The City of West Hollywood’s three-part series of comedic videos alerting drivers to a construction traffic block came across as very polished. But like any film project there were a few mistakes that needed to get edited out. And in this case they were as funny, if not funnier, than the final product.
The city today released its “gag reel,” a compilation of bloopers in the filming of the series, whose aim is to warn drivers that the block of La Cienega Boulevard between Sunset and Fountain will be closed to traffic through much of the rest of this month for construction.
The series, dubbed “The WeHoans,” has featured drag sensations Willam Belli and Bianca Del Rio and other local West Hollywood performers. It is a play on “The Californians,” the popular Saturday Night Live act in which soap opera-like characters in platinum blonde wigs describe in humorous detail how to navigate the freeways and streets of metropolitan Los Angeles. Each episode of The WeHoans can be seen on Willam Belli’s YouTube channel.
The City of West Hollywood is conducting major utility construction work at Sunset and La Cienega boulevards as part of the Sunset-La Cienega hotel, residential and retail development project. In mid-August, utility construction work in the area moved into its next phase with a full closure of La Cienega Boulevard between Fountain Avenue and Sunset Boulevard — the closure will remain in place though the middle of this month. Throughout utility construction work, businesses on Sunset Boulevard will be open as usual and access will be granted to those who live and work on the closed block of La Cienega. Updates on the closure will be posted regularly on the project’s website.
The city alerted local residents to the traffic issue with mailings and street side signs. But “The WeHoans” is an effort to reach another of WeHo’s diverse audiences that is more likely to respond to social media than mailed announcements. The series has, to date, received a combined total of more than 350,000 views and has generated several media stories about the city’s creative approach to public service announcements.
