Pike Place staple Virginia Inn closing after more than 100 years
In a post on Facebook, the restaurant said its lease was terminated because of failed negotiations with the landlord.
"We are Pike Place's oldest institution; older than Pike Place itself. We have seen this city grow and change all around us. We have survived through Prohibition, the Great Depression, the Great Recession, the COVID pandemic, and many other events in between," the restaurant posted on Facebook.
The post highlights that the Virginia Inn, or 'V.I.' as regulars call it, became one of the first art bars in Seattle in the 1980s and was featured in the 1992 grunge movie 'Singles.'
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Los Angeles Times
9 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Director Alex Russell made ‘Lurker' about obsessive fandom. He'd rather not talk about himself
We are sitting between the 'Miscellaneous Horror' and 'Juvenile Delinquents' sections at CineFile Video, a compact, densely stocked curated video store on the westside of Los Angeles. Surrounded by physical media, I wonder how 'Lurker,' the first feature by writer-director Alex Russell, will eventually be classified here. The shelf across from him holds the DVDs and Blu-rays labeled 'Gay.' The realization prompts him to chuckle. 'That's me,' he says. Arms crossed, Russell, 34, at first seems guarded and resistant to conversation. He admits doing press about his work is still a novel experience for him. Later, as he digs into the making and meaning of his movie, he'll relax and the words will spontaneously flow. Out this Friday, 'Lurker' examines the insidious entanglement between rising British music star Oliver (Archie Madekwe) and the seemingly docile Matthew (Théodore Pellerin), a clothing store employee turned self-styled tour videographer. As Matthew joins Oliver's inner circle, their parasocial bond evolves into a real friendship, until Matthew's desire to belong becomes dangerous. And while at first Oliver rules over a pack of sycophants, the power shifts. 'Everyone has been in a situation where they want a group of people to like them,' Russell says. 'And then sometimes you're on the other side of it, where you're already in and you see someone else wanting to be liked by you.' As someone who went to several different schools growing up, Russell became observant of male relationships and the implicit rules by which they operate. 'I could see how groups of boys, whether it's in high school, a fraternity or a basketball team, start to assemble themselves and create sort of unspoken hierarchies,' Russell says. The music world presented an ideal setting as well. 'Lurker's' mean-boys drama mostly takes place in Los Angeles, where individuals seeking a career in entertainment by any means necessary abound. Russell lived here for the larger part of the last decade, writing the screenplay at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 'I felt gross about being in L.A. but also hopeful,' Russell says candidly on the realization that he was one of countless others here trying to make it. 'What I like about this place — and I think this is represented in the movie — is that it's full of people who are trying to put themselves out there in some type of way.' Russell knows firsthand what it means to feel exposed in pursuit of a dream. His career writing for TV for award-winning shows like 'Beef' and 'The Bear' only took off after he became vocal and open about his goals. 'There was something liberating about being like, 'I want to be a working screenwriter,' which, of course, there's no greater cliché in L.A.,' he says. 'That felt like the more courageous thing. I was used to this self-doubting, cynical philosophy of: I should keep it to myself if I have dreams that could embarrass me if I don't make them a reality.' Born in Chicago to an immigrant mother and an American father, Russell initially studied engineering, but quietly taught himself screenwriting. He would dissect the scripts of comfort movies like 'Legally Blonde' and 'The Devil Wears Prada' in order to learn structure. 'When you teach yourself something, in a way it's more organic because you're just like: OK, what are the movies I actually know? I'll reverse engineer those,' he says. But as someone with no direct connection to Hollywood, his dream required tryout stints in New York and Atlanta, as well as a lot of crashing with patient friends. 'There are so many couches I have to thank for getting to do the work I do now,' Russell says, laughing but sincere. During those rougher early years, Russell created a pilot for the now defunct Viceland cable network and a short series for Comedy Central's YouTube channel. 'At the time I was looking for anything to grasp onto,' he remembers. It was in L.A. that he landed his first writers' room job on the FX comedy 'Dave,' a meta series centered around rapper Lil Dicky. Russell believes his proximity to the music industry set him apart when the opportunity emerged, outweighing his inexperience. Most of his close friends work in music, including Kenny Beats, who composed Oliver's songs for 'Lurker,' and Zack Fox, who plays a hanger-on in the film and is a DJ in real life. The scenes that show Oliver performing were shot with real crowds during parties at which Fox DJed. 'It was just a huge stroke of luck,' he says. 'I had a bunch of half-hour spec scripts that were set in the music world. It was just good timing that they were looking for someone like that, because on a craft level, I really hadn't found it yet.' 'Lurker' would be an experiment — to discover his own storytelling voice. 'The skill of being in a TV room is: How well can you service the voice of someone else? How can you find the most overlap between yourself and whoever's running the show?' Russell explains. 'That can start to feel like: I would like to know if I have my own tone, if I have my own way of doing things.' To find his way into the story, particularly its darker edges of obsession, Russell looked to Damien Chazelle's 'Whiplash' and Dan Gilroy's 'Nightcrawler' as references. Additionally, 'Almost Famous,' Cameron Crowe's mostly autobiographical film about a teenager interviewing a rock band, seemed the closest to his sensibility. 'This kid gets to do this big Rolling Stone article on one of his favorite bands and there are these moments where it feels like he's in the band and that's really his dream,' Russell says. 'At the end of the movie it's like: Was that all just for the story he was writing? Or will they talk to him again? And then they do. It's a wholesome version of the movie that mine isn't.' In 'Lurker,' conversely, the worst label someone in Oliver's orbit can receive is that of being a 'fanboy.' The term carries an intensely pejorative connotation in the group and speaks to the imbalance of power between the singer and his fawning entourage. 'A fan is fundamentally an outsider,' Russell says. 'What does it mean to admit that you're a fan? It's to acknowledge that there's them and us. You are the watcher of whatever you're a fan of and they have your attention. Matthew is trying to bridge that gap. He wants to appear as a peer.' The fact that 'other directors weren't exactly dying to direct' his screenplay, Russell says, coupled with his producers' encouragement, convinced him to get behind the camera. 'I didn't really know what that entailed,' he admits. 'I really didn't think I had certain leadership qualities to rally a bunch of people. I didn't see myself that way.' But knowing the motivations of his characters armed him. Russell could determine which potential collaborators interpreted his writing as he envisioned it. For example, he agreed with cinematographer Patrick Scola that shooting on 16mm film would add realism to a story taking place in a realm of artificiality. In casting Pellerin, a Quebecois actor seen in 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always,' the filmmaker found a performer with the ability to exhibit ambiguous intentions, not a one-note villain. Though he's always plotting to stay in Oliver's good graces, Matthew has a deep need for validation. When he gets a taste of the status being around Oliver grants him, he refuses to let it go. 'You could see him living and dying on each of these social interactions,' Russell says. 'You could tell he wants to say and do the right thing. There's a sweetness to him. We didn't want this to be so icy that you automatically disliked this guy and you're shaking your head the whole time. You want to feel like there's someone in there who just wants to belong.' Russell finds the proliferation of a social media mindset unsettling, especially the darker side of attention-seeking trolls. 'Part of why this movie exists is to instill a little bit of shame,' he says with a dark laugh. 'That's not something we should be bragging about.' On top of those digital-age preoccupations, Russell sought to indict the petty jealousies that exist among men — a subject, he thinks, that remains taboo. 'There are a lot of movies about women being jealous of each other, but there aren't a lot about men,' he says. Near the end of 'Lurker,' a surprising encounter between Oliver and Matthew illustrates the complexity of their misconnection, a delicate balance that showcases Russell's talent for mining originality from situations that could have played out more conventionally. 'In that moment, the tension is built up so that either it's going to turn sexual finally or turn violent finally,' the filmmaker says. 'That's what the audience is thinking, but then it's this mystery third thing. And I just love it because it genuinely surprises people.' But regardless of where a viewer is coming from, 'Lurker' taps into something utterly relatable. 'So many people look to movies because they feel like outsiders,' Russell says. 'Everyone has some relationship to being an outsider and being an insider. It's not black and white. That's what this movie wants to get into. Those things can shift, the gravitational pull is not anchored.' Much less of an outsider now (he's even won an Emmy for 'Beef'), Russell has found his peers. He and James Sweeney, another queer director, have become close. Sweeney's film 'Twinless,' out Sept. 5, follows the brotherly friendship between two young men that's threatened by a secret. Both 'Lurker' and 'Twinless' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Russell is amused at the similarities between their films. 'In a city like this, everyone is thirsty for community or feeling like a part of some group,' Russell says. 'And the truth of L.A. is that people make up groups. And if you make up your own group, then you get to choose the members.'
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Forbes
Ed Sheeran's New Single Misses In America — Here's Why
Ed Sheeran is barreling toward the release of his upcoming album Play, which is set to drop September 12. The singer-songwriter has been releasing singles from the project throughout much of 2025, and his latest, 'A Little More,' gets off to something of a disappointing start on the Billboard charts — but that doesn't mean it's not destined for greatness. 'A Little More' Debuts on Billboard's Global Charts 'A Little More' arrives on a trio of Billboard tallies this week. The song opens at No. 73 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and at No. 75 on the Billboard Global 200 – two worldwide rankings that combine streams and sales to show what the human race is listening to. Sheeran has scored 40 wins on the list that removes all consumption from America and 39 on the Billboard Global 200. Ed Sheeran's New Song Misses the Hot 100 Somewhat surprisingly, even as 'A Little More' becomes a worldwide hit, it misses the Hot 100 in America entirely. That tally looks at the most consumed songs in the U.S. 'A Little More' does make it to the Bubbling Under Hot 100, which operates as a 25-spot extension of the main roster, but only for tunes that haven't yet made it to the Hot 100. 'A Little More' opens at No. 7 on that list. 'A Little More' Could Soon Gain Everywhere Sheeran remains one of the most famous names in the global music industry, and he can be counted on to make it to the Hot 100 pretty much whenever he delivers new singles. So why then did 'A Little More' reach Billboard's global lists but not the Hot 100? Sheeran dropped 'A Little More' off-cycle, on Thursday, August 7. The new tracking week begins on Friday, so if songs and albums want a full seven days in which to rack up sales and streams and impact the Billboard charts, they need to become commercially available on Friday. Sheeran decided to buck that tradition and make 'A Little More' available hours before a new frame began. That means his latest Play single becomes a worldwide hit and almost reaches the Hot 100 off of just a few hours of activity. Next week, when Billboard refreshes its rankings, it's likely that 'A Little More' will make it to not only the Hot 100, but perhaps several other rankings, including the Digital Song Sales, Radio Songs, and Streaming Songs charts. It could also become another pop radio favorite. 'Azizam,' 'Old Phone' and 'Sapphire' Three singles preceded 'A Little More,' and all of the Play cuts made it to the Hot 100, though none of them have climbed to the same heights of many of Sheeran's past smashes. 'Azizam' is the biggest of the bunch, and it peaked at No. 28. 'Old Phone' and 'Sapphire' stalled in the lower rungs of the roster, only lifting to Nos. 89 and 74, respectively.
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Forbes
Ariana Grande's Current Hits Span The Many Chapters Of Her Career
It's a big week of comebacks for Ariana Grande in the United Kingdom. The pop superstar sees her most recent album return, and several singles find their way back to one list. Her reappearing favorites seem to have nothing to do with one another, other than the fact that they are connected by Grande's talent and the support of her massive fanbase. 'Santa Tell Me' and 'Defying Gravity' Return Together A pair of Grande classics find their way to the Official Physical Singles chart, which tallies the bestselling tunes available on CD, cassette, or vinyl in the U.K. Her holiday smash 'Santa Tell Me' is the higher-rising of the two, as it breaks back in at No. 71. 'Defying Gravity,' the biggest hit from the musical Wicked, which also credits her co-star Cynthia Erivo, reenters at No. 87. Both Hits Peaked at No. 3 Coincidentally, both 'Santa Tell Me' and 'Defying Gravity' peaked at No. 3 on the Official Physical Singles chart. The Wicked tune passes two months on the roster as of this frame, while 'Santa Tell Me,' an annual smash, is now up to 14 stays on the ranking. 'Twilight Zone" Also Appears as it Falls Grande fills a trio of spaces on the Official Physical Singles chart, as 'Twilight Zone,' her most recent focus track, dips from No. 13 to No. 27. The same cut also holds on inside the top 40 on the Official Vinyl Singles roster, falling from No. 12 to No. 34. Eternal Sunshine Becomes a Bestseller Again The superstar also returns to a pair of albums lists with the same title. Eternal Sunshine, her 2024 full-length, is the bestseller once more as it resettles at No. 90 on the Official Physical Albums chart and No. 96 on the Official Album Sales tally, after not appearing on either roster last period. The Grammy-nominated Eternal Sunshine can also be found on the Official Albums Streaming and Official Albums charts. But just like 'Twilight Zone,' which helped resuscitate Eternal Sunshine as part of a deluxe reissue titled Brighter Days Ahead, the full-length doesn't need to reappear on either of those latter lists. Instead, it dips a few spaces to Nos. 75 and 76, respectively.
