I am now in America after filming an adaptation of 'Cast Away' in Rarotonga. The flight was 9.5 hours which was my longest so far. I surprisingly managed to get some sleep though, which made it go far quicker. I got to LA and immediately I was happy with the climate. It was far cooler and I could actually wear jeans again. Small pleasures. I took a 'super shuttle' from the airport straight to my hotel which cost me $16 (Of course it didn't... that's not including the tip...*cough* Tax. *cough*. More on this later.) It was outside the super shuttle bay at the airport I met the first individual who thought he belonged on 'The Wire'. It was like 'Bubba' from Baltimore was running the shuttles. Still, he got me on the right bus so I can't complain. Apologies if you have no idea what I am talking about. Although, watch it. Best TV show ever! Anyway, back to my riveting blog.
My hotel is set right in the heart of Hollywood. I love the location of it. It's about a 3 minute walk to Hollywood Boulevard. Outside my hotel I can just about get a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign in the top of the hills. This was the most expensive accommodation I booked, but with LA being so vast, I wanted a good location that I could walk to places on foot... The 'Walk of Fame' is just around the corner too. I didn't realise there were 2,400 of them! The hotel room is very nice compared to what I have been used to. My own bathroom... What a luxury. I got excited there was a fridge. Haven't used it. Anyway, I unpacked some stuff and then found out something pretty huge. The shuttle driver told me I may have to walk some of the way to my hotel as the road was shut. I just accepted what he said and thought nothing of it. As we approached I could see that the main road was shut for quite a distance to vehicles. Strange, I thought. Then, after switching on the TV and talking to Mum back home, I established; completely by luck and chance, that I had arrived in LA the exact day of the 2013 Oscar Academy Awards! Not only that, the theatre it was taking place was a 10 minute walk from the hotel... I got changed, abandoned the shower I had planned, googled mapped the Dolby Theatre and then legged it down there! The streets were packed full of tourists, but also camera's and news channels reporting and conducting interviews. I passed a huge demonstration by mostly students, complaining about 'indie' film companies and they're funding etc. I didn't really know what they were banging on about.
Walking along Hollywood Boulevard, I was quickly made aware that America has some really strange people. I know London does too, but they are on another level here in LA. There's also a lot of poverty about, with people begging everywhere. So called 'next big things' hand you a "free" CD and then ask for a tip. I walked several blocks before hitting a dead end. The police had blocked off the road to pedestrians 1 block before the theatre. So I wasn't going to be seeing all the stars... Apparently you needed to buy tickets for that. However, I was stopped at the very point that cars pulled up and were searched by the LAPD. The biggest celebrity I saw was Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones in their car, as it was searched and scanned with a huge metal detector. They did a quick wave to the crowd before continuing down the road. Apart from them, the people arriving now were secondary/small actors or crew members. The big stars apparently enter via Limo's from the other end and with no public view. The atmosphere on the street however, was really special. Bars and restaurants were hosting 'Oscar' nights and were showing it on TV screens. Every now and then you would hear a huge, huge roar of the crowd that were just one block away, as a celeb got out of their car. The crowds were huge but at one point I got a glimpse of the red carpet, but I couldn't make out who was on it. After taking in the vibe and wandering around for a while, I thought it was probably wise to grab some food and go and watch it on TV in my room. I visited the local cafe to my hotel, and then watched the Oscars. There was something very strange watching it, knowing it was about a mile away from me! I won't ever forget it... Another slice of luck is that I watched 'Argo' on the plane to LA, and it won best picture! I love Ben Affleck, wish I could have given him a pat on the back.
So yesterday morning, I thought it would be wise to try and get to the Dolby Theatre now the Oscars were finished. Success! The street was open to pedestrians, although some areas were still cordoned off as they were taking things down etc. I walked straight into the lobby, just as the celebrities had done hours before. I was just missing the read carpet. I walked up the stairs and looked out to the side to see the big pillars showing the 'Best Picture' of that particular year. At the top of the stairs, I saw 2012 with Argo already written beneath... They have prepared well, as there are empty slots up to the year 2071! At the top of the stairs, I peered through the entrance to the theatre, but could only see stairs. The stairs led to the main theatre where the show actually took place, but I wasn't able to see it. I was hoping that one well known star had got drunk, passed out at the venue and was still hanging about, but it wasn't to be. Not even Charlie Sheen or Mel Gibson. Doubt they were invited. To the right of the tall stairs was a whole complex of restaurants and shops! To the left was the 'Chinese Theatre' which held premieres of films. Jack the giant slayer was today I believe. At the entrance of the theatre are handprints of famous actors and actresses' moulded into the cement. I saw Robert Downey Jr, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine, to name a few. Further into the complex was a set of bridges connecting the two sides, which gave you great views of the Hollywood sign. Located at the top of the complex and next to the Dolby Theatre was the official room of the official Oscars after party, 'The Governors Ball'. Also, on the other side of the street, dead opposite was the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' building, which broadcasts all his shows. It was really cool to walk around the whole area and get a feel for it, even if it had been done the night before. They were still talking down lights, huge gold sheets, flowers, the lot. Outside the theatre, people were dressed as characters from films. My absolute favourite was a man dressed as Bane from Batman. He even looked like Tom Hardy... AND he has the mask... AND it changed his voice too... AND I was jealous. I really want one. Only thing is, Bane is a tank of a man and I'm not exactly a big guy. Ahh well, the mask will do me.
I have wandered Hollywood Boulevard from top to bottom (it's a long stretch!). I had my first experience of PopEye's chicken. Supposedly better than KFC. No, wrong. I have also walked some of Sunset Boulevard which boasts some pretty impressive shops. My favourite being a huge record store. It was what record stores should be, not like a particular one I can think of back home. The name escapes me... It had rows and rows of vinyl, which I browsed through. I saw Wu Lyf's album and had to stop myself. It had sections for pretty niche stuff e.g ska, black metal, house music, electronica, punk etc. The shop was covered in posters and merch and it felt fun to be in there. Didn't see any technology products... How can a record store not sell technology? Strange... Then obviously haven't done their homework. Irony...
So today I did the grand tour of LA, which cost me $70. The tour took up pretty much the whole day. I had to book this as LA is a very big area covering many miles. Without a car, I would have been unable to see Beverly Hills or Downtown LA for example. The first stop was the Hollywood Bowl... A very cool music venue which is unique in the sense that it is built in a canyon. This gives it naturally good acoustics, making it an ideal venue. The benches were set back pretty step and it holds 18,000. I found it pretty different to any venue I have seen. Apparently the sound is incredible and it stays within the canyon, keeping it pure and rich. We moved on to parts of Hollywood that I had already seen e.g Dolby Theatre/Walk of fame. The bus then moved along though West Hollywood with the guide telling us endless stories of things that happened in particular bars, or movies that had filmed in particular locations along the road. There were too many to remember but my favourite was when he told me about a typical fried chicken fast food joint on the corner of a street. He told us that was where a man got his first job after moving to Hollywood. He dressed up in a chicken suit and persuaded passers by to come in. The man didn't want the job, but he wanted the Hollywood dream to happen and he felt he had to start somewhere. That man was Brad Pitt. I also learnt where Jim Carrey first stayed when he came to Hollywood; where Marilyn Monroe met one of her husbands; where River Phoenix died; where parts of Pretty Woman were filmed (amongst countless other films). Before too long we had arrived at Beverly Hills... Home to many celebrities and the rich. Although I didn't see any homes of the famous (seperate tour for this...money grabbers...), I could see the homes looked amazing. The further up the hills you go, the more expensive they are apparently. Each road was lined with different trees. One road has palm trees, one sycamore for example. It was immaculately clean.
We then hit Rodeo Drive... Without doubt the poshest and most affluent shopping street I have ever seen. This is a popular street for the famous to come and shop, but I wasn't lucky enough to see anyone. The tour guide told me that sometimes traffic comes to a standstill as photographers will actually jump out of there cars (whilst in traffic!) and run to get a good shot of a celeb. They will have to be quick as it is illegal and the cops are often called! They know that if they get a good shot, it could make them a fortune with some luck. I walked down Rodeo Drive and took in the atmosphere. It was pretty quite here... Almost as if it was only for the rich. We stopped for lunch at the Falmers Market and the 'Grove'. The former being exactly that, a huge market of food stalls. The latter was a shopping centre and long stretch of outdoor shops. I had a couple of slices of pizza and a classic American doughnut before watching some of the Barca v Madrid match. That didn't go well! So I returned to the bus to move on. I won't drag it out much longer, but I saw the oldest street in LA, as well as Downtown areas including Paramount Studios, The Staples Center which hosts LA Lakers matches as well as other events. I also saw the building which hosts the Emmy Awards and the Grammy Awards. Downtown LA is the only area in LA which has tall buildings. The guide said that often it is used by production companies to shoot 'city' scenes, sometimes even pretending to be New York or Washington. In a slightly less built up area for example, CSI New York is filmed. In LA! Also, one of the ramps Batman rolls up in his Batmobile in Dark Knight Rises, we drove straight across! Some of Gotham City is LA! After a whole day sight-seeing, I have certainly forgotten some of the interesting facts i was told along the way. All in all it was a really worthwhile trip as I saw things I could never have seen without a car. LA has so much history. All of it is film orientated of course. I recommend anyone into film, has to come here. It has so much to offer.
I know this has been one incredibly long blog, but I have seen and learnt so much in two days! I will save my debate on the US tipping debacle for another time. LA is such a huge place but Hollywood is my favourite part out of what I have seen. It has it's rough areas and is by no means quite as perfect as you would imagine, but it has a great vibe as you would expect. It really is such an experience to come here. All I need now is Randy Jackson off American Idol to pop out and shout 'WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD MAN!'.
