CALENDAR
TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR
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A filmmaker’s
gritty realism
Issa López’s “Tigers
Are Not Afraid” uses
horror and fantasy to
take on real terror. E2The rundown
on Swift’s songs
Pop music critic
Mikael Wood ranks
all of Taylor Swift’s
songs on “Lover.” E4What’s on TV..........E5
Comics...................E6-7“Excuse me?” Michael Weist asked,flagging down a waiter. “Can we get some waters and some
service? That would be, like, amazing.”
The 23-year-old talent manager was sitting at the pastel-infused Ladurée, which he’d billed as “airy and casual,” one of
his favorite places to take clients in Beverly Hills. But it had
been 10 minutes, and a server had yet to approach. He glanced
at his assistant and photographer a few tables over, noticing
them enjoying ice-cold lemonades.
“I would love something to drink, but apparently we’rejust, like, chopped liver,” he told his employees. One of them
picked up his glass and brought it over to Weist, who took a
sip and promptly declared: “That is horrible.”
You don’t need to spend long with Weist to understandwhy he’d make a fascinating documentary subject. He’s al-
ways blunt and sometimes rude, constantly dressed in a uni-
form of designer wares. At the French cafe, he was sporting a
Cartier bracelet and rings, a Chanel necklace and earrings
and Christian Louboutin dress shoes.
He’s also polarizing. By 19 he was already one of the most
successful managers in the social media space, steering the
careers of YouTubers with millions of followers such as Bryce
Hall and Mikey Barone. By 21 those same clients had turned
on him, accusing him of sexual assault. Weist sued the two
young men for defamation, and the parties ultimately
reached a settlement, with Hall and Barone issuing a public
apology.
But the drama didn’t stop there. In 2018, Weist partnered
with YouTuber Tana Mongeau to create a convention called
TanaCon — an event that was supposed to rival VidCon, the
popular annual celebration of digital creators. But TanaCon
was a Fyre Festival-level disaster. Thousands of fans turned
up at an Anaheim hotel only to wait in the sun for hours with-
out food or drink, ultimately turned“THERE ISnever an off switch,” says social media talent manager Michael Weist about the work that goes into being an influencer.
Mel MelconLos Angeles TimesThe social medium
Michael Weist, manager of aspiring online stars and a subject of
the Hulu doc ‘Jawline,’ shares the highs and lows of the business
BYAMYKAUFMAN>>>
[See ‘Jawline,’E3]Although the last few
years have been dominated
by the narrative that diver-
sity and inclusion on televi-
sion and in film are moving
in a positive direction, a new
study from the USC Annen-
berg Inclusion Initiative has
found that for Latinos, un-
derrepresentation and ste-
reotypical portrayals re-
main firmly in place.
Additionally, on the rare
occasions when Latinx char-
acters are depicted in major
Hollywood movies, it is rarer
still that their cultural and
ethnic heritage is explored
on-screen.
The study found that
among 1,200 popular films
released between 2007 and
2018 (a sample of the top 100
movies per year), just 4.5% of
more than 47,000 speaking
or named roles went to Lat-
inx actors. Only 3% were
leads or co-leads.
The findings are particu-
larly stark considering that
77% of U.S. states and terri-
tories have a Latinx popula-
tion larger than the per-
centage seen in major Holly-
wood pictures.
“No matter which part of
the film ecosystem we exam-
ined, Latinos were vastly un-
derrepresented,” said Stacy
L. Smith, founder and direc-
tor of the Annenberg Inclu-
sion Initiative and co-author
of the report. “At a time
where Latinos in our coun-
try are facing intense con-
cerns over their safety, we ur-
gently need to see the Latino
community authentically
and accurately represented
throughout entertainment.”Representation is
abysmal, with roles
rare and stereotypical,
a USC study finds.
By Sonaiya Kelley[SeeLatinos,E3]LATINOS
MISSING
ON BIG,
SMALL
SCREENS
This time last year, Los
Angeles director Charles
“Calmatic” Kidd II was up-
set that he didn’t receive an
MTV video of the year nomi-
nation for his wildly ambi-
tious video for singer Ander-
son .Paak’s “Bubblin.” He re-
calls thinking that the sys-
tem was rigged, and that the
nominations merely re-
flected a song’s popularity,
not the quality of the music
video.
But now, after directing
the music video for the most
popular song of the year,
“Old Town Road,” by Lil Nas
X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
— which made history as the
Calmatic’s ‘road’ leads home
CALMATICdiscusses directing the music video for what was crowned as the
most popular song in the world for 19 weeks: “Old Town Road” by artist Lil Nas X.Francine OrrLos Angeles Times‘Old Town Road’ is
a career-boosting
music video for the
South L.A. native.
By Kailyn Brown[SeeCalmatic, E4]SALZBURG, Austria —
The bravos and foot-stamp-
ing began the second Plá-
cido Domingo was spotted
walking onstage Sunday,
leading to a standing ova-
tion that lasted well over a
minute. In Domingo’s first
performance since sexual
harassment allegations sur-
faced against him, the crowd
cheered every one of his big
moments. He had to stop
the standing ovation at the
final curtain call, not want-
ing to take away love fromthe other performers.
There were signs this was
coming. The audience enter-
ing the imposing Grosses
Festspielhaus, the Great
Festival Concert Hall, dur-
ing an afternoon thunder-
storm was tony — tuxes, ki-
monos and other manner of
formal dress. Hopefuls
stood by the doors with
signs asking to buy tickets to
the sold-out Salzburg Festi-
val concert performance of
one of Verdi’s lesser-known
operas, “Luisa Miller.”
In the lobby there was
what looked like a little
shrine to Domingo, a stand
selling CDs and videos,
along with glossy press pho-
tos and shots of the opera
star in recent productions.
Only two of the affectionate
postcard caricatures of Do-
mingo were left. ElsewhereMUSIC REVIEWAustria welcomes
Plácido Domingo
Facing harassment
allegations here, opera
icon receives standing
ovation in Salzburg.
MARK SWED
MUSIC CRITIC[SeeDomingo, E5]