Oscar winner Holly Hunter is now a star not just in name but also on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The multi-awarded actress who is best known for her work in the 1993 film “The Piano” was awarded the 2,363rd star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Holly Hunter shared the special moment with important people like Steven Spielberg, Ed Harris, Kate Capshaw, Billie Jean King and the two most important little people in her life - her cute twin sons.

Holly Hunter is definitely worthy of a star having won awards from everything from the New York Film Critics Circle to Berlin International Film Festival, and of course, the Academy Awards. Most of the awards she won is for two of the best films she’s done - Broadcast News (1987) and The Piano (1993).

Holly Hunter was definitely thrilled by the award calling saying that it is “an unbelievable honor.”

After the crippling writer’s strike Hollywood surely must have learned their lesson and must be (should be!) doing all they can to ensure that the issues with the actors’ guild are cleared up before the June 30 deadline.

So far the deal with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artist (AFTRA) is going smoothly with a tentative agreement already reached last May 7. The agreement will be reviewed on June 6 and 7 by the national union board.

On the other hand the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is feeling the pressure of closing a deal and not causing the same problems with unresolved issues that happened with writers. Sag is still not satisfied and negotiations are reportedly on shaky ground mainly due to differences in opinion regarding royalties for DVDs and internet clips.

Aside from problems with negotiations with producers SAG also seems to have a bit of tension with AFTRA since they are after all holding negotiations with producers separately for the first time in three decades.

As for how the negotiations go and as to whether we’ll be seeing another strike, this time by actors, in the near future we can’t really tell and must simply wait for SAG to make their move. Hopefully though the strike doesn’t realise and new films start rolling into production again…

If any one knows how important image and aggressive advertisement is, it’s Hollywood. The good thing is that those in the industry are using this knowledge and experience on how to aggressively campaign to build awareness of something they deem important to let more people know about the need for a more affordable health care.

Hollywood organisations that are working hand in hand with AARP include Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS), the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF).

AARP has long been an advocate of affordable health care and is involved actively in ensuring that people of all ages get to buy cheap insurance by allowing HMOs to use it’s name to sell its affordable packages. AARP’s health insurance sales are such a success that in fact they earn more from health insurance than from member dues.

Now with the “Divided We Fail” initiative of the AARP supported by the hollywood industry it hopes to be able to “galvanize the public into taking action”, which according to MPTF’s Foundation Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg,” is the key first step to solving them [the health care problem].”

Hollywood stars that have joined them in helping spread the word include big names such as Ben Affleck, Garth Brooks, Dakota Fanning, Morgan Freeman, Eva Mendes, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Piven and Reese Witherspoon.

Hollywood is known for the glitz, glamor, and money… money lots of people frankly couldn’t afford or do not wish to shell out. Good news for those who want to experience Hollywood without totally emptying their pockets…there are actually lots of inexpensive hotels in Hollywood.

The benefit of staying in a budget hotel is that you’ll be able to save your money so you can afford to see all the sights and shows and maybe even dine in a special place or two.

Some budget-friendly hotels (compared to other hotels that offer the same level of service) include:

1-Star

• Days Inn Hollywood Hotel (5410 Hollywood Blvd.)

2-Star

• Days Inn Hollywood Near Universal Studios Hotel (7023 Sunset Blvd)
• Hollywood Metropolitan Hotel
• Hollywood Vermont Sunset Travelodge
• Liberty Hotel
• Rodeway Inn
• Saharan Motor Hotel
• Super 8 Motel
• Travelodge Sunset La Brea Hotel
• Westside Rentals Hollywood Hotel

3-Star

• Best Western Hollywood Hills
• Comfort Inn & Suites Hotel
• Holiday Inn Hollywood Walk Of Fame Hotel
• Magic Castle Hotel

If you wish to find quality yet cheap hotels in Hollywood I would also suggest that you use online booking sites since they usually offer lots of good deals year-round.

Silent night…Holly night…

Forget the silent part. If you are wondering how to get around Hollywood to enjoy the pumping night scene without having to fork out lots of money for cab fare after cab fare, all you need to know that it isn’t a problem in Hollywood thanks to the Holly Trolley.

The Holley Trolley is a public transportation run by the LA Department of Tourism (LADOT). The Holly Trolley is special in several ways:

• It runs only at night.
• Its route takes you through the most popular night clubs.
• Tokens (fare pass) can be bought at bar, night clubs, and restaurants.
• Its very distinct orange picturesque look.

So if you want to get to the Kodak Theater from Capitol Records without paying $4 for a cab then just hop on the Holly Trolley for a wholly wonderful time at Hollywood.

Holly Trolley Schedule
Runs every 12 minutes
Thursday - Saturday
6:30pm - 2:30am
No service on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

FARE: $1.00
LADOT Pass Holders: Free

Holly Trolley Route Map

Attention shopaholics there’s a new store to check out in Hollywood!

The newest Chanel store is set to open this Friday, May 30, at Robertson Boulevard in West hollywood. The new store would is uniquely packaged compared to other Chanel stores in that it is like a mini-Chanel store. This makes it blend in with the quaint look of the other boutiques located in Robertson Boulevard. Robertson is after all known for its indie boutiques.

The Channel “mini-store” is actually a 5000 plus square foot two-storey building done in the classic black and white Chanel is known for. Clearly the store is not a mini-store for the size but because it will feature only select pieces of this season’s collection. It will showcase the best of this season’s pieces from jewelry to nail polish, and of course ready-to-wear clothes.

With the Cannes Film Festiva ending today I’m pretty sure you’ll be seeing its logo all over the internet. However, did you know that Cannes is actually VERY strict about who can use their logo and how the logo is presented? To show how strict they are about quality control here’s a list of some of the Cannes Film Fest logo policies.

1. Using the Festival de Cannes identity is strictly reserved to the selected films and official partners.
2. All use of the palm outside of the official logotype is strictly prohibited to all parties other than the organiser and the organiser’s official publications.
3. The logotype can only be used in it’s original form, which means you cannot:

• change the typography
• remove/add any elements to the logo
• print the logo in 2 (or more) different colours
• change the proportion of the elements
• incline the logotype

4. Logotypes for different awards should be printed using the official colours (they specify the colour tones to be used!)

Though tempted to show their logo here what I’ll do is honor their policy and simply show some of their logo type restrictions. I know. I know but they didn’t say that you couldn’t show what NOT to do. I’m actually being helpful right?

Hollywood is synonymous to the entertainment industry and the stars that have shaped the glamorous it made it into the tinseltown everyone loves. To represent the glamour of Hollywood is the world famous sign HOLLYWOOD that can be spied from quite a distance not just across the city but continents away thanks to the numerous films the sign appears in! However, did you know that the original HOLLYWOOD sign actually read HOLLYWOODLAND?

The first HOLLYWOODLAND “billboard” was put up by Los Angeles Times Publisher Harry Chandler in 1923 to advertise his upscale real estate development. The huge billboard was lit up at night and blinked one syllable/word after the next ending with a huge dot/period. The sign was supposed to last only for about 6 months but was such a huge hit and came to embody the spirit of the whole city that it was maintained with great care until the depression hit and the real estate company went under in 1944.

In 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took pity on the neglected sign and got it to look more like the sign we now know by shortening the word to denote just eh city and not the real estate company as well as doing necessary repairs to give the sign a badly needed face lift. During the 1970s the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided that it was time to say goodbye to the decades old sign and build a new one. They had a hard time raising the amount needed to build the new sign ($.025 million!) until Hugh Hefner (yes Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner) came to the rescue by holding an gala to auction of each letter and the new sign was torn down and rebuilt by 1978.

Nowadays the sign, with all the prestige and history attached to it, lacks no sponsors when it needs a little facelift. In 1995 it got a new coat of paint thanks to Dutch Boy Paints. In 2000 it went hi-tech and was installed with a security system. In 2005 the security system was upgraded. And in 2005, a year after its 80th birthday it got another fresh coat of paint. Whatever happens, it seems that we’ll be seeing that HOLLYWOOD sign for a long long time. And that it a good thing….

Having recently seen Speed Racer I now feel the need to write about two of my favorite writers/ producers/ directors. The Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, has a pretty good list of films both as writers and producers. Although they only have relatively few films between them (15 as writers, 9 as producers, and 8 as directors) you’ll be surprised at the number of awards they have earned, although I’d say that if you saw any of their films you shouldn’t be surprised at all. In fact so far they’ve already been nominated 9 times for various awards and won 6 out of the 5 nominations.

Films and video games done by the Wachowski Brothers include:

Speed Racer (2008) - writers, producers, and directors
V for Vendetta (2005) - writers, producers
The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005 - video game) - writers, directors
The Matrix Online (2005 - video game) - writers, directors
The Matrix Revolutions (2003) - writers, executive producers, and directors
Enter the Matrix (2003 - video game) - writers, directors
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - writers, executive producers, and directors
The Animatrix (2003) - segment writers; producers
The Matrix (1999) - writers, producers, and directors
Bound (1996) - writers, executive producers, and directors
Assassins (1995) - writers

They are also producers of a film currently filming - Ninja Assassin.

The mark of the Wachowski brothers are one-of-a-kind surreal films that somehow feel familiar and believable. From machines taking over the world to race car drivers winning a fixed race the recurring theme is changing the world despite impossible odds. Hmmm. Sounds corny? Somehow the Wachowski brothers put it together to make it far from corny. Cool beans its another Wachowski film in the making!

Lots of visitors coming to Hollywood do so to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars. The great thing about the place is that anywhere you go the chances of being star struck is there.

If you want to spot some big stars but start feeling hungry from all the sightseeing you might as well visit restaurants that are the favorites of your favorite celebs including:

Spago Beverly Hills - The original Spago used to be located in west Hollywood but after Wolfgang Puck opened the Beverly Hills branch he had to let the first one go. If you want a sure shot at seeing big names this is the place to go especially during peak hours (7-9pm). The problem with the place though is that it is that you would need to book reservations days or even weeks in advance. Unless you’re a celeb or going out with one you also wouldn’t be able to get a table during the peak hours. Still the food is really excellent and at the very least you can say you’ve dined in the place where Sir Elton John, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, Robin Williams, Sydney Poitier, Tom Hanks, and so many more have dined.

Formosa Cafe - Fancy a drink? This is the place to go. Actually the place offers a lot more than drinks and has an excellent full menu everynight. Formosa Cafe is really frequented by the celebs though mostly just for cocktails. The great thing about Formosa Cafe is that the prices are relatively reasonable and the ambiance will make you fill at ease. Big names that have been spotted there include Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, James Dean, etc (although you surely wouldn’t see them coming again!). Among those alive and breathing big stars that have been seen there include Bono, Nicolas Cage, Britney Spears, Jodie Foster, Kevin Spacey, an more.