Los Angeles Times - 06.08.2019

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the websites it helps op-
erate, although it did with-
draw service from the Daily
Stormer, a neo-Nazi web-
site, in 2017 in the face of
heavy pressure from activ-
ists and the media. (To get
back online, that site since
turned to BitMitigate, which
was subsequently acquired
by Epik.)
But 8chan has made it-
self uniquely radioactive. In
the latest manifesto, which
Prince said appeared to be
authentic, the El Paso sus-
pect saluted the perpetrator
of the March 2019 massacre
of 49 Muslims at a New Zea-
land mosque. The suspect in
that attack allegedly posted
a manifesto on 8chan ex-
plaining his motives. A man
accused of killing one person
and wounding three others
in an attack at a Poway, Cal-
if., synagogue in April also
posted on 8chan before-
hand.
Although Cloudflare
took no immediate action in
response to those attacks, in
a blog post Sunday night,
Prince said the pattern of ex-
tremists using 8chan to in-
spire one another had made
it indefensible. “The rationa-
le is simple: they have proven
themselves to be lawless and
that lawlessness has caused
multiple tragic deaths,”
Prince wrote. “Even if 8chan
may not have violated the
letter of the law in refusing to
moderate their hate-filled

community, they have cre-

ated an environment that

revels in violating its spirit.

“We reluctantly tolerate

content that we find repre-

hensible, but we draw the

line at platforms that have

demonstrated they directly

inspire tragic events and are

lawless by design,” he added.

“8chan has crossed that

line.”

“Lawless by design” is

apt. 8chan’s founder, Fred-

rick Brennan, created the

site after growing disillu-

sioned with the top-down-

control architecture of

4chan, another popular

message-board site where

extreme politics, inflamma-

tory speech and trolling are

the currency.

Brennan’s innovation

was to set up 8chan as a site

where users could create

their own message boards.

His anything-goes ethos

made it a natural home base

for the instigators of the

then-nascent phenomenon

known as Gamergate, an ex-

plosion of hate and harass-

ment aimed at critics calling

for more diversity in video

games.

But Brennan sold 8chan

in 2015 to an entrepreneur

based in the Philippines and

has long since moved on in

his own politics. Shortly af-

ter the El Paso shootings, he

told the New York Times

that he thought 8chan

should be shut down en-

tirely.

Tech provider

dumps 8chan

CLOUDFLARECEO Matthew Prince said his firm’s
action probably would not permanently block 8chan.

Steve JenningsGetty Images

[8chan,from C1]

“Whenever a large

amount of money is placed

into a market, that’s a sign of

investor confidence,” said

Warner, who was not in-

volved in the deal.

DJM and Gaw Capital

didn’t provide many specif-

ics on renovations but said

they would upgrade com-

mon areas and incorporate

“new concepts and uses that

bring excitement to retail-

ers, visitors and other ten-

ants at the property.”

Stenn Parton, chief retail

officer at DJM, declined to

reveal specific tenants that

the group wanted to bring

into the 463,000-square-foot

complex, which is now home

to national brands such as

Johnny Rockets, Foot

Locker and Guess. He said

the goal was to take the re-

tail and restaurant offerings

to the “next level” and at-

tract tenants that have glob-

al appeal but also reflect Los

Angeles.

Given the declining state

of traditional retail store-

fronts, some space will be

converted into offices and

the partnership will boost

the number of events at the

center — many of which will

revolve around music, art

and food, Parton said.

“We think what is lacking

today is an experience that is

worth spending your time,”

he said. He wants to make

the center an attraction like

the Hollywood Walk of

Fame, the Hollywood sign

and the TCL Chinese Thea-

tre. “We think there is a mas-

sive opportunity to live up to

the same allure of those

three landmarks.”

The Hollywood & High-

land complex was meant to

reinvigorate gritty Holly-

wood Boulevard and was

backed by a mix of public

and private money. But the

project was a financial deba-

cle for its original owners,

Chicago-based Trizec Prop-

erties Inc.

Cost overruns and delays

drove up the price. The com-

plex opened to mixed re-

views, toward the end of a re-

cession and amid uncer-

tainty following the Sept. 11,

2001, terrorist attacks.

Japanese tourists who

had been expected to buy

luxury goods in the center’s

fanciest stores stopped trav-

eling, and several tenants

failed. Locals complained

about the high cost of park-

ing, and many chose to pa-

tronize the nearby Grove in-

stead. Even so, the project

did help spur other invest-

ments nearby, including the

creation of a studio where

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is

taped.

In 2004, CIM purchased

the property for about $200

million, less than a third of

its onetime valuation of

nearly $650 million. CIM sold

a hotel at the center in 2012

and a year later recapital-

ized Hollywood & Highland

with the Abu Dhabi Invest-

ment Authority.

Warner, who appraised

the project when CIM pur-

chased it, said the Los Ange-

les firm helped make the

center popular with locals,

as well as tourists.

In a news release, CIM

said it had made “significant

enhancements” to the Dolby

Theatre, the hotel and the

retail and entertainment

center.

“CIM’s repositioning of

Hollywood & Highland in-

creased its visibility and pro-

vided a stable anchor for the

resurgence of Hollywood,”

CIM principal Shaul Kuba

said in a statement.

Times staff writer Roger

Vincent contributed to this

report.

THE GOALwill be to elevate Hollywood & Highland to the “next level” and attract tenants that have global

appeal but also reflect L.A., said DJM executive Stenn Parton. Above, Cirque du Soleil performs in 2007.

Barbara DavidsonLos Angeles Times

New owners plan changes

at Hollywood & Highland

PARTON WANTSto make the center an attraction like the Hollywood Walk of

Fame, the Hollywood sign and the TCL Chinese Theatre, above.

Perry C. RiddleLos Angeles Times

[Hollywood,from C1]

Stocks of major video

game companies dropped

sharply Monday after Presi-

dent Trump and others, in-

cluding House Minority

Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-

Bakersfield), linked last

weekend’s mass shootings

to violent video games.

Analysts said the slump

reflected a familiar pattern,

in which political rhetoric

following mass killings

drives fears of regulatory

backlash against the indus-

try. They don’t expect new

regulations to follow.

Activision Blizzard took

the biggest hit, with its stock

falling nearly 6%, to $46.10.

One of the company’s flag-

ship games, “Call of Duty,”

was named in a “manifesto”

that the El Paso shooting

suspect posted online before

the attack. Take-Two Inter-

active, publisher of the

“Grand Theft Auto” fran-

chise, fell 5.2%, to $115.38.

Electronic Arts, which

makes the bulk of its revenue

on sports titles such as

“Madden” and “Fifa,” fell

4.6%, to $88.59.

Those declines were

greater than the plunge of

the overall market. The

Standard and Poor’s 500 in-

dex fell 2.98% on Monday,

amid escalating trade

tensions between the U.S.

and China. The Nasdaq in-

dex, which is heavily

weighted toward tech, fell

3.5%.

In an address, Trump

said, “We must stop the glo-

rification of violence in our

society. This includes the

gruesome and grizzly video

games that are now com-

monplace.” The remarks

echo responses by the Na-

tional Rifle Assn. to past

mass shootings, asserting

that the incidents stem from

a “culture of violence” cre-

ated, in part, by violent video

games.

The slump in video game

stocks is a direct result of the

comments by Trump, Mc-

Carthy and others, accord-

ing to Michael Pachter, a

managing director and ana-

lyst at Wedbush Securities

who covers the video game

industry.

“Whenever a white male

kills multiple people, this is

what they come up with,”

Pachter said. “What are the

odds of a white male in his

20s being a video gamer?

90%?”

Pachter said the link be-

tween video games and mass

shooting violence was a red

herring used to divert atten-

tion from discussions on gun

control. “Nearly every other

country has video games,”

he said. “We are the only one

who has these type of ramp-

ant mass shootings.”

Zynga, primarily a pub-

lisher of nonviolent mobile

games, also fell by 5.3% on

Monday. Andrew Uerkwitz,

a managing director and an-

alyst at Oppenheimer & Co.,

an investment bank, said it

was common for political at-

tacks on the video game in-

dustry to sweep up compa-

nies with nonviolent con-

tent. “Typically when you

get things like this, it’s sell

first, ask questions later,”

Uerkwitz said.

Most analysts don’t fore-

see long-term effects on the

video game industry.

“We’ve seen this before.

When the president calls out

an industry, there’s usually a

reaction,” said Doug Creutz,

a managing director at in-

vestment bank Cowen & Co.

“It doesn’t tend to stick.”

Video game stocks take a slide

Shares tumble after

Trump links violent

content to shootings.

But tighter rules aren’t

likely, experts say.

By James B. Cutchin

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD,creator of “Call of Duty,”

took the biggest hit, falling nearly 6% on Monday.

Activision Blizzard