Britain in Los Angeles: A Visit to the Official British Residency in Hancock Park

As Oscar weekend got underway, I had a chance to visit the British Residency in Los Angeles for the first time ever, to enjoy tea and toast this year's British nominees. It's a beautiful home, the site of regular events, the home to the British Consul-General in Los Angeles, and was famously where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, aka William and Kate, stayed when they visited in 2011.

The Wallace Neff-designed house was built in 1928 and has belonged to Britain since 1957. The British consulate itself is in Century City.

Per the official British government website, "Michael Howells is a British diplomat and Consul General in Los Angeles. He is the senior representative of the UK government in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii. In this role, he promotes trade and investment, scientific cooperation, creative and media collaborations and educational partnerships between the UK and the southwestern United States. He also oversees delivery of essential consular services to a 600,000-strong British resident community and British visitors numbering over a million per year."

It was a beautiful afternoon, so many of the attendees headed to the backyard. Among those spotted in attendance: Richard E. Grant ("Can You Ever Forgive Me?"), nominated for outstanding supporting actor. It was a great weekend for Grant, who won the Independent Spirit Award on Saturday, and tweeted a video on Sunday of himself on the trampoline at Melissa McCarthy's house.

MIKE ON KCRW: Hosting "The Business" with Guest Adam Carolla

On this week's episode of KCRW's The Business, I fill in for host Kim Masters and interview Adam Carolla, whose new semi-autobiographical movie "Road Hard" is now in theaters and on VOD:

Comedian Adam Carolla has weathered career highs and lows, but he's been determined to follow his gut and always keep working. Now he's co-directed a movie in which he's also the star. Road Hard is a comedy with an autobiographical slant about a comedian's dark days on the road. He tells Michael Schneider how he got the money to make the film and why he was adamant about working outside the Hollywood studio system.

Matt Belloni of the Hollywood Reporter and I also discuss top entertainment news stories of the week:

- After poor TV ratings for the Oscars, the Academy considers a move back to five best picture nominees, instead of the current system, which allows for up to ten.
- Former NBC executive Andy Lack returns to the network as chairman of NBC News and MSNBC. Could this mean good news for Brian Williams?
- No one said the transition would be easy -- Amy Pascal encountered a potent problem when she tried to move into her new office on the Sony lot.

Listen by clicking below!

MIKE ON KCRW: How the Oscars Fell Flat

On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, NPR's Linda Holmes and I discussed the Oscars and more:

Several of the winners at last night’s Oscars injected politics into their speeches, getting mixed reactions. The losers, on the other hand, included not only snubbed films but also the audience. The show itself was kind of a stinker. We talk about the highs, the lows, and other small screen news from the week in our weekly television roundup.

Listen below:

MIKE ON RADIO: Oscar Ratings, Pilots and Jimmy Kimmel on KCRW's "Press Play"

Fun chat with host Madeleine Brand on Tuesday's edition of KCRW's "Press Play." We chat up Oscar ratings, the trends of pilot season and how Jimmy Kimmel's interview with Toronto mayor Rob Ford turned out. It's 20 minutes into this episode, stream it below:

Watch the Oscars in a Historic Movie Palace

Short of being at the Dolby Theatre or one of the exclusive after parties, this may be the coolest way to watch the Academy Awards: At Downtown's revitalized, historic Million Dollar Theatre. Our pal and Los Angeles mag columnist Chris Nichols is hosting an Oscars screening party at the theater -- located adjacent to the Grand Central Market on Broadway -- on Sunday night. Proceeds benefit the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. I can't think of a better way to celebrate movies and honor our film heritage at the same time.

Get your tickets at http://lahtf.org. More details:

Enjoy the glamour and spectacle of the most famous awards show of them all - telecast live on the BIG screen of Sid Grauman’s Million Dollar Theatre. Join us in honoring the best movies of 2013, on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, where Hollywood began!

Come early, have dinner at one of the exciting new eateries or enjoy an old favorite at the Grand Central Market. Walk down Broadway’s Red Carpet, duck the paparazzi and make your grand entrance to the Million Dollar Theatre - right next door.

The ABC broadcast will be projected on the Million Dollar’s big, BIG screen. Official Red Carpet coverage begins at 5:00 pm; The Main Attraction, the Awards broadcast, begins at 6 pm.

Come alone, bring a friend, assemble your own entourage and experience awards night in a grand new way – with a live audience in a legendary theatre.

Participate in games, win prizes, laugh, cry, cheer in triumph, groan in defeat – experience it all in Grauman’s first Los Angeles movie palace – the fantastic Million Dollar!

No-host bar

Attendees are invited to dress in formal attire, vintage clothing or costumes keyed to your favorite contender. Prizes will be awarded.

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, in association with Grand Central Market, presents this special evening open to all.

Grauman’s Million Dollar Theatre
307 S. Broadway at 3rd Street
Downtown Los Angeles, 90013
Metro Red Line – Pershing Square Station – 4th Street Portal
Parking: Broadway Spring Garage – enter from Spring Street

Did The Oscar Campaigns Get a Boost Last Night From Dorner Coverage?

Were the film studios the luckiest beneficiaries of yesterday's crazy Christopher Dorner manhunt coverage? On Tuesday, KABC, KCBS, KNBC and KTLA had all pre-sold half-hour spots to the studios for Oscar campaign informercials.

Why? It's simple. Viewing was expected to be tiny last night, as very little regular network programming was airing in primetime. Because of the time zone difference, the State of the Union Address took up most of primetime in the Eastern, Central and Mountain time zones last night. But out here, the address aired from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. After that, the local stations were free to air whatever they wanted.

Now, the State of the Union address isn't exactly hot fare for regular TV viewers, and isn't much of a lead-in for anything that should grab an audience. Perfect night to sell off some time to advertisers and make a few extra bucks. Hence, KTLA scheduled a "Silver Linings Playbook" infomercial at 7:30 p.m.; KCBS slated "Lincoln: An American Journey" at 8:30 p.m.; and KNBC and KABC were competing with rival informercials at 9:30 p.m.: KNBC had "Argo: Declassified" and KABC had "Lincoln: An American Journey."

All of these infomercials should have received tiny, tiny audiences. But along came all that wall-to-wall Dorner coverage. Suddenly, those 30-minute Oscar ads were given HUGE lead-ins, as viewers were glued to what was happening in Big Bear.

As a result, the feature studios should be thrilled. Here's how the infomercials fared:

"Silver Linings Playbook" (KTLA, 7:30) 254,000 viewers

"Lincoln: An American Journey" (KCBS, 8:30) 219,000 viewers

"Argo: Declassified" (KNBC, 9:30) 158,000 viewers

"Lincoln: An American Journey" (KABC, 9:30) 148,000

I can only imagine how annoyed the local stations' news divisions were, having to stick with airing those infomercials last night!

Quite Possibly The Most Exciting Part of Oscar Night

When you're dealing with live TV, *always* assume the camera is on. Cheers to David Markland for capturing this: During last night's post-Oscar wrap-up show on KABC-Channel 7, the telecast cut to "entertainment guru" George Pennacchio, who didn't realize he was live. He tells a publicist that her client will be taped to air a minute later -- and the publicist quips, "so she can say f--k." Oops.

FRANKLIN AVENUE POLL: Re-name the Kodak Theatre

As you've probably heard by now, the Kodak Theatre will soon be no more. A judge has approved cash-strapped Eastman Kodak's request to sever its pricey naming deal for the big theater at Hollywood and Highland (home to the Oscars), and now, as Variety reports, owner CIM Group is hunting for a new naming rights partner:

CIM has already lined up three suitors interested in branding the current home of the Oscars, Variety has learned. Heading up the talks for CIM is Santa Monica-based naming rights and consulting firm Premier Partnerships, which is negotiating with marketers. CIM was approached by several interested companies immediately after Eastman Kodak first petitioned a bankruptcy court to void its naming-rights deal at the end of January, including Dell Computer, which at one point presented a proposal. Though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not actively involved in the process, it does have the power to veto any sponsor it deems unacceptable. Organizers would prefer a brand with a connection to the film biz or upscale pedigree. It wasn't immediately clear which three companies were considering a sponsorship deal. Regular Oscar sponsors have included American Express, the Coca-Cola Co., Hyundai and JC Penney. Samsung is ponying up considerable coin around this year's kudocast as it promotes its new line of smartphones.

So who should get the name? Make your selection below, or add your own choice.

MIKE ON TV: Can Awards Shows Ever Be Good?

I recently sat down with my old Variety boss, Peter Bart, for his new KNBC/Encore show "Movie Talk with Peter Bart." This being awards season, we talked about how dreadful most awards shows still are, and whether or not there's any hope for the genre. (They don't appear to have any clips online, so yes, I recorded this on a Flip camera straight off my TV. Don't judge!)

Oscar Trickles Out of Hollywood Boulevard

With my parents in town yesterday, we took the Metro subway (that part was for Blogger Toddler's benefit) from Los Feliz to Hollywood & Highland, partly to see the final remains of this year's Academy Awards.

Hollywood Boulevard was still blocked off between Highland and La Brea, and several huge Oscar statues still sat outside the Kodak Theatre. But most of the activity had already been hauled away.

Some images:


Oscar still guards the Kodak.


Temporary Oscar signage on Hollywood & Highland


Shut down Hollywood Blvd.; the temporary camera bridge is still in place in this shot.


Kodak Theater: Don't even THINK about entering!


Hollywood & Highland wasted no time applying the name of this year's Oscar winner for Best Picture, "No Country for Old Men," on its Awards Walk.


One more shot of Sir Oscar.


Wait, how'd this get in there?

OSCAR RECAP: Well, That Wasn't Very Intereszzzz...

Some memorable moments and observations from the 80th Annual Academy Awards. We don't get to see movies much these days -- blame the Blogger Toddler -- and so we didn't have much of an investment in this year's awards. (Apparently, neither did many other viewers.) Yet we stuck it out to the end, watching all 3+ hours of this year's Oscarcast.

The highlights:


Funniest Moment of the Entire Night: During the "Night at the Academy Awards" post-telecast on KABC, host George Pennacchio had managed to wrangle host Jon Stewart into a one-on-one interview.

Which was fine... until the guy on the left came along and yanked Jon from the interview. "One second," the unknown assailant told George. "I've known this guy forever (referring to Stewart)."

Suddenly, Pennacchio was live on air, forced to improvise, while Stewart caught up with his pal. Pennacchio counted backward -- "3, 2, 1," and Stewart finally returned. "That's never happened to me before," the long-time KABC "entertainment guru" said.

"Were we live?" asked an exhausted Stewart, who then answered Pennacchio's non-questions with non-answers.

Meanwhile, back in the studio, hosts Richard Roeper and Marc Brown couldn't believe what just happened either. Roeper went as far as calling the guy who pulled Stewart aside a "jerk."


Best-Dressed of the Night: Diablo Cody's tattoo.


Biggest Whaaaa? of the Night: OK, I clearly don't know fashion, but I still don't get what Tilda Swinton is wearing. One long sleeve, one not? C'mon, she's wearing a black plastic bag.


Kinda Offensive Telecast Moment: Host Jon Stewart touched on politics in his monologue, noting the landmark race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That's even unprecedented for Hollywood, he quipped: "Normally, when you see a black man or a woman president an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty."

Big laughs. But now take one guess, out of everyone in the audience, at whose reaction the ABC camera immediately cut to in the crowd. Check it out above.

Yup, a staple of awards show telecasts: If a host is referencing something about an ethnic group, or sexual orientation, or anything that involves a certain group, cameras usually seek out a reaction to someone from said group. Kudofest Profiling?


Semi-Creepy Celeb Moment: OK, we know Oscar winner Javier Bardem loves his mom, and gave a great speech (mostly in Spanish). But the extent of that affection -- the smooch above (from after he returned to his seat) -- left me feeling a bit uncomfortable.


Most Unfortunate Commercial: There I was, snacking away, until H&R Block decided to go this direction. Half-naked middle-aged men? Oh crap, I better file my taxes! I don't know whether to thank the tax prep business or smack 'em.


Biggest Elephant in the Room: Hey Owen Wilson, you just gonna act like that little thing six months ago about you and a hospital room and slashed wrists never happened?


Most Handy Screen Grab From This Year's Telecast: Looks like we'll be forging Paul Mazursky's name and sneaking into Academy screenings next year.


Biggest "Watching Paint Dry" Moment: Yes, that's Academy president Sid Ganis in front of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, explaining the Oscar balloting process. Can Nielsen measure audience yawns?


Best Hair-do: "Uh, hi, we're with the Motion Picture Academy, we're here to film a segment with Elton for the Oscars."

"Oh, Elton just woke up and hasn't had time to get ready. Oh, what the hell, go on in. You can fix any embarrassing images in post, right?"

"Ummmm, surrrre!"

Oscar for Best Product Placement Goes To... Dinah's Chicken

In the Oscar-nommed film "Little Miss Sunshine," the family at the center of the movie is blissfully unaware that they're living in a time warp.

And I'm not just talking about the VW bus they use in their road trip to California. Everything about the Hoover family's home -- the outdated appliances, wooden cabinets, floral wallpaper, earth-tone furniture and outdated electronics -- screams 1978.

But what really brings it home: The family munches on Dinah's Chicken for dinner.

Granted, it's creative license: Dinah's is located here in Glendale (as well as Culver City), but the family actually lives in New Mexico.

But when it came time to find a fast food joint that would fit into the Hoover family's 1970s lifestyle, Dinah's fit perfectly. Dinah's logo (in that "Brady Bunch"/"Hee Haw" jumbled letter font that was so popular in the mid-70s) is similarly stuck in a time warp. And if you've ever tasted Dinah's, it's a reminder of what fast-food fried chicken should be -- and what I imagine Kentucky Fried Chicken was once like, back when Col. Sanders was still hawking his secret herbs and spices to skeptical franchisees in the 70s. (And long before it became "KFC.")

Dinah's is located in Glendale at 4106 San Fernando Rd., just north of Los Feliz Blvd. Another location (where "Little Miss Sunshine" shot some scenes) is located at 6521 S. Sepulveda. (Might make for an appropriate food to serve at your Oscar party -- and you'll look like a genius if "Little Miss Sunshine" surprises the critics and wins the top film prize.)

Above, Dinah's takes out a congratulatory ad in Variety for "Little Miss Sunshine."