Across 41 years and 70-some films, Juliette Binoche — the gold standard for cinematic expressivity, and for performances both imposing and delicately shaded — has figured out a few things.

One: “Do your own work. Because you cannot rely on directors.”

Two: Her favorite screen actor is the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, and they once spent four hours over dinner discussing “oh, everything. Life.”

Three: She does not like to be told to hold back, even — perhaps especially — by filmmakers she admires. Binoche’s latest film, the visually droolworthy period picture “The Taste of Things,” was written and directed by the Vietnamese French writer-director Trân Anh Hùng, whose works include “The Scent of Green Papaya,” a similarly delectable number.

“A couple of times,” Binoche recalls, “he came to me after a take and said, ‘Juliette, can you be more … neutral this time?’ And I said, ‘What do you mean, neutral?’” She speaks these words with just a hint of judgment, in a tone of what can only be described as withering neutrality.

In “The Taste of Things,” which was chosen as the French entry for the category of international feature film at the upcoming Academy Awards, Binoche, 59, plays the cook Eugénie, the longtime culinary and sometime romantic partner of a renowned chef. They have retired to the country together. The story, based on the 1920 novel translated into English as “The Passionate Epicure,” begins in 1885, with Eugénie in subtly declining health, and the chef Dodin mounting a new stealth campaign of marriage proposal. Dodin is played by Benoît Magimel.

The film marked the first time Binoche and Magimel worked together since “Children of the Century” in 1999. Their off-screen partnership of the time, which lasted several years, produced a daughter, Hana. “I think it’s so sad when people separating don’t see each other anymore,” Binoche says, over a large, grazing sort of lunch at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills (filet mignon, polenta, grilled broccolini, et al.) “They don’t express what they’re feeling. It’s terrible. It’s burying yourself before you die.”

The following is edited for clarity and length.

Q: You filmed “The Taste of Things” in the spring of 2022. Does it feel like a long time ago?

A: “You know, not really. With a film that was quite intense to make, time works differently. The experience is still printed in you. Still very vivid, what we went through, because you had to be so present in every moment. So it stays in you. It’s not just passing through; it’s digging in.

I’d seen most of Trân’s earlier films, including “Eternity,” and I thought in “Eternity” he retreated from emotion a little bit. With “The Taste of Things” I wanted to give him as much emotion as I felt was needed. A couple of times after a take he came to me and said, “Juliette, can you be more neutral?” And I said “what do you mean, neutral? I am a human being, I have to feel, I have to live! I cannot block myself to please you intellectually.” So. I think I was smart at that moment. (smiles) I asked Trân afterward why he asked me in that scene to be neutral. He said he was afraid there would be too much emotion. But after I said “no, I can’t do that,” we shot another take and he gave me a little pat and said, “You know what? That’s fine” (laughs).

Q: I rarely get a single emotion in any of your work on screen, whoever you’re playing.

A: I think that’s preferable, yes? It’s important to understand the root of everything, and somehow link it to the surface of what you’re doing and who you’re playing. That’s why comedies are so difficult. I hate comedies, usually, because so often it’s about overstatement, and it doesn’t work for me.

As human beings, we carry everything with us, all the time, and it’s all being revealed while you’re shooting. That is the magic of it. You cannot push or will it into being a certain way. It needs to come out before the camera in a way you didn’t expect.

Q: Can you remember the first time you saw a film as a child where a performer just basically changed your life forever?

A: Yes. I was six or seven, and I saw Charlie Chaplin’s short films. And then I happened to visit Charlie Chaplin in Switzerland with my sister, for real, when I was nine. My father was a friend of one of his daughters, Victoria.

Q: So if the first person you saw on screen was Buster Keaton instead, I wonder if years later you would’ve told your “Taste of Things” director, yes, fine, neutral is fine?

A: Who knows? (Laughs). We all have to be transparent as actors. To let things come out. That’s not neutral. It’s a sort of an abnegation. You give into something and let something happen so it comes out of you naturally.

Q: The kitchen in “The Taste of Things,” with the wood fire and the beautiful copper pots, it’s like a dream kitchen, designed to make 21st century audiences want to go to late 19th century provincial France immediately.

A: I know! I bought a farm a year and a half ago, two kilometers from my grandmother’s house, in Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx (near the Spanish border). I had some difficult memories there, my parents separating, sometimes a little rough. But it will be good for all of us, cousins and everyone, to gather there. It’s good to have a place for family. And my goal, when the farmhouse is finished, is a sort of “Taste of Things” kitchen.

Q: The first scene, or scenes, of meal preparation we see in the film — it lasts nearly 40 minutes, and it’s a swirl of activity, none of it ostentatious, from the picking of the vegetables at sunrise to the emptying-out of a fish for an omelet. By the way, what kind of fish did you stick your hands into in that scene?

A: Turbot. Also turbot in English, I think. Wait, I’ll tell you. (Checks French to English translation on phone). Flounder? You don’t say “turbot” in English?

Q: I’m afraid I’m not the one to ask! But “flounder” I know, which doesn’t sound nearly as good. What are you actually frying up in the pan in that scene?

A: The testicles! That was the first day, my first scene, we filmed. We had three fishes we could use if we needed to. I was nervous! I had never done that. But it was fine, we did it in the first take. The testicles were for the omelet. (Pause) I didn’t try it.

Q: Can we talk a bit about you working with Benoît in the film?

A: Yes, certainly. We had seen each other once in a while (years after they split up), because we have a daughter together. But we never had a real conversation about the past, things that happened. And then suddenly we were spending time, working together. I was very moved by this. And I think he was as well.

I think distance creates the need for expressing feelings. And so I used Trân’s words (in the “Taste of Things” screenplay) to express my feelings for Benoît. The medium became a sort of gift, a bridge toward him, and I was able to tell him everything: I love you no matter what happened, I care for you, life goes on, we have a wonderful child, I loved you then, and now I love you in a different way. And that’s the way it is.

For our daughter, it was like opening a door. She doesn’t remember us being together, so this was a sort of healing moment, seeing her parents expressing things between them.

Q: How would you characterize Benoît’s approach to acting in relation to your own?

A: He loves the freedom the earpiece gives him. Giving him the lines. He loves it. For the shorter scenes, he didn’t need it. For the monologues, he used it. I adapted to his needs and it didn’t bother me. We both like going on an adventure to see what happens in a retake. I feel like it’s a privilege to do another take of a scene. You have to be an open instrument. Not thinking too much. Just jumping into the unknown.

Q: Did it take time to find that freedom, when you were younger?

A: I had my mother as a theater teacher, who taught me. After that I went to my area drama conservatory, and then to a private school. And there, my teacher, she sort of shook me awake. She stopped me from wanting to act like I was trying to be a great actress every time I opened my mouth. When I was 18 I was trying to prove it, and she would say “Stop!” because it was too “acted.” So then I started feeling something else. Being, not acting. But when I started in films, right afterward, I saw right away that (Jean-Luc) Godard (who cast Binoche in the controversial 1985 film “Hail Mary”) didn’t give a (fig) about me. Or care about trying to help me. He was just trying to figure out what to do with the camera.

And I thought: OK, I’m learning something here. Never rely on directors!

“The Taste of Things” opens in Chicago Feb. 9.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Remote and hybrid work has affected many industries, from commercial real estate to downtown restaurants. And it has impacted how many workers, unfettered by office attendance requirements, plan their travels.

Some call it “bleisure travel,” “laptop lugging,” “workations” or simply “blended travel.” The gist is the same: Remote and hybrid employees extend work trips to include leisure activities or work during their leisure trips.

Whatever it’s called, it could upend the traditional divide between leisure and business travel.

The travel lodging industry is already seeing the trend’s impact. Because bleisure travelers’ needs differ from those of traditional vacationers or work trippers, existing lodging options — particularly hotels — can fall short. This has created an opportunity and appears to be fueling a boom among short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb.

Quarterly demand growth for short-term rentals has outpaced that for hotels since the first quarter of 2022, when travel began to fully rebound from the pandemic, according to a 2023 report from AirDNA and STR/CoStar, hospitality industry analytic services. This shift reflects changing traveler preferences and the ability of short-term rental hosts to react swiftly to these changes.

“We saw more and more people looking to convert their homes to short-term rentals,” says Jamie Lane, chief economist at AirDNA. “So supply could be added in an instant. It takes 10 minutes to create a listing, while building a hotel can take years.”

Indeed, the year-over-year growth in supply of short-term rentals has exceeded 15% in every quarter from the first quarter of 2022 through the second quarter of 2023, compared with below 5% growth for hotels, according to the report.

More short-term rentals are available and more travelers are choosing them. How does “bleisure” travel factor in?

A new kind of travel — and traveler

Vacations used to be something that employees squeezed between long periods of work. That’s no longer the paradigm for many office workers with more flexible schedules.

Far from being a pandemic-only trend, the popularity of bleisure travel is increasing. For instance, more than a third of workers plan to do some work on holiday season trips this year (up from 26% during the 2022 holiday season), according to a fall 2023 survey by consulting firm Deloitte.

Importantly, remote employees who planned to work during their holiday trips expected to extend their trips by nine days due to increased schedule flexibility. That is, bleisure travelers are taking much longer trips than they would have if they had to rush back to the office.

This has profound implications for the lodging industry.

“Half of nights booked are now over a week,” Lane says, referring to short-term rental booking data. “And when people are looking to stay longer, there’s a higher propensity for them to book a short-term rental.”

Many short-term rentals offer discounts for extended stays, which is attractive for bleisure travelers. And they provide home-like conditions that make them more comfortable for longer stays.

“They want those amenities — a kitchen, workspace, etc.,” explains Lane.

We can always (not) go downtown

Combining work and play has shifted what amenities travelers seek, and where they’re traveling. While business travel and business hotels are traditionally centered in dense urban cores, bleisure travelers appear to be looking elsewhere.

“The vast majority of hotel supply is in large cities and along the interstate,” says Lane. “The vast majority of short-term rental supply is in the mountains and beaches.”

Indeed, small city and rural destinations saw the largest supply uptick in the first part of 2023, followed by suburban areas, according to the AirDNA and STR/CoStar report.

This has led to another change in lodging preferences.

“We’re not seeing a recovery on shared rooms or studios, they’re still below 2019 demand,” says Lane. “We’re seeing all that demand growth in larger homes.”

Travelers combining work and play are looking for larger accommodations out of major cities that they can rent for longer. All of these changes favor short-term rentals over traditional hotels.

According to Lane, these dynamics are unlikely to shift in the near future as economic headwinds stunt new hotel development, leaving room for the number of homeowners who list their properties on Airbnb to meet demand and fill the supply gaps.

The bleisure travel trend, and its industry-shaking implications, could just be getting started.

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.

The article Why ‘Bleisure’ Travel Gives Short-Term Rentals a Boost Over Hotels originally appeared on NerdWallet.

“You can’t be walking around at night, on a white street, and not expect trouble.” Author Isabel Wilkerson’s mother has likely said something like this before, in one of any number of tragic contexts. In this case, George Zimmerman has recently killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin for walking, in a hoodie, at night, while Black. And Wilkerson wonders: Is it really on the young man’s shoulders to avoid arousing suspicion, then deadly overreaction, among his fellow American citizens?

Martin’s name is one of many heard in the vital, supple new film “Origin,” and screenwriter-director Ava DuVernay has found a way to turn an adaptation-defying bestseller — Isabel Wilkerson’s magnificent “Caste” — into what feels like the only possible film version.

Without sacrificing or exploiting any of Wilkerson’s personal story, “Origin” honors what the author and journalist did in taking on a hugely ambitious research project in the service of her second book. Subtitled “The Origins of Our Discontents,” “Caste” came out in 2020. It wasn’t easy to write, but it reads like a streak — a provocative and elegantly intertwined examination of America’s racial history and structural biases, and their undeniable links to both India’s caste system and Nazi Germany’s murder of 6 million Jews.

The result, on screen, is not like any other how-I-wrote-this biopic, partly because it’s much more than that. DuVernay dramatizes the historical figures in Wilkerson’s “Caste,” through her travels abroad and her family joys and sorrows at home, in constantly surprising ways.

It begins where too many American stories begin: with one more dead Black body on a residential street. The 2012 killing of Martin serves as the sobering prologue to “Origin.” The news story strikes Wilkerson (played with supple authority and great, compressed force by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) as worth writing about, though she resists the entreaties of a friend and former New York Times editor (played by Blair Underwood).

Soon enough, grief sends Wilkerson, the former Chicago bureau chief of the New York Times, into a heartbreaking new realm of purpose. Wilkerson’s second husband (Jon Bernthal, excellent) dies suddenly, a 15-year-old brain tumor diagnosis cruelly catching up with him. Wilkerson soon suffers another family loss and must pick up pieces everywhere she turns.

Those include the pieces, the notions, for researching an ever-larger idea for a book: one dealing, somehow, with America’s own racial caste structure and its connections to Nazi Germany’s caste society, as well as India’s. With the death of her mother (played with wonderful grace by Emily Yancy) in due course, Wilkerson focuses on work, as best she can, while seeking solace in friends, friends/interview subjects and colleagues around the world, some more supportive of her central thesis than others.

“Origin” struggles a bit to accommodate both DuVernay’s dramatized research, in the form of flashbacks, focused on 1930s Germany, and the Dalit caste of India — the lowest rung, the ones tasked with cleaning latrine waste with their bare hands. But like the book, the film about the making of the book pulls off a near-miracle in shaping a steadily multiplying amount of information and ideas that are not simply information and ideas. Reason: The people come alive in “Origin” and Ellis-Taylor holds the key.

I’d see it again for any number of scenes, notably Audra McDonald as a friend of Wilkerson’s, relaying the riveting story of why her father named her Miss Hale. DuVernay, whose previous work includes first-rate documentaries (“The 13th”), docudramas (“When They See Us”) and biographical portraits of a person and a movement (“Selma”), creates a singular visual leitmotif, in which we see Wilkerson, in a black void, leaves falling all around, communing with her late husband, or with a research subject who dies before she has a chance to hear his own story of racial caste prejudice involving a whites-only swimming pool and a Little League team that didn’t bother with caste and racial designations.

To say “Origin” is destined for countless classroom screenings risks making it sound medicinal or earnestly educational. It is, I suppose, educational; it’s also vibrant and adroit and searching as human drama. It’s one woman’s story. And like the book that inspired it, DuVernay’s adaptation makes us see what Wilkerson saw, all around the world we make for ourselves. And then remake. Or else.

———

‘ORIGIN’

3.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for thematic material involving racism, violence, some disturbing images, language and smoking)

Running time: 2:21

How to watch: In theaters

©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A police detective in London is asked by her boss to listen to a tape of an emergency call concerning an allegation of domestic violence. It’s more a formality than anything; the caller refused to give her name or any other identifying details. But she does let slip one bit of information that catches the detective’s attention: Her abusive boyfriend told her he killed his previous girlfriend years ago — and now another man is serving a prison sentence for the crime. Then she screams and the line goes dead.

That call will be the undoing of several cops in the Apple TV+ police procedural “Criminal Record.” Cush Jumbo stars as June Lenker, a detective who thinks the allegations are worth investigating, opposite Peter Capaldi as the older, more senior detective named Daniel Hegarty, who initially worked the case — and now uses every trick in the book to undermine June’s questions. Is it possible there was a wrongful conviction? “I don’t want to embarrass you,” Daniel says patronizingly, “but some caller out of the blue, doesn’t give a name, he said/she said — frankly at this point, it’s starting to sound like a prank.” Behind her back, he and his cronies dismiss her as an ambitious token hire with an ax to grind.

Most organizations, be they public or private, are designed to discourage people from asking too many questions that challenge the status quo — especially if it’s a Black woman doing the asking. Systems exist to be preserved, no matter how amoral or dysfunctional.

This is what June is up against. Some of the corruption is driven by pressure from higher-ups to quickly close a case. Some of it is driven by sour, exceedingly stubborn bigotry. Similar issues were at the forefront of Steve McQueen’s “Red, White and Blue,” one of the films in his 2020 “Small Axe” compilation, starring John Boyega as a cop who is quickly disabused of any ideas that change from within is possible. But most British cop shows present a more idealized version of events — of a diverse police force where racism isn’t much of a factor in the workplace. The long-running crime series “Vera” comes to mind, not only because Jumbo co-starred on it for a couple of seasons, but because “Criminal Record” creators Paul Rutman and Elaine Collins (who is married to Capaldi) are “Vera” alum as well. They’re taking a different approach here, which makes the show stand out.

U.S. audiences might better recognize Jumbo from “The Good Fight.” Capaldi is best known for “Doctor Who” and “The Thick of It,” and together they are a riveting pair. There’s not enough story here, or suspense frankly, to justify the eight-episode length — like so many other streaming shows, it would have worked better as a movie — but Jumbo and Capaldi’s performances are reason enough to watch. Her face is open, revealing her racing thoughts within. His face is closed off to better hide his secrets, but not his disdain.

June and Daniel are wary and distrustful of one another, forever on edge and trying to figure out how to undermine their opponent. She has righteousness on her side, but little institutional support. His colleagues give him the benefit of the doubt, while his cadre of equally dirty underlings do everything possible to muddy the waters of June’s investigation. But the pair have certain things in common, including personal lives that bleed into their work lives. Both are worried about their children — her preteen son is racially profiled by one of Daniel’s henchmen to better scare her off; meanwhile he has his hands full as the single father to a drug addicted daughter who sees through his steely bluster.

The resolution, when it finally comes, is unsatisfying. After eight episodes, the thinness of the show’s ambitions are revealed. That’s probably closer to real life than most of us would hope. Even when the outcome tips in favor of justice, the Daniels of the world remain firmly entrenched.

———

‘CRIMINAL RECORD’

2 stars (out of 4)

Rating: TV-MA

How to watch: Apple TV+

———

©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Let’s focus on lettuce and micro-greens for this easy primer.

Why, what, how and where

Neon flash for any person who believes their plant-growing skills are lacking or non-existent: Growing lettuce and micro-greens at home will prove that you’re not only capable and successful but it also could launch a whole new you, giving you a true green thumb.

Home-grown lettuce is almost as different from store-bought in taste as home-grown tomatoes are. Try seeding and growing lettuce at home, not just for the delicious taste and texture, but also for the convenience of adding a side salad to any meal. Plus, it is always a nice touch to have lettuce to complete a sandwich when you’re having soup on a cold winter night while perusing a new garden catalog.

Giving credit where due, commercial and small growers have come a long way in improving lettuce varieties and taste; even the packaging has gotten better if you’ve tried it from a box. Container lettuce is worth buying a time or two, just to hold on to and re-use the package to grow lettuce and micro greens at home.

Micro-greens are the first tiny green seedlings of plants that are usually seeded outside in the spring and harvested when fully grown. They include lettuce, broccoli, basil, sunflowers, peas and seed mixes of cress, chard, mustard and many more. The taste of these little micro greens is beyond delicious, and fresh. In the blink of an eye — OK, perhaps mere days  — they are ready for eating after seeding.

Toss micro-greens on soup, pasta, sandwiches, eggs, vegetables and main dishes. Using them on your morning oatmeal might be a stretch, but they are genuine antioxidant nutrient boosters for eating and juicing.

Purchase specific micro-green labeled seeds from garden centers, online or use leftover seeds from your cache. One caution: Parsnip seeds used for micro-greens are poisonous, so only seed parsnips outside in the spring and grow until these root vegetables are fully mature.

Just like micro-greens, use what lettuce seeds are on hand or shop for any mix or type you like best among the categories: butterhead, looseleaf, crisphead and romaine.

Seeding

Clean and rinse an empty plastic lettuce container (or any low container). Poke some holes in the bottom for drainage.

For a larger mass of micro-greens and lettuce, try growing them in recyclable large aluminum pans sold at grocery and discount stores. Those pans are less expensive than specific seed-starting trays in most cases. Use a screwdriver or nail to poke holes in the bottom. Bonus, they are often sold with their own plastic cover, which works great as a dome over the tray until the seeds are up and moved under grow lights or near a sunny window.

Fill half to three-quarters of the plastic tray or aluminum pan with moistened, sterile seed starter or a very lightweight potting soil (not outside garden soil from the ground).

Heavily sprinkle micro-green seeds or leftover seeds over the soil. Use a separate tray for lettuce seeds since they will take longer to mature.Add a very light layer of soil over the seeds.

Water the seeded area well, using a sprinkler-type head instead of a regular pour-type nozzle which can move the seeds and soil around too much. Keep the seed bed moist.

Tray location and vare

Place the tray with the plastic cover near a sunny window or under grow lights that are 12 or so inches above the trays. Technically, growing micro-greens and lettuce under indoor grow lights is ideal, but if saving on expenses try growing them near a sunny window (not too close to chill the seeds). For small batches, which is always recommended on the first try, purchase a grow lightbulb sold at garden centers and hardware stores and position it toward the seed trays. Use a timer for turning on and off; 16 hours on and eight hours off works well.

Use a heated seed mat if you wish; it will hasten seed emergence.

Once the seeds are up (usually in two to 6 days; read the seed packet for days of emergence), promptly remove the plastic cover and place it near a very sunny window or under grow lights.

Water when the soil looks slightly dry, usually every day; they can dry out quickly, so keep an eye on them. Lack of water is sure death.

In about seven to 10 days, the fresh little micro-bursts of micro-greens should be ready for harvest. Lettuce will need a few more weeks to grow.

To harvest, cut a handful of micro-greens right above the soil line; they won’t need rinsing unless some soil is holding on. Continue harvesting the micro-greens until they are all cut.

Harvest the lettuce by cutting the leaves but leaving an inch of growth at the base of the plant which will grow back quickly and provide more lettuce to harvest. This is the same cut-and-come-again procedure often used when growing lettuce outside.

When the plants are spent, just flip over the tray of soil in the same container and do another batch of seeding. Continue this method for a time or two or use fresh potting soil. If indoor gnats become a problem, toss the soil, clean the containers and start over with fresh potting soil.

Betty Cahill speaks and writes about gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region. Visit her site at http://gardenpunchlist.blogspot.com/ for even more gardening tips.

The no-alcohol Dry January might have been a response to the American beer, liquor and wine industry’s overwhelming trend towards higher proofs. Renewed your driver’s license lately? On the back is a chart regarding alcohol consumption and body mass; note the comparison that “one drink” is 1.5 ounces of 80-proof alcohol (40% ABV), 12 ounces of 5% ABV beer or 5 ounces of 12% ABV wine — none of which accurately represent real-world values. The typical gin martini or whiskey Manhattan, for instance, is 2 ½ ounces of 90-proof (or higher) product. When was the last time you ordered a 12-ounce beer? Most craft beers are served in “pint” glasses and are in the 4% to 8% range (let’s not even talk about crowlers!) and good luck finding a 12% chardonnay in California. Typically, they run 14.5% and higher. And remember that wine labels are given an additional 1% to 1.5% leeway in alcohol content, meaning that a labeled 15.5% wine could actually be closer to 16%! Couple that with the fact that many finer restaurants serve a 6-ounce glass of wine, not a 5-ounce one, and those numbers don’t really work.

But it might explain why many Americans want to take a break after the holidays. In Europe, drinking habits are quite a bit different and Dry January has not really caught on there. Perhaps that is because they already consume many lower-alcohol products in the first place, from vermouths to aperitifs. Statista, an online platform that specializes in data gathering and visualization, shows that the “other” category is nearly even with the brandy and whiskey categories as the top-selling products in Europe (with wine being the overall top seller). And brandy and whiskey don’t often feature in cocktails in Europe. Is there something we can learn there? Maybe.

The obvious solution? Damp January, and maybe a damp year altogether. There are many ways to replicate higher-proof cocktails using lower-proof or no-proof alternatives.

“All things in moderation, including moderation,” once said Socrates.

In that spirit (pun intended), here are some lower-alcohol cocktail options sure to make your tastebuds happy during your Damp January experiment.

Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes (as seen in the NY Times) and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at jeffbarflyIJ@outlook.com

Recipes

Half and Half

8 ounces Guinness 0.0 nitrogen-pressed stout (0.5% ABV)

8 ounces Fieldwork Brewing Co. Solace and Virtue German lager (4.6% ABV)

Half fill a chilled pint glass with lager. Carefully hold a large tablespoon right side up, as level with the top of the beer as possible, making sure the tip of the spoon is touching the beer. Open the can of Guinness, and gently pour stout onto the spoon, creating a layer, and continue pouring and raising the spoon as the beer level rises. The mixing point will turn brown, but don’t panic, it will eventually even out.

Note: Black and tan is a derogatory term for this beer and is not typically used in Ireland (referring to the uniforms of a paramilitary police force used by the British during the Irish War of Independence).

The beers can be reversed and a non-alcoholic lager can be substituted, in that case, Moylan’s Dry Irish Stout can be substituted for the Guinness. However, the layering is not quite as crisp in this version.

Amaro Spritz

1 ½ ounces Free Spirits the Spirit of Milano

1 ounce soda water

1 ounce Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut (12.5% ABV)

1 blood orange wheel

Into a large Bordeaux-style wine glass filled with ice, add ingredients in order. Give a light stir and serve.

Note: Aperol spritzes are all the rage. Gloria Ferrer is technically a Spanish Cava-style wine, not prosecco, but their Sonoma brut is quite inexpensive and does the trick nicely in a cocktail. Save the reserve wines for special occasions.

Espresso Martini

1 ounce Hanson of Sonoma espresso vodka (40% ABV)

1 ounce fresh espresso (or strong coffee)

3/4 ounce vanilla-flavored creamer (dairy or non-dairy)

1 large dash hot chocolate powder

3 coffee beans

In a shaker with ice, combine the first four ingredients. Shake until foamy and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans.

Note: Most espresso martinis do not use Irish cream but instead combine a coffee liqueur and espresso coffee with vodka. Irish cream gives the coffee a flavor more reminiscent of coffee with cream and here we try that version.

Hugo-Not

1/2 ounce Williams Sonoma Elderflower syrup

2 ounces Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut (12.5% ABV)

1 ounce soda water

1 tablespoon fresh stemmed mint leaves

1 Meyer lemon wedge

Into a large Bordeaux-style wine glass filled with ice, add the first three ingredients in order. Lightly crush mint leaves in your hand and add to mixture, squeeze juice from Meyer lemon, drop the squeezed lemon in, stir lightly and serve.

Note: Elderflower liqueur (20% ABV) is the usual ingredient in a Hugo spritz, but elderflower syrup tastes great in a smaller amount. There are many other less expensive non-local elderflower syrups on the market, too, and they work just as well. Omitting sparkling wine in a “spritz” often results in a disappointing drink.

We’ll be getting so many cinematic works through the close of December that we can’t touch on all of them. And, in picking 24 to highlight for 2024, we have stuck with those that had official release dates, even though dates are always subject to change.

That means few of the films that follow are streaming offerings, as those tend to get firm places on calendars closer to their releases. Similarly, we don’t know all that much about several of the films that will hit late in 2024 and be part of the Academy Awards discussion a year from now.

What we do have, though, is a collection of flicks that, for one reason or another, are worth a mention.

1. “Dune: Part Two” | March 1 | Theaters: It’s still a little hard to believe “Dune” — filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of part of Frank Herbert’s influential 1965 science-fiction novel — was a giant sandworm-sized hit at the box office. That allowed for this sequel to the movie also now known as “Dune: Part One,” which will bring back star Timothée Chalamet — as exiled messiah figure Paul Atreides — and supporting players including Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem. Newcomers include Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Florence Pugh (“Black Widow”) and Christopher Walken. The highly anticipated film was to have landed in November, but the studio behind it, Warner Bros. Pictures, delayed it so its stars could do press for it in a post-actors’ strike world.

2. Untitled “Deadpool” movie | July 26 | Theaters: Commonly referred to as “Deadpool 3,” this will be, well, the third entry in the series and the follow-up to 2018’s “Deadpool 2.” We don’t know too much about the film yet, as an official synopsis has yet to be announced, but franchise star Ryan Reynolds will return as Wade Wilson and his equally foul-mouthed titular antihero, while Hugh Jackman will, for the umpteenth time, portray mutant hero Wolverine. That’s especially fun considering a very different Deadpool, albeit one played by Reynolds, faced off against Jackman’s Wolverine in 2009’s forgettable “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” It also is said that the movie will — unsurprisingly given the shift in studio ownership over the last several years — bring Deadpool into Disney-owned Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe. Boy, wait til the MCU gets a load of him.

3. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” | March 29 | Theaters: The ghost-fighting heroes introduced in 2021’s largely enjoyable action-comedy “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” — characters played by actors including Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon — join forces with those portrayed by franchise vets such as Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Annie Potts in this adventure that sees a supernatural freeze threat hit New York City in the summer. While “Afterlife” director Jason Reitman returns as a co-writer, he’s handed over the helm to his co-writer, Gil Kenan (“Monster House”). The movie is said to be dedicated to Ivan Reitman, the father of Jason and the director of 1984’s “Ghostbusters” and 1989’s “Ghostbusters II,” who died in early 2022 at age 75.

4. “Joker: Folie a Deux” | Oct. 4 | Theaters: OK, we had hoped the version of DC Comics Clown Prince of Darkness portrayed so memorably by Joaquin Phoenix In 2019’s Todd Phillips-directed “Joker” — an effectively dark character study and origin story — somehow could end up being the Caped Crusader’s adversary in the new movie series begun with filmmaker Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” in 2022. Instead, Phillips and Phoenix are back with this … musical thriller? No doubt much of that music will come courtesy of pop star and actress Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”), who joins the wild fray as the Joker’s traditional love interest, Harley Quinn. (Fear not, Zazie Beetz fans — she returns as Sophie Dumond.) We’re eagerly awaiting the first trailer for this film, which falls under the DC Elseworlds label, meaning it is not part of the new DC Universe.

5. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” | March 29 | Theaters: If you’ve just finished watching the almost surprisingly strong debut season of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” on Apple TV+, you may be invested in Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures’ MonsterVerse like never before. Fortunately, you won’t have to wait long for your next big serving. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is the seventh big-screen MonsterVerse affair and the sequel to 2021’s guilty-pleasure effort “Godzilla vs. Kong” from director Adam Wingard. Wingard returns for “x,” which clearly will reunite the heroic Titans, who this time will team up against a new monster threat. The cast boasts returnees Brian Tyree Henry and Rebecca Hall along with newcomer Dan Stevens. And as we don’t see any of the “Monarch” cast listed as appearing, we hope the “x” folks are keeping that under wraps — and/or that we get a second season of the show.

6. “Mufasa: The Lion King” | Dec. 20 | Theaters: “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” director Barry Jenkins is at the helm of this live-action, digital imagery-heavy prequel to 2019’s similarly made “The Lion King,” a remake of the 1994 animated favorite. Writer Jeff Nathanson returns, as do voice actors Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and John Kani, as Pumbaa, Timon and Rafiki, respectively, while the titular younger Mufasa is voiced by Aaron Pierre and his duplicitous brother, Scar, by Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the musical drama.

7. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” | May 24 | Theaters: Speaking of prequels, the consistently terrific Anya Taylor-Joy portrays the titular character memorably introduced by Charlize Theron in filmmaker George Miller’s 2015 hit, “Mad Max: Fury Road.” It’s not always to make sense of the goings on in the newer incarnation of Miller’s post-apocalyptic world, but the man certainly has a gift for spectacle, with this latest film looking to bring the same visual insanity and bone-crushing sound work of its predecessor. In the new film, the younger Furiosa will take on Chris Hemsworth’s Warlord Dementus. (Seriously, these names.)

8. “Nosferatu” | Dec. 25 | Theaters: When the talented Robert Eggers (“The Witch,” “The Lighthouse,” “The Northman”) makes a film, we sit up and take notice. He’s finally making his long-planned remake of the 1922 German film, with Bill Skarsgård starring as the movie’s namesake vampire, aka Count Oriok. His co-stars include  Lily-Rose Depp and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Also in the cast is Nicholas Hoult (SO great in “The Great”), who last year starred in last year’s not-all-it-could-have-been action-comedy “Renfield,” which also owes its existence to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” novel.

9. “Beetlejuice 2” | Sept. 6 | Theaters: It’s showtime! (You know, again.) Director Tim Burton is back for the sequel to the beloved 1988 supernatural horror comedy, as are stars Michael Keaton, as the titular colorful demon, and Winona Ryder as the older Lydia Deetz. Portraying Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and seemingly serving a similar purpose to her mom’s in the original movie is Jenna Ortega — one of the most sensible casting choices in the history of sensible casting choices given her work in the likewise funny-but-spooky “Wednesday” and newer “Scream” movies. Catherine O’Hara also returns as Lydia’s stepmother, Delia, while Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci join the dark-magic fray.

10. “Gladiator 2” | Nov. 22 | Theaters: Lucius, the boy played by Spencer Treat Clark in director Ridley Scott’s 2000 Academy Award-winning action epic, “Gladiator,” is now grown, played by Paul Mescal (“Aftersun,” “All of Us Strangers”) in the sequel. Scott is returning to take the reins of what undoubtedly will be another action-filled spectacle, and Connie Nielsen returns as Lucius’ estranged mother, Lucilla. More importantly, Denzel Washington portrays a key character. Will we not be entertained? We expect that we will be.

11. “Wicked: Part One” | Nov. 27 | Theaters: “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu helms the highly anticipated adaptation of the acclaimed musical by Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) and Winnie Holzman (book), which is set in the land of Oz and based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Schwartz and Holzman are the film’s writers, which is wonderful, as is the casting of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande as the woman who will become Glinda the Good, Glinda Upland. But while we allow that a full-fledged screen adaptation of the show likely would be around two and a half hours, splitting the show into two movies — with “Part Two” due almost exactly a year later — feels a little cash-grabby if not, well, downright wicked. Considering the show’s best song, “Defying Gravity,” brings the first act to a close, we at least should be treated to that in this first installment.

12. “Mickey 17” | March 29 | Theaters: Highly anticipated because it is the first film from South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho since his 2019 Academy Award winner, “Parasite,” this science-fiction drama is based on Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7,” about Mickey Barnes, one in a long line of clones, on an interplanetary expedition. Robert Pattinson (“The Batman”) stars..

13. “Inside Out 2” | June 14 | Theaters: Riley’s a teenager in the sequel to the beloved and Academy Award-winning (and, sorry, but overrated) 2015 film from Walt Disney Pictures affiliate Pixar Animation Studios. That means new personified emotions for Riley, most notably Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke. Returning for more inner-Riley fun are Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Anger (Lewis Black). Kelsey Mann makes his feature debut, but he’s working with writer Meg LeFauve, who also penned the original.

14. “The Fall Guy” | May 3 | Theaters: Ryan Gosling goes from his outstanding turn as Ken in last year’s beloved “Barbie” to playing … Lee Majors? Well, not really, but Gosling’s character in “The Fall Movie,” Colt Seavers, shares the name of Majors’ character from the 1980s TV series from which it appears to have been very loosely adapted. Yes, Gosling’s Colt is a Hollywood stuntman, and, based on the fun first trailer, he seems to have a will-they-won’t-they dynamic with Emily Blunt’s Jody Moreno, who’s directing her first movie and, more importantly, is his ex. When the star for whom Gosling doubles disappears, adventure awaits. And we’ll expect plenty of action, as Director David Leitch (“John Wick,” “Atomic Blonde”) knows a thing or two about that. Most importantly, like “Barbie,” this affair appears to be taking itself only so seriously.

15. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” | May 10 | Theaters: Director Wes Ball (“The Maze Runner” trilogy) gets his stinkin’ paws (they probably smell just fine) on the “Planet of the Apes” reboot series with this installment set about three centuries after the events of 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes.” The legacy of ape leader Caesar is intact via ape civilizations while humans have reverted to something less sophisticated. Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who’s desperate to find lost human technologies, now rules the apes — seemingly ruthlessly — while young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) goes off on a quest with a young, feral human woman, Mae (Freya Allan).

16. “Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1” | June 28 | Theaters: In this Western he’s also directing, Kevin Costner will continue to do the cowboy thing — something that may have pleased fans of his work on the hit series “Yellowstone” more had scheduling conflicts with the project not been at least a significant reason he has left “Yellowstone” before its conclusion. “Horizon” — which will cover 15 years of American expansion before and after the Civil War — is something Costner has been trying to bring to the screen for decades. Those who do enjoy it won’t have to wait long for the sequel, set for theaters less than two months later, on Aug. 16.

17. “A Quiet Place: Day One” | June 27 | Theaters: Details are (cough) hush-hush on this spinoff of the two “A Quiet Place” films, in which vicious aliens, which make up for a lack of sight with incredible hearing, roam Earth. The writer-director of those movies, John Krasinski, is around as a co-writer and producer, with directing duties being handled by his co-writer, Michael Sarnoski (“Pig”). We do know that Djimon Hounsou returns as the character he played in 2021’s “A Quiet Place Part II” and that the cast includes Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn — who memorably portrayed Eddie Munson in the fourth season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”

18. “IF” | May 17 | Theaters: Speaking of Krasinski, he is the writer and director of this family-friendly fantasy comedy blending live action and computer animation. IF stands for imaginary friend, and in the story, a young girl, Bea (Cailey Fleming), gains the ability to see people’s normally invisible pals. The cast is led by Ryan Reynolds, as Bea’s neighbor, with Krasinski also playing a significant role. “IF” also boasts a bunch of heavy hitters providing voice work, including Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Matt Damon, John Stewart, May Rudolph, Sam Rockwell and Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s wife.

19. “Spaceman” | March 1 | Netflix: This science-fiction drama doesn’t look like the typical Adam Sandler vehicle for Netflix, with the typically comedic actor portraying an astronaut on a solo mission at the edge of the solar system. Sandler has big-name costars in Carey Mulligan, as his character’s pregnant wife, and Paul Dano as the voice of an alien spider he encounters.

20. “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” | Dec. 15 | Theaters: We mostly liked it, but last year’s debut season of the visually arresting “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” didn’t exactly hit with the force of a fire-breathing dragon. Nonetheless, we’re going back to author J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth with this animated film, which, like “Rings of Power,” takes place well before the story told in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy of novels and their movie adaptations. Voice work is performed by, among others, Brian Cox, as the King of Rohan, and Miranda Otto, narrating the story as Eowyn, the character she portrayed in the 2002 middle installment of director Peter Jackson’s life-action trilogy, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”

21. “Karate Kid” | Dec. 13 | Theaters: Thanks to the success of the Netflix “Karate Kid”-related series “Cobra Kai” — we greatly enjoyed the first season but then became frustrated with the storytelling and waxed off — plenty of folks surely are looking forward to this movie, which shares the title of the 1984 original and its 2010 remake. It’s unclear whether it will tie in to “Cobra Kai” — various business interests could get in the way of that — but it will feature Ralph Macchio, who reprised the role of Daniel LaRusso from the original movies for the show. We know the movie also boasts Jackie Chan, a cast member of the remake. Jonathan Entwistle, director of another Netflix series, “The End of the F***ing World,” is set to direct.

22. “Road House” | March 21 | Prime Video: If this release date holds, it shouldn’t be long before we see a trailer for this remake of the 1989 movie that starred the late Patrick Swayze — as the “cooler” keeping things relatively peaceful at a rowdy bar. While Jake Gyllenhaal would seem to have the physical stature to star in the remake, as a former UFC fighter hired by a joint in the Florida Keys, we’d not take this not too seriously were it not directed by typically excellent Doug Limon (“The Bourne Identity,” “Edge of Tomorrow”). Let’s stop in for a drink and see how things go.

23. “Back to Black” | May 10 | Theaters: Marisa Abela (“Industry”) portrays the late singer Amy Winehouse in this biopic directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”).

24. “Bob Marley: One Love” | Feb. 14 | Theaters: We’ll stick with a theme to close, shining a little light on this soon-to-hit biopic about the late great reggae legend. The talented Kingsley Ben-Adir portrays Marley, with Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard”) at the helm.

NEW YORK — Franz Welser-Möst is back on the Cleveland Orchestra’s podium, concentrating again on music instead of his health.

“It was not my best year, the last year,” he said Wednesday. “I feel good. You learn to live with the circumstances, and I’m extremely and grateful that I’m back at work.”

On track to surpass George Szell as Cleveland’s longest-tenured music director, the 63-year-old Austrian returned to his orchestra at Cleveland’s Severance Music Center last week and leads it in a pair of programs at Carnegie Hall this weekend. He will be in Austria for five concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic in late February, then leads that orchestra on a seven-concert tour in early March to New York and Naples and West Palm Beach, Florida.

Franz Welser-Möst to retire as Cleveland Orchestra music director in June 2027

Quite a schedule, given his setbacks in 2023.

He had a slipped disk in his neck while conducting Wagner’s four-opera “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)” at the Vienna State Opera in June, an injury that caused him to enter an orthopedic clinic in the second half of July and again in August. He was forced to cancel a high-profile new production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” at the Salzburg Festival.

Welser-Möst had surgery Sept. 1 to remove a cancerous tumor from his bladder and came back to Cleveland to conduct the orchestra’s season opener on Sept. 28. After leading two weeks of programs there, he took the orchestra to Vienna and Linz for their 21st international tour together, then had a second operation on Oct. 25.

That was followed in November by six weeks of once-a-week immunotherapy treatment. He is scheduled for additional three-week cycles of treatment in March, July and October.

“The doctors are very happy. So am I, that it seems to work. It has been in my family, so it’s genetic,” Welser-Möst said. “Both my brothers had the same thing a couple of years ago. Both are very well now, so there’s every reason to be optimistic.”

Welser-Möst has been Cleveland’s music director since 2002-03 and has appointed 69 musicians, including 52 of the current 105 members.

“One of the keys to Franz’s success is his incredible discipline. He’s like a great athlete in that way,” said André Gremillet, the Cleveland Orchestra’s president and CEO. “He’s very focused, very disciplined in the way he approaches everything, and I think that has served him well also in facing his health challenges.”

His name at birth in Linz, Austria, was Franz Leopold Maria Möst, and he switched it in 1985 to Welser-Möst in honor of Wels, a nearby city he grew up in. The change was made on the advice of a benefactor, Baron Andreas von Bennigsen of Liechtenstein.

Welser-Möst spent a decade studying the technique of Herbert von Karajan, the Berlin Philharmonic’s chief conductor from 1954-89. He was 19 when he was brought to Karajan in 1979 by Albert Moser, then general director of Vienna’s Musikverein. Welser-Möst was among the 10 finalists of the Karajan International Conductors Competition, though he failed to win.

“I’d been to a lot of rehearsals in Vienna, in Salzburg and Berlin, and that made a huge impression on me because Karajan was highly efficient in rehearsals,” Welser-Möst recalled. “He would just say one sentence and the sound of the orchestra changed completely. And in those days, of course, I was like: How on earth is he doing that?”

Welser-Möst first conducted the Cleveland Orchestra in 1993 and became music director for the 2002-03 season. On the afternoon of his return concert on Jan. 11, he announced he will retire as music director at the end of 2026-27, his 25th season. Welser-Möst maintained he wasn’t focused on topping Szell’s reign, which stretched from 1946-70.

“I’m not into that game. It just happened,” he said.

Welser-Möst’s New York concerts are part of Carnegie Hall’s “Perspectives” series and its focus this winter and spring on the fall of the Weimar Republic.

“It is something that is so important to him and so important to his life,” Carnegie Hall executive director Clive Gillinson said. “I remember doing one Zoom call where he was in his library and he showed me all the books he’s got on Weimar.”

Welser-Möst is proud of extending the orchestra’s flexibility by programming semi-staged operas, with Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)” next this May. He already has scheduled Janáček’s “Jenůfa” for next season, Beethoven’s “Fidelio” for 2025-26 and Strauss’ “Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow)” for 2026-27.

“I’m an old dog when it comes to opera,” he said. “I’ve conducted about 90 different operas in my life. When I was in Zurich for nearly 14 years, I conducted 43 opening nights of a piece.”

His retirement creates another coveted U.S. podium vacancy. Riccardo Muti stepped down from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in June and Gustavo Dudamel shifts from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to the New York Philharmonic for the 2026-27 season.

“Every institution needs once in a while new input and new ideas,” Welser-Möst said. “I’m not saying I’m running out of ideas, but I always tried to live that philosophy here, that music comes first, the institution second, the individual third.”

With two casino-resort openings and a Major League Baseball team announcing plans to relocate to Las Vegas in 2023, the new year has some big shoes to fill. But there are many significant projects in the early stages that could move forward in 2024. And, of course, we all want to know if projects such as the Atari Hotel will really happen.

Here are some key projects to watch across the valley in 2024.

Dream Las Vegas

Dream Las Vegas is a 531-room boutique hotel proposed for Las Vegas Boulevard just south of the Pinball Hall of Fame. The project’s construction was stopped in early 2023 because of financing issues, but in October developer, Shopoff Realty Investments, said it was working on a new loan to finance the project and construction could resume in early 2024. As of publication, no building permits have been issued and no new documents have been filed with Clark County on Dream Las Vegas and its financing.

Bill Shopoff, president and CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments, recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal via text message that the loan commitment has been reached for the project and the new financing should close in February. He said construction should resume by the end of March.

Tilman Fertitta-backed Strip casino-resort

Signs of construction on the 43-story casino-resort project backed by billionaire Tilman Fertitta could begin to show this year. The project is proposed for the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue and building permits were first applied for in March.

A Fertitta spokesperson said via email that there aren’t any new updates to share about the resort right now. Plans for the project include 2,420 hotel rooms, restaurants, convention space, spa, wedding chapel and a 2,500-seat theater.

Atari Hotel

Las Vegas was slated to be the first location for a chain of Atari-branded hotels, when renderings were unveiled in 2020.

The developer behind the concept, GSD Group, was looking to develop a 400-room Atari Hotel on a 5-to 7-acre site near the Strip. The target opening date was the end of 2022, which, of course, didn’t happen. Since the renderings were released, there’s been very little news on the project. It’s unclear if development on this project is still happening.

Atari Hotels and Atari didn’t respond to requests for comment. The website for the project remains live.

Casino Royale redevelopment

The Best Western Plus Casino Royale on the Strip could be redeveloped. An aeronautical study was requested from the Federal Aviation Administration to determine how tall of a tower could be constructed on the Strip, between Harrah’s and the Venetian. The study, issued last year, said a building up to 699 feet tall could be built on the site.

No development plans for the site have been submitted to Clark County as of publication. The owner of the hotel didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Mirage’s closure

The Mirage’s days on the Strip are numbered, but exact details on when it will transition over to the Hard Rock haven’t been disclosed yet.

The Seminole Indian Tribe — owner of the Hard Rock International brand — purchased the property in December 2022. Plans are to transition the property into a Hard Rock branded-resort with a giant 660-foot guitar-shaped hotel tower. But details of the development timeline for this project are still being developed and Hard Rock declined to say how long the property will continue to operate as the Mirage.

Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen said in May that he hoped the redeveloped property could open around the end of 2027 or the start of 2028.

Demolition of the Tropicana, to make way for MLB stadium

Demolitions and implosions have been key to the history of the Las Vegas Strip and it looks like 2024 could be the last year for the Tropicana, one of the few remaining mob-era resorts on the Strip.

The Tropicana opened in April 1957 and could close in 2024 as redevelopment plans call for the property to be demolished to make way for a $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat baseball stadium for the Athletics. The team is set to move from Oakland to Las Vegas after it won a relocation vote by MLB owners in November.

At the time of the owners’ vote, it was reported that construction on the new baseball stadium could start in 2025 and be completed in 2028.

The owner of the Tropicana, Bally’s Corp., didn’t respond to a request for comment on if a demolition or development timeline has been set.

Midtown mixed-use project

Construction could move forward on Midtown, a proposed mixed-used development looking to bring more urban living options to the area around Downtown Las Vegas and the Arts District. Developer Z Life Co. wants to add 3,000 residential units and 100,000 square feet of commercial space to the area surrounding the English Hotel, which it also developed.

The first two buildings of the Midtown project will have 281 residential units and could be open by mid-2025.

Z Life Co. expects to demolish the existing buildings on the site sometime this summer and have an official groundbreaking later in the year, said Anna Olin, chief operating officer and co-founder Z Life Co. She also said reservations for the residential units should open at the end of January.

Wynn Resort’s third tower

Wynn Resorts has owned a 38-acre parcel just north of Fashion Show mall and across Las Vegas Boulevard from the main Strip resort for almost seven years. It inherited development plans for a 1,100 room casino-resort from the previous owner.

A Wynn spokesperson said via email that there are no “immediate” plans to develop the parcel. But Wynn recently applied for a five-year extension of those approval development plans.

The Clark County Building Department staff recommended denying the extension request since the original approval is eight years old and some regulations have changed since then.

BLVD retail center

More flagship retail and restaurant operations on the Strip could be announced in 2024 as the 400,000-square-foot retail center called BLVD is scheduled to finish shell construction in August and open to the public in early 2025.

The developers hope BLVD will attract some high-end brands that don’t already have a retail presence in the U.S. The first two levels of the project will focus on retail and experiential spaces. The top floor will include a 110,000-square-foot dining terrace.

Some early lease announcements for BLVD include large spaces for Adidas, Puma and H&M.

The project is being developed on the site of the former Hawaiian Marketplace.

Westside resort, formerly Harlem Nights

The Las Vegas City Council could rule on a project that would place a high-rise resort in Historic Westside in 2024.

The Westside project, formerly called Harlem Nights, has gone through several iterations since it was first proposed in April. The original Harlem Nights proposal called for a 60-story tower with hotel and residential units. The project has since been scaled back and is currently proposed to be 34 stories. More changes could come, though, as the project still hasn’t gone in front of council.

A spokesperson for the developer, Shlomo Meiri, said there’s still a desire to get the resort built as it could act as an economic catalyst for the Historic Westside. But city staff has recommended denying the project, saying the tower structure wouldn’t be in character for the Historic Westside.

It’s unclear when this project will be considered by city council as it was tabled at a Las Vegas Planning Commission meeting in early January.

Casino-resort above Fashion Show mall

Howard Hughes Holdings floated the idea in October to build a casino-resort above Fashion Show mall. The real estate development company along with Brookfield Properties, which owns Fashion Show, holds the air rights above the mall.

Howard Hughes and Brookfield Properties haven’t elaborated on how or when a resort could be developed in the airspace above Fashion Show, so it’s unclear when or if the project could come to fruition. No plans for the project have been submitted to Clark County at time of publication.

Former Station Casinos sites to be redeveloped

Redevelopment of two properties that house now-shuttered Station Casinos resorts could start taking shape this year.

In November, Station Casinos sold the 73-acre site of the former Texas Station and Fiesta Rancho in North Las Vegas for $59 million to Agora Realty & Management.

Hylo Park, a $380 million three-phased project including a hotel, outdoor recreational space, retail, restaurants, a remodeled hockey facility and 665 residential units, is proposed for the site. Construction on the project should start in August, an Agora Realty spokesperson said.

In December 2022, Station Casinos sold the 35-acre Fiesta Henderson site to the city of Henderson for $32 million. Henderson is planning on adding an indoor sports facility to this site and possibly some hospitality space as well as spaces for family entertainment and open space for the public.

Henderson recently announced it wants to pick a developer for this project by April.

Redevelopment of shuttered Diamond Inn Motel

The now-closed Diamond Inn Motel and its pink elephant are set to go up for auction in March.

A spokesperson for J.P. King Auction Company said bidding for the site should start on March 7 and close on March 14.

The 1.36-acre property is prime for redevelopment because of its location on the Strip across from the Mandalay Bay.

The property could be suited for high-rise luxury condos or an entertainment venue since it can have building heights ranging from 406 to 505 feet tall, according to the auction listing.

Once it sells, it’s unclear how soon the new owner will proceed with redevelopment plans. The big question is, what will happen to the pink elephant?

©2024 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Royse, 49, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been active much of his life: He played college basketball and as an adult he’s been a runner, even doing some marathons. So when his wife got into the paddle sport and then got him to play several casual matches, he didn’t think it was anything his current level of fitness couldn’t keep up with.

“It’s an enjoyable and addicting sport. My 75-year-old mother plays,” Royse said. “I thought it was a little bit goofy from the beginning. It’s like a driveway game, and in some ways it is but in all the good ways.”

But in early August, Royse’s wife asked him to fill in for a league game. Suddenly, his perception of what he’d viewed as just a fun, casual game changed.

“I neglected to think of it as a sport,” Royse said. “I thought I could show up after my third or fourth time playing and now go play it at a really high intensity with folks that really know how to play. I approached it like my kid asking to go play kick the ball in the yard. Next thing you know, I’m playing high-intensity pickleball and I blew my knee out.”

Pickleball, which combines elements of badminton, tennis and ping pong, is the fastest-growing sport in the United States. Last year more than 36 million people played the game, and it is particularly popular among adults 40 and up. It’s helped get people active and exercising as well as helped already active adults stay active. But it’s also a growing reason for sports medicine injuries and orthopedic injuries: It’s estimated there were 67,000 emergency room visits and 9,000 outpatient surgeries related to pickleball injuries in the U.S. last year, according to an analysis by UBS Asset Management.

“I’ve just been really shocked by the number of mostly soft tissue injuries, not necessarily always surgical … the number of people not only playing but the number of people coming in injured seems to be rising exponentially over the last six months,” said Dr. Wayne Luchetti, associate chief of orthopedic surgery at Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute in Pennsylvania.

Luchetti himself is a pickleball enthusiast and tries to play two or three times a week.

“It’s a different kind of workout for me. I’m a Peloton guy. A lot of days I dread getting on the Peloton for 45 minutes. It’s just mentally hard to do, but I never dread going to play pickleball for an hour and a half because it’s just a fun way to burn calories,” Luchetti said.

He’s also injured himself while playing pickleball, pulling his calf muscle about three weeks after he took up the sport.

The common injuries are to the feet, ankles and knees, with many due to overuse and strain.

Luchetti said he believes there are three main reasons why so many people are getting injured: One, that there are just so many people playing it; two, it involves a lot of side-to-side movement, which can be hard on the knees and ankles; and three, a lot of the people playing are older adults.

He said he sees people of all ages with pickleball injuries but most are in their 60s and 70s.

“You have a lot of older athletes that haven’t necessarily played a sport in 20 years, now they’re addicted to this fun sport,” Luchetti said. “They’re going out two to three days a week and firing muscles they haven’t fired in 20 years. Sometimes they don’t know their limitations.”

How to avoid pickleball injuries

St. Luke’s University Health Network recently opened the St. Luke’s SportsPlex, which is also home to Pickleball Lehigh Valley. John Hauth, St. Luke’s senior administrator for sports medicine relationships, said the SportsPlex has instructors, classes and courses available to help pickleball players avoid injury.

“A hallmark of the program there is offering both quality instruction in pickleball specifically, but also in how to prepare and become stronger, more well balanced as you begin to play the game of pickleball,” Hauth said. “People that haven’t exercised for a long period of time may be deconditioned. They need to start the right way and that’s something we’re emphasizing.”

Luchetti also said strength and conditioning work is crucial to avoiding injury. He sometimes tells his patients who are really serious about playing to see a physical therapist for one session before they play again so they can get advice on what muscle groups they need to strengthen to avoid injuries.

Luchetti added proper footwear is key; shoes worn to play pickleball should fit well and grip the court.

“I see a lot of people slipping and turning their ankle or their knee,” Luchetti said.

And people with joint problems should make sure to wear a brace while playing.

Luchetti also said muscles, tendons and ligaments get tighter as people age and that makes them more prone to injury; to avoid that, stretching before playing is key.

Luchetti’s pickleball injury was partly caused by him not stretching, but now he stretches for 20 to 30 minutes before he steps on the court. Dynamic stretching such as doing hip circles or high stepping is ideal to limber up.

He added that while getting exercise is important, so is giving the body time to rest. Instead of playing the game multiple days in a row back to back, consider spacing out when you play so you get at least one rest day between game days.

And if you feel like something is off or feel pain while you play, stop — don’t play through the injury. If you suffer an injury while playing, immediately stop and rest, apply ice, compress the injury and make sure it is elevated, then seek care as soon as possible.

Hauth said while it’s important to do what you can to prevent injuries, fear of injury or another injury shouldn’t keep people away from the sport.

“People are active because they’re engaged in pickleball. People are moving, which is good for their overall health,” Hauth said.

Royse said he feels the same way. While he has regained the ability to ride a bike, he hasn’t made it back onto the pickleball court, nor has he been able to start running again. But he’s working toward that point. He will be back on the court.

“I’m a former athlete, I’m in pretty good shape and it happened to me so it can definitely happen,” he said. “But I chalk it up to it’s like skiing. A lot of people get injured skiing, but it doesn’t hold you back. You just got to know your limitations, know your craft and take it seriously, but it’s definitely worth it.”

“I assume that this summer when I can go play pickleball, with proper stretching and preparation, I would totally go play and play hard. I don’t want to be fearful in life.”