Once the show was over I made my way to Hollywood and Highland to see what was happening. The crowd isn't anywhere as big as it was before and I made it to the corner only to find a double chain link fence. to shoot pictures through. (note to self.....get a camera with manual focus) Security is Still tight and they use those wand things to make sure nobody's armed.
As the guest stand around a wait for their limos, 2 men stand in the middle of the intersection with bull horns and yell out the numbers of each car that pulls up. It may not be efficient but it seems to be the only option.
Not far away Fox Searchlight was having an after party so I waited out side for an hour and the highlight was a Great pair of Christian Louboutan shoes and Matthew Lillard (not at the same time).
All in all it was a Great week and maybe next year I can finally get into the Red Carpet Bleachers. Oscar is gone for now and life in Hollywood returns to normal (whatever that is).
Go here for the pictures.
This morning before my Dearly Departed Tour I wanted to catch Hollywood Blvd. before it got all crazy and they closed off everything.
The Boulevard is closed to all traffic for 10 blocks with 4 check points prior to the Red Carpet. The final being a short maze of concrete and through a metal gate that flips up in about 2 seconds in case of terrorists.
Once the tour ended I headed to find out what was available as far as viewing anything. Instead of staying in one spot I thought it best to walk around the entire perimeter of what was off limits.
First my own corner at Cherokee this is the last of the check points, the first 3 are just showing the tag in the window, this is the search under the cars with the Bomb Squad.
Everyone, even the Limos. Chain link fence lines the street and this year they were very picky about letting people up to the actual corner of Hollywood and Highland, so I got what I could and moved on to Highland and Sunset 'cause that's where the Real limos go.
The westboro baptist church was there and this is my first actual encounter with these "christians" and thankfully they were drowned out by by the normal people. For those of you not from the United States, this is a (In My Opinion) group of christians who are, to use a term that Scott Michaels uses from time to time, "Crazy as a rat in a coffee can". You can look them up if you want but I will not provide a link for obvious reasons.
The rest was somewhat uneventful although seeing the FBI Bomb Squad was cool.
I've gotta get back out now that my camera is recharged and check out the after party.
More later, I hope you enjoy. The rest of the pictures are here.
In 1953 the 25th Academy Awards were televised for the 1st time from the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and the NBC International Theatre in New York and for the next five years the telecast was divided between both coasts.
The Oscars are seen by 40 million people in the US alone and countless millions around the globe.
With all the cameras everywhere you may notice, There is NO Free advertising at the Academy awards, so any signs have to be covered in a neutral grey, that way you won't notice them.
Once the Celebs exit their limos at Hollywood and Highland and before hitting the Red Carpet they enter a sort of Quonset Hut, what they don't show on TV is they go through metal detectors, then it's Lights, Camera, Oscar.
More Pictures Here
Preparations move pretty fast as Sunday approaches and a variety of things happen all around the area at the same time.
Security is very tight and while the bleachers and lighting go up so do the concrete barriers and a small city behind the El Capitan Theatre
for media and the set pieces.
Today while I was giving my Dearly Departed Tour the Red Carpet went down, leading up to the grand staircase. It is covered in plastic (you know, like that aunt you have that has plastic over ALL of her furniture) so the public can walk over it and get the "feel" of what the stars feel.
Between Hollywood Blvd. and Hollywood High School is a large parking area that becomes "Oscarville". One side is the International Broadcast Center and the other is the Red Carpet set getting ready for the world.
These are the Oscars that will be placed along the Red Carpet.
Meanwhile the members of the media are becoming more visible trying to get the "perfect shot" and interviewing the average man on the street.
More Pictures Here.
Well it's Oscar time here in Hollywood and that means closing Hollywood Blvd. and welcoming every television Channel on earth!
This Sunday The Academy Awards will be given out at the Kodak Theatre.
In the past they would close the street about 3 or 4 weeks ahead of time but, now that they have down to 1 week, it seems the Oscars may move out of the Kodak.
So if it's a last Hurrah, I should show what happens that you don't get to see on TV.
It all starts with removing the light poles.
That's a 2 day thing. Watch Hollywood Blvd. from here.
Then the bleachers to hold the hundreds of fans. If you ever wanted to be one of the lucky ones. You submit your application to the Academy. Bookmark this link and in the middle of Sept. registration opens for 1 week.
Once the street is closed to all traffic, the bridge used by the media for that special look "Down the Red Carpet" is erected.
After the chain link fence is put up to separate the Red Carpet from the real world, the place looks like a prison.
It's too early in the week for any outside media, they should start showing up once the carpet is in place. For now the local stations get as much in as they can.
Personally I can't wait for the statues to go up. I will continue to update as the week unfolds.
The Picasa album is here.
In 1896 Griffith J. Griffith (yes, that's his real name) gave the city of Los Angeles 3,015 acres of land called Rancho Los Feliz.
Griffith Park is now over 4000 acres and in upcoming posts I will explore different areas of this amazing place, but for now.......
Fern Dell is a "park" in the park. The area known as Fern Dell is a mix of palms, redwoods, banana trees and of course ferns. As you walk along the meandering creek you forget that you are in LA until the sound of a car, on the other side of the trees, brings you back to reality Walk # 32 of the walking guide "Secret Stairs" is only 2.1 miles long and has only 2 sets of steps, 40 of which go down......
But the ones that go up, go up for 153 steps! There are benches along the way and the coolest turret midway up.
Once out of the park, the walk takes you past Immaculate Heart HS and into a residential area along Franklin Ave. to St. Andrews Place. From there head up the hill to the end where you will see 153 steps which are to the right of the massive home in front of you.
I didn't get a start on this till late afternoon which can be bad for some photos but great for others.
After the midway point the views are amazing.
At the top, Tryon Rd. with incredible homes, one formerly owned by Nicolas Cage, looks like a castle and sold last year for $1,249800.
The Park, the City, the Homes, the Observatory...
Watch out for the coyotes...
The rest of the pictures........here.
As the guest stand around a wait for their limos, 2 men stand in the middle of the intersection with bull horns and yell out the numbers of each car that pulls up. It may not be efficient but it seems to be the only option.
