Nude Alien Invades Venice Boardwalk, Offends Locals

A flesh-eating alien has appeared on the Venice boardwalk. What a surprise.

This time it’s 15 feet high, 11 feet wide, painted on plywood and falls somewhere in the gray zone between art and publicity. And not everybody is happy about it.

“There are too many kids down here, too many families. It’s offensive,” says Howard Gabe, who runs an organic clothing shop in the Cadillac Hotel building.

What bothers him is the lurid nature of the graphic, which features a blood-toned female nude as its central feature. The character is a human-alien hybrid in an upcoming space horror flick.

But wait. If you think that’s gross, how about the squirmy-wormy lettering, not to mention the panoply of movie industry mugs depicted by artist H.R. Giger in a tribute to the film’s creators.

It was Giger who designed the film’s alien antagonists. In the wall piece, he depicts grotesque masks of the producer, director, writer, special effects wizards and other creative types, not excluding himself.

The painting will be up for a month. So far, said Peter Eckert, owner of the hotel, public reaction has been positive, especially from European tourists.

The work “certainly will be a unique addition to the Venice community,” offered Frank Lomento, MGM’s vice president for publicity.

He’s got that right.

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STAFF STUFF: Two weeks after winning Zev Yaroslavsky’s old seat on the Los Angeles City Council, Mike Feuer named a staff that includes one of Yaroslavsky’s veterans along with a raft of newcomers.

Chief of staff will be Jane Blumenfeld, a former planning adviser to former Mayor Tom Bradley. Blumenfeld, who lives near Feuer in the Beverlywood district, has been an independent planning consultant in recent years.

“She has a unique combination of qualifications, having worked in both the public and private sectors and been a longtime resident of the 5th District,” Feuer said.

As chief deputy for legislative and media affairs, Feuer hired Howard Gantman, a former City Hall reporter. Gantman is a former legislative deputy and spokesman for Councilwoman Rita Walters.

Cynthia Corona, who managed Feuer’s successful runoff battle against Yaroslavsky’s wife, Barbara, will be the assistant chief deputy for community affairs.

Rochelle Ventura, a Fairfax district resident, was named chief field deputy for the Westside. She previously directed alcohol, drug and health maintenance programs for Los Angeles County.

The only Yaroslavsky holdover will be executive assistant Margie Anselmo. She held the same position under Yaroslavsky’s predecessor, Ed Edelman.

Somebody’s got to know where they keep the red tape.

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PAR EXCELLENCE: Actor/dad/duffer Rick Hurst recently came through for his son’s elementary school. In a big way.

A recent winner in the Crosby National Celebrity-Amateur Golf Tournament, Hurst donated $12,500 of his winnings to Westwood Charter School, where son Collin is in kindergarten.

Hurst’s contribution, school officials said, will help Westwood Charter get through a particularly tough budget year. Hurst said he made the donation to pay tribute to his son’s teacher, Marie Flores.

It was his way, he said, of telling her thanks.