Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hollywood

Help us recreate iconic film costumes for our holiday party

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:22:37 -0800

[CostumeFilter]: My company is having a Hollywood-themed holiday party in two weeks. Please help me think of a good costume for myself and my boyfriend. Difficulty factors: He has a beard, I'm short and curvy. The idea is red carpet moments, classic Hollywood, or memorable screen roles. Ideally this would be something highly recognizable, like the Marilyn Manson/Rose McGowan red carpet look (but nothing x-rated) or, say, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Cleopatra. Unfortunately, I can't think of many "memorable" red carpet/Oscar moments that couples have shared, and I don't want to just buy a nice dress (boring!) when we could go full costume instead.

The couple with the best outfit wins a significant amount of spending money and a trip to Hollywood, so we are motivated; he is willing to shave the beard if it's worth it.

So far, we've kicked around the idea of going as young Obi-Wan and Padme Amidala or Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz (he'd make a reluctant cowardly lion) but we don't want to get TOO crazy on spending money and have a short amount of time to work on it, since the Thanksgiving holiday's about to start.

Both of us have black hair and he wears glasses, if that helps. The celebrities we most closely resemble naturally are Tori Amos (me) and a mix of Charlie Chaplin and Justin Long (him).

We don't have to go as a specific couple from the movie itself, just two characters from the same film will also work but I'm having trouble finding stuff like this by poking around on IMDB. Googling for Hollywood couples is equally unhelpful, since I'm trying to cross-reference roles and memorable looks. Thanks for any suggestions!

top concept artists

roger ackroyd — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:58:40 -0800

Who are the top concept artists working in video games and film today? Bonus points for links to portfolios.

Massage therapist in South Florida?

6and12 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:03:59 -0800

Can anyone recommend a massage therapist in South Florida? I've been living in Hollywood, FL, for a few years now, and I'm finally in a position where an occasional massage fits into my budget. There are so many options here, however, that I don't know where to start looking. I've always found good LMTs through friends or word of mouth, but I'm at a loss down here (not at a loss for friends, just friends with leads on LMTs). In the past, I've worked consistently with people who specialized in Swedish, deep tissue, or Thai massage, and I've liked and benefited from those styles. Something close to Hollywood would be ideal, but I'm willing to drive a bit for the right person. In the past, I've preferred small practices to large spas or hotels.

Help me find "Living Famously"

crossoverman — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:07:27 -0800

Can anyone help me track down a documentary series called "Living Famously"? That link goes to the Australia ABC site which screened the series in about 2004.

Details of the series here from 2002 MIPCOM:

LIVING FAMOUSLY
Documentary/ 25 x 60’
Language: English
Producer: BBC
Cast: James Dean, Marvin Gaye, Laurel
and Hardy, Peter Sellers, Karen Carpenter
Delivery status: in production
Year of production: 2002, Country of
origin: UK
A stunning series of biographical portraits
revealing the true stories of the lives of 25
of the greatest names in international
entertainment.

(From the ABC Australia site: Camera/Director: Cassie Farrell)

It hasn't screened in Australia since then, nor can I find any reference to it on the BBC site. I am particularly interested in the episodes that covered classic Hollywood, because the collection paints an interesting portrait of how entangled the lives of certain celebrities were during the 30s and 40s.

Is this series for sale anywhere? Online? Torrents? I am actually happy to pay for it if it's for sale anywhere, but my Google Fu isn't working if that's true.

I almost doubted the series existed (as a series, I thought it might have been old A&E bio episodes repurposed for screening here) - couldn't quite remember its name, until I searched the ABC Australia site (Lana Turner, who I knew had been profiled, led me to its name).

Now I find it odd I can barely find it referenced anywhere - ie. it doesn't seem to be on IMDB at all!

Where to get Hollywood movies in Arabic?

Biru — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:21:46 -0800

Does anyone know of a company or publisher (ideally in the UK) that sells versions of modern Hollywood movies that have been dubbed into Arabic? I have tried all the variations of search terms in Google I can think of and thus far have only been able to find the occasional website selling Arabic versions of Finding Nemo and other Disney/Pixar type movies. Ideally I'd like to find something more adult like LOST or 24 in Arabic, or movies such as The International, X-Men Origins and so on. As I said, it would ideally be a firm in the UK, though I would happily compromise if someone was able to find a firm in the Middle East that would post to the UK.

Tron:Legacy for the dude who owns 9 copies of Tron, one of which is on laser disc.

ferociouskitty — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:51:55 -0800

How does a normal, average couple from the Midwest score a ticket (invite?) to a big movie premiere? My husband's favorite movie ever is being remade, and should be released sometime next year. If I could somehow get him to the premiere, you'd never be able to convince him I wasn't the coolest wife ever to have existed in the entire history of marriage. And I kinda like that idea. So how does someone like me, who has absolutely no connection to Hollywood, make this happen?

Ari's Job Offer on Entourage

BigLankyBastard — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:46:46 -0800

Question regarding events in season 5 of Entourage: Spoilers within! Spoiler warning!!! In Season 5, Ari is offered the job of replacing the late head of Warner studios. I have two questions regarding this plot point and the Hollywood movie business world:
1) How common/plausible is it, in real life, that a talent agent, however powerful, would get offered an executive spot at a major film studio? One would think the two roles would require different skill sets.
2) What inducement or argument could Ari possibly wield to convince the bigwig who offered him the job to give it to Dana Gordon instead of Amanda Daniels as previously intended?

Memory sabotage

roofus — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:26:50 -0800

Is there a Beastie Boys video where they jump from roofs into various Hollywood hotel pools? I have a strong feeling that I read about or maybe even saw such a video in the 90s. If it exists, it is not featured on the Criterion Collection Beastie Boys Video Anthology.

Low-key New Years Eve parties in Hollywood?

wannaknow — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:34:36 -0800

2 girls want to have a low-key, fun New Years in the Hollywood area. We're avoiding all the Super-Mega-Parties and would rather not pay a cover over $25. Does anyone know of any bars doing something fun? Right now we're thinking of going to the Cat and Fiddle, but I was curious if anyone knew of a NYE party at a bar or lounge that might be fun. We live in the Hollywood area and would prefer taking cabs all night and ending up back in our beds in the wee hours.

Thanks in advance!

What's essential to have in a HD movie collection?

thewalrus — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:06:47 -0800

What do you consider to be the best or most important movies of the past 20 years, whether Hollywood or international? I'm rebuilding much of my movie collection in 720p H.264 (approx 5GB each) or 1080p and want to be sure I don't miss anything. There's a lot of content from the 1990s I want to keep on hand in a high quality format, from a variety of genres... Everything from Gattaca to Baraka. Can anyone suggest some 'essential film' lists or provide input from their personal collections?

Men's Hollywood Fashion

Astro Zombie — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:05:44 -0800

Name some iconic men's outfits from the Golden Age of Hollywood. I'm speaking of outfits from movies made in and set in the 40s, 50s, and early 60s. (Contemporary films set in that era are also allowable, to a lesser extent.) I'm looking for clothes that are instantly identifiable with the role and the male actor, such as Bogie's white evening coat from Casabanca, Brando's biker uniform from The Wild One, and James Dean's red windbreaker from Rebel Without a Cause. It can be from a supporting character in a film, if the outfit is distinctive and recognizable enough. Focus on, but not limited to, dress clothes. Television shows from the era are also acceptable.

Looking for coverage work

Bookhouse — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:34:47 -0800

How does one find work as a script reader in Hollywood? What are other bottom-rung industry jobs for writers? I've just moved to L.A., and am interested in finding work as a script-reader while I work on my own writing. However, I'm not sure how to get started. Does one query agencies? Write spec coverage? All tips and advice welcome.

Also, information on other industry jobs that are a good fit for professional writers is welcome.

Follow my dreams or follow the money?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:38:40 -0800

I'm 33 years old, make a low six figure income, married, no kids. Up for big promotion. Is it time to give up my dreams of being a writer? LOTS more inside... Since I was 7 I have had one dream--be a writer. Other kids wanted to be firemen, astronauts, etc. I wanted to be a writer...and very very rich. The type of writing changed, it started off as I wanted to write novels, and then it became comic books, and then movies. Now, as an adult, it's a big combination of those.

While I consider myself talented, I am currently unpublished and truly not a very disciplined writer. I go through spurts where I write lots, including some early this year where I really flexed that creative muscle and gave my all in a "write your own comic book" writing contest a comic book company had. I also have written a self-help book that is about 70% done, and I have lots of ideas for short stories, comic books, etc. My wife is very supportive of my dreams of writing.

My undergraduate degree is in media production with a focus on television and radio work. When I graduated college my dream was to work in television, and I wrote a screenplay while I was in college and my friends and I almost filmed the movie, but we did not.

After college though I found myself in need of non-minimum wage earning work, and I got a job designing web pages. I have always been good with computers and worked professionally in computers for several years.

When full motion video games were en vogue (Under a Killing Moon, Wing Commander 3, etc) I thought I would like to write video games as some back then had a great story. I decided to "break into" video games as a programmer as I was working in IT and I went back and got my Master's degree in Computer Science.

Fast forward 8 years...I never got into games (interviewed in person with some big names but I didn't have enough experience). And I met a woman, fell in love, and got married. We have no plans to have kids. Since I was not getting a games job I looked for professional programming jobs in my area and ended up getting one.

I never gave 100% to my day job, I never have even given 50% to my day job. Mostly I have sleepwalked through my jobs while in my off time working on pursuing fame and fortune. I've even acquired a bit of internet "fame" with a podcast that gets about 1.2 million downloads per year... Through this internet "fame" I have actually made some B and C level contacts who work in Television, etc. some of whom I can truly call "friends". It's very nice.

But in this time I've met a lot of working professionals...writers...and I've come to realize my life is far more comfortable then theirs. I make (very) low six figures and live in a very low cost of living area. Most of my income is from my day job, NOT from my podcast...while I approach my podcast as a business it is truly at this point a time-consuming hobby and if it went away tomorrow my lifestyle would not change.

So I see these professional writers, directors, actors, etc. and they're all scraping by. They can't afford extra cash to travel, something I really like, and they work their behinds off to make less than I do in areas that have higher cost of living than I do.

To be honest, I want a life where I live at the style of living I have now or better but my career is something I enjoy, which is being creative, working with creative people, and creating things. Be that in writing, producing, etc. This is "my dream". But now I have very good friends who are trying to "live the dream" and it seems to me that these friends are also useful contacts and I could pretty easily jump the fence and become a struggling artist like they are.

But my wife and I like material things. We like our creature comforts. We enjoy our style of living (combined salary is over 150k) and we don't want to give that up.

So here is my question: is it time to stop pursuing foolish dreams of working creatively, writing comics, writing novels, producing television, and actually give my all to my day job where I am quite successful and live a life where I enjoy the 16 hours per day I'm not working and ignore the 8 hours per day I am? Or should I continue to spend time and some money to harvest contacts, and either self-publish a comic book or some other creative venture?

I just don't want to be the 40 year old businessman who is constantly writing the "great American novel" in his spare time...

Hollywood Sign Trademarked?

Ragma — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:29:58 -0800

I just got a cease and desist letter from a company that claims the Hollywood sign is one of it's clients. They are demanding monetary damages for a tourist photo of the sign I have on my website. Help. WTF? Etc. So I was at first assuming this was an April fools joke, but they do indeed claim the sign as a client. And they do send out cease and desists and demand damage payments for using the photo. And the Hollywood Chamber website does say you need permission to use images of the sign. This is news to me.

Their claim is that the photo on my website "may represent an unlawful attempt to associate [my website] with the Property and improperly indicates the Chamber's endorsement and / or approval of [my website] and their services."

They want money. I'm suppose to give them all documents necessary for them to determine how much I owe them.

Now....... It's just a tourist photo. And I explicitly make no copyright claims about the photo. And it's not used in any way that even the most determined lawyer could argue constitutes or suggests any association or endorsement. I have Google ads, but I'm not selling anything, and the site has nothing to do with Hollywood, movies, Los Angeles, or movie stars.

I don't think I'm doing anything even remotely wrong here, and I don't want to take the photo off my website. But there is the threat to obtain monetary damages to deal with as well. My initial reaction is to hire a lawyer and counter sue them, but I have no idea where to go with that.

My question - What are my options here, and my best course of action? I'm not rich, so fighting this in court isn't something I can bankroll. But if they are indeed going to try and squeeze $5000 from me I'd rather use that money for a lawyer than just hand it over.

Knife sharpening

TigerCrane — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:59:43 -0800

Where can I get knives sharpened in the Hollywood (CA) area?

Hollywood's finest?

messylissa — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:55:27 -0800

Famous examples of personality disorders? I'm working on presentation of personality disorders for a graduate class, and I want it to be slightly more interesting than the book reports I've spent the last 4 weeks listening to. I remember my undergraduate professor having some awesome pop culture examples of the different personality disorders, but I'm coming up short on several of the disorders (and yes, I know I could email him, and yes, I've tried Google).

So far, I've got examples for Schizoid, Antisocial, and Histrionic Personality Disorders. So....what are your awesome/entertaining examples of:

-Paranoid Personality Disorder
-Schizotypal Personality D/o
-Borderline Personality D/o
-Narcissistic Personality D/o
-Avoidant Personality D/o
-Dependent Personality D/o
-Obsessive Compulsive Personality D/o

Actual famous people, movie/tv characters, whatever, are all great.

How do I find a star-for-hire in London?

Elle Vator — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:52:52 -0800

How do I find a list of publicists for stars of the theatrical stage or screen? Basically, I can be a hero if I can find celebrities currently in London, England recognizable to a Canadian audience. We need to hire them for a charming bit on our show... but the ones on our short list have not turned out. Therefore, I am now looking to get in touch with an appropriate publicist who has LOTS of clients and who can make suggestions as to who we should use, and then give them to us. ...or directly in touch with a celebrity or agent or manager, or a website or a magic genie who can get me the perfect happen-to-be-in-London celebs (we actually need three) within two weeks.

Yes, this is my third question alone these lines - the good news is you guys are giving me GREAT advice. What would you do if you were me and in this situation? Where would you go? Who would you call?

Thanks so much... ElleVator

Residuals for the working man

zerobyproxy — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:09:58 -0800

If Steve Guttenburg never, ever worked again, how much money would he earn yearly? This is not a dis of Steve Guttenburg. Flipping past HBO and I saw that they were showing Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment. I realized that I had not seen anything with him in it for a while. So I took a look at IMDB. There, I found that he has many film acting credits, some of which were very successful (Three Men and a Baby, Diner). I have absolutely no idea how much an actor of his experience earns in residuals so, any of you MeFites who know, give me a clue? Are we talking $1,000 or $100,000 a month? Can you explain how it is determined (structured)? I always have wondered which actors, who I would never guess, are set for life because of well negotiated contracts coupled with high grossing films (or well received television shows).

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

What "can't miss" movies actually missed?

unceman — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:10:23 -0800

What "can't miss" movies actually missed? I need help coming up with a list of movies that have been "Hollywood-ized". A promising film with a great story gets transformed into something worse during the film making process. Such as the ending gets changed, an obvious mis-cast of key characters, poor editing, whatever. I would like to keep the list of movies contemporary (within the last 25 years or so) Explanations for each movie listed is encouraged.

Does Hollywood Want Us To Be Scabs?

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:50:57 -0800

Is my comedy group being asked to scab? So, long story short. My comedy group gets a call last month to submit some material for an industry showcase in Los Angeles.

Now, we're from what is essentially a hick town. The industry person saw us perform at a festival about a year and a half ago. Collectively, we know next to nothing about the TV/Film industry - and never imagined that we would need to.

They are asking to see some material from us, including sketch scripts. There has been no discussion of doing anything but taking a look at our group if they like our work.

Is this business as usual for Hollywood or are we being asked to cross the picket lines? We don't want to be in a situation where we get to do a showcase and then, once the strike is over, never get another opportunity again.

For the record, we all support the WGA and want to do the right thing here. We just don't know what the right thing is.

Blogs of Hollywood -- the place, not the industry

Astro Zombie — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:06:19 -0800

Help me find blogs about Hollywood -- BUT (and this is important) about the place, not the industry. I am looking for blogs by and for residents of downtown Hollywood, East Hollywood, Griffith Park, the Melrose district, etc. The blogs can be on any subject -- even the entertainment industry -- as long as they are written from the perspective of people who actually live in the neighborhood.

Tinseltowner? Boulebard of Broken Dreamsite?

Astro Zombie — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:23:51 -0800

What do you call someone who hails from Hollywood. Hollywoodan? Hollywoodite? Nothing sounds right, and I can't seem to find any reference online.

If they don't already have a name, help me make one up. Hollywoodlander? Hollywoodski?

Who was Les Cripe?

seeka — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 23:23:11 -0800

Who was Les Cripe? Saw this name on a tombstone in Westwood Memorial. The name stuck with me because I thought it was a French phrase - which I tried to look up when I got home later in that day - no dice.

A month later, I checked out a book from the Los Angeles Public library. The front piece of the book said it was dedicated to the memory of Les Cripe.

I tried an imdb search for Les Cripe, and found the movie "Gods and Monsters" was dedicated to him (her?). Alas, the information trail has grown cold...

Anyway, is anyone familiar this person and what his/her impact on Hollywood (or other places) might have been?

I'm simply curious - the name and the potential mystery stirs my historical imagination. Thanks in advance for any information!

A list of films to make someone Hollywood literate?

Bookhouse — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:50:36 -0800

Help me find a list of films to give someone a Hollywood education. My girlfriend is preparing to move from theater design to production design in Hollywood. While this is going to lead to a slew of questions over the next year, first thing first: my beloved really hasn't seen very many movies (she's never seen Star Wars, for God's sake). I'm looking for a list of films that will allow her to be conversant when dealing with the Hollywood crowd. I'm not looking for a list of "important" or "great" films, but instead an overview of the big films from Hollywood over the last 30 years or so, or maybe one that focuses on the big directors of the past few decades. I'm not looking for individual film suggestions (I have plenty of those), but something with a larger framework to give the list some structure.

What are the pillars of Hollywood Babylon?

Bookhouse — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 09:06:30 -0800

Please point me to resources on the sordid underbelly of Hollywood. I'm very interested in the inner workings of the Hollywood lifestyle -- the people and industries that prop up the stars and buffer them from scandal. I'm talking about the paparazzi, publicists, bodyguards, entourages, lawyers, club owners, assistants, gossip-mongers, dealers, drivers, thugs, rehabbers and fixers that rotate around celebrities. Are there any good books about the mechanics of the industrial-fame complex? Other resources about all the people that go into making a juicy blind item? (Websites, documentaries -- I hear that the star of Entourage is making a documentary on the paparazzi, which got me thinking about this in the first place).

I'm also a guilty fan of tell-alls of the Hollywood Babylon variety, and would welcome modern books of the same ilk, but I'm more interested in the people who prevent such books from being published until the stars are dead.