Gary Baum

My column about how Hollywood's "idiot plot" trope helps explain the dark farce of power and foolishness that is the Trump group chat scandal. https://t.co/uLj85UecEr

My look at how the Trump administration is chilling Hollywood's DEI agenda. “The ground has quickly shifted,” one consultant tells me. “The higher profile you are, the bigger the target you are." https://t.co/fUQhdSq42G

Candace Owens' latest crusade: exonerating Harvey Weinstein in a new series. His rep tells me why the imprisoned producer spoke to the far-right commentator, who's considered an antisemite. Also, his accusers' lawyers think the collaboration is a shanda. https://t.co/0owEIBuaV9

.@ThatRebecca and I looked into Steven Rales, the world’s richest indie film financier. (Net worth: $11b.) He owns The Criterion Collection, backs Wes Anderson & has two films up for multiple Oscars this year. But he really doesn’t like to talk about it. https://t.co/lboW9ibM4I

My examination of the mysterious crisis consultant Jed Wallace, who has been compared to Ray Donovan. Blake Lively has subpoenaed him for his alleged work as Justin Baldoni’s fixer. He's got an interesting past in Hollywood. https://t.co/XBHTmY253t

Exclusive: Pras Michel, the hip-hop legend facing 22 years for his part in a multi-billion-dollar global scam, is being considered for a Trump pardon. Both the president and the rapper-producer had been investigated by the same DOJ public corruption unit. https://t.co/IoNuo0OykP

Justin Baldoni shares a powerful attorney with some of his key newfound backers in conservative media. I explain why one of the country's foremost "male feminists" is now defended by high-profile right-wingers in the midst of his "It Ends with Us" crisis. https://t.co/TalWDj6i2Y

My look at a previously unreported legal case, in which high-profile Hollywood attorney Bryan Freedman — now representing Justin Baldoni in his "It Ends With Us" war with Blake Lively — sued Baldoni for allegedly ripping off a man with a terminal illness. https://t.co/o6ccMqxBpp

So far, L.A. has had a bad 2020s. First, the pandemic. Now, the wildfires. Much else in between, from the homelessness catastrophe to the Hollywood strikes. Yet history reminds us that this city eventually flips the script on its apocalyptic story arcs. https://t.co/jZnFizPnEM

Heirs to the late MGM owner Kirk Kerkorian's fortune appear to be insolvent. A disparate group of individuals and institutions have lately been after them in court. I looked into what's going on... https://t.co/b5kpxwA5Aj

I profiled Colleen Camp, the actress who once played Miss May in "Apocalypse Now" and the French maid Yvette in "Clue" ... and who since has become Hollywood’s hidden hand behind innumerable successful Oscar campaigns. https://t.co/Z28NBZ3XXp

My profile of @topheggers. Introduced to millions as the kid in his brother Dave Eggers’ 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,' he re-emerges to reclaim his tragic family history and explain why his famous sibling is no longer a part of his life. https://t.co/xCne5twNVh

I chatted w/ David Berger about his restoration of the Ojai Playhouse into a high-tech art house cinema. His A/V equipment includes custom quadratic diffusers which optimize acoustics while also providing an ethereal, James Turrell-inspired light effect. https://t.co/XoQiByRzNa

I looked into the twilight of the telethon and how nonprofits are now hoping to leverage celebrities and influencers to raise money for humanitarian crises. https://t.co/cMhq7FYUnw

I spoke with @LiliAnolik about her revelatory new dual biography on the quintessential L.A. authors Eve Babitz and Joan Didion. https://t.co/t71dp7naB9

I wrote about personal injury attorney Tony Buzbee, a colorful figure in the Texas legal world. He's been filing an increasing drumbeat of civil suits alleging sexual assault and rape against music mogul Sean Combs. https://t.co/C0IgRz5Ibb

Exclusive: Heidi Fleiss, the so-called “Hollywood Madam” sent to federal prison for running an upscale prostitution ring, tells me that former HBO exec Sheila Nevins is producing an in-the-works docuseries about her life and crimes. https://t.co/9YLXvEMgsL