Security is very tight on the Paramount Studio tours - you have to book in advance and then when you arrive they can't find your name on the list because they didn't spell it correctly in the first place. That said, it only took about ten minutes to get us through the gate and straight into the cafe/gift shop - where else would a Hollywood tour start? The day was baking hot again so the aircon in the cafe was a relief even though we weren't in the slightest tempted to buy any Marilyn Monroe tea towels (a highly unlikely item for that particular lady I would have thought) or any Hollywood sign fridge magnets. Melissa, our guide, was obviously new at this lark - she started us off with a round the table introduction - name, country, favourite film and favourite tv programme. As there were three boys from France who didn't understand what she was talking about, two New Yorkers who wanted to take over the tour for themselves and me and Neal - who refused to answer any questions directly or sensibly - this was rather an unfortunate beginning. Anyway, following the embarrassing silences, we jumped into our little cart and off we went on a trip into a magical land - or so we thought. It actually turned out to be a little bit on the boring side. Some good initial information about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz who, at one time, lived on the lot and had the back garden of their home reproduced there so that photo opportunities made it look as if they were at home with the kids rather than working all the time - an important thing for Lucy's reputation in the 1950s.
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| Lucille Ball's pretend back garden |
They promise you'll 'walk in the footsteps of legends' but what we actually got was the sound stage for Glee (but we couldn't go in) and something called Big Time Rush, never heard of it, and a tv show called Dr Phill. Melissa wants a job on Dr Phill so we got quite a lot of information on that!
There were some good sets for New York which are apparently also used for London and Paris - which made the French contingent snigger a bit.
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| The sky backdrop is used for continuity rather than a 'real' sky |
This car park was the scene of the waters being parted in the Ten Commandments and was used in a few of the Jaws scenes - although most of those were actually done at sea.
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According to Melissa, Tom Hanks still gets dressed up as Forrest Gump and sits on the bench handing out chocolates to the tour visitors - not on our day though....
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Following all that excitement, we thought a little trip next door to Hollywood Forever would be in order. If there is such a thing as a great cemetary, then this is it.
http://www.hollywoodforever.com/.
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| Douglas Fairbanks and DF Junior |
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| Johnny Ramone |
Writers, directors, and performers are buried here - most of which we missed. Another case of not doing enough homework beforehand. I did try to find Rudolph Valentino but he proved as elusive as ever. Not even a lady in black to follow.
The original Jewish part of the cemetary is very social, with people sitting around and spending time by the grave sides and peacocks wandering freely. Most people have added benches or chairs by the graves and during the summer, movies are screened at the cemetery at a gathering called Cinespia. Thousands of people come with beach chairs, blankets, and food to view films projected onto the side of one of the buildings.
We had lunch at Cafe 101 attached to the hotel (retro diner style)
and then headed off to Griffith Park without any real expectations as we knew the observatory would be closed. It's an amazing space with beautiful views of LA and the surrounding hills. A true surprise and well worth the visit...
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| It's a way off, but there's just no getting away from it |
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