2nd UPDATE, 6:38 PM: “To see such a horrific event unfold like that is particularly shocking and it’s a reminder that we’ve got a lot of work to do,” President Barack Obama told a Hollywood crowd of 250 this evening about the fatal church shootings in Charleston, S.C., on Wednesday. In his second fundraiser of the day, Obama also joked around with supporters paying out from $2,500 to $33,400 to be at Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills home. “His baby is so cute” the President said according to pool reports of the Madea creator’s son with Gelila Berele, “gotta cute momma.”
Introducing the President’s 20-minute long remarks, longtime supporter Perry called Obama “one of the most incredible people I have ever met.” In what he called a “Freudian slip,” POTUS at one point misspoke and told the well-heeled gathering “we should be reforming our criminal justice system in such a way that we are not incarcerating nonviolent offenders in ways that renders them incapable of getting a job after they leave office.” The gaffe caused a laugh, according to one attendee.
“Tyler is going to give me a job once I leave,” Obama added.
Among the paying crowd were Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and former Mad Men and current The Last Man On Earth actress January Jones. Also attending was Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, who has been a recurring presence at Obama fundraisers over the years. The streaming service exec is married to Nicole Avant, who was the administration’s ambassador to the Bahamas (cushy gig) from 2009-11.
Earlier in the day, the President discussed a variety of topics including the massacre in Charleston and tightening gun laws at a much more intimate $16,700 per ticket event at producer Chuck Lorre’s home. That just over 1-hour roundtable-style Pacific Palisades fundraiser had approximately 30 guests including UTA Managing Director Jay Sures, Conan O’Brien, Odd Couple star Matthew Perry and Jack Bauer himself Kiefer Sutherland.
The President is staying overnight in Beverly Hills and has an interview on Friday morning with the WTF With Marc Maron podcast before flying up to the Bay Area for more fundraisers. By then, Hillary Clinton will be in town and a new round of Hollywood ATMing will have begun. On Saturday, Obama is returning to SoCal to spend the night on an estate near Palm Springs, as he has several times in the past.
UPDATE, 2:25 PM: Air Force One has touched down at LAX and President Barack Obama is on the move in L.A. to his Hollywood fundraisers. Which means the Secret Service’s dragnet is in effect and the LAPD are implementing the sprawling street closures they announced late last night (detailed below). Unless you like being stuck in traffic in this heat, it also means get off the streets ASAP. The President jumped on Marine One for a short trip to Santa Monica Airport where the motorcade will take over.
In what will be the leader of the free world’s 19th trip to L.A. for cash since taking office in 2009, Obama will be heading to Pacific Palisades first for a 3:10 PM event at Chuck Lorre’s place. The no-press allowed fundraiser is a $16,700 a ticket roundtable event with 30 participants. With some high rollers forking out up to $33,400, the personal time with the Prez is to open up frequently tapped Tinseltown wallets for the Democratic National Committee’s 2016 White House Victory Fund. Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz was asked on the flight from D.C. to L.A. if the White House had considered cancelled or scaling back the fundraisers because of the fatal shootings in Charleston, S.C. last night.Earlier Thursday Obama called the church attacks “senseless murders” to members of the media. “I hadn’t heard of any conversations about that,” Schultz told reporters on the plane. “I don’t know of any scheduling changes for the next few days.”
Therefore, after getting some big bucks out of the crowd at the Big Bang Theory producer’s home, POTUS goes over to long time supporter Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills pad for another DNC event at 5 PM AKA right in the middle of people starting to get off work. Tickets at the around 250-attendee event ranging from $2,500 to $33,400, which gets you not only into the dinner but the full Presidential package of a photo and some more exclusive time with Obama.
The President is staying overnight in BevHills, likely at the Hilton – which of course means the intersections of Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvd will be shut down for a while. You’ll see closures in that neighborhood and in the north part of the city in the AM too. Obama has a sit down interview in Highland Park planned for Friday morning with the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. “We think this an opportunity to have an extended candid conversation, not necessarily about news of the day items, but I think this is going to be much more about areas of the President’s life that don’t always get reported in the news,” Deputy Press Secretary Schultz said of the interview on Air Force One today.
After that conversation with Maron, Obama heads back to LAX for around 11 AM and jets up to San Fran for more fundraisers and a Mayors’ conference – all of which is to say, stay off the nearby roads then if you can. And, with far less security for the time being, remember Hillary Clinton is in town on Friday to hoover up some cash for her own White House campaign. Today the former Secretary of State is in Orange County soaking up some other SoCal cash.
PREVIOUS, JUNE 17 PM: If you were planning to be in West Los Angeles or Beverly Hills on Thursday, you might want to rethink it: President Barack Obama is comin’ to town, and that means street closures galore. The commander in chief is scheduled to arrive at LAX around 2:15 PM and head to a DNC fundraiser at producer Chuck Lorre’s home in Pacific Palisades. After that, Obama’s off to another ka-ching-athon at Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills residence. Do the math, figuring in the times and streets, and it adds up to a serious chunk of the city going into presidential lockdown — the first since Obama swung through in March for a visit that included reading Mean Tweets on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
So as Deadline’s civic duty, here’s a complete list of street shutdowns, courtesy of the LAPD. Oh, by the way: Hillary Clinton also is coming to the City of Angels on Friday for a trio of fundraisers, so expect even more traffic snarls. Happy motoring, Angelenos.
Thursday June 18, 2015
The area around Sepulveda Boulevard between Lincoln Boulevard and Century Boulevard between 2-3 p.m.
The area around Pico Boulevard and 23rd Street between 2-3 p.m.
The area around Barrington Avenue and Palms Boulevard between 2-3 p.m.
The area around Centinela Avenue and Bundy Avenue between 2-4 p.m.
The area around Bundy Avenue and Interstate 10 Freeway between 2-4 p.m.
The area around 405 Freeway and Sunset Boulevard between 2-4 p.m.
The area around Evans Road and Monorca Drive from 1-6 p.m.
The area around Napoli Drive and Sunset Boulevard from 1-6 p.m.
The area around Sunset Boulevard and 405 Freeway from 3-6 p.m.
The area around 405 Freeway and Mulholland Drive 3-6 p.m.
The area around Mulholland Drive and Coldwater Canyon 3-6 p.m.
The area around Coldwater Canyon and Beverly Drive 5-8:30 p.m.
The area around Beverly Drive and Sunset Boulevard 5-8:30 p.m.
The area around Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard 5-8:30 p.m.
Note: Merv Griffin Way between Wilshire Boulevard and North Santa Monica Boulevard will be closed between 2 p.m. on June 18, 2015 to 12 p.m. on June 19, 2015.
Friday June 19, 2015
The area around Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard from 8-11 a.m.
The area around Santa Monica Boulevard and Century Park East from 8-11 a.m.
The area around Century Park East and Pico Boulevard from 8-11 a.m.
The area around Pico Boulevard and Overland Avenue from 8-11 a.m.
The area around Overland Avenue and National Boulevard from 8-11 a.m.
The area around National Boulevard and Interstate 10 Freeway 8-11 a.m.
The area around Interstate 405 Freeway and Centinela Avenue 8-11 a.m.
The area around Arroyo Boulevard and Mountain Street 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
The area around Mountain Street and the 210 Freeway 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
The area around 134 Freeway and Colorado Boulevard 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The area around Colorado Boulevard and Figueroa Street 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The area around York Boulevard and North Avenue 51 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
The area around Yosemite Drive and North Avenue 56 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Notes: The following are road closures in the City of Pasadena;
Seco Street between West Drive and Lincoln Avenue from 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Rosemount Ave between Prospect Terrace and North Arroyo Boulevard from 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
West Drive between Linda Vista Avenue to Salvia Canyon Road from 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Rosemount Avenue between North Arroyo Boulevard and Seco Street from 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
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