Workers Encounter Rats in the Basement and the Rooftop Skytop Terrace Restaurant at the W Hollywood Hotel

The W Hollywood Hotel should have pest control on speed dial after five cooks, servers and receivers filed a complaint due to the ongoing rodent problem, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

W Hotel; credit: David Starkman

W Hollywood Hotel is Having Rat Issues According to Workers

Unite Here Local 11 represents workers who witnessed "rats and mice running around stored food" at the W Hollywood Hotel located at 6250 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, CA.

The L.A. Times reported that the workers "discovered bags of flour and rice covered in what appeared to be rat feces, urine, and bite marks." They reported "every rodent encounter to management" with a messaging application.

The rodents have been seen at both the Sky Terrace on the 12th floor of the W Hotel, but mostly "in the storage rooms in the basement" of the W Hotel. This is where workers saw mice and rats "dashing around the stored food," which troubled the employees.

As a result, management set traps to catch the rodents, and asked workers to "clean more thoroughly," but despite efforts, the traps and increased cleaning did not resolve the "rodent infestation."

Unite Here Local 11 union reported the complaint on 16 November 2023 on behalf of five cooks, servers, and receivers who work or have worked there. They attached photos and video footage of live and dead mice and rats and evidence of rodent feces and urine taken between May 3 to October 12, 2023.

The Sky Terrace has remained open despite the rodent complaints.

Mosaic LLC, which operates Sky Terrace released a statement.

It read:

“We take health and safety very seriously and follow standards that meet or exceed health and safety regulations,” a Mosaic representative said in a statement. The spokesperson added that the hospitality group is "ready to assist OSHA or the L.A. County Department of Public Health with any related inquiries.”

Nick Remedio, general manager of the W Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard said they work with "a leading pest control company on an ongoing basis and engage[s] them for any specific concerns reported within the building."

The workers said the rodent problem has been "recurring and persistent," and that the inspections did not reflect the "reality of the situation." They said they hope the complaint will prompt the authorities to take more serious action and hold the restaurant operator accountable.

Los Angeles Health Department Shut Down Three Storage Rooms Temporarily in July 2023 After Rodent Problems

Back at the end of July (2023), the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health "shut down there of the storage rooms operated by Mosaic LLC for 48 hours after they found dozens of rodent droppings in the facilities, according to official documents provided by the agency to the L.A. Times and "one of the three storage rooms lacked a public health permit."

Around this time a server at the Sky Terrace restaurant uncovered the credenza on the rooftop of the restaurant and found a glue trap near silverware with two mice stuck on it, one dead and the other alive. Management instructed the server to throw the mice into the trash. That same morning, that same server found another live mouse stuck in a trap along the wall of the restaurant.

However, it was noted that at the same time as the storage room problems, the Sky Terrace had no signs of rodent activity and received an "A" health inspection grade.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health re-inspected on August 2, 2023, and found that "all of the violations had been corrected."

Workers allege that the rodent problem came back after this re-inspection.

One of the chefs asked a receiver to get a bag of flour in the storage room and bring it up to the Sky Terrace kitchen on the 12th floor. When it was delivered, the bag had an obvious tear and contained rodent feces and urine residue. The receiver was disgusted to see the rat droppings and yellow evidence of urine.

The chef asked the receiver to dispose of "half of the flour" and "intended to use the other half."

Only a month after this incident, another server noticed rodents inside the Sky Terrace restaurant.

One line cook said: "Nowhere have I seen rodents in the workplace like that, and the managers knew about the vermin." He stopped eating food from the kitchen after that.

Source:

Carcamo, Cindy. "Food Workers at W Hollywood allege rodent infestation at Sky Terrace restaurant." Los Angeles Times. 4 December 2023.

Wang Jianlin and Dailan Wanda Group to Build $8.7 Billion Chinese Hollywood

Wang Jianlin of the Dailan Wanda Group

The Dailan Wanda Group want to bring Hollywood to China.

On Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013, Wang Jianlin announced that his Dailan Wanda Group will spend 50 billion yuan ($8.7 billion USD) to build the world's largest entertainment district in Qingdao, China. Movie stars in attendance of the announcement were Leonardo di Caprio, John Travolta, Nicole Kidman, and Ewan McGregor.

The Dailan Wanda Group's investment could create the world's most influential film industry in China. If successful, it would trump Hollywood's influence in the film industry. Wang Jianlin also hopes that an annual film festival in Qingdao, China would rival that of the annual Cannes Film Festival.

The Dailan Wanda Group has already signed a preliminary deal with global film and television giants for 30 foreign and 100 local films a year. The new state-of-the-art film complex, called the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis (or Chinese Hollywood), will house 20 studios, movie theaters and its own film museum. It is expected to be fully operational by 2017.

Wang Jianlin made this comment: "The future of the world's film industry is in China because we have 1.3 billion people. We will have the biggest film business in the world by 2018."

He went on to say: "Our cultural [entertainment] business is number one in China, but what about the world? This is our future investment direction. Our goal is to become on of the top 10 cultural companies in the world."

The Dailan Wanda Group has donated $20 million USD to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (host of the Oscars). In return, the academy is now a big supporter of the Qingdao film festival.

The Dailan Wanda Group bought the AMC cinema chain in 2012 for $2.6 billion to add to their portfolio of hotels and department stores. Wang Jianlin already has 75 shopping centers and 40 five-star hotels, among others that currently being built.

Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons by World Economic Forum

How to Negotiate a Hollywood sized Deal

Are you experienced in the area of deal negotiation?

William Shatner as the Priceline Negotiator

I have used Priceline many times to get a great airline fare, or hotel room. Priceline's Name Your Own Price feature is very helpful, and it also is very similar to real life negotiation. If the price you name is too low, then it will reject that offer. If you come really close to a reasonable offer, Priceline will show you a close offer that is near your price. If you name a price that is higher than their lowest accepted price, then they will pocket the change, no questions asked.

Quick Movie Reference:
Back in 1998, Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey were in the movie, The Negotiator, and Kevin Spacey was the hostage negotiator. Kevin Spacey's character found out that Samuel L. Jackson's character was really not the bad guy. It was the guys on the police force that were really crooked. That's tough, when the good guys are really bad, and the bad guy is really good. You have to pick a side, you know.

Samuel L. Jackson & Kevin Spacey in The Negotiator (1998).

But I'm not talking about negotiating for hostages, I'm talking about negotiating for payment when making a contract to perform a service.

If you are a Hollywood movie star, then chances are that you have an agent that negotiates on your behalf.

But many hard-working people have to negotiate their salaries, and some people that work for freelance have to negotiate per project.

So how do you make the Hollywood sized deal?

First, you need to know the industry-standard rate of performing work.

Second, you need to know the lowest you are willing to get paid for a job.

Third, you have to take a chance and throw out a number. If it is too high, then they will let you know.

But you will never know what you can get unless you ask.

If you try to negotiate, and you are "out of the ballpark," this means you are too far apart to actually make a deal.

Negotiating a Hollywood sized deal can be fun and exciting, and it gets easier as you gain experience.

Just remember: It is always easier to shoot a little high in negotiating, and come down a little, than to throw out a number that is at the bottom, because you have a hard time trying to negotiate the price up.

Immigration Problem Solved: 5 Ways To Stop An Alien Takeover

Alien artwork by Didier Konings

Illegal aliens and the immigration laws are all over the news. It's a hot-button topic in political circles with a general election coming up.

But domestic aliens are less invasive than aliens that attack from outer space.

So take a moment to consider the real threat of an alien takeover, and how you can prepare yourself, with some help from popular Hollywood films.

5 Ways to Stop an Alien Takeover:

1. Use knowledge gained about the aliens to take the upper hand. In The Darkest Hour (2011), Emile Hirsch plays a young entrepreneur that is taken surprise by invisible aliens that attempt a worldwide takeover. These electric emitting aliens can only by fought with microwave guns (that a brilliant Russian creates on a whim), and a little American ingenuity. In Cowboys and Aliens (2011), Jake (Daniel Craig) wakes up with amnesia and a high-tech blaster sealed to his wrist. Aliens attack and cowboys must team up with indians to ward off the gold-hungry aliens. Ella (Olivia Wilde) turns out to be a friendly alien, and they all learn the hard way that a bow-and-arrow is useless when fighting alien immigrants from outer space. They have no intention of learning English, despite working in a U.S. gold mine. A laser gun and a little dynamite works a lot better.
2. Run and let the angry birds do the fighting with biological warfare. In War of the Worlds (2005), the humans are ineffective against the alien invasion, however the bird flu is what sends the aliens packing. Look, if the birds of planet Earth want to fight for us, why stop them? Its about time they pull their weight.
   Note: This has nothing whatsoever to do with Angry Birds in Space.
3. Let the friendly aliens fight for you. In The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), an alien friendly comes to Earth to prevent the G.O.R.T. robot from wiping out humanity altogether. If Keanu Reeves is on your side, who can be against you? Or how about in Transformers (2007) when friendly robots come from outer space to help defend Earth from the power-hungry robots that want use Earth for a new home?
4. Take an alien fighter ship and take revenge. In Independence Day (1996), aliens attempt a worldwide takeover, and an American fighter pilot – played by Will Smith – takes one of the alien ships back to the Mother ship and takes a surprise with him to blow them into oblivion.
5. Find an intergalactic Stargate and lead a ground-based rebellion against the alien threat. In Stargate (1994), Kurt Russell plays an army Colonel with a mission to destroy the gateway between planets to protect Earth. Unfortunately, he finds that the alien enemy must be stopped by blowing up the Pyramid-like spaceship first.

If you think you can add to this list, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom.

Marvel is Missing Two Avengers in First Avengers Movie

Avengers Movie Poster

With the Avengers movie coming out May 4, those who are familiar with the comics are wondering where the other two Avengers are, since they are not in this movie.

The two Avengers missing are: Ant-Man & The Wasp. Of course, they were included on the original Avengers team, and are seen in many Avengers cartoon movies on DVD.

Perhaps it is because Henry Pym, who is Ant-Man, is constantly beating his wife, Janet (The Wasp), in the comics. No, that would be too noble of Hollywood, that can't be it.

It is actually because there is another Marvel movie coming, debuting the Ant-Man. The script for Ant-Man has been in the works, and has been in a holding pattern since Feb. 2007. See the Wikipedia entry here.

And let's not get the original Avengers confused with the New Avengers, which include Wolverine, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and a few other lesser known superheroes.

Henry Pym has also played the superhero Giant Man, and maybe there just isn't enough room on the silver screen for the rest of the superhero egos to fit in one film.

I just know one thing from Marvel going to the big screen: I am tired of Hollywood messing up comic book movies. 

Dr. Henry Pym will not be in Avengers 2, but will have his own standalone movie after Avengers 2.

Denzel Washington's "Safe House" Isn't Quite "Fallen" But Close

The latest Hollywood trend continues in the movie, Safe House (2012), starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington.

Safe House movie poster

What is the latest Hollywood trend, you ask?

It's quite simple really. Write a script for a standalone movie, and kill all of the characters in the movie, except the main character.

The last sentence above is a spoiler if you were planning on watching the movie.

Or, if you really want to throw the audience a curveball, even kill off the main character, as seen in the other Denzel Washington movie, Fallen (1998).

Oops. That was another spoiler, if you haven't seen that one, either.

Denzel Washington playing Det. John Hobbes in Fallen (1998)

In Safe House, Denzel fights corrupt government officials, while in Fallen, Denzel fights people corrupted by the demon, Azazel.

So let's recap: If Hollywood plans on making a movie franchise, don't kill the main characters, so there can be lots of sequels, but if it is a throwaway movie (a standalone), kill off all of the characters except numero uno, so the viewers can have a feel good moment at the end.

Is anyone else out there getting tired of the stale formulas and ready for unpredictable movies that are actually good, or is it just me?

Resident Evil 5: Retribution For What?

Resident Evil: Retribution in 3D

The Resident Evil Franchise, starring Milla Jovovich, is coming back with a fifth movie.

Yes. I said fifth.

They want retribution this time. For what, I do not know.

Alice in Resident Evil 5, played by Milla Jovovich

If you have read previous blog posts of mine - such as this one - the problem with Hollywood is that they pump out sequels under the premise that it has to be bigger and better. Please do not make another Indiana Jones movie. The first three were great. The last one - not so great.

But there is one problem - rather than continuing to produce high-quality and consistent movies that build onto a franchise, Hollywood opts to use the bigger explosions, unrealistic over-the-top CGI, and the 3D schtick to crank out another movie, rather than to expand the content of the franchise portfolio by producing a great script.

Part of the problem is that established brands with previous successes in the U.S. and worldwide already have brand recognition. That means they already have a "foot in the door" when it comes to adding on a sequel to the franchise.

Keep in mind that Hollywood executives aim to make 60-70% of their profits through worldwide distribution. That means that 30-40% is made here in the U.S., but the worldwide markets have a big influence on what movies get made.

Alice running from blood-thirsty zombie-like humans created by the Umbrella Corp.'s T-Virus

So until Hollywood changes its practices, we will continue to see stale sequels in franchises that have been squeezed dry of their creative juices.

That includes hordes of zombies, and every other beast fathomable, since the Resident Evil movies do not stick to one kind of evil. They do it all.

I would rather see them do one thing and do it well, rather than to do it all and be and a master of nothing.

Good movies are good movies. Plain and simple. But when is the last time you saw a sequel win an award for acting?
If you want to see the trailer for yourself, it can be viewed here on Yahoo! Movies.

...and by the way, if you are a fan of the video games, be sure to pick up Resident Evil: Revelations for the Nintendo 3DS, but don't look at the spine of the game, because it is misspelled.



Resident Evil: Revelations incorrectly spelled "Revelaitons"



Indiana Jones Versus Pirates of the Caribbean: Should There Be a Fifth Movie?

Recently, a friend posted on Facebook about his dislike for the Pirates franchise, and how they better not be making a 5th movie. I replied to the effect that the same should hold true to the Indiana Jones franchise. I thought the last Indiana Jones movie was not only horrible, but it also stole the plot from Stargate: SG1.

To read more about this, see my earlier blog post, found here.

Basically, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a let down, because it used some cheesy jeep driving-on-the-edge-of-the-cliff CGI, Indy jumping into a lead fridge to survive a nuke, and had to incorporate aliens into the movie, rather than have Indiana Jones go on a real adventure. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with using aliens, if done right. Stargate: SG-1 did a good job with aliens.

 A Crystal Skull, like in Indiana Jones 4

Indiana Jones 4 did not stay true to the franchise, and did not convince me that it is worthy of a 5th movie.

Now, to be fair, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was my least favorite movie of this franchise, because it had the giant CGI Calypso wreaking havoc while the two ships fought while spinning inside of a whirlpool. It was not believable, and definitely not cool.



Pirate ships swirling around in Calypso's bathwater

So, opinions aside, let's let the numbers do the talking. I did this side-by-side comparison of the two franchises, and guess which franchise wins when you compare the ticket sales at the box office?

Pirates of the Caribbean, hands down.

Indiana Jones vs. Pirates of the Caribbean franchise statistics

I am not against Disney making a Pirates of the Caribbean Part 5. But I am totally against a 5th Indiana Jones movie. Yes, the last one was that bad.

If you want to know the real problem with Hollywood and movie sequels these days, read my Yahoo! Voices article, found here.