Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, Dec. 11, and I’m writing from Los Angeles.

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We’re working on a special year-end feature where the headlines get personal.

We want to know about how this year’s most important California stories unfolded for our readers, and how the news intersected with their lives.

Were you affected by fires or blackouts? Did you feel the Ridgecrest earthquakes, or do anything to prepare for the Next One after they hit? Has your living situation been changed by the statewide housing crisis? Has gun violence affected your community? We want to hear about your experiences in 2019.

Use this form to tell us about how a news event or issue affected your life, and we’ll share some of the responses in the coming weeks.

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

California prosecutors plan to issue subpoenas to half of the state’s Catholic dioceses as part of a growing investigation into the church’s handling of sex abuse cases, according to several dioceses and the California Catholic Conference. The move marks another escalation of the California attorney general’s investigation of the church scandal, which has already resulted in massive settlements for accusers and criminal charges against individual priests statewide. Los Angeles Times

Is the University of California violating state civil rights laws by requiring applicants to take the SAT or ACT standardized tests? That’s what two lawsuits filed Tuesday allege. They argue that the tests unlawfully discriminate against disabled, low-income, multilingual and underrepresented minority students. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Los Angeles County Democrats endorsed former San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascón over incumbent Jackie Lacey on Tuesday night, intensifying what’s expected to be a hard-fought race to determine who will serve as the county’s top prosecutor beyond 2020. Los Angeles Times

Polluted storm water is fouling L.A. beaches. Little has been done about it. Los Angeles Times

The spectacle of Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane: Giant deodar cedar trees, planted more than 100 years ago, are trimmed with thousands of colorful lights every December. Curbed LA

This academic thinks a $541 yearly permit fee for street vendors is way too high. The L.A. City Council recently approved the proposed fee under the city’s “Sidewalk and Park Vending Program.” L.A. Taco

The most “important” L.A. restaurant openings of 2019, from the nation’s first cannabis restaurant in West Hollywood to Tijuana-style tacos downtown. Eater LA

A hit-and-run nearly ended an actor’s life. But Obi Ndefo plans to do much more than survive it. Los Angeles Times

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IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

U.S. officials have started to send families seeking asylum to Guatemala, even if they are not from the Central American country and had sought protection in the United States. Los Angeles Times

Medical screenings are the latest U.S. tactic to discourage asylum seekers, advocates say. Migrants who are sick, or who have sick children, have had their immigration hearings postponed for months. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

House Democrats moved Tuesday to charge President Trump with at least two articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — making him only the fourth president in U.S. history to face such a formal effort to remove him from office. The House Judiciary Committee is expected to approve the articles — and potentially add more charges — during a session Thursday that could last upward of 24 hours. The full House would then vote next week on whether to impeach the president. Los Angeles Times

The White House and House Democrats reached a deal Tuesday that clears the way for passage of a revised North American free-trade pact, marking a rare bipartisan accomplishment that both sides see as a template for future U.S. trade agreements. Los Angeles Times

California anti-vaccine activists abandoned an initiative to roll back a new law that restricts medical exemptions. Sacramento Bee

Democratic presidential candidate Michael R. Bloomberg landed his first major California endorsement: San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who leads California’s third-largest city and formerly supported Kamala Harris. (Since Liccardo gave Bloomberg his backing on Monday, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs has also added his name to the Bloomberg endorsement list.) Politico

CRIME AND COURTS

The country’s biggest blueberry producer was fined $3.5 million over worker abuses. Munger Bros., based in Delano, Calif., has been barred from recruiting foreign agricultural guest workers for three years and will have to pay $3.5 million in back wages and penalties as part of a court agreement reached with the U.S. Labor Department. Los Angeles Times

A former top Mexican security official has been arrested in the United States on suspicion of taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel long headed by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Los Angeles Times

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

After years of deadly wildfires and a season of sweeping blackouts, a new poll of California voters finds most would want to end PG&E’s operations as they exist now. Fewer than 1 in 8 likely voters surveyed want PG&E to fix its own problems and maintain its current structure once it emerges from bankruptcy next year. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

San Francisco has lost one of the city’s biggest annual conferences. Oracle will be relocating its major OpenWorld tech conference to Las Vegas next year. San Francisco Chronicle

Instacart’s worker revolt: As the online grocery delivery company experiments with wages, some of the companies’ independent contractors are banding together to demand change. Washington Post

Berkeleyside will launch an Oakland news site next year. The award-winning local outlet is also in the process of becoming a nonprofit with a mission to deliver civic-minded local reporting more broadly. Berkeleyside

Here are 10 stunning waterfalls in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties, in case just staring at your waterfall computer screen saver is no longer enough to move you. Santa Rosa Press-Democrat

The Bay Area city of Lafayette has hired a trapper to control wild pigs, which have torn up front yards, lawns and a city park. East Bay Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: partly sunny, 68. San Diego: sunny, 66. San Francisco: cloudy, 58. San Jose: cloudy, 63. Sacramento: cloudy, 58. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from David Archer:

“I moved to San Francisco in the fall of 1979 to attend Golden Gate University. My 1969 Gran Torino was my bedroom for three nights while looking for an apartment I could afford. I showed up at a small studio apartment just off Golden Gate Park that was renting for $190 a month — but there were 10 well-dressed people in line to view the place. Looking like a guy who lived in his car, my chances were slim to none. After the showing, I told the landlord I would give him $205 a month and handed him $410 for two months. I moved into my new 220-square-foot palace that night.”

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints, ideas and unrelated book recommendations to Julia Wick. Follow her on Twitter @Sherlyholmes.

For Fox studio executives Tara Flynn and Marcos Waltenberg, jumping to Hollywood newcomer Netflix in 2016 was a rare opportunity to double their salaries. As an inducement, Netflix offered to shield them from any legal backlash for walking out on their employment contracts.

The streaming giant approached 14 other Fox employees under contract with a similar lure. But on Tuesday, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued an injunction barring Netflix from poaching rival Fox executives under contract, or inducing them to breach their fixed-term agreements.

The decision represents a significant win for Fox in a legal fight that has highlighted a growing arms race for talent in Hollywood — and Netflix’s aggressive tactics for courting executive talent to meet its growing needs.

Although Netflix could appeal the decision, for now it is expected to stem executive poaching in entertainment and could hinder the Los Gatos, Calif., company’s ability to build experienced management teams, industry experts said.

“It was a complete loss for Netflix,” said entertainment industry attorney Schuyler Moore, a partner at Greenberg Glusker. The decision “will stop them in their tracks.”

Daniel Petrocelli, an attorney for Fox, said the court’s decision “brings to an end years of unlawful practices by Netflix. The ruling not only condemns Netflix’s deliberate violations of the law but just as importantly reaffirms and protects the rights and choices of employees.”

But a source close to Netflix said the company will probably file an appeal.

“Fox’s illegal contracts force employees to remain trapped in jobs they no longer wish to do and at salaries far below market rate,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. “We will continue to fight to make sure that people who work in the entertainment industry have the same rights as virtually every other Californian and can make their own choices about where they work.”

The company’s hiring efforts haven’t been hampered in New York and other states with strict rules of engagement around fixed-term contracts, the spokesperson said.

By upholding the validity of Fox’s fixed-term employment contracts, the court has provided a potential reprieve for studios fearful of losing more executives to a rival growing bigger by the day.

Devin McRae, a partner at law firm Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, said the ruling was a “huge blow” to Netflix’s legal strategy. “Netflix was trying to accomplish something that was far reaching and it didn’t,” McRae said.

Netflix’s spending in TV and film content has outpaced the industry. It’s expected to spend as much as $15 billion on original and licensed movies and TV shows in 2019. Employment grew to 7,100 jobs as of 2018, up from 3,700 in 2015, the company said. The streaming giant has more movies contending for Oscars than any other studio. On Monday it dominated the Golden Globe nominations with 34 nods for its movies, including “Marriage Story” and “The Irishman.”

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“The fact that Netflix spends billions on content means they need people to work on it,” said Neal Lenarsky, a recruiter in media and entertainment. “The pressure to get these deals done is tremendous.”

In the last few years, as the movies-by-mail to streaming giant moved to siphon top executives from their posts at Hollywood studios, Fox and Viacom pressed the panic button and sued to stop it. The first case, brought by Fox, dates to 2016 when it sued Netflix for its “brazen campaign to unlawfully target, recruit and poach valuable” executives. At the heart of Fox’s case was the claim it was illegal for a company interfere in the contracts of another.

According to Fox’s court filings, Netflix hired eight people under contract with the studio, which Netflix did not dispute in court.

Netflix argued Fox’s employment agreements were unlawful and unenforceable, creating a “form of involuntary servitude” that violated the state’s labor code by exceeding seven years, according to court filings. In California, employment contracts cannot exceed seven years.

Other studios have also battled Netflix. Paramount Pictures owner Viacom, which recently combined with CBS, also sued Netflix, in October 2018. “For some reason, Netflix thinks it’s not bound by the same rules that apply to everyone else, as it continues to blatantly disregard well-established California law,” Viacom stated in its complaint. Viacom declined to comment.

Netflix recruited Viacom executive vice president Momita Sengupta two years before her contract was due to expire. Viacom said it would suffer “irreparable harm” if Netflix was allowed to continue “raiding” its workforce. The case is pending and no trial date has been set. Netflix declined to comment on that case.

The lawsuits reflect the pressure both new and old Hollywood players face in keeping valued executives during a boom for content.

“Incumbent media companies are feeling the pressure,” said William Simon of recruitment firm Korn Ferry. “These new entrants are coming in with much more generous compensation packages, sometimes letting employees pick their mix of stock and cash in compensation. “

Unlike other industries, where at-will employment is more common, fixed-term contracts are popular in the entertainment industry. They offer executives comfort that if an employer wants to lay them off, they have to continue paying their salary for the rest of the contract term.

Ultimately, Superior Court Judge Marc Gross ruled Tuesday that Fox’s contracts are legal and that companies cannot induce executives to break their contracts. Employees can walk out on their contracts as long as no other company is involved in that decision.

Netflix has been not only a popular destination for executives but also a haven for Oscar-winning filmmakers. Being talent-friendly has helped differentiate it from other companies launching streaming rivals, said Tim Bajarin, president of San Jose market research firm Creative Strategies.

“It’s really a war for talent,” Bajarin said. “That’s why any of these companies are semi-willing to deal with the legal issues because ultimately it’s the creative talent that gives you what fundamentally becomes the hits.”

Unlike many of its traditional media competitors, Netflix pays top market for talent and can offer share options linked to the typically faster-growing technology industry. It also allows employees to choose the amount of their compensation that is stock-based.

“What tech companies do, they take more of a carrot approach,” said William Herochik, whose law firm represents executives in employment negotiations and was an expert witness for Netflix in the Fox lawsuit. While tech companies incentivize employees to stay with long-term stock or cash awards, “the entertainment industry uses more of a stick approach,” Herochik said. ”We are going to sign you up right now and if you potentially leave during that term there will be negative consequences.”

SERIES

Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways Ellen DeGeneres welcomes guests Robert Downey Jr., Taylor Swift and Melissa McCarthy in this new episode of the holiday miniseries. 8 p.m. NBC

The Goldbergs After receiving a stunning Christmas card from the Kremp family, Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) decides she must do an even better family holiday card, but Geoff (Sam Lerner) is offended when he’s not invited to be a part of the picture. Troy Gentile, Sean Giambrone and Jeff Garlin also star in this new episode of the family comedy. 8 p.m. ABC

Schooled CB (Brett Dier) hopes getting Lainey (AJ Michalka) a Beanie Baby for Christmas will show his true feelings for her, but it doesn’t go as planned. Tim Meadows also stars. 8:30 p.m. ABC

Making It This holdiay-themed run of the unscripted competition concludes with a two-episode season finale. In the first contestants must transform an ordinary toolshed into a space representing their ideal vacation getaway. 9 and 10 p.m. NBC

Nancy Drew Nancy (Kennedy McMann) searches for George’s (Leah Lewis) missing sister (guest star Ariah Lee), whose kidnapping seems suspiciously similar to the investigation that started Nancy’s mystery-solving career. 9 p.m. CW

Modern Family Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) makes an effort to make sure everyone is happy with the annual Christmas dinner, leading Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to suspect some kind of hidden agenda. Also, Jay (Ed O’Neill) wants Claire (Julie Bowen) to work at his dog-bed company and Luke (Nolan Gould) faces consequences after kissing Manny’s (Rico Rodriguez) ex-girlfriend (guest star Hillary Anne Matthews). 9 p.m. ABC

Almost Family Julia (Brittany Snow) consults Dr. Isaac (Mustafa Elzein) about her fertility issues while Roxy (Emily Osment) deals with concerns from both her old and new families about drug use. 9 p.m. Fox

Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Party Challenge Tank is on Martha’s team and Paris Hilton is on Snoop’s in a holiday episode of this cooking show. Guest judge Haha Davis picks the winner. 9 p.m. VH1

Single Parents Graham (Tyler Wladis) sends a letter to Santa requesting to either have a white Christmas or to meet his dad, so Angie (Leighton Meester) recruits Will and Sophie (Taran Killam, Marlow Barkley) to help her find a snowy locale in Southern California. Devin Campbell, Kimrie Lewis, Brad Garrett and Mia and Ella Allen also star. 9:30 p.m. ABC

Stumptown Dex (Cobie Smulders) goes undercover as a high school substitute teacher after an old classmate enlists her help to find out who planted drugs on her daughter. Jake Johnson, Tantoo Cardinal and Camryn Manheim also star in this new episode with guest star Monica Barbaro.10 p.m. ABC

South Park The animated series from Trey Parker and Matt Stone ends its 23rd season with a holiday special. 10 p.m. Comedy Central

MOVIES

Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements Irene Taylor Brodsky’s 2019 documentary — a sequel to her 2007 film “Hear and Now” — is a deeply personal exploration of deafness from three perspectives. The first is the story of Brodsky’s 11-year-old son, Jonas, who began losing his hearing in infancy and is trying to master Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Beethoven’s story and the story of Jonas’ grandparents, deaf for decades, also are told. 9 p.m. HBO

TALK SHOWS

CBS This Morning “Sesame Street” characters. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS

Today Edward Felsenthal; Jenna Bush Hager; Michelle Obama; Charlie Puth performs. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC

KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA

Good Morning America Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. (N) 7 a.m. KABC

Good Day L.A. Luis Fonsi; Dr. Noelle Reid; Elizabeth Wagmeister, Variety. (N) 7 a.m. KTTV

Live With Kelly and Ryan Wilmer Valderrama (“NCIS”); AJ Mitchell performs. (N) 9 a.m. KABC

The View Chris Christie; Lupita Nyong’o; Clay Aiken; Ruben Studdard. (N) 10 a.m. KABC

The Wendy Williams Show Aldis Hodge (“Clemency”); Dave Koz and Jonathan Butler perform. (N) 11 a.m. KTTV

The Talk Vanessa Williams guest co-hosts. (N) 1 p.m. KCBS

Tamron Hall Dr. Ruth Westheimer; Dionne Warwick performs. (N) 1 p.m. KABC, 1:07 a.m. KABC

The Dr. Oz Show Andrea Barber (“Full House”); Patti LaBelle; Daphne Oz’s sisters. (N) 1 p.m. KTTV

The Kelly Clarkson Show Lionel Richie; Justin Willman; Gary Clark Jr. performs. (N) 2 p.m. KNBC

Dr. Phil Civilians lure possible pedophiles to public locations and confront them while livestreaming. (N) 3 p.m. KCBS

The Ellen DeGeneres Show Kevin Hart (“Jumanji: The Next Level”); Chrissy Teigen. (N) 3 p.m. KNBC

The Real Michelle Williams (“A Snow White Christmas”). (N) 3 p.m. KTTV

The Doctors IUDs and ovarian cancer; pulmonary arterial hypertension; school lunches; reducing waste; mushrooms. (N) 3 p.m. KCOP

Amanpour and Company 11 p.m. KCET

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (N) 11 p.m. Comedy Central

Conan Giancarlo Esposito. (N) 11 p.m. TBS

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Jon Hamm; Keri Russell; Gary Clark Jr. performs. (N) 11:34 p.m. KNBC

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Clive Owen; Samantha Power; Thomas Rhett performs. (N) 11:35 p.m. KCBS

Jimmy Kimmel Live! Kevin Hart; Julia Fox; Finneas performs. (N) 11:35 p.m. KABC

The Late Late Show With James Corden Anthony Anderson; Nick Jonas; Vampire Weekend performs. (N) 12:37 a.m. KCBS

Late Night With Seth Meyers Jack Black (“Jumanji: The Next Level”); Ari Melber, MSNBC; Coady Willis performs. (N) 12:37 a.m. KNBC

Nightline (N) 12:37 a.m. KABC

A Little Late With Lilly Singh John Legend. (N) 1:38 a.m. KNBC

SPORTS

NBA Basketball The Clippers visit the Toronto Raptors, 4 p.m. ESPN and FS Prime; the Lakers visit the Orlando Magic, 4 p.m. SportsNet; the New Orleans Pelicans visit the Milwaukee Bucks, 6:30 p.m. ESPN

NHL Hockey The Boston Bruins visit the Washington Capitals, 4 p.m. NBCSP; the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Colorado Avalanche, 6:30 p.m. NBCSP

College Basketball Winthrop visits TCU, 5 p.m. Fox Sports Net

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Filmmakers talk about world-building, that soup-to-nuts conception of a cinematic realm that applies to everything from the galactic spectacle of a “Star Wars” spinoff to the bespoke eccentricities of a Wes Anderson comedy. That obsessive attention to imaginative detail is one of the deep pleasures of the summer release “Midsommar,” writer-director Ari Aster’s darkly comic saga set amid a blissed-out, yet sinister, pagan celebration at a remote Swedish commune.

The film follows the more overt horror of “Hereditary,” Aster’s 2018 feature debut, with the story of American graduate students lured to the fictional village of Hårga (not to be confused with an actual Harga, north of Stockholm) for a once-every-90-years ritual. Among them is Florence Pugh’s Dani, who finds shocking catharsis for the sudden loss of her family and the fiery resolution to a toxic relationship.

The scenario’s heady embrace of the uncanny leans hard into the hallucinogenic — mysterious potions abound — packed with endless subtle details that illuminate Dani’s strange journey and give audiences as much of a dizzying sensory experience as a narrative one.

“It was very important to me that it be as immersive as possible and feel a bit like a trip,” Aster said, “a trip that curdles and continues to curdle into madness.”

A good part of achieving that, the director said, was “to push and hold things and linger and allow shots to breathe as long as they can before it gets self-conscious.”

With cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski, a creative partner since their days in film school, Aster sourced lenses from Panavision that were detuned to allow for the particular demands of the shoot, most of it conducted in the exterior broad daylight that is essential to the film’s design. “This is a film that demanded a certain amount of control,” Aster said, “and you lose a lot of control immediately when you start shooting outside, especially when the entire film is being shot that way.”

But “Midsommar” also creates intrigue through its mythological elements, which were cultivated from the original concept by producer Patrik Andersson and Martin Karlqvist. Aster and the film’s production designer, Henrik Svensson, toured Hälsingland, which inspired “Midsommar’s” setting (although the film’s village was created from scratch about 30 minutes outside of Budapest). The central Swedish province is dotted by centuries-old farmhouses whose interiors provided the inspiration for the disturbing wall murals that foreshadow various plot turns in the film. Runes proliferate across the film, as does an alphabet created for the production, each resonant with meanings peculiar to character and story.

“Every one of those hieroglyphs that might seem strange were sourceless,” Aster said. “We have our own definitions for them. If you go into the archives wherever they are right now, you’ll be able to find dense character lists that tie them to specific runes and sometimes kind of a broad history, but they were all given histories to draw from and work with.”

Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, a six-time Oscar nominee, is now 75, so how would he take to using brand new technology to shoot purely digital lions and hyenas in a virtual, photorealistic desert?

Like a duck to water, it turns out.

“I was terrified because it was completely visual effects; how do you do that and still maintain what you understand about filmmaking?” Deschanel says.

But it helps if you work with Oscar-winning visual effects wizard Rob Legato.

“I got together with Rob and this [visual experience] company, Magnopus, in downtown L.A., and I learned that the way the movie works is you create this world in 3-D, and within that virtual world, I have all the tools I’m used to using,” he says of shooting director Jon Favreau’s all-CG “The Lion King.”

What viewers will get right away are the astonishingly photoreal characters and environments, the phenomenal detail in textures in everything from fur to water to reflections of light. That technology has moved forward even since Favreau and Legato’s Oscar-winning achievements in “The Jungle Book.” And with “ray tracing,” computers generate physically, mathematically accurate simulations of light that give filmmakers total control.

This exclusive LA Times video provided by three-time Oscar winner Rob Legato peels back the process of Legato’s team in creating the stunning photorealism of “The Lion King.”

But there has been another, even more stunning advancement that viewers will feel more than see: The filmmakers now move about, themselves, within the 3-D, virtual-reality environments of the film. That means they can location scout, block action and shoot live as they would in a live-action movie. Rather than pointing and clicking on a computer screen to direct photography, they move physical cameras in the studio linked to virtual ones and react in real time to what the animated characters do.

“I had [real] dollies, I had cranes, I had cameras, I had lenses,” says Deschanel. “I could hand-hold the camera. We had Steadicam. I took to it so fast, I couldn’t believe it. Normally, with a film this steeped in technology, you’d think it would require some 27-year-old wunderkind. But Jon said, ‘I don’t want you to have to be at a computer and learn to code. I want you to bring the sensibilities you’ve brought to all the films you’ve done, to this movie.’ ”

This exclusive LA Times video provided by three-time Oscar winning VFX supervisor Rob Legato shows the new virtual cinematography tools used by director of photography Caleb Deschanel in shooting “The Lion King.”

Legato says of the VR tools, “You walk into the room, you put these things on, you say, ‘Oh, I’m on the set. There’s the rocks, there’s the trees, the sunlight.’ One of the big problems on the previous movies was, even though it was so cool to look through a portal, I didn’t get the chance to absorb the room as I would in real life. To me it felt like if I could provide that for Caleb, he could be instantly comfortable by walking around and feeling, ‘Yeah, now I know where the dolly goes, where the crane goes, where they’re walking.’”

For Deschanel, it feels like any other movie experience. “The sense of reality this movie has comes from … the animals created by these incredible visual effects, and the environments. But it also comes from the fact that when the camera is operating, you feel that there’s a person behind it. It has the same feel as any documentary or live feature film you’re used to.”

Both men say they hit it off right away, developing a rapport that led to finishing each other’s sentences.

“This happened a couple of times — Caleb would leave the room, I’d critique a shot: ‘Well, the light’s in the wrong spot.’ He’d come back in and go, ‘The light’s in the wrong spot.’ Someone said, ‘Did you guys rehearse that?’ ” Legato says.

It didn’t take long for them to come up with something worth keeping, using the new tech.

“Literally in the offices of Magnopus, we figured out a shot that’s in the movie today,” Deschanel says of a dolly shot with animals coming to Pride Rock with the sun behind them.

Legato says, “It’s in all the trailers. It was an off-the-cuff thing: What if we put the sun back there? That’s kind of the nature of doing this: ‘I have a feeling; I want to try something,’ as opposed to ‘I planned it out, storyboarded it, over-thought it.’”

Yes, they moved the sun at will. After so many years of dealing with unexpected clouds, the fleeting minutes of magic hour or actors dropping lines, Deschanel finally had godlike control over every element. How do you celebrate that? If you’re Deschanel, you insert imperfections.

“When I’m lighting something, I’ll always put a bit of sunlight out of the way or overexpose something slightly — you always want to feel there’s something a little bit out of control in the frame. ‘Oh, they must have just grabbed that,’” he said.

Legato notes, “In live action, you live with what’s the best-performed take. Do we wait another six takes to get it? In CG, everything is perfect, but you don’t want it to be, because it doesn’t have soul. So we created these analog input devices.”

“You don’t realize how much your feeling in a movie is guided by human hands and by human movement,” says Deschanel. “You realize there was something about the take where you missed the lion jumping out of the frame and then you caught up with it.”

But although the tech may be awe-inspiring to those who use it, it’s the reactions of viewers that really matter.

“Let’s face it, we really made it for — I made it for my grandson, who I took to see it when he was 7,” says Deschanel. “We went to see it in Imax 3-D at Universal. I spent most of the time watching him. It was the most delightful experience. He was just amazed. It was great.”

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Trailer for Disney’s 2019 “Lion King”

O Christmas tea, O Christmas tea! For people who love the beverage, there’s no better way to mark the holiday than with a sit-down tea. Some of Southern California’s most elegant hotels offer guests a chance to visit their lobbies and stroll the grounds, drink aromatic teas and nibble on finger sandwiches and scones with blackberry jam, and then top it all off with a Champagne chaser.

It’s a perfect time to introduce children to the custom of afternoon tea. While Earl Grey might not be to their liking, they’ll love the sweet stuff, such as petits fours and bonbons. Or hire a sitter, leave the kids at home and enjoy the tea party with a group of friends. Make sure to make reservations before you go. Here’s a sampling of local hotels that put on a spread.

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

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At the hotel’s Nutcracker Tea, a harpist plays on weekends, and the holiday menu includes scones, sandwiches and pastries, many featuring seasonal ingredients such as chestnuts and pumpkin. The annual tea usually includes a ballet performance at the beginning of the holiday season inspired by the Los Angeles Ballet’s rendition of “The Nutcracker.” Held in the lobby lounge, the party includes Nutcracker tea by Tealeaves ($75); add a little bubbly with a glass of champagne ($95 to $145).

Dates: 2-5 p.m., now through Dec. 29

Details: Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, 9850 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; tea reservations: (310) 860-6700.

The Peninsula Beverly Hills

Sip in the living room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, where you’ll listen to classical harp music and lounge in large sofas in front of the room’s two fireplaces. Guests can choose from 19 loose-leaf teas custom-blended for the Peninsula Beverly Hills; and holiday treats, which include gingersnap truffles and cranberry orange cream puffs. The Royal Tea features a pot of tea, a glass of Champagne, scones, tea sandwiches and pastries. The Imperial Tea comes with all of the above plus a savory caviar cake and a Peninsula Page Boy cap cake wrapped to take home. $78-$95 per person.

Dates: Teas held year-round; served daily at noon, 2:30 and 5 p.m.

Details: Peninsula Beverly Hills, 9882 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 551-2888.

Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air

Looking for a tea with a Los Angeles-style twist? You’ll find it in the Bel-Air, which has an emphasis on SoCal’s organic flavors. Fifteen loose-leaf teas are available, accompanied by savory bites, scones with homemade preserves, and a selection of sweets. Prepaid reservation required; it costs $60 for adults, $36 for children.

Dates: Fridays and Saturdays year-round, 3 to 5 p.m.

Details: Hotel Bel-Air, 701 Stone Canyon Road, Los Angeles; (310) 909-1644.

Millennium Biltmore

Take a break from holiday shopping in downtown L.A. at the Biltmore’s iconic Rendezvous Court, known for its Moorish carved-wood ceilings and marble fountain. The afternoon tea, featuring live music, includes selections from a miniature patisserie, as well as caviar, smoked salmon and goat cheese tea sandwiches; $65 for adults, $33 for children.

Dates: 2 to 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 29.

Details: Millennium Biltmore, 506 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 612-1562.

The London West Hollywood

Pretend you’re a Brit at this English-style tea party, which takes its inspiration from Henrietta Lovell, founder of the Rare Tea Co. in London. Guests can choose from eight specialty Rare Tea types, then dine on traditional sandwiches such as English cucumber with lemon and watercress; house-made pastries such as gingerbread cookies, peppermint macarons; and nutmeg-spiced custard. It costs $48 per person.

Dates: 1 and 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays through December. Reservations required.

Details: The London West Hollywood, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 358-7788.

Langham Huntington Hotel

There’s only one Teddy Bear Tea in Southern California, and it’s at this Pasadena hotel. A longtime holiday tradition, the kid-friendly event includes a puppet show, storytelling and pictures with Santa. Children can skip traditional tea party foods in favor of cookies, hot chocolate and milk. Guests are asked to bring one unwrapped, packaged gift for donation to a children’s charity. It costs $73 per adult and $58 for kids younger than 12.

Dates: 10 a.m. on Dec. 16, 17, 18 and 24; 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Dec. 14, 15, 19-23.

Details: Langham Huntington Hotel, 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena 91106; (626) 585-6218.

Resort at Pelican Hill

Santa stays busy during the holidays at the Resort at Pelican Hill, which schedules Kris Kringle story time and gingerbread house decorating, in addition to a Yuletide Tea in the Great Room Social Lounge. Guests can sip contemporary blends while enjoying savory and sweet small bites. Tea-based cocktails and sparkling wines available à la carte. Price: $85 for adults, $65 for children.

Dates: 2 to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, until Dec. 22.

Details: Resort at Pelican Hill, 22701 S. Pelican Hill Road, Newport Beach.

Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel

Get a first-rate view of the Pacific while you sip tea at Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, which is holding its Holiday Tea in its oceanside restaurant Raya. The menu includes traditional tea canapes such as cucumber and herb cream cheese plus local flavors such as lobster tails and avocado hummus and alfalfa sprouts. Sweets include pumpkin tart cranberry whip and chocolate yule log. It costs $78 per person.

Dates: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, until Dec. 19.

Details: Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, One Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Point.

The outdoor light exhibit created by British artist Bruce Munro in a Paso Robles field has been a big hit. Now organizers have extended the run through the end of June because of “overwhelming public demand,” according to a news release Tuesday. “Field of Light at Sensorio” planted more than 58,000 solar-powered stemmed lights in a rolling landscape in which flowers “bloom” as colors morph and glow.

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More than 100,000 people have visited since it opened May 19, and at least six marriage proposals have been made at the site.

The exhibit was set to close Jan. 5 but now will continue through June 30 because it has “captured an international audience, significantly exceeding all attendance expectations, with thousands of visitors arriving from around the globe,” the release said.

In Paso Robles, visitors stroll the field to get the full immersive feel of being surrounded by an exhibit that combines art, light and technology. It’s the first U.S. show for the artist and is larger in size — it covers 15 acres — than his previous works. Munro created his first field in 2016 at Uluru, the sacred place also known as Ayer’s Rock, in Australia’s Northern Territory. That temporary exhibit has been extended through Dec. 31, 2020.

The artwork was commissioned by Ken Hunter, co-owner of the nearby Hunter Ranch Golf Course, who first saw Munro’s work in Australia.

Tickets for extended dates in Paso Robles go on sale at 9 a.m. Pacific time Dec. 17. Hours vary, depending on when you go. For example, January viewing dates start at 5 p.m. while April starts at 7 p.m. It costs $30 to $40 for adults; $9.50 to $19 for children 12 and younger. VIP Terrace tickets includes a picnic dinner, two drink tickets and access to the terrace on the site.

Info: “Field of Light at Sensorio” is located at 4380 Highway 46 East in Paso Robles. Go to sensoriopaso.com.

Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula lowers room prices in January to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Midweek stays start at $149 and come with late arrival and a bottle of Champagne.

The deal: Amenities with this room deal include early arrival at noon (usually $100 extra), a bottle of Champagne (locally made Wilson Creek, $32), late checkout at noon ($15) and a $20 credit in the casino’s loyalty club EasyPlay. By the way, 2020’s Lunar New Year, celebrating the Year of the Rat, falls on Jan. 25.

When: The deal is available Jan. 2 to 30.

Tested: I checked a Jan. 6-9 stay and found availability for deluxe valley view rooms with a king-size bed for $149 a night, excluding tax.

Info: Look for the deal under “packages” at pechanga.com.

In the Beverly Hills Post Office area, the former home of Oscar-winning actor Jack Palance is back up for sale at $3.895 million, down from $4.795 million earlier this year.

Built in 1940, the Georgian Colonial Revival-style home was designed by architect-to-the-stars Paul R. Williams. Palance owned the house from 1950 until 1974, when it was sold to film and television director Stuart Rosenberg of “Cool Hand Luke” fame. More recently, it’s been home to producer Seth Ersoff.

Under Ersoff’s direction, the two-story has been renovated but retains its graceful entry and original molding. An open-plan kitchen with an island/bar, marble-clad bathrooms and modern fixtures are among updates of note. The five bedrooms and five bathrooms include both guest and staff suites.

French doors open to the backyard, where brick borders a saltwater swimming pool and spa. A fire pit, lawn and a motor court with two entrances complete the grounds.

Palance, who died in 2006 at 87, won an Academy Award for his role in the comedy “City Slickers” (1991), starring Billy Crystal. The film noir thriller “Sudden Fear” (1952) and the western “Shane” (1953) are among his other notable roles.

Todd Marks of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties and Michael Eisenberg of Keller Williams Realty hold the listing.

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Tired of San Francisco streets being used as a testing ground for the latest delivery technology and transportation apps, city leaders are now requiring businesses to get permits before trying out new high-tech ideas in public.

Supporters of the legislation, which the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Tuesday, say it is the first of its kind in the U.S. They say it’s long overdue in a city that’s a hub for major tech companies but is more accustomed to reacting to the sudden arrival of new technology — like hundreds of dockless electric scooters that appeared overnight last year.

The tech industry has showered San Francisco with high-paying jobs and cemented its reputation as a place for big ideas, but the success of home-grown companies Airbnb, Lyft and Uber has vexed some residents as streets have become more congested and the housing shortage has worsened.

“I support innovation and technology, but our residents are not guinea pigs, and our public infrastructure is not a free-for-all,” said Norman Yee, president of the Board of Supervisors who introduced the legislation.

The Office of Emerging Technology will serve as a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs who want to test their products in San Francisco’s public space. Companies will not be allowed to experiment unless the office declares the tech in question a “net public good.”

It’s not clear how proposals will be evaluated, but companies that share data, ensure public safety and privacy when testing, and promote job creation would fare better than those that don’t.

The office will have oversight over new technology launched on, above or below city property or on public right-of-ways. Yee said hoverboards, delivery drones and data-gathering devices on sidewalks or other public infrastructure would be subject to regulation.

Local officials have a duty to protect public infrastructure and to send the message that public space is “not the Wild West” for anyone with coding skills and a neat idea, said Aaron Klein, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank.

“On the other hand, too much local control and too many hoops to jump through can be easily manipulated by vested interests to fight advancement,” he said.

San Francisco political strategist Jon Golinger says it’s time that City Hall took control after nearly a decade of political leaders allowing businesses free rein. The lenience made some people wealthy but didn’t provide enough public good to a city with skyrocketing housing prices, growing homelessness and widening income inequality.

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“It had a detrimental and lasting effect on the quality of life and the health of our city,” he said.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, founded by David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, objects to the permitting requirement, saying it would stifle innovation and burden business.

But the legislation has the backing of sf.citi, a tech association founded by angel investor Ron Conway, a longtime nemesis of advocates of stricter regulation.

“We believe that the supervisor’s approach of working with — rather than against — industry to build legislation is the kind of leadership this city needs to be successful,” said Jennifer Stojkovic, sf.citi’s executive director.