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This month continues to defy the calendar, with over 4,400 record highs stretching from the northern US border to the south since February 1. In that same timeframe, only 29 record lows have been recorded.

The trees are responding accordingly -- to the weather, that is, not the calendar -- and are producing leaves as far north as The District of Columbia. According to the USA National Phenology Network, spring is arriving a full three weeks early. Call it Februmarch.

Spring weather = spring storms

With spring-like weather comes spring-like storms, and Friday will bring severe weather across the Great Lakes. The Storm Prediction Center has issued an "enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms from Southern Lower Michigan across Eastern Indiana and Western Ohio to North Central Kentucky."

Severe storms in the Midwest and Ohio Valley normally do not occur until March or April. In fact, the National Weather Service in Detroit has never issued a tornado warning in the month of February.

February would normally feature a snowy landscape and the Great Lakes covered with abundant ice. But not this year. As of Wednesday, 0% of the Midwest had snow cover, and only 7% of the Great Lakes featured ice (normal for the date would be about 40%).

Winter returns? Only briefly

The heat of "Februmarch" will peak across the eastern half of the country on Friday, as southerly winds ahead of the storm system moving across the Great Lakes pull up warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. According to Ryan Maue, a meteorologist with WeatherBell Analytics, high temperature records will be set Friday from Tallahassee, Florida, all the way up to Flint, Michigan.

A cold front will push across the eastern portion of the country on Saturday and bring the temperatures back to seasonal norms for the rest of the weekend, but spring-like weather will return next week.

High temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average will return for the final day of the month, reaching 70 degrees as far north as Richmond, Virginia. It will be a fittingly warm end to "Februmarch."

CNN's Judson Jones contributed to this report.

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This month continues to defy the calendar, with over 4,400 record highs stretching from the northern US border to the south since February 1. In that same timeframe, only 29 record lows have been recorded. The trees are responding accordingly -- to the weather, that is, not the calendar -- and are producing leaves as far north as The District of Columbia.

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Authorities in South Carolina say a father of five has been killed after a driver plowed into the bedroom of his home.

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Authorities in South Carolina say a father of five has been killed after a driver plowed into the bedroom of his home.

Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore tells local news outlets the man and one of his teenage children were asleep in a bedroom at around 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Gary Miller says 19-year-old Austin Burdette's SUV went off the road and hit a sign, a hydrant and went up an embankment before hitting the home.
DRUNKEN DRIVER GETS 3 MONTHS IN PRISON AFTER DEADLY CRASH
Authorities say the man's wife was at work when the crash happened. Four other children in the home weren't injured.

The man's name hasn't been released.

Burdette has been charged with felony DUI, and it wasn't known if he had an attorney.

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South Carolina father of 5 dies when car plows into his house

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Authorities in South Carolina say a father of five has been killed after a driver plowed into the bedroom of his home. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore tells local news outlets the man and one of his teenage children were asleep in a bedroom at around 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

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Andy Sandness received a near-full face transplant after shooting himself in the face in a suicide attempt.

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The weather this month has set over 50 records

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father of five is killed when a truck plows through his bedroom

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Authorities in South Carolina say a father of five has been killed after a driver plowed into the bedroom of his home.

Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore tells local news outlets the man and one of his teenage children were asleep in a bedroom at around 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Gary Miller says 19-year-old Austin Burdette's SUV went off the road and hit a sign, a hydrant and went up an embankment before hitting the home.
DRUNKEN DRIVER GETS 3 MONTHS IN PRISON AFTER DEADLY CRASH
Authorities say the man's wife was at work when the crash happened. Four other children in the home weren't injured.

The man's name hasn't been released.

Burdette has been charged with felony DUI, and it wasn't known if he had an attorney.

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South Carolina father of 5 dies when car plows into his house

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Authorities in South Carolina say a father of five has been killed after a driver plowed into the bedroom of his home. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore tells local news outlets the man and one of his teenage children were asleep in a bedroom at around 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

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Its national Tortilla chip date

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This month continues to defy the calendar, with over 4,400 record highs stretching from the northern US border to the south since February 1. In that same timeframe, only 29 record lows have been recorded.

The trees are responding accordingly -- to the weather, that is, not the calendar -- and are producing leaves as far north as The District of Columbia. According to the USA National Phenology Network, spring is arriving a full three weeks early. Call it Februmarch.

Spring weather = spring storms

With spring-like weather comes spring-like storms, and Friday will bring severe weather across the Great Lakes. The Storm Prediction Center has issued an "enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms from Southern Lower Michigan across Eastern Indiana and Western Ohio to North Central Kentucky."

Severe storms in the Midwest and Ohio Valley normally do not occur until March or April. In fact, the National Weather Service in Detroit has never issued a tornado warning in the month of February.

February would normally feature a snowy landscape and the Great Lakes covered with abundant ice. But not this year. As of Wednesday, 0% of the Midwest had snow cover, and only 7% of the Great Lakes featured ice (normal for the date would be about 40%).

Winter returns? Only briefly

The heat of "Februmarch" will peak across the eastern half of the country on Friday, as southerly winds ahead of the storm system moving across the Great Lakes pull up warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. According to Ryan Maue, a meteorologist with WeatherBell Analytics, high temperature records will be set Friday from Tallahassee, Florida, all the way up to Flint, Michigan.

A cold front will push across the eastern portion of the country on Saturday and bring the temperatures back to seasonal norms for the rest of the weekend, but spring-like weather will return next week.

High temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average will return for the final day of the month, reaching 70 degrees as far north as Richmond, Virginia. It will be a fittingly warm end to "Februmarch."

CNN's Judson Jones contributed to this report.

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This month continues to defy the calendar, with over 4,400 record highs stretching from the northern US border to the south since February 1. In that same timeframe, only 29 record lows have been recorded. The trees are responding accordingly -- to the weather, that is, not the calendar -- and are producing leaves as far north as The District of Columbia.

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J.C. Penny closes up to 140 stores

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An underground network of homes named the Rapid Response Team is ready to provide refuge to people who may be sought by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Underground home network to house immigrants - CNN Video

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An underground network of homes named the Rapid Response Team is ready to provide refuge to people who may be sought by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.

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Andy Sandness received a near-full face transplant after shooting himself in the face in a suicide attempt.

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Man gets face transplant after suicide attempt - CNN Video

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Andy Sandness received a near-full face transplant after shooting himself in the face in a suicide attempt.

# data[].attributes.body
South Carolina father of 5 dies when car plows into his house

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Authorities in South Carolina say a father of five has been killed after a driver plowed into the bedroom of his home.

Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore tells local news outlets the man and one of his teenage children were asleep in a bedroom at around 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Gary Miller says 19-year-old Austin Burdette's SUV went off the road and hit a sign, a hydrant and went up an embankment before hitting the home.
DRUNKEN DRIVER GETS 3 MONTHS IN PRISON AFTER DEADLY CRASH
Authorities say the man's wife was at work when the crash happened. Four other children in the home weren't injured.

The man's name hasn't been released.

Burdette has been charged with felony DUI, and it wasn't known if he had an attorney.

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South Carolina father of 5 dies when car plows into his house

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Authorities in South Carolina say a father of five has been killed after a driver plowed into the bedroom of his home. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore tells local news outlets the man and one of his teenage children were asleep in a bedroom at around 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

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Brooksville police arrested a man they say was swinging swords at customers in Walmart on Broad Street. The responding officers were called by the store's manager, who said someone was threatening customers in the parking lot.

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Brooksville police arrested a man they say was swinging swords at customers in Walmart on Broad Street.

The responding officers were called by the store's manager, who said someone was threatening customers in the parking lot.

When they got there, they found Shannon Schenck carrying two swords and appearing to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the police department said.

Several witnesses told officers Schenck had "assumed a fighting stance and unsheathed the swords in a threatening manner while approaching customers exiting their vehicles."

Officers also found less than 20 grams of marijuana on Schenck, as well as a glass pipe with marijuana residue.
Read more at FOX13News.com.

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Sword-wielding felon threatens customers in parking lot of Florida Walmart

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Brooksville police arrested a man they say was swinging swords at customers in Walmart on Broad Street. The responding officers were called by the store's manager, who said someone was threatening customers in the parking lot. When they got there, they found Shannon Schenck carrying two swords and appearing to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the police department said.

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A “radical” campaign is underway in France to make Barack Obama the next French president – despite at least one glaring obstacle to the move: he’s not a French citizen.

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A "radical" campaign is underway in France to make Barack Obama the next French president - despite at least one glaring obstacle to the move: he's not a French citizen.

The political drive is aiming to collect one million voting pledges for the former US president and Nobel prize winner by March 15, and is being pushed with a series of 'Obama 17' posters across Paris.

A website dedicated to the cause states that "Barack Obama has the best resume in the world for the job," and urges radical thinking from the electorate: "To launch this 6th Republic, we wish to strike a blow by electing a foreign President at the head of our beautiful country."

The statement goes on to explain that this is a fight back against the growth of extreme right parties in the country.
READ MORE: Marine Le Pen is now leading among French voters - poll
"Because at a time when France is about to vote massively for the extreme right, we can still give a lesson of democracy to the planet by electing a French President, a foreigner," the campaign urges.

The group is also calling on the mayors of the country to vouch their support for the long-shot candidate.

Of course, the tiny problem of Obama not having French citizenship prevents the former US leader from standing in the presidential election. Even if this wasn't an issue, it appears that after two terms in the White House the former US commander-in-chief is enjoying some down time.

The French presidential election kicks off with the first round on April 23. If no candidate wins an outright majority, a run-off election between the top two candidates would take place on May 7.
READ MORE: Police search Le Pen's National Front HQ over alleged misuse of EU funds

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Yes we can? Petition launched for Obama 2017 French presidential campaign

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A "radical" campaign is underway in France to make Barack Obama the next French president - despite at least one glaring obstacle to the move: he's not a French citizen. The political drive is aiming to collect one million voting pledges for the former US president and Nobel prize winner by March 15, and is being pushed with a series of 'Obama 17' posters across Paris.

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only one additional accuser can testify with bill cosby.

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bill cosby trial: judge rules only one additional accuser may testify  - cnn

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Judge rules only one additional accuser may testify at Cosby trial

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In a victory for Bill Cosby, a Pennsylvania judge Friday ordered that only one additional accuser will be allowed to testify in his upcoming criminal sexual assault trial to demonstrate the comedian's alleged pattern of criminal conduct.

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What happened to winter?:It's 60 degrees at 8 a.m., and it already feels too hot for jeans. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, there is a noticeable layer of pollen on cars -- and it's still February!

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This month continues to defy the calendar, with over 4,400 record highs stretching from the northern US border to the south since February 1. In that same timeframe, only 29 record lows have been recorded.

The trees are responding accordingly -- to the weather, that is, not the calendar -- and are producing leaves as far north as The District of Columbia. According to the USA National Phenology Network, spring is arriving a full three weeks early. Call it Februmarch.

Spring weather = spring storms

With spring-like weather comes spring-like storms, and Friday will bring severe weather across the Great Lakes. The Storm Prediction Center has issued an "enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms from Southern Lower Michigan across Eastern Indiana and Western Ohio to North Central Kentucky."

Severe storms in the Midwest and Ohio Valley normally do not occur until March or April. In fact, the National Weather Service in Detroit has never issued a tornado warning in the month of February.

February would normally feature a snowy landscape and the Great Lakes covered with abundant ice. But not this year. As of Wednesday, 0% of the Midwest had snow cover, and only 7% of the Great Lakes featured ice (normal for the date would be about 40%).

Winter returns? Only briefly

The heat of "Februmarch" will peak across the eastern half of the country on Friday, as southerly winds ahead of the storm system moving across the Great Lakes pull up warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. According to Ryan Maue, a meteorologist with WeatherBell Analytics, high temperature records will be set Friday from Tallahassee, Florida, all the way up to Flint, Michigan.

A cold front will push across the eastern portion of the country on Saturday and bring the temperatures back to seasonal norms for the rest of the weekend, but spring-like weather will return next week.

High temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average will return for the final day of the month, reaching 70 degrees as far north as Richmond, Virginia. It will be a fittingly warm end to "Februmarch."

CNN's Judson Jones contributed to this report.

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This month continues to defy the calendar, with over 4,400 record highs stretching from the northern US border to the south since February 1. In that same timeframe, only 29 record lows have been recorded. The trees are responding accordingly -- to the weather, that is, not the calendar -- and are producing leaves as far north as The District of Columbia.

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A transgender teen boy had to wrestle girls.

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Its Floyd Mayweather Jrs birthday.

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Demonstrator takes Confederate flag on live TV.

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Demonstrator takes Confederate flag on live TV - CNN Video

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A Black Lives Matter demonstrator was grabbed a Confederate flag from a member of the South Carolina Secessionist Party outside the College of Charleston.

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Man opens fire at a bar in Olathe Kansas. He killed 1 man and injured 2. Police think it might be a hate crime since they men were Indian.

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kansas shooting: widow of indian man calls for hate crime action - cnn

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Kansas shooting: Widow of Indian man calls for hate crime action

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The FBI has joined an investigation to determine whether a shooting that killed one man and injured two others at a crowded bar in Kansas is a hate crime.

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For decades, going to the movies has given people a two-hour escape from the daily news cycle. But at the Academy Awards -- the pinnacle event in Hollywood -- winners on occasion have used the platform to bring attention to political issues.

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For decades, going to the movies has given people a two-hour escape from the daily news cycle. But at the Academy Awards -- the pinnacle event in Hollywood -- winners on occasion have used the platform to bring attention to political issues.

Interested in Oscars?

Add Oscars as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Oscars news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

ABC News film critic Peter Travers predicts this year will "be the most political year of the Academy Awards ever."

When did the Oscars become so political?

1973

Hollywood insiders often point to the 1973 Oscars as the precursor to political speeches.

That year Marlon Brando asked Sacheen Littlefeather, the president of National Native American Affirmative Image Committee, to attend the Oscars on his behalf.

Littlefeather told the audience "that [Brando] very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award" because of "the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry" and "recent happenings" at Wounded Knee Creek, on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Weeks before the awards show, protesters at Wounded Knee called for the resignation of tribal council president Richard Wilson, whom they accused of corruption, and for the U.S. government to reexamine treaties with Native Americans.

Her comments were met by applause and boos. She said she hoped her speech wouldn't "intrude" on the night.

After Littlefeather's speech, "everybody at the time was wildly upset" because they felt politics and Hollywood should be separate, Travers said.

1978

In 1978 Vanessa Redgrave was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in "Julia," in which she played an anti-Nazi activist. Redgrave, an outspoken supporter of the Palestinians, had narrated and helped fund the documentary "The Palestinian" which supported a Palestinian state, according to The Associated Press.

When Redgrave stepped on stage to accept her award, she praised the Academy for its support.

"I salute you ... and I think you should be very proud that in the last few weeks you've stood firm, and you have refused to be intimated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums," Redgrave said to the crowd as the Academy members booed.

Without pausing, Redgrave continued, "Whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and to their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression."

"And I salute that record, and I salute all of you, for having stood firm and having dealt a final blow against that period when Nixon and McCarthy launched a worldwide witch-hunt," she said, which was met with more boos. "Against those who tried to express in their lives and their work the truth that they believed in. I salute you and I thank you and I pledge to you that I will continue to fight against antisemitism and fascism."

When Redgrave was first nominated, she was "opposed very aggressively by Jewish groups because of her support of Palestinians," said Akira Mizuta Lippit, vice dean of faculty at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Supporters of the Jewish Defense League picketed outside the awards ceremony and burned an effigy of Redgrave.

"There was a large protest," Lippit told ABC News. "And she spoke out against the protest and praised the Academy for moving forward with her nomination."

Travers said Redgrave "called it as she saw it ... she called people 'hoodlums' -- she was angry, there were protesters outside" and she resented that they were carrying placards against her because of her position on Palestinians.

But "there was tremendous backlash at the time for her having anything political to say," Travers said.

Lippit said Redgrave faced so much backlash after that speech because her fellow Academy members thought it was "inappropriate to take a political stance at a ceremonial event like this."

But "in many ways [it] served as a catalyst because it really opened up the question ... what are the limits?" he added.

1999

Director Elia Kazan was given an honorary Academy Award in 1999, decades after his involvement with The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) -- a group in the 1950s that investigated Americans suspected of having Communist ties.

If an actor or writer proffered names of people who were involved in "leftist, socialist activities," Lippit explained, that person "would be allowed to continue and resume" their career. If someone refused, that individual could become blacklisted from Hollywood. Many, like Kazan, likely provided names to protect themselves, Lippit said.

Kazan never apologized for his actions and "became a pariah for many people," Lippit said. The honorary Academy Award "was a big debate" that "really divided the community."

Some, like Warren Beatty, were supportive, Lippit said, and "felt [Kazan] should be recognized for the work he accomplished as a director." Others, however, felt that "you could not forgive a man who had betrayed others in the profession in order to save himself."

Lippit said Kagan's situation presented an interesting dilemma in Hollywood.

"It really raises the question: if one can completely quarantine politics from entertainment and whether that's even a valid question. Is entertainment, as we define it, something that needs to be kept strictly segregated from the social, political world ... when in fact entertainment reflects in many cases the world that we live in, or the world that we have lived in," he explained.

The trend of political speeches continued through the years. Halle Berry proclaimed her best actress win symbolically opened the door for other African American actresses in the industry while Michael Moore focused his 2003 Oscar speech on bashing President George W. Bush and the Iraq War.

In 2009, when Dustin Lance Black won best original screenplay for "Milk," he said the story of gay rights activist Harvey Milk gave him hope as a teen.

"If Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago," Black said in his speech, "I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, or by the government, or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value. And that no matter what anyone tells you God does love you, and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours."

More recently climate change has become a hot topic at the Oscars.

Best actor winner Leonardo DiCaprio pleaded for action on climate change in his 2016 speech.

"Making 'The Revenant' was about man's relationship to the natural world -- a world we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow," DiCaprio said. "Climate change is real. ... Let us not take this planet for granted, I do not take tonight for granted."

What to expect on Sunday

This year, Travers predicted Mahershala Ali, who is Muslim, will get political if he wins for best supporting actor.

And he may not be the only one. If Viola Davis nabs an Oscar for her performance in "Fences," she "isn't going to mince words about what's going on in her head," noted Travers.

Moreover, Travers believes this year will "be the most political year of the Academy Awards ever" for two reasons: the Trump administration and the #OscarsSoWhite backlash from 2015.

At the Golden Globes in January, Meryl Streep, in her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award, went on the attack against Trump, calling him out (though not by name) for his treatment of a disabled reporter and the press.

Trump later responded by tweeting that Streep was "over-rated" and a "flunky" of Hillary Clinton.

Travers said the criticism of Trump by Hollywood wasn't "name calling."

"They all seem to have an agenda," he said.

Besides tension with Trump, Travers said the Academy is "dealing with their own two-year criticism for not recognizing minorities in any of those major awards."

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs addressed the criticism by making changes to membership policies, which would, she hoped, create more opportunities for minorities.

Do political speeches lead to change?

Ted Johnson, senior editor at Variety, said these speeches can ultimately launch various initiatives.

"Presidential administrations are aware of the ability of the Oscars to be a platform," he told ABC News in an email. "Joe Biden introduced Lady Gaga at last year's Oscars as a way to highlight the problem of sexual assault on college campuses. Ronald Reagan addressed the ceremony by video in 1981, and Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Oscars in 1941."

He also gave the example of Patricia Arquette, who won an Oscar in 2015 for "Boyhood." The publicity following her speech on equal pay for women encouraged one California lawmaker to introduce equal pay legislation in the state. It passed later that year, Johnson noted.

According to Lippit, these speeches "will only have an indirect effect -- on climate change policy, for example -- but they do sometimes have a significant impact on public opinion, which can lead to policy changes."

With 100 million people watching, Travers said, "Would anybody give up the opportunity to get something off their chest? I don't think so."

ABC News' Morgan Korn, Jeff Costello, Lindsey Jacobson, Lesley Messer, Veronica Stracqualursi, Stephanie Ebbs and Stacy Chen contributed to this report.

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This year's Oscars could be the show's most political

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For decades, going to the movies has given people a two-hour escape from the daily news cycle. But at the Academy Awards -- the pinnacle event in Hollywood -- winners on occasion have used the platform to bring attention to political issues.

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Mr. Kohl - “La La Land”…as in the musical, where they tap dance and kinda sing their way through an ode to old Hollywood. It picked up 14 noms.

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Mr. Kohl - “La La Land”…as in the musical, where they tap dance and kinda sing their way through an ode to old Hollywood. It picked up 14 noms.

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Brassy love ballads, Technicolor dialogue, and a smattering of soft-shoe- La La Land had all the makings of a blockbuster, in the 1940s at least. Today, the mass market of moviegoers prefer action to romance, aliens to artists, and above all else the blossoming genre of superhero bros in tights.

It's no surprise that La La Land was a hit with critics and remains the heavy favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Picture on Feb. 26. What's improbable, however, is how widely the film has won favor. Of late, the most critically praised films tended to have little clout with consumers: The Hurt Locker, which won Academy bragging rights in 2009, managed just $17 million in domestic theaters, for example. But La La Land is packing them in like an esoteric jazz club that suddenly becomes the "it" spot. Life, it seems, is following the script.

"We all thought it was going to be something very special," Erik Feig, co-president of the motion picture group at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., said in an interview. "But if you asked any of us if we were going to be approaching $400 million, we would have told you to wake up."

With a win on Sunday and a corresponding bump from Oscar buzz, La La Land will likely become the top-grossing Best Picture since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2003. Going into this weekend, the paean to the city of angels had garnered $135 million in domestic theaters and an additional $206 million abroad.

And there are a few weeks left in its theater run-possibly more if it wins. On top of that, the film has only been showing in China, the world's No. 2 movie market, since Feb. 14.

This dreamy run, however, is no happy accident. It's the product of a string of savvy, somewhat counter-intuitive decisions. In Hollywood, Lions Gate is best known as a bit of a value investor. It generally backs small- to mid-sized films that have "breakout potential." It also spreads the risk by bringing in financing partners and lowers its costs by occasionally giving major talent a cut of the profits.

Instead of the Marvel comic book catalog, it snapped up the Hunger Games series. Rather than Star Wars, it has Power Rangers. To be sure, Lions Gate has had its flops. Its Divergent series has managed only a shadow of the success of Hunger Games. But over time, Feig said, the company has improved its decision-making to the point that 70 percent of its films are profitable.

In terms of investing, Lions Gate has a few simple rules-rules that apply to any business looking to stand out in a crowd. Work with talented people, protect their vision, and don't try to please everyone.

"Most of our films, in some ways, are contrarian bets," Feig said. "We're programmatically oriented to embrace the fact that something is different because we want to give the audience the pleasure of discovering something new."

As a general proposition, he explained, consumers often have no idea what they really want.

The company's La La Land courtship began at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, when Damien Chazelle premiered Whiplash, his breakout hit about a drumming phenom clashing with a mercurial conductor. Lions Gate tried to buy the distribution rights but lost out to Sony. It did hit it off with Chazelle, however. "We asked him what he wanted to do next and he said, kind of sheepishly 'a musical,'" Feig recalled. "We were like, 'Great!' And he was like, 'Really?'" A musical these days is a seemingly foolish bet, but it does fall squarely in the camp of not trying to please everybody.

Early in production, Lions Gate made a second illogical move: It encouraged Chazelle, the writer and director, to spend more money than he had originally planned-about $30 million. With it, they were able to afford more expensive lead actors in Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, as well as blowing out a few scenes, namely the intro montage, which involved closing a Los Angeles interstate in the middle of the day. "We thought there was a chance we could get a rebate from the city for that, which I should note we didn't," Feig said.

Photographer: Dale Robinette/Lionsgate

The scene did, however, secure financing from Black Label Media. "We just loved what we saw," said Joseph Cohen, whose American Entertainment Investors consulted on the deal. "We figured it could have big commercial appeal, though a musical with a budget over $30 million was not a slam dunk."

Spending big where it matters is another thing Lions Gate has fine-tuned over the years. "You pick your moments," said Basil Iwanyk, whose Thunder Road Pictures produced both John Wick films, Sicario, and a string of other movies distributed by Lions Gate. "When you spend your resources in those certain spots and really deliver, the movie is going to feel a lot bigger than the budget is," he said. 1

Finally, Lions Gate was realistic about its audience. When judging a project's potential, the company tries to picture two consumers: the most likely fan-in this case, Broadway junkies-and a second, wider demographic that might get sucked in. For La La Land, the company was hoping for couples and older women. The film, it turns out, over-performed on all fronts.

Some 36 percent of La La Land viewers are male, according to survey data from comScore and Screen Engine LLC, and the audience is almost perfectly balanced by age, with about a quarter of viewers under 25 and a quarter over 55. Abroad, La La Land has garnered almost twice as much ticket revenue as the next-closest nominee, Hacksaw Ridge. The French, in particular, are gaga over it.

In short, the return on investment on a singing Gosling has been surprisingly good and is getting better by the day. Iwanyk said films that cost from $30 million to $50 million are becoming a sweet spot for the industry. The biggest studios-squarely focused on potential blockbusters-aren't bothering. Yet, as the industry launches one breakout after the next, investors have come clamoring. "Honestly, it's a seller's market," he said. "The upside is ginormous and the downside is relatively light."

Cohen, a former investment banker, agreed. There's more money and more potential buyers in the independent film market than he's ever seen before. "It's the opposite of just doing the next giant shark movie," he said. "Because, at some point, the next shark movie won't work."

For Hollywood, La La Land represents a new script for success, and its legacy will be that precious currency: optimism. Studio executives who spend their days modeling projected cash flows the way junior investment bankers do long into the night will be slightly more inclined to go all gauzy-eyed and think: "Maybe, just maybe, I can make it."

"The only risk you can take these days is not taking a risk," Feig said.

Of course, it doesn't always equal reward, as that old saw can be misleading. But sometimes, if the stars align, it can be commensurate-and then some.

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Why La La Land Worked Better Than Anyone Dreamed

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Brassy love ballads, Technicolor dialogue, and a smattering of soft-shoe- La La Land had all the makings of a blockbuster, in the 1940s at least. Today, the mass market of moviegoers prefer action to romance, aliens to artists, and above all else the blossoming genre of superhero bros in tights.