Hollywoodland – When Disbelief is No Longer Suspended

Briefly watching some of the Oscars on television last night brought back some memories of my visit to Hollywood last year. Planning my vacation to Los Angeles was as an exciting time for me as it could be. For years I had looked forward to the day that I might be able to visit the Golden Coast and dreamed of those exhilarating moments when I would bask in the warm California sunshine, search for sea glass on the shoreline, experience the Universal Studios back lot tour, and-of course-hop on a tour bus and spy on the homes of all of my favorite celebrities.

One sight that I particularly looked forward to seeing while in the Hollywood area was the Kodak Theater (now known as the Hollywood and Highland Center)- home to the Academy Awards since 2002. Always having had a great love and fascination for film (not mention also being a bit starstruck), I could barely wait to see the great stage where some of my favorite performers and directors once stood and were presented with shimmering golden statues. I wondered how close I would be able to get to the stage and I fantasized about sitting in the same seat that Steven Spielberg once sat in during an awards presentation.

I got to see the Kodak Theater for the first time during my first evening in California. An accidental detour took my mother and I past it as we trekked down Hollywood Blvd, hoping that the GPS was actually taking us back to the hotel on our return back from Santa Monica. It was so beautiful and exciting to see it that evening as we drove past it. Up close during the day, however, I was very surprised with what I discovered—The Kodak Theater is located in the center of a <gasp!> shopping mall!

“How did I miss that one?,” was the question that I kept asking myself. I racked my brain, trying to remember what the outside of the theater looked like when I saw it on television. Really, I should have known better. Did I not study film and video making for two years in college? Did I not feel spiritually and emotionally smothered that day in cinematography class when we blocked all of the natural lighting off the film set in favor of own lighting system that would make the setting look “real?” Wasn’t the phoniness of the film world the very reason why I had walked away from film school and chose to instead major in plain old Communications?

Yes, it was during this visit to Tinsel Town that I again witnessed firsthand the great illusion known as “Hollywood.” During the Universal back lot tour I saw replicas of stages and lots, and learned how special effects and illusions are created. I took a celebrity homes bus tour and was excited when the tour guide was kind enough to break the rules and show us the home that Michael Jackson passed away in, even though she “wasn’t supposed to.” We passed by Justin Timberlake’s house and were told that he was seen leaving his home during the last tour. In fact, there were three celebrity sightings during the last tour! Too bad my tour didn’t get to see any  rich and famous people roaming around in their natural environments. It was only after spending some time back home in Real New York that I realized how staged and fabricated the whole scenario probably was.

When I finally got over my disappointment over the bizarre location of the Kodak, I broke down and took the theater tour. I learned that the day before the Oscar event all of the stores have their front signs removed. The following day, the shops close and their front windows are covered  up with beautiful metallic curtains.  With that said, how could I have ever known the truth while looking at in on Television?

Inside the theater lobby, there are bars for the celebs to lounge in during commercial breaks. How many times did you see George Clooney in the audience last night? He supposedly spends a lot of time leaving the show and having drinks.  While he’s gone, a seat filler takes his place, just in case he doesn’t come back in time. Don’t get too excited, though, because you need to know someone in order to get that job!

 The theater itself is smaller than it looks on television, but it is quite lovely. Though I never got close to the stage, I did get to see some of the setup for the new Cirque du Soleil production, which was about to premier that weekend…They were awesome last night, weren’t they?

By now, some of you may have been wondering if I was disappointed with my visit to Hollywood last year. The answer is no, I wasn’t. In fact, I had a really nice trip. Would I go back? There are other places in California that I am more interested in visiting and re-visiting right now.

The purpose of film is to transport the spectator into another world, to bring out great emotions by use of an array of devices, to make the unbelievable  convincing. When a person chooses to visit the place at the very heart of something as extraordinary as cinema, then he or she should really expect nothing other than what I experienced during my visit to Hollywoodland.

The bottom line is this—All people, regardless of their background and religious affiliations, love and seek to be entertained. Some people carry so much baggage on their shoulders just from everyday living that all they really want is to relax and unwind at the end of the day. It is during the great moments of escapism when new experiences begin, foreign places are visited, and dreams become reality, and disbelief is suspended.

But no matter how great the illusion may be, however, it is nonetheless an illusion.