A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined as a portmanteau of "motor hotel", originates from the defunct lodging compound establishment; The Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, California, which was built in 1925. The term referred to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and in some circumstances, a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. Motels are often individually owned, though motel chains do exist.
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A Southeast before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a 1987 American road trip comedy film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy, with supporting roles by Laila Robins and Michael McKean. It tells the story of Neal, an uptight marketing executive, and Del, a well-meaning but annoying salesman, who become travel companions when their flight is diverted, and embark on a 3-day odyssey of misadventures trying to reach Chicago in time for Neal's Thanksgiving Day dinner with his family.
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place, for which Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He has since written and directed the sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020).
Choice Hotels International, Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company based in North Bethesda, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns various hotel brands ranging from upscale to economy. As of the third quarter 2023, Choice Hotels franchised nearly 7,500 hotels, representing nearly 630,000 rooms, in 46 countries and territories.
Leslie Allen Jordan was an American actor, comedian, writer, and singer. His television roles include Beverley Leslie on Will & Grace, several characters in the American Horror Story franchise (2013–2019), Sid on The Cool Kids (2018–2019), Phil on Call Me Kat (2021–2022), and Lonnie Garr on Hearts Afire (1993–1995). On stage, he played Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram in the 1996 play Sordid Lives, later portraying the character in the 2000 film of the same name. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan became an Instagram contributor, amassing 5.8 million followers in 2020, and published his autobiography How Y'all Doing? Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived in April 2021.
Loggerheads is an independent film written and directed by Tim Kirkman, produced by Gill Holland and released in the United States by Strand Releasing in October 2005. The film stars Bonnie Hunt, Tess Harper, Michael Kelly, Chris Sarandon, Kip Pardue and Michael Learned and also stars Robin Weigert, Ann Owens Pierce, Valerie Watkins, Trevor Gagnon, Kelly Mizell, Craig Walker, Michael Esper and Joanne Pankow.
Klondike Hotel and Casino was a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States. The property began as the Kona Kai Motel in 1962, and was purchased by Ralph Engelstad in 1969. The motel was sold to John Woodrum, who renamed it as the Klondike Inn in 1976. A casino was eventually added, and the Klondike became popular among local residents. In 2005, the Klondike was sold to Royal Palm Las Vegas, which planned to replace it with a casino and condo hotel resort known as Paramount Las Vegas. The Klondike closed in June 2006, and was demolished in March 2008. Royal Palm Las Vegas had difficulty obtaining financing for the Paramount project, and the land was put up for sale later in 2008. A Harley-Davidson dealership opened on the former Klondike property in 2014.
Sean Baker is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing independent feature films about the lives of marginalized people, especially immigrants and sex workers. His films include Take Out (2004), Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017), Red Rocket (2021), and Anora (2024), the last of which won him the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. He is also known for co-creating the Fox/IFC puppet sitcom Greg the Bunny (2002–2006) and its spin-offs.
Standard Hotels is a group of eight boutique hotels in New York City, Miami Beach, London, Maldives, Ibiza, Bangkok and Hua Hin, Thailand. The hotels are operated by Standard International Management. The two original properties in Hollywood and Los Angeles closed in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Vacancy 2: The First Cut is a 2008 American direct-to-video slasher film directed by Eric Bross and starring Agnes Bruckner, Trevor Wright, Arjay Smith and David Moscow. It is the prequel to 2007's Vacancy, with Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson.
The Florida Project is a 2017 American drama film directed by Sean Baker and written by Baker and Chris Bergoch. Starring Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, and Willem Dafoe, with Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera, and Caleb Landry Jones in supporting roles, it was many of the cast members' first film appearance. The slice of life plot focuses on the summertime adventures of a six-year-old girl who lives with her unemployed single mother in a budget motel in Kissimmee, Florida. Their struggle to make ends meet and stave off homelessness takes place in a surreal environment dominated by the nearby Walt Disney World, which was code-named "The Florida Project" during its planning stages. It juxtaposes this with the local residents' less glamorous day-to-day lives and the children's joyful adventures as they explore and make the most of their surroundings while remaining blissfully ignorant of the hardships their adult caretakers face.
Zola is a 2020 American black comedy crime film directed by Janicza Bravo and co-written by Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris. It is based on a viral Twitter thread from 2015 by A'Ziah "Zola" King and the resulting Rolling Stone article "Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted" by David Kushner. Starring Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, and Colman Domingo, the film follows a part-time stripper who is convinced by her new friend to go on a road trip to Tampa, Florida to earn money dancing, only to get in over her head.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is a 2022 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation and released by Amazon Studios. It is the fourth film in the Hotel Transylvania franchise and the sequel to Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018), the film was directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska from a screenplay by Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo and Genndy Tartakovsky. It stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Hull, Fran Drescher, Brad Abrell, Asher Blinkoff, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins and Zoe Berri. In the film, Dracula and Johnny team up to find a crystal in South America to turn themselves back into normal, before their transformations become permanent.
Samaritan is a 2022 American superhero film directed by Julius Avery and written by Bragi F. Schut. Described as a gritty and dark take on superhero movies, the story was previously adapted into the Mythos Comics graphic novels by Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta. It is a co-production of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Balboa Productions. The film stars Sylvester Stallone in the main role, Javon "Wanna" Walton, Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco, and Moisés Arias. The story follows a kid who suspects that his neighbor is secretly a superhero who was believed to have died many years prior.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on certain films in the early 2020s, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world, and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters were closed, festivals were cancelled or postponed, and film releases were moved to future dates or delayed indefinitely. Due to cinemas and movie theaters closing, the global box office dropped by billions of dollars, streaming saw a significant increase in popularity, and the stock of film exhibitors dropped dramatically. Many blockbusters originally scheduled to be released by mid-March 2020 were postponed or canceled around the world, with film productions also being halted. This in turn created openings for independent cinema productions to receive wider exposure.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted inequities experienced by marginalized populations, and has had a significant impact on the LGBT community. Pride events were cancelled or postponed worldwide. More than 220 gay pride celebrations around the world were canceled or postponed in 2020, and in response a Global Pride event was hosted online. LGBTQ+ people also tend to be more likely to have pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma, HIV/AIDS, cancer, or obesity, that would worsen their chances of survival if they became infected with COVID-19. They are also more likely to smoke.
Spellbound is a 2024 American animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film directed by Vicky Jenson from a screenplay by Julia Miranda and the writing team of Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin. It features music composed by Alan Menken, who also wrote the songs with longtime collaborator and lyricist Glenn Slater. Produced by Skydance Animation, the film features the voices of Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Tituss Burgess, Nathan Lane, Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman. Set in the world of magic known as Lumbria, the story follows Princess Ellian (Zegler) who must break the spell that has turned her parents into monsters and split her kingdom in two.
Housing in Florida consists of apartments, condominiums, hotels, retirement communities, and houses. Common types of housing in the state include Cracker style homes, Ranch-style homes, Caribbean style homes, and Condominiums with styles including Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Victorian architecture, Mediterranean Revival architecture, Art Deco, Modern architecture, and Pueblo Revival architecture.
The Watcher is an American mystery Horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. It premiered on October 13, 2022. It is loosely based on a 2018 hoax article by Reeves Wiedeman for New York magazine's website The Cut. Despite being originally conceived as a miniseries, The Watcher was renewed for a second season in November 2022.
