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Plastic Jesus battles Hollywood and drugs with a coke-snorting Oscar
Do yo remember the golden Oscar statue with a heroine needle in its arms last year? Plastic Jesus was the creator. He is a street artist from Los Angeles and this year, just a couple of days before the stars hit the red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday, he had erected a life-size golden statue on Hollywood Blvd. This statue is bent over on the ground and snorting giant lines of cocaine with a straw and credit card.
"The piece is intended to draw attention to Hollywood's hidden problem of drug addiction that effects hundreds of people in the showbiz industry and is largely ignored until the death of a high profile A list celebrity," photographer Nick Stern, who works with Plastic Jesus, explained.
The Hollywood Walk ofFame is an internationally-recognized Hollywood
icon. It has become a visitor attraction and one of the most successful
marketing ideas ever produced.
E.M. Stuart
was a volunteer president of the Hollywood
Chamber of Commerce. He had the idea of creating a Walk of Fame in 1953. He
proposed it to “maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and
excitement in the four corners of the world”. The main precursor of this idea
was the ceiling of the dining room of the historic Hollywood Hotel. In this hotel, stars with the name of celebrities
were painted on the ceiling. However, it was used as a proposal to place stars
in the sidewalks.
In 1955, the Hollywood Chamber of
Commerce proceeded to secure signatures to present to the City for further
action in the formation of an assessment district. This idea was embraced by
the Los Angeles City Council.
In February of 1956, it was proposed
a star that included a caricature of the
honoree, with a proposal for brown and blue sidewalks. The Hollywood
businessman C.E. Toberman nixed the
idea.
The Hollywood Improvement Association was established by the Chamber in order to
work with the City in pursuing the idea. Harry
Sugarman was selected to do it. Moreover, there were four committees to
represent the four different aspects of the entertainment industry at that
time: motion picture, television,
recording and radio. Members of the Motion Picture Selection Committee
included prominent names such as Cecil
B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn, Jesse Lasky, Walt Disney, Hal Roach, Mack Sennett
and Walter Lantz, among others.
The selection process was criticized. One of those whose name was not
approved for inclusion in the initial phase of the Walk of Fame was Charlie Chaplin. The Chamber published
a press release in 1961 which was addressed the controversies over the
selection process: “The names in the Walk of Fame have been subject to the most
continuous criticism and abuse. These are divided into two classes: those who
think the wrong names are included and those who think their own or some
favorite’s name was omitted.”
The cost to build the Walk,
including new street lighting and street trees, was determined to be
$1.25-million.
On August 15, 1958, the Chamber and
City unveiled eight stars on Hollywood Blvd at Highland Avenue to demonstrate
what the Walk would look like. The eight honourees included: Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt
Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, Ernest Torrence, and Joanne Woodward.
On February 8, 1960, construction
actually began on the long-planned Walk. The first star was that of Stanley
Kramer on March 28, 1960. The job was completed in spring 1961, when it was
finally accepted by the Board of Public Works, with the first 1,558 stars.
The Chamber faced three task in
moving forward, in order to add more names in the vacant stars:
1.To stablish a set of rules to
determine the qualifications of personalities to be eligible for addition to
the Walk of Fame
2.To work out a procedure to process
candidates
3.To develop a plan for the financing
of the costs of the addition of approved names.
This task took several years and in
December 1968, another star was added.
Today, the Hollywood Chamber of
Commerce continues to add stars to the Walk of Fame as the representative of
the City of Los Angeles. An average of two stars are added to the Walk on a
monthly basis. The last ceremony was on February 2, 2015. The Hollywood Walk of Fame recipients for the year 2015 are:
MOTIONPICTURES: Raymond Chandler (posthumous), Eugenio Derbez, Will Ferrell, Jennifer
Garner, Peter Jackson, Bob Kane (posthumous), Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Rudd,
Snoopy, Melissa McCarthy and Christoph Waltz
TELEVISION: James L. Brooks, Ken Ehrlich,
Bobby Flay, Seth MacFarlane, Julianna Margulies, Chris O’Donnell, Jim Parsons,
Amy Poehler, Kelly Ripa and Sofia Vergara.
RECORDING: Lukasz ‘Dr. Luke’ Gottwald, Kool
& The Gang, Pitbull, Al Schmitt and Pharrell Williams.
RADIO: Larry Elder.
LIVE
THEATRE/LIVE PERFORMANCE: Kristin Chenoweth, Dick Gregory and Ennio Morricone.
NOMINATION PROCESS TO GET A STAR ON THE WALK OF FAME
You can be nominated. Someone (fans, manager, and a familiar) can put forward as a candidate. Nominations applications must be sent to
Hollywood Walk of Fame Committee. However, the candidate must accept his
candidacy.
There are some requirements in order to be a candidate: -The
application letter has to be signed by the candidate.
-It
must be sent before May 30th.
The
applicant must pay 30,000 dollars.
The
candidate:
1.Must have worked in the
entertainment industry at least for five years.
2.Must hold the record.
3.Must stand out (in television,
cinema, radio, music or theatre).
4.Must contribute with money towards
charities.
There is an exception:posthumous
mentions. Five years must have passed since their death.
THE PROCESS OF SELECTION
The list of candidates is formed by
20 nominations and a tribute to a posthumous. Finally, the selected has to go to
Hollywood in order to make a celebration in honour of the star. If the chosen
do not go within five years, she/he will lose the star.
THE EMBLEMS WHICH INDICATE THE CATEGORY OF THE HONOREE’S CONTRIBUTIONS
1.Classic film camera representing motion pictures
2.Television receiver representing broadcast television
3.Radio microphone representing broadcast radio
4.Phonograph record representing audio recording or music
EXCEPTIONS: PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIFFERENT STARS
-The
Apollo 11 astronauts for contributions to the television industry
-The
sportsman Magic Johnson for his theatre chain (Magic Johnson Theatre)
-Fictional
characters, for example: Mickey Mouse
-The
former Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley
-The
police force of Los Angeles
-The
lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret
-The
baseball team Dodgers.
SOME CURIOSITIES ABOUT WALK OF FAME…
-Four
stars have been stolen from Walk of Fame: James
Stewart, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, and Gene Autry.
-Since
1960, 40 famous have rejected their star. Some of them are: Julia Roberts, George Cooney, and Clint
Eastwood.
-Barbara
Streisand is the only person who has received a star without attending her
ceremony
-Muhammad
Ali’s star is the only one which is not on the floor.
-Some
names are duplicated. For example: Harrison Ford.
-Ronald
Reagan is the only president who are a star.
-There
are some famous who are several stars: For example: Michael Jackson.
From the
late 1920s to the 1940s, the film industry operated under the studio system.
This means that certain companies controlled practically the entire process of
filmmaking, from production to distribution and exhibition. There were eight studios with five having
fully integrated conglomerates, with a production studio, creative people,
distribution division and a wide network of theatre chains. These five studios
were: 20thCentury Fox, Loew’s Incorporated/MGM, Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures and Warner Bros. There were three other
companies that were more important and those were: Universal Pictures, Columbia
Pictures and United Artists.
The term studio system is used as reference to the outputs of the
different companies. Here is a list of the ten biggest Hollywood studios. The
first six studios are considered the more important and the last four are not
much.
1-SONY
Sony is the conglomerate behind Sony Pictures Entertainment. Its major
studio is Columbia Pictures. The company is also friendly to independent producers
with its own art-house division that is called Sony Pictures Classics. It has a
17 percent share of the USA and Canadian markets. Sony is considered the
biggest studio. It also owns companies like Tri Star Pictures, Sony Pictures
Animation, Destination Films, Triumph Films, Stage 6 Films and Affirm Films.
2-TIME WARNER
Time Warner is a conglomerate that owns the second biggest share of the USA
and Canada markets. Its parent division is called Warner Bros. Entertainment;
while it’s more important studio is named Warner Bros. It is also the owner of
other brands and divisions like: New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment,
Turner Entertainment Co., Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment.
3- THE WALT DISNEY
COMPANY
The Walt Disney Company controls about 14.3 percent of the North
American market. Its parent division is called The Walt Disney Studios. Movie
productions are done under its major studio called Walt Disney Pictures. The
Walt Disney Company also owns other important film brands like: Lucasfilm,
Marvel Studios, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios and
Disneynature.
4-COMCAST / GENERAL ELECTRIC
Comcast/General Electric owns is the company behind Universal Pictures.
It also owns Focus Features that it uses for art-house and independent movies.
It has a 13.6 percent share of the USA and Canadian markets. Other companies
under it are Illumination Entertainment, Working Title Films and Universal
Animation Studios.
5-NEWS CORPORATION
News Corporation is the outfit behind the Fox Extertainment Group. The
most important studio is 20thCentury Fox, while independent movies
are distributed through Fox Searchlight Pictures. Other companies under News Corporation
are: Fox Faith, 20thCentury
Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios and Fox Animation Studios. The company owns a
10.6 percent share of the USA and Canadian markets.
6-VIACOM
Viacom is the conglomerate behind the Paramount Motion Pictures Group.
Its major studio is Paramount Pictures, while art-house movies are published
under the name of Paramount Vantage. It has an 8.5 percent share of the entire
North American market. It also owns MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies.
7- LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT
Lions
Gate Entertainment is the most successful studio not based in Los Angeles. It
was established in 1997 by Frank Giustra. The company is also the owner of
Artisan Entertainment. It has recently been renamed as Lionsgate and the studio
is now the owner of Summit Entertainment. Lionsgate also has a share in Roadside
Attractions.
8- THE WEINSTEIN
COMPANY
Harvey and Bob Weinstein established The Weinstein Company in 2005 after
leaving Miramax Films, which they had helped establish in 1979. It holds the
right to Dimension Films, an outfit that the brothers use for genre movies.
Their long relationship with Quentin Tarantino has helped the outfit turn
around its fortunes, with the success of the director’s 2009 movie “Inglourious
Basterds” considered as a important moment for the company.
9- MGM
MGM has
downgraded itself from being an important studio into a minor media company
that distributes films and television content. It still owns the rights to the
franchise of the James Bond movies. Its home video and theatrical products are
distributed by 20thCentury
Fox. On the other hand, Columbia Pictures has helped to distribute the first
two Bond movies that starred Daniel Craig.
10- DREAMWORKS
Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenburg and David Geffen established
Dreamworks in 1994. Dreamworks arranges for the production and financing of
movies. It then ties up with one of the majors for help in the distribution. It
actually had a brief stint as part of the Viacom group, but it became independent
after over two years. The Reliance ADA Group of India currently backs the
company. Katzenburg has since completely divested from the company and now runs
a separate studio called Dreamworks Animation.
Perhaps no other place on earth evokes the same air of show-business, magic and glamour...
When did the legend begin? Hollywood’s legend began in the early 20th century as symbol of modern American society…
The invention of “motion toys" (late 1800's) was the origin of movies and motion pictures. The Spirograph was used to trick the eye from a display of frames in quick succession. George Eastman and William H. Walker invented the first film for motion photography. Later, the brothers Lumiere created a hand-cranked machine called the cinematographe (1895), which capture pictures and project still frames in quick succession.
During the 20th century, movie industry lived a great amount of changes. Exploration into editing, backdrops, visual flow and others advancements inspired filmmakers to create. For example, Edwin S. Porter created one of the most famous movies by this time: The Great Train Robbery (1903).
People of the industry tend to say that the first movie made in Hollywood was The Squaw Man. By 1919, Hollywood became the face of American cinema and glamour.
The boom of the industry began in 1920: with the birth of “movie star” and hundreds of movies being made each year. Definitely, Hollywood became a cultural icon full of luxury and leisure, apart from the rest of Los Angeles.
Movie studios: most of film companies decided to set up their studios. The earliest and most affluent film companies were Warner Brothers Pictures, Paramount, RKO, Metro Goldwin Meyer, and 20th Century Fox, each of whom owned their own film production sets and studios.
Golden Age of Hollywood (1930): the introduction of sound into film was the beginning of a new era in film history. New genres such as action, musicals, documentaries, social statement films, comedies, westerns, and horror movies were created. During the following years the advances in technology such as special effects, better sound recording quality, and the beginning of color film use made films more modern.
World War II: the film industry increased productivity, due to a wave of wartime pictures. During the war Hollywood produced propaganda of American patriotism (documentaries, educational pictures…).
There was an immense change in American culture and around the world. After de war, there were advances in music, it raised pop culture and the television was set.
By 1950 filmmakers began to create material aimed at American youth such as tales of rebellion and rock n’ roll. This era saw the rise of stars like James Dean, Ava Gadner and Marylin Monroe.
The decline in movie theater attendance was caused by the convenience of television, owing to that many Hollywood studios lost money. In order to make money, they decided to produce films for TV, which meant the entrance of Hollywood into the television industry.
In 1960 movies were focused on fun, fashion, rock n’ roll, societal shifts and transitions in cultural values. Also, the world’s perception of America and its culture changed because of the Vietnam War and shifts in governmental power. In 1963, only 120 movies were released, which meant the slowest year in film production caused by the lower profits due to the pull of television.
In 1970 there was a depression in the film industry because of the films tickets price, which normally cost only a dollar. By this time, the Golden Age of Hollywood was over. Hollywood rebirth was based on making oriented pictures with new and dazzling special effects technology. Jaws and Star Wars had a shocking success and became the most popular movies in film history at that time.
By the end of 1980, films were seen as entertainment. The ticket prices were dropping and the production costs of films increased. Because of that, the future of film looked precarious. However, there were some films which had a lot of success like Batman, Terminator and Return of the Jedi. The budget of film production increased thanks to the use of special effects and multi-national industry conglomerates bought out many studios (Columbia and 20th Century Fox).
In the early 1990’s there was a decrease in box office due to the economic decline. Movies were becoming too expensive to do in Hollywood because of the advertising campaigns, agency fees, rising production costs, etc.
At this time, it was popular the VCR’s. CD-ROM’s were created in 1992; however, in 1997 DVD’s became a hit because they gave a much better image quality. Rapidly, there were a lot of remarkable advances in technology. In 2000’s it was created the Blu-Ray disc and IMAX theaters. Right now, we can see movies, TV shows, etc. on our smartphones, tablets, computers or any other personal device with streaming services.
To conclude, it is important to say that the 2000’s has been the era in which immense changes have been made in the movie and technology industries.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: History Cooperative: <http://historycooperative.org/the-history-of-the-hollywood-movie-industry/> [Access 05/02/2015] The Bioscope: <http://thebioscope.net/2010/09/04/spinning-the-spirograph/> [Access 05/02/2015]
