b
y Theodore Fischer
L.A.'s image is dominated by "the industry" — the
entertainment industry, that is — and its reputation for fast
living and self-indulgence in many varied forms. What kind of
secrets lurk beneath the glitter and the tinsel? While a few
of could be duplicated in virtually any modern American city,
most La La Land secrets have some connection with movie-star
memorabilia, off-the-wall attractions, and only-in-L.A. fun
and games.
Universal VIP Experience
Universal VIP guests
board vintage San Francisco trolley cars to get close enough
to actually touch secret places other visitors can only dream
about. Off-limits locales include Courthouse Square from "Back
to the Future," the allegedly haunted sound stage of the 1925
thriller "Phantom of the Opera," a hermetically sealed vault
that stores 150,000 movies, a three-story warehouse containing
over a million props, and a costume department that has
amassed over 500,000 individual pieces since the 1940s. VIP
guests, who pay about three times normal admission, also get
to peek into the ADR (additional dialogue recording) studios
and go to the front of the lines for rides in the Universal
Studios amusement park.
Death Wishes
Los Angeles is a show-biz town that
can turn just about anything into a form of entertainment.
Even death.
Shoot Sheet
Where's the action in L.A.? Rather,
where's the lights, camera, action? The L.A. Film Office
obligingly provides all the answers on a daily Shoot Sheet
listing the address and timetable for every feature film, TV
show, video and commercial location in town. There are indeed
plenty to choose from — as many as 200 a day, 365 days a year.
On weekdays free copies of the Shoot Sheet are available at
the L.A. Film Office. Or download the information from the
Entertainment Industry Development Corporation/L.A. Film
Office Web site. Failing that, the best places to
cruise are around Broadway and Main between First and Ninth
Streets, ground zero for backdrops for gritty urban police
dramas.
