This is topic Going to LA 4/7-4/8 in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 03-28-2011, 03:27 AM:
 
I'm going to be heading to LA for my first time on April 7th and April 8th for a Concert. The concert is being held at The Bootleg Theatre. This is probably a once in a lifetime concert for me, the artist is Seasick Steve He is 69 years old and only plays in England and the surrounding countrys. I swore three years ago when I first found him that if he ever played in the states I would do the best I could to go see him. Now I get to kill two birds with one stone, see one of my all time favorite artists and get to LA.

If anyone is the area and wants to meet for lunch or something please message me. Also if anyone has any recommendations of things to see and do while I'm there please let me know.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-29-2011, 03:09 AM:
 
I don't live there anymore so you won't get to meet me on your trip. I know -- try to contain your disappointment.

Since it's your first time and you're into this sort of thing, I'd recommend seeing Hollywood Blvd and the "Walk of Fame."

My favorite spot was the stretch between La Brea and Highland. There, you can also check out Disney's El Capitan Theatre and -- right across the street -- Grauman's Chinese with its world-famous footprint courtyard.

From the rear balcony/patio of the "Hollywood & Highland" complex, you can get a great view of the Hollywood sign.

Stop in to the California Pizza Kitchen and enjoy a Waldorf Salad. (My favorite menu item.)

You can get a lot of mileage out of this one little area.

One block south is Sunset Blvd. and if you travel just a little bit to the east -- Sunset & Ivar -- you can see the Cinerama Dome, too.

Cinerama Dome is also where you will find the notorious Arclight theatres. Go in and check out their lobby, with the gift shop and restaurant. Sometimes they have interesting things on display there -- like costumes from current movies. But don't bother going to see movies there -- you'll waste a lot of time (can't you see a movie anytime you want?) and, quite possibly, it will be a little let-down after hearing all the (unwarranted) hype about these theatres, and paying a premium just to breathe their air. (A real-life "smug alert" situation going on there, if ever there was one.)
 

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Posted by Don Furr (Member # 1469) on 03-29-2011, 07:21 AM:
 
I would recommend the Pig 'N Whistle located next door to the Egyptian Theatre. Great burgers and killer cocktails.

Don
 

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Posted by Edward Havens (Member # 4715) on 03-29-2011, 02:02 PM:
 
For causal drinks, I'm far more preferential to the Cat & Fiddle, on Sunset a few blocks west from the Cinerama Dome, than the Pig & Whistle. But for a true old school Hollywood dining experience, one must visit Musso and Frank's. It's where people like Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Orson Welles regularly held court, and was a favorite drinking place of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Bukowski, William Faulkner, Raymond Chandler and Ernest Hemingway.

Across the street from the Cinerama Dome to the west is Amoeba Records, which is possibly the best retail entertainment store. Two floors of new and used LPs, CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, Laserdiscs, Books... you name it. They also host free live in-store performances from an eclectic group of musicians from little known artists (recent Best New Artist Grammy winner Esperanza Spaulding played there September 2009) to the likes of Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello. Amoeba Records is the #1 thing I miss about Los Angeles... even though the original Amoeba Records in Berkeley is less than twenty minutes away from where I live, it's not as big or as good as the Los Angeles store.

For some non-movie related fun, try to make a reservation to visit the Griffith Observatory. Okay, so a lot of great movies have been shot at the Observatory, from Rebel Without a Cause to The Terminator, but the Observatory itself is incredible. And the view of Los Angeles is spectacular... especially at night or on a very clear day.

And if you have a good amount of time and want to kill a couple birds with the same stone, take a trip down to the Santa Monica pier, rent a bike and take the bike path south towards Venice. It's an 8.5m bike path, a beautiful ride and you will definitely recognize many movie shooting locations. Sadly, though, it's become crowded with joggers, moms with strollers and other non-bikers who don't respect what a bikme path is.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 03-29-2011, 02:49 PM:
 

quote: Edward Havens

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For some non-movie related fun, try to make a reservation to visit the Griffith Observatory. Okay, so a lot of great movies have been shot at the Observatory, from Rebel Without a Cause to The Terminator, but the Observatory itself is incredible. And the view of Los Angeles is spectacular... especially at night or on a very clear day.

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I can vouch for that.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-29-2011, 03:53 PM:
 
If you're into seeing locations that have popped up in movies countless numbers of times, check out certain areas of downtown LA.

There's no telling how many movies have had scenes filmed on Lower Grand Avenue -with many of those movies not set in Los Angeles. Some movies have used both levels of the street, The Terminator is one that immediately comes to mind. The Walt Disney Concert Hall and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion are on the north end of street.

The Los Angeles River east of downtown has also been used as a movie location countless numbers of times. It's more of a huge flood control canal than it is a river. Some of the bridges across it are recognizable, like the 1st, 4th and 6th street bridges.

It might be just as fun to look at those locations on Google Earth's Street View rather than see them in person. I would only drive around certain parts of downtown LA if I knew the neighborhood very well and didn't have to stop. Downtown LA is bracketed by some pretty rough neighborhoods.
 

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Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 03-31-2011, 09:18 AM:
 
If you're visiting the Sunset Blvd area you might give these guys a call. It's a screening room that I did some work at about 10 years ago. Nice people to work with. We (Megasystems) installed a 5/70 running 48FPS. Excellent picture, but as soon as I would touch the start button and check the film path in the machine, I would have to close the projector doors because I was afraid some part might just explode.

A decent hotel that I stayed at there was The holiday Inn between Brentwood and Bel Air just west of the 405 off Sunset.

Rick
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 03-31-2011, 01:22 PM:
 
Santa Monica is cool. Make sure to check out what the Egyptian and the Aero are playing.

AJG
 

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Posted by Robert D Hall (Member # 5674) on 03-31-2011, 05:32 PM:
 
I too will be going to LA for the first time. Believe it or not on the same two days as you kurt.I will be driving up to hollywood for the cinedigm certification class.
 

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Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 04-10-2011, 06:26 AM:
 
So Kurt, how was LA?

Rick
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 04-11-2011, 01:19 AM:
 
Rick thanks for asking. I had an awsome time. I got in around 3 in the afternoon and went to my hotel, I got a place on Hollywood Blvd. I was four blocks from Grauman's, I had some time before I had to be to the venue for the concert so I went for a walk. Wow there was alot of people down there, It sure is a tourist trap. Every where you looked was people just praying on the tourists and they were as happy as can be to be.

On my way to the Venue (The Bootleg Theater) I drove past this place called The Orginal Tommys. I hadn't eaten anything so I pulled and got a burger, fries, and soda for $6 bucks. It was damn good. Went to the concert and there was probably once the show got really under way about 100 people. Maybe a few more, the opening act was not very good. Her name is Soko and she was really bad. The next person up was Frank Fairfield, holy crap can this guy play the fiddle and banjo. It might not be your type of music but this guy was rocking.

Then came the man himself, Seasick Steve. All I can say is holy shit!! I've seen Springsteen twice and was blown away both times, but Steve blew him out of the water. He has so much energy and passion for what he's doing. Whether its infront of 90,000 at the Reading Music festival or a hundred fans at the Bootleg. He played for over an hour and a half and it felt like 10 minutes. You could feel the place shaking when he was done the crowd was so loud. A true experience that I'll never forget in my life.

On Friday I drove down to Santa Monica and walked the Pier and walked around. I had lunch at a place on Ventura called Brat Brothers. A damn good Brat. I highly recommend it for sure. On my way back home just outside of San Bernardino I hit one of the worst snow storms I've been in in a long long time. And people in Cali do not know how to drive in the snow, especially White out conditions.

Overall an awsome first trip and a great time.

A funny note, when I was down by Santa Monica I saw a little theatre off on a side street. I was sitting at a light and trying to read the Marquee. It said playing Fri and Sat midnight Batman 89'. I wish I could of stopped and got a picture, gone in and asked if it was a 35 or DVD/Blu-Ray. But I was over to far and couldn't get over.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-11-2011, 08:11 AM:
 

quote: Kurt Zupin

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And people in Cali do not know how to drive in the snow

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quote: Richard Hamilton

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you might give these guys a call

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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testing Television pilots

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quote: Bill Gabel

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It was called the Preview House.

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