Hollywood executive Peter Rice named head of ceremonies for 2028 Olympics
Rice, who has had senior leadership experience with 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company, will serve as lead executive producer for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles.
"Our ceremonies will capture the energy, innovation and creativity of Los Angeles as well as the emotion that exists at the heart of every Olympic Games," Rice told Reuters in an interview.
"The challenge is to welcome the world in a way that's not only memorable, but truly representative of LA's unique spirit - a city that stands at the crossroads of creativity, sports, and art."
The British American producer will shape the creative vision and oversee production of all four ceremonies at two iconic venues: the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the newly built SoFi Stadium.
He said his experience with global sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Series, and FIFA World Cup has prepared him for the task, and emphasized that assembling a world-class production team was his top priority.
"We need people with deep Olympic experience who can also tap into LA's creativity and energy," he said, adding that the selection of a production company is expected by year's end.
LA28 Chairperson Casey Wasserman expressed enthusiasm for Rice's appointment, citing their 25-year friendship and Rice's unique blend of business, technical, financial and creative skills.
"I knew he was our number one draft pick," Wasserman said.
Rice, whose projects have earned 51 Academy Award and 293 Emmy nominations, hopes the ceremonies reflect Southern California's spirit of optimism.
"It's a place where people go to pursue their dreams, and the Olympics are all about people's dreams," he said.
The LA Games open on July 14, 2028, with the Paralympic Games following in August. It will be the first time Los Angeles has hosted a Paralympics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Original Naked Gun creator gives brutal verdict on reboot as he criticizes Liam Neeson casting and takes aim at Seth McFarlane
The creator of the Naked Gun franchise has no plans to watch the reboot starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson … and not just because he was unimpressed by the film's trailer. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, David Zucker – who also directed the original 1980s police comedy – revealed that he did not decline to participate in the reboot, but was excluded from the project altogether after Paramount Pictures rejected his script in favor of working with producer Seth MacFarlane. 'I wrote a whole script for Naked Gun 4 on spec for Paramount,' Zucker told the Daily Mail. 'I understand the studio's thinking to go with Seth MacFarlane. He's a proven commodity and Liam Neeson is a big star, but it's not a fresh idea.' When it first hit theaters in 1988, The Naked Gun – starring Leslie Nielson, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban and O.J. Simpson – was a box office success. The spoof-comedy was followed by two sequels in the 1990s. Zucker, along with his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams (otherwise known as comedy trio ZAZ), was also the creative force behind the 1980 cult classic Airplane!, and he went on to direct films in the Scary Movie franchise. In the early stages of the reboot's development, Zucker said he was approached by MacFarlane – best known as the creator of the long-running animated series Family Guy – who praised his work and told Zucker he 'idolized' the original Naked Gun films. 'I had a conversation with Seth and he spent 10 minutes just telling me how he idolized Naked Gun, Airplane, Top Secret,' he said. 'How can you be mad at anybody who tells you how great you are? But it's not enough to be a fan…The guy at my dry cleaners is a big fan, but it doesn't mean he can do Naked Gun.' The original Naked Gun movie, based on the short-lived ABC series Police Squad!, starred Nielsen as police detective Frank Drebin, as his character directly spoofed the widely popular crime dramas of the era. Following its release in December 1988, the film raked in $152.4 million on a budget of $12 million. In 1991, the sequel The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear was released followed by Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult in 1994. In the reboot released this Friday, Neeson portrays bumbling cop Frank Drebin Jr. – who has followed his father's footsteps into law enforcement – while Anderson stars as femme fatale Beth Davenport. Former Saturday Night Live writer and The Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer directed the remake, and also served as co-writer alongside Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. Zucker criticized the 2025 version for sticking to the same old formula, with similar gags as the first instalment. He highlighted one particular joke in the film, when Anderson's Beth is instructed to 'take a chair' when she arrives in Drebin's office, to which she replies: 'No thank you, I have plenty of chairs at home.' 'We gave up doing those jokes 40 years ago in Police Squad,' Zucker quipped before questioning Neeson's casting. 'OJ… he didn't need to be funny,' he said. 'And even Leslie Nielsen doesn't need to be funny. He just had to be a B movie actor. That's what we did... We didn't pretend to cast Lawrence Olivier or even Al Pacino, but Liam Neeson, for example, he's like Oscar quality. I think he may have won for Schindler's List. So I mean, what's he making fun of?' Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Zucker has been tossed aside by Paramount Pictures in the early stages of the company developing one of his films for a reboot; he also had no involvement in the 1982 sequel Airplane II, which was written and directed by Ken Finkleman. The sequel was critically panned and earned only $27.2 million in the United States and Canada, compared to the original's $83 million box office total. Much like how Zucker never watched Airplane II, he intends to do the same for the Naked Gun reboot. 'I don't plan on seeing it because, why would I?' he said. Zucker then recalled his late creative partner Abrahams's response to critics who questioned why he never watched the Airplane sequel. Abrahams died in November last year following a long battle with leukemia. 'People ask Jim, "Why didn't you go to see Airplane II?" And Jim said, "Well, if your daughter became a prostitute, would you go watch her work?" That was his way.' Of course, that's not to say that he doesn't wish well for MacFarlane, Schaffer, and the creative team behind the new Naked Gun film. In fact, the reboot has been released to early rave reviews. The Daily Mail's Brian Viner gave the movie four out of five stars, dubbing it 'hilarious' and praising Neeson as 'perfection.' 'I hope people go to see it, as miffed as I am at the whole thing,' Zucker admitted. 'Seth thought he knew best and it may actually do well, which is crazy in itself.' These days, Zucker is focused on his own original projects, such as a script for a 'Naked Gun take on the Mission Impossible and Bond film series' called Counter Intelijence, and film noir parody, The Star of Malta. Zucker is also launching a spoof comedy course on August 4, called MasterCrash: A Crash Course in Spoof Comedy, which will break down the 15 essential rules he uses to write, direct, and edit effective comedy. MasterCrash is a nine-hour course delivered through 18 separate videos, giving students hands-on opportunities to learn ZAZ's method of spoof writing, collaborate with other students, learn from surprise guest lecturers, and work closely with Zucker himself. 'As f***ing old as I am, I have the fresh ideas, not these young guys,' he said. 'I want to do something new.'
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Favorites emerge to land disgruntled Commanders WR Terry McLaurin
August 1 - A pair of AFC teams quickly emerged as the strong favorites to vie for wide receiver Terry McLaurin if the Washington Commanders grant his trade request that was reported by multiple outlets Thursday. The Commanders are the odds-on favorite to retain McLaurin at -250 at DraftKings. But the book is also offering odds on the 31 other NFL franchises, led by the New England Patriots at +450 and the Las Vegas Raiders at +500. The next-shortest odds belong to the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans at +1100 each. The Patriots signed veteran Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract this offseason, but the 31-year-old is coming off an ACL injury that ended his 2024 season. Beyond him is a slew of veterans including DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kendrick Bourne and Kayshon Boutte, but McLaurin would provide a significant upgrade to pair with Diggs. The Raiders could likewise benefit from a proven playmaker to aid veteran quarterback Geno Smith. Their depth chart is currently topped by Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker and Dont'e Thornton Jr., with second-year tight end Brock Bowers the clear No. 1 threat in the passing game. The big question remains whether the Commanders would entertain parting with McLaurin as they prepare for a 2025 season in which they are expected to be a significant threat in the NFC. Washington added veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel over the offseason, but McLaurin remains the No. 1 wideout among a group that also includes Noah Brown and Michael Gallup. Frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations toward a contract extension, McLaurin sat out the first four days of training camp before reporting on Sunday. After reporting, he can no longer be fined $50,000 per day. McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, became a hold-in and was placed on the team's physically unable to perform list with an apparent ankle injury suffered last season. He did not attend organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. He did, however, participate in spring workouts. "You'd like to get these things done quicker, but it doesn't always happen that way," general manager Adam Peters said. "Whatever happens along the way, just understand he's a great player and we want to keep him here." With a base salary of $15.5 million and cap hit of $25.5 million in the final season of a three-year, $68.3 million contract, the speedster is coming off a career year with 1,096 receiving yards, 13 touchdowns and 82 receptions on 117 targets. He added three scores and 227 yards on 14 receptions in three playoff games. McLaurin and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels helped lead Washington (12-5) to its best season since it won the Super Bowl in 1991. The Commanders knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round and Detroit Lions in the divisional round before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. Over six seasons with Washington, the two-time Pro Bowl selection (2022, 2024) has 6,379 receiving yards, 38 touchdowns and 460 catches in 97 games. A team captain, McLaurin has hit the 1,000-yard mark for a franchise-record five straight seasons despite instability at the quarterback position before Daniels' NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Former Playboy model's jaw-dropping revelation about the magazine and her secret feud with fellow cover girl
Former WWE superstars Torrie Wilson and Sable are two of the biggest sex symbols to ever step into the ring. Sable made history when she covered Playboy magazine in 1999, breaking the record for the highest-selling issue in the publication's history at the time. Torrie followed suit in 2003 with her own cover shoot, before the pair teamed up together to become the first WWE stars to share a Playboy cover in 2004. Despite being one of the top female stars in WWE at the time, Torrie told that she made more money doing Playboy than she did in an entire year of wrestling. The blonde bombshell, now 50, also said that she and Sable initially got along with each other and that it was their idea to do Playboy together, despite being locked in an on-screen feud about who the sexiest WWE star in the company was. However, it didn't take long for their scripted storyline to spill over into real life. 'It's really funny to look back on because there was a hint of realness to that [feud],' she explained. 'We were on location in Mexico doing one of those WWE Divas shoots, and she and I started chit-chatting and we were like, "We should take some photos together and then go to Vince [McMahon] and give him this idea,"' she continued. 'And then somewhere along the way we started having a little cattiness go on between us,' she added. Torrie said that she and Sable 'had so much fun' shooting the cover together, but the claws came out when it was time to promote the issue. 'I just feel like she had a completely skewed version of who I was as a person,' Torrie shared. 'She thought that I was trying to like steal the spotlight or something,' she continued. 'I'm just a super people pleaser and will do anything you ask of me, you know?' Torrie also said that she believes the wrestling business can breed competition between women. 'I think that the wrestling industry kind of creates this insecurity because there's always somebody coming up and you're always one show away from losing your job,' she explained. 'And you're under a microscope and people are judging you for every inch of your body, especially back then - it was very much about our looks,' she continued. 'I definitely think it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when Stacy [Keibler] and I came in and we didn't know how to wrestle and we got a lot of TV time. But what do you expect us to do?' Torrie also insists that she has no regrets about stripping down for the magazine, despite the behind-the-scenes drama she experienced thanks to Sable. 'I don't regret it one bit. Playboy was "it" when I was growing up and I just loved my experience,' she gushed. 'There was a short time, like maybe towards the end where I felt like people judged me for doing it, but I've totally let that go. I don't care and I definitely don't shy away from being sexy.' Wrestling fans can see more of Torrie's sexy side on her Passes page. The WWE Hall of Famer recently joined the subscription-based app, which has been billed as a PG-rated alternative to OnlyFans. 'What I love about Passes is that it gives me a chance to get to know my subscribers or fans better than on social media, where you have so much noise coming at you,' she said. 'I've had people come up to me and say, "You'd make so much money on OnlyFans!" But I don't wanna do anything nude and I feel like people expect [OnlyFans] to go there,' she continued. 'I love that Passes is a cleaner platform so people aren't gonna come on there expecting [nudity],' she added. Torrie started out in wrestling in WCW, before joining to WWE in 2001 after the company bought out both WCW and ECW. During her time at WWE, she become one of wrestling's biggest sex symbols and covered FHM magazine, as well as Playboy magazine twice.
