful guide when deciding which pain points to explore or which competitors to evaluate.
2. Make the most of buyer personas
Buyer personas serve as a fictional composite of what your ideal customer looks like. When done right, they can help you better hone in on the types of messaging that will best appeal to your target consumer.
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Notably, audience perspectives can shift over time. Regularly conducting surveys of your own and following other survey results that are relevant to your niche can help you adapt accordingly.
4. Look at successful competitors
Sometimes, evaluating successful competitors can provide the best insights into how to appeal to your target audience. Look at things like the brand voice, particularly in regards to the marketing tactics and messaging they use.
For example, outdoor brands might want to look at what has made the National Park Service Twitter account such a success. When you can identify patterns in the types of images or phrases successful competitors use, you may be able to incorporate similarly appealing facets into your own marketing.
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In 2020, there were roughly 290 billion actions taken on brand-owned content on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Needless to say, audiences are significantly engaged with brands on social media and other online platforms — and this can be a valuable way to learn more about your audience in real-time.
How your audience responds to different social media posts or blog posts can go a long way in helping you understand the type of content that resonates with them. Understanding what works (and what doesn’t) will enable you to refine your messaging over time.
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Even picking up on trends like how your clients speak differently than other audiences, or have different concerns or goals, can help you identify shared attributes that can better define your messaging and services.
To know is to sell
Truly getting to know your target audience requires a fair amount of work.
But the rewards are well worth the effort. When you utilize these methods to understand your customers on a more personal level, you will be far better equipped to adapt your marketing in a way that truly speaks to them. You’ll correctly identify their pain points, desires and goals. And you’ll be able to clearly articulate why your product or service is the right match.
