[00:00] Announcer: This is Neural Newscast.
[00:02] Hannah Whitmore: Here is What Matters This Morning, March 17, 2026.
[00:07] Announcer: From Neural Newscast, I am Thomas Keene.
[00:09] Hannah Whitmore: And I am Hannah Whitmore.
[00:11] Announcer: Michael B. Jordan has won the best actor Oscar for his role in Sinners.
[00:17] Announcer: The award was presented at the 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood this past Sunday.
[00:24] Hannah Whitmore: Jordan is the sixth black actor to take the award.
[00:28] Hannah Whitmore: He is also the first person to win for portraying identical twins.
[00:32] Announcer: The film was written and directed by his longtime collaborator, Ryan Kugler.
[00:38] Hannah Whitmore: He triumphed over a field that included Timothy Shalame from Marty Supreme
[00:43] Hannah Whitmore: and Leonardo DiCaprio for one battle after another.
[00:46] Announcer: Turning now to the preservation of Hollywood infrastructure.
[00:51] Announcer: Singer John Mayer and Director McGee have purchased the historic Chaplin Studios lot.
[00:59] Hannah Whitmore: The partners reportedly invested $44 million to acquire and refresh the site.
[01:06] Hannah Whitmore: It is located at the corner of Sunset in La Brea.
[01:10] Announcer: Charlie Chaplin built the studio in 1917.
[01:14] Announcer: Since then, it has served as a production stage, a recording hub, and the home of the Muppets.
[01:23] Hannah Whitmore: Mayor and McGee have renamed the lot Chaplin Studios.
[01:27] Hannah Whitmore: McGee is taking over the former office once used by Charlie Chaplin himself.
[01:33] Announcer: The facility includes legendary recording spaces like Studio B.
[01:39] Announcer: That is where Carol King recorded the album Tapestry in the early 1970s.
[01:44] Hannah Whitmore: Studio A was also the site where prominent pop stars gathered in the 1980s.
[01:51] Hannah Whitmore: They were there to record the charity single, We Are the World.
[01:56] Announcer: Mayor has designated Studio C as his personal workspace.
[02:01] Announcer: The room was previously used by Joni Mitchell for several of her iconic albums.
[02:07] Hannah Whitmore: The acquisition comes at a challenging time for the recording industry.
[02:13] Hannah Whitmore: Home technology has reduced the demand for traditional commercial studios.
[02:19] Announcer: Next, watch for the start of a light refresh on the Chaplin Studios campus.
[02:24] Announcer: It is expected to transition into a collaborative artist environment.
[02:30] Hannah Whitmore: We are also following the career momentum of Autumn Durald Archipel.
[02:36] Hannah Whitmore: She recently became the first black person to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography.
[02:42] Announcer: Finally, industry analysts are monitoring how these private investments in Hollywood lots
[02:48] Announcer: might stem the tide of production leaving Southern California.
[02:52] Hannah Whitmore: This has been Neural Newscast.
[02:54] Hannah Whitmore: I am Hannah Whitmore. Thank you for listening.
[02:57] Announcer: I am Thomas Keene. Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed.
[03:03] Announcer: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.