Rick Caruso Wants to Be Governor. Who Might Stop Him?
It’s not just Rick Caruso‘s mall that survived the Palisades Fire unscorched — his political prospects have held up surprisingly well, too. The wildfires gave the 66-year-old billionaire developer an opening to attack his old nemesis Karen Bass, hammering the L.A. mayor for her response to the catastrophe and boasting about how he predicted the blaze (“I’m so sad that I was right,” he humble-bragged Jan. 17 on Bill Maher’s Real Time). Now, there’s even talk Caruso might run for governor when Gavin Newsom terms out in 2026. Indeed, THR has learned that some independent pollsters have been quietly testing Caruso’s voter appeal against other likely contenders. Sources close to the businessman say the results of the informal surveys have been mostly encouraging, with Caruso holding up well against such possible candidates as former mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and current lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis. But there’s just one hitch — a potential opponent who has been crushing all the others, Caruso included.
“If Kamala [Harris] gets in the race, it will be hers to lose,” says a political consultant who’s been monitoring the former vice president. “She may not have performed on the national level, but if you look at her track record in California, she’s done extremely well.”
Should Harris decide to throw her hat in the ring — and it’s been reported that she’s mulling it over — Caruso certainly has the resources to take her on; he dropped $110 million of his own fortune in his losing race against Bass, and that was just for mayor. Imagine how much he’d shell out for governor. But it would be risky. Another loss on top of his mayoral defeat three years ago would pretty much end any hopes Caruso might have for a future in politics. Then again, the stakes are high for Harris as well. The last former vice president who ran for California governor after losing a presidential race was Richard Nixon, and he lost that 1962 race to Pat Brown, famously promising in a morning-after news conference that “the press won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.” Of course, the good news for Harris, historically speaking, is that Nixon ended up getting elected president six years later. — PETER KIEFER
Sundance’s Biggest Winner? The Guy Who Looks Like Luigi Mangione
Dave Franco certainly had lots to talk about at Sundance in January, including the fact that one of the biggest checks written at the festival this year — for $17 million, signed by Neon — was for Together, the horror movie in which Franco’s onscreen love interest is played by his offscreen wife, Alison Brie. The behind-the-scenes story about how the 39-year-old actor convinced first-time feature director Michael Shanks to hire his wife for the part certainly would have made for engaging ski-lift conversation (“I figured our real-life relationship could lend itself well to that dynamic … ,” Franco tells THR).
But, alas, the only thing anyone at Sundance — or anywhere, for that matter — wants to talk to Franco about these days is his uncanny resemblance to alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione. “I have never received more texts in my life about anything,” Franco says. “Anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it.” While several Mangione documentaries are in the works — including one by Oscar winner Alex Gibney — at this writing no scripted dramas have been announced, nor has anyone approached Franco with an official offer. “No,” he says, “no official offers.” — MIA GALUPPO
Conservatives Accuse Captain America of Being … Un-American?
Looks like Captain America is going to need that shield. Anthony Mackie, the actor who’s been playing the iconic superhero since Chris Evans passed him the torch at the end of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, has been battling backlash after letting slip some unfortunate verbiage while promoting the character’s next tentpole, Captain America: Brave New World, during an appearance in Rome ahead of the film’s Feb. 14 release. “To me, Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations,” Mackie told the crowd. “It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity.”
To be fair, Mackie, 46, was in Europe pitching the movie to an overseas audience, so downplaying Cap’s nationality obviously made savvy marketing sense. Indeed, many superheroes have been losing their American accents as the genre has grown in international appeal; DC nixed Superman’s “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” motto a couple of years ago (it’s now “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow”) and Wonder Woman changed out of her stars-and-stripes American flag costume back when Israeli actress Gal Gadot took over the role in 2017.
Still, clips of Mackie’s statement went viral, inflaming conservative culture vultures (“Woke garbage,” one of them posted) who are now calling for a boycott of the film. Mackie has since tried to walk back his remarks — “Let me be clear about this, I’m a proud American,” he posted Jan. 25 on Instagram — but he’ll probably need at least a couple of extra doses of Super Soldier Serum to get through the next few weeks of public appearances.
This story appeared in the Feb. 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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