Hollywood Blog

The dramatic past of the Knickerbocker Hotel

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Some of Hollywood’s hotels can be considered as historical as Hollywood itself — like the Knickerbocker.

It was built in 1925 as a luxury apartment building, and its Renaissance Revival bar was a favorite hang out of the stars. Rudolph Valentino loved to tango here. FIlm director D. W. Griffith spent many hours at the bar, especially after he was “dismissed” by Hollywood after years of pioneering the industry. He was was walking in the lobby when he had a stroke, and died under the huge crystal chandelier.

Another Knickerbocker patron was Frances Farmer, who enjoyed an intense, but brief, career. She appeared in 18 films, three Broadway plays, thirty major radio shows and seven stock company productions, but alcohol, drugs, and weight problems had her career in shambles before she was 28. In 1943 she was arrested while she was at the Knickerbocker, and had to be dragged (half naked) out of her room. Famous costume designer Irene Gibbons also committed suicide here, checking in under another name, then trying to slit her wrists. When that didn’t work she jumped from the window.

The Knickerbocker was also the “lovenest” of William Faulkner and Meta Carpenter, a script girl from the Fox studios, Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio. Other celebrity guests were Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mae West, Lana Turner, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Sinatra, Laurel and Hardy and many others.

The Knickerbocker was also the stage for the last Houdini seance. After an hour, a violent thunderstorm drenched participants and ended their attempts. They later discovered that the storm didn’t occur anywhere else in Hollywood — only above the hotel!

Today a coffee shop called “The All-Star Theatre Café & Speakeasy” stands where the bar used to be, and is frequented by celebrities like Sandra Bullock and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Originally posted on June 23, 2010 @ 1:02 pm

Hollywood Mavericks: Follow Their Lead

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Do you consider yourself to be a maverick? I know a lot of people who do. It does not mean that they become instant successes but they do have a character of their own. In Hollywood, more than in other places, we can find a lot of mavericks. Forbes actually ran a feature article on some of Hollywood’s best known mavericks with this unforgettable lesson: “If you make people money, you can get away with being a maverick in Hollywood. If you don’t, well, that’s another story.”

So who made the list? Here are some of them.

Oliver Stone
He’s cemented his outsider status with a rebellious nature and a penchant for high-minded, controversial films. His work has provocatively depicted American culture, politics and business with Wall Street, Born on the Fourth of July and Natural Born Killers. But his latest film, W, grossed just $10 million during its opening weekend.

Michael Moore
He’s turned controversy into commerce, with documentaries that have explored American health care, the Iraq war, President Bush and gun ownership. But when his 2004 film Fahrenheit 9/11 grossed over $200 million worldwide–though it had a production cost of $6 million–that’s when he became a Hollywood darling. He’ll earn a reported $20 million to do the sequel.

Mel Gibson
Besides being outspoken, they’re adept at manipulating publicity–both positive and negative–to boost their fame, allowing them to work on their own terms. “Celebrities are selling their own brands because it affords them more freedom and they can drive the machine,” Says Levine.

That last description was actually referring not only to Mel Gibson but to other personalities such as Madonna and Kanye West as well. We all know where these people are right now and I think that being mavericks is one big reason that they reached where they are.

Originally posted on June 10, 2011 @ 4:34 am

The secret Hollywood power centers

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There are easier ways to get pictures of celebrities than to crouch hidden in the bushes. Just go to the restaurants where they hang out. Just be prepared to pay — these celebrity hang outs charge an arm and a leg for their food, though (if you’re lucky) the “view” could be excellent.

Some legendary Hollywood hangouts are Chasen’s and Spago’s. This is where A-list celebrities go for a quick lunch between takes, or meet with reporters for their magazine interviews. Restaurants like Morton’s serve as Hollywood’s unofficial power center. Here agents, producers, and other deal-makers negotiate million-dollar deals.

Some, such as the Hotel Bel-Air, entice their wealthy celebrity clientele with sheer luxury.
Still others are well-kept secrets; modest, inexpensive places like Nate & Al’s Deli or Patrick’s Roadhouse, where the stars go simply because they like the food (or the company).

Originally posted on September 24, 2010 @ 11:16 am

Hollywood’s secret brothelss

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It looks harmless. Even boring. Just an office building, with names of production companies, which don’t even leave much impact to the average tourist.

Until they know the story behind the street.

8439 Sunset Boulevard, now called Piazze del Sol, used to be the site of Hollywood’s most exclusive brothel, called “House of Francis.” People would go here for a different kind of networking, and whatever happened behind its doors stayed behind those doors.

Today there are still brothels, but they are typically held in private houses.

Originally posted on September 30, 2010 @ 5:59 pm

Worst Hollywood Quotes

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In my opinion, Hollywood stars are notorious for having a weird streak (some more than others). In Hollywood, saying strange things is actually encouraged as is the fondness for naming your child extremely un-tradtional names.

So in that vein, here are some of the worst things said by Hollywood’s finest. Kinda scary, especially when you think of how these people are idolised….

Angelina Jolie

“I am so in love with my brother right now!”

“On furnishing her new house: I saw these plastic horses – we’ll have them instead of chairs. People will climb in the saddle to sit.”

“Honestly, I like everything. Boyish girls, girlish boys, the thick, the thin. Which is a problem when I’m walking down the street. “

Paris Hilton

“Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything.”

“All British people have plain names, and that works pretty well over there. [Hmm… tell us about ‘work’ Paris]”

Britney Spears

?The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff.?

Originally posted on August 7, 2010 @ 12:51 pm