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    The Hype at Coachella This Year? Billboards.

    By most accounts, the 130-mile drive from Los Angeles to the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last week was hot, congested and generally unpleasant.But there has been at least one bright spot for the 200,000 or so dehydrated, impatient and aggrieved fans who make the trek for one or both of the three-day events each year: clever billboards.Artists have advertised their sets on the giant placards that dot the route into Indio, Calif., for years. But the 2025 event reached critical mass, in terms of quantity and creativity.“This year was an absolute explosion,” said Morgan Rose, a director of client partnerships at Wilkins Media, who has been doling out highly coveted space on the boards since last fall. “Eleven months out of the year they are completely worthless,” he added.But not this one.Those who bother to look out the windows while slogging down the 10 East may see a billboard for Charli XCX that features her signature shade of green and wonder, “Why did she cross out ‘Brat?’” Or one for Tyla, who is all wet, asking “Got water?” Or one informing all comers in all-caps, “It’s Pronounced Djo.”“Not particularly helpful,” Djo’s manager, Nick Stern, conceded. (The artist in question is the actor Joe Keery, who put out his third album this month.) “But it does lead people to ask and go look.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    In ‘Your Friends & Neighbors,’ the Watches Steal the Show

    “Your Friends & Neighbors” strives to comment on the vacuousness of wealth while simultaneously glorifying the spoils of being really, really rich.It appeared as if Jon Hamm were, once again, selling us something.Mr. Hamm, who has lent his assertive baritone to Mercedes-Benz ads, an American Airlines spot and a Super Bowl intro, was this time on television enumerating the merits of an expensive wristwatch. Only this time, it wasn’t for an ad. It was a scene from the first episode of “Your Friends & Neighbors,” by Apple TV+, a new soft satire of the financially fortunate.“The Patek Philippe Nautilus sealed 18-karat white-gold blue sunburst dial, water-resistant up to 30 meters,” Mr. Hamm intoned in voice-over, as graphics whizzed across the screen noting the watch’s 2.3-millimeter thickness and other wonky specs. Up flashed the price of this timepiece: $70,110 at retail, but around $169,000 on the resale market.In the show’s first episode, Andrew Cooper, a hedge fund titan who is played by Mr. Hamm and goes by the nickname Coop, finds himself unceremoniously out of a job. With a shriveling bank account and a money-burning lifestyle, he turns to robbing his well-off neighbors.His first target is the Patek. As Coop pulls the watch from a cubbyhole of similar timepieces, he treats viewers to a data-dense recap of what makes the watch so special — and, by extension, so worth stealing.“Like the ads say, you never actually own a Patek Philippe,” Mr. Hamm says in character. “You merely look after it for the next generation.”In the series, Mr. Hamm plays Andrew Cooper, a hedge fund titan who ends up stealing from friends after losing his job.Apple TV+We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Rick Levine, Who Gave Commercials Cinematic Flair, Dies at 94

    An award-winning director, he created ads for brands like Diet Pepsi (starring Michael J. Fox) and Wells Fargo by bringing a Hollywood sensibility to the small screen.Rick Levine, an award-winning television commercial director who brought a big-screen sensibility to the small screen with widely celebrated spots, like a Diet Pepsi Super Bowl ad from the 1980s featuring Michael J. Fox risking life and limb for love, died on March 11 at his home in Marina del Rey, Calif. He was 94.The death was confirmed by his daughter Abby LaRocca.Mr. Levine was a product of what is often called the golden age of advertising, rising in the business through the “Mad Men” era of the 1960s and founding his own company, Rick Levine Productions, in 1972. It was a time when network television held a hypnotic sway over the average American household, and advertising, like so many other cultural arenas of the era, was exploding in creativity.Often serving as his own cinematographer, Mr. Levine approached his big-budget commercials like a director of Hollywood blockbusters.“We decided to make our ads look as good as films,” he said in a 2009 interview with DGA Quarterly, published by the Directors Guild of America. “I would direct and shoot, so I would have complete control.”The Guild named him the best commercial director in 1981 and 1988, in particular for three specific spots.Most notable among them was the Diet Pepsi commercial with Mr. Fox, which Mr. Levine made for BBDO New York; it was one of many ads he shot for Pepsi.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    ‘The White Lotus’ Luxury: How Branded Collaborations Are Capitalizing on Privilege

    The hit HBO series satirizes luxury vacationers’ privilege. That hasn’t slowed demand for branded collaborations that sell the show’s lavish lifestyle.Ahead of the much-anticipated Season 3 finale of “The White Lotus,” HBO’s dark comedy-drama that skewers self-absorbed luxury travelers, some fans will be able to immerse themselves in a version of the show’s opulent settings.The Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, in the foothills of California’s Santa Monica Mountains, is offering an “exclusive luxury wellness retreat,” set to begin hours ahead of the finale’s airing on Sunday. The experience is intended to “capture the essence” of this season’s Thailand location.“We’re inviting fans to go beyond watching ‘The White Lotus’ and truly experience it,” Pia Barlow, HBO and Max’s executive vice president of originals marketing, said in a news release about the campaign.The retreat is only one of many “White Lotus” experiences and products pegged to the current season. The premium luggage company Away sold out its “White Lotus” capsule collection, complete with lotus flower-printed interior lining. Clothing retailers including H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bloomingdale’s and Banana Republic have all offered show-inspired resort apparel. (Patrick Schwarzenegger, a star of the season, modeled for Banana Republic.) There is “White Lotus” wallpaper, sunscreen and a travel skin-care set in a branded beach tote. Sunglasses, candles, chocolates and even a Thai coffee-flavored creamer can be purchased by viewers looking to live like the show’s wealthy protagonists.But truly experiencing “The White Lotus” is an inherently dicey proposition. The primary motif of the series — created, written and directed by Mike White — has always been to satirize the wealthy who, even while enveloped by the world’s most tranquil and extraordinary surroundings, can’t help but indulge their egos or keep up with their ever-growing list of grievances. They can’t relax either.“I just was like, I should just do a show about people on vacation who have money, and how money is impacting all of their relationships,” White told The New York Times in 2021, ahead of the Season 1 premiere.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    ‘Boop!’ Arrives on Broadway, With a Surprising 100-Year Back Story

    Betty Boop has arrived on Broadway, nearly a century after she first boop-oop-a-dooped her way onto the big screen. “Boop! The Musical,” like the “Barbie” and “Elf” films that preceded it, imagines a transformational encounter between an anthropomorphic character and the real world (well, a fictional world full of people).Betty’s journey to the stage has been an unusual one. The original character didn’t have much of a back story, which has made her an appealing blank slate for storytellers. But her image — and Betty, at her core, is a remarkably long-lived illustration — has managed to straddle media and merchandise, surviving court battles and changing mores.“Her popularity goes on and on,” said Peter Benjaminson, author of “The Life and Times of Betty Boop.” “The musical is the latest in a series of incarnations.”Film DebutThe 1930 animated short “Dizzy Dishes.”Fleischer Studios, Inc.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    How ‘No Other Land’ Became an Unlikely Box Office Success

    The Oscar-winning documentary has surpassed $2 million at the box office despite the lack of a traditional distribution deal.“No Other Land” has racked up festival awards, critical acclaim and the Oscar for best documentary feature. Yet the film, a narrative exposé about Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes directed by two Palestinians and two Israelis, has not been acquired by a traditional North American distributor. This is partly a reflection of the collapse of studio interest in newsy documentaries as well as hesitance around a movie that condemns Israeli policies.But as the filmmakers rolled out the movie without the marketing muscle and prestige of a typical release, it has flourished. By the admittedly parched standards of post-pandemic theatrical releases of topical documentaries, it is a hit.“No Other Land” has been a top 25 film each of the past three weeks since its Oscar win, according to the film database Box Office Mojo, with ticket sales set to eclipse $2 million domestically by the end of next weekend. It was playing on 130 screens across the country last weekend, a small number when compared to the thousands of a studio blockbuster, but robust given its circumstances. (The film’s theatrical rights have been acquired in more than 20 other countries.)“Documentaries are having a harder time theatrically these days,” said Connie White, who has programmed “No Other Land” at a dozen theaters from Brookline, Mass., and Pleasantville, N.Y., to Tucson, Ariz., and Omaha. “This is remarkable.”At Film Forum in Manhattan, “No Other Land” sold out seven shows its opening weekend in February and a week’s worth of evening screenings after its Oscar win. It “is shaping up to be among the highest-attended films in our 55-year history,” said Sonya Chung, the cinema’s president and director.At the national Alamo Drafthouse chain, which screens studio tentpoles like “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Snow White,” “No Other Land” has been the 14th-biggest film since its Jan. 31 release, a spokesman said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Inside the Sean ’Diddy’ Combs Hotline: The Makings of a Mass Tort

    In a room full of cubicles, workers in headsets read from their computer screens, addressing callers who dialed a 1-800 number. They have a script.“Were you or your loved one sexually abused by Sean ‘Love’ Combs, known as Diddy, Puff Daddy and P. Diddy?”“If the abuse occurred at a party, please list the name of the party. What kind of party was it?”Their employer, Reciprocity Industries, is a legal services company located in a low-slung building in Billings, Mont., more than 2,000 miles from the Brooklyn jail where Mr. Combs awaits trial on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges.For years, the company has helped seed litigation by fielding complaints from people hurt by natural disasters, weedkillers or abusive clergy.Now it’s the central collection point for sexual assault allegations against Mr. Combs.When a call related to Mr. Combs comes in, Reciprocity employees walk callers through a questionnaire that asks them to share the details of their complaints, including potential witnesses.Janie Osborne for The New York TimesSome complaints come in through the phone, others arrive online in response to ads promoted on Facebook and Instagram. (A news conference where a backdrop displayed the hotline in large red numbers made headlines last October.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Ye’s Website Selling T-Shirts With Swastikas Is Taken Down

    A commercial for the shirts aired in some local markets during the Super Bowl, days after the rapper and designer called himself a Nazi on social media. The website was taken down Tuesday.Ye, the rapper and designer formerly known as Kanye West, aired a commercial in some markets during the Super Bowl that promoted a website selling a single product: T-shirts with swastikas.In the 30-second commercial, Ye appears to be filming a close-up of his face while lying in a dentist’s chair. “I spent, like, all the money for the commercial on these new teeth,” he said, smiling into the camera. “So, once again, I had to shoot it on the iPhone.”Ye then directs people to his online store, Yeezy.com, which was selling only one item as of early Tuesday: a $20 white T-shirt with a black swastika. According to Variety, when the commercial aired Sunday night, the website was selling a range of non-branded clothing, but shortly after it was selling only the shirt with the swastika.On Tuesday morning, the website for his store appeared to have gone offline, replaced by a message that said, “This store is unavailable.” A spokesperson for Shopify, the online platform that processes the website’s orders, said that Ye’s online store “did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify.”The ad aired days after Ye unleashed a rant on social media in which he called himself a Nazi and professed his love for Adolf Hitler. He later deactivated his X account.On Monday, the Anti-Defamation League condemned the commercial, writing on X that “there’s no excuse for this kind of behavior.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More