You would think that Hollywood has no problems when it comes to attracting visitors. Immortalized in movies, songs, and TV shows, Hollywood is a place that people around the world dream of visiting. Why should they have any problems when it comes to lack of tourists? Indeed, their problem just might be the opposite – too many visitors to handle.

Apparently, Hollywood is no different from any other city in that it needs advertising campaigns to push the tourism industry. In fact, this year, they are launching Visit Hollywood 2010, a campaign to showcase what Hollywood has to offer. I don’t really understand why they have to do that, but that goes to show how much I know! The L.A. Times reports:

The effort comes as the travel and tourism industries begin to show signs of rebounding from the worst economic recession in a generation.

For example, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Hollywood Walk of Fame; the 70th anniversary of the Hollywood Palladium theater; and the 25th anniversary of the Rock Walk, a rock music tribute along Sunset Boulevard.

I suppose that this year does merit highlighting many things in Hollywood. After all, you can’t have too many visitors bringing money into the coffers. With these milestones happening in 2010, I cannot think of a better time to pay Hollywood a visit. If you’re planning a major trip this year, then why not Hollywood?

Hollywood now comes with a big W. I don’t mean HollyWood but the new W Hotel and Residences that opened last Friday on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.

The W Hotel is a mixed-use development with hotel suites and apartment for a total of 143 residences, restaurants, clubs, shops, and a subway station right underneath it. The W Hotel also has energy efficient rooms and is expected to draw more tourists to Hollywood.

The W Hotel presents $350 million in investment, which is expected by the city government to be pumped right back to the economy. In terms of employment this will be true since it will bring about 500 jobs, good news with the still struggling economy. Aside from the jobs they are hoping that the development will end up revitalizing the whole area surrounding the hotel. According to Gatehouse Capital CEO Marty Collins, “It creates and really anchors a vision that allows the whole area to expand and really in some ways become back to what it once was before, that whole renaissance of Hollywood.”

However, some are already calling the hotel “ungainly”. As Christopher Hawthorne, architecture critic of LA Times, said, “The rather ungainly result… is not what you’d call an elegant addition to the rapidly expanding Hollywood skyline,” but even he has to agree that how this “urban-experiment” will end is still a puzzle that will only be solved by time. For now we can be sure that this curiosity will be the talk of Hollywood; as to what people will be saying, we can only wait and see.

Many negative things have been said about Hollywood and its inhabitants but one thing is for sure: they have always been ready to lend a helping hand whenever it is needed. The most recent catastrophe to have caught the attention of the international community was the earthquake that hit Haiti. Keeping true to form, Hollywood has not been left behind in the relief efforts.

Tomorrow, a prominent band will be playing to benefit the people of Haiti. Radiohead is scheduled to hold a concert at the Henry Fonda Theatre. It is in fact a last minute show that has been organized to add to the already immense support being poured on the country. An interesting twist to the concert is that tickets are only being sold through bidding. The bidding started on Thursday and will end today at 11 AM – that gives you less than a day to get your hands on some tickets.

Here is the announcement of the band from their web site:

Radiohead for Haiti
We’re doing a show this Sunday (24th January) to raise funds for the relief effort in Haiti. The venue is The Music Box Theatre at The Fonda in Los Angeles, doors at 7pm. All proceeds are going to the Oxfam Haiti relief fund. We’re trying to raise as much money as possible, so tickets will be sold by auction at this site from 8pm tonight until 11am Saturday (PST):

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/09004434FC1C86AC

We’re in the middle of recording at the moment, so you’ll be catching us on the fly…. but if you’re up for it, then we are too.

See you then
x

Radiohead fans: here is your chance to spend a night with your favorite band in a relatively small setting. While you’re at it, you will be helping those who need it the most! It’s a win-win situation.

For many Hollywood figures, getting a star in the Walk of Fame is one of the pinnacles of their careers. Once you get a Hollywood star, you are immortalized. But what happens when your star disappears from the Walk of Fame?

This is what’s going on with Beatles front man John Lennon’s star. The other day, LAist reported that the star has gone missing:

Over the weekend LAist received an email tip regarding John Lennon’s star on the world-famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. It seems that at 1750 Vine Street the spot “is covered up with a trashbag, and beneath that is an empty outline of a star,” prompting Lennon fans on the Beatlestweets site to claim the assassinated Fab Four member’s star is “missing.”

Naturally, people have been talking about what might have happened. All the conspiracy theorists out there have their own ideas, but the popular theories are:

Speculation seems to be centered on damage to the terrazzo and brass star, which was dedicated on September 30th, 1988, necessitating its full removal from the sidewalk, or its possible removal to prepare the area for the addition of Ringo Starr’s star. Starr is one of 28 celebrities who will be honored in 2010 with a place on the Walk of Fame on February 8th, kicking off the Walk’s 50th anniversary.

Both are quite plausible, aren’t they? After all, why would you leave a damaged star on the Walk? Also, as high profile as that star (and area) is, how possible is it for someone to spend time to chip away the star without anyone else noticing it? I bet we’ll be seeing a replacement soon.

Rolling Stone – the magazine – has long ago established a name for itself in the entertainment and news industry. Aspiring musicians and writers consider themselves made once they become a part of the magazine. Over the years, Rolling Stone has become an icon in its niche.

Here’s the news: they are branching out into something quite new for them. According to the LA Times, the owners of the magazine are aiming to further cement their iconic status by setting up a restaurant and nightclub in Hollywood. And that is only the first step.

Think Planet Hollywood. Think Hard Rock Café. If things go as planned, Rolling Stone (the restaurant and nightclub) will be seen all over the place. Next summer, we should see the flagship branch at Hollywood & Highland Center. And according to the owners, guests will be in for a treat – more than one can expect at their competitors. They say that the food will be of better quality and everything is supposed to be hipper and fancier than all the other establishments in its niche.

More from the LA Times:

The Rolling Stone venue in Hollywood will operate on two tiers, Donnelly said. On the top level, which opens into the mall, will be a restaurant and bar intended to appeal to the estimated 15 million tourists a year who come to the Hollywood intersection near Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. He also hopes to pull in local residents who may come to watch sports or have a drink.

Being located in a mall certainly has its pluses. Even if you didn’t intend to go to the resto in the first place, you probably would be enticed once you see it. Something to look forward to next year!

This year has not been kind to our Hollywood stars, and now, another Hollywood icon is battling a serious disease. Dennis Hopper, who is now 73 years old, is dealing with prostate cancer. He is currently undergoing treatment under a special program at the University of South California.

More on his condition from The Telegraph:

The Hollywood actor, who has been married five times and has four children, has cancelled all travel plans so he could focus on treatment, Mr Maydew said. “We’re hoping for the best,” his manager told the entertainment website E! Online. He declined to comment further.

Hopper was due to visit Australia next month for the opening of a Melbourne exhibition, Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood. He said he was “very disappointed” at not being able to travel to Australia for the exhibition, a collection of his artwork and photography, at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne.

Born in May 17, 1936, Dennis Hopper has established a name for himself worldwide in the realms of acting and filmmaking. He is best known for works such as Rebel Without A Cause, Easy Rider, and Speed – among many others. Unbeknownst to many, Dennis Hopper is also active in other pursuits aside from the big screen. He is an avid photographer, painter, and sculptor. As a matter of fact, his work is scattered in exhibits all over the world.

For now, this artist is battling perhaps one of the biggest challenges in his life. Our prayers are with him, together with the hopes that he conquers this disease much like he conquered every thing else in his life.

Got some free time this Thursday? Rather, do you have all of Thursday free? If so, and if you are a fan of Flaming Lips, get your butt over to Hollywood’s Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, which is near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The news is that the band is going to have a FREE concert at 7:30 pm.

There’s some good and some bad here. The good first: the concert is FREE. It is sponsored by MySpace, and they are throwing away the tickets on a first come first served basis. That’s the bad. You know how these things go. Even though the concert is not starting till 7:30 pm, you would have to be there hours earlier to score some tickets.

So why is this gig creating such noise? If you haven’t heard, Flaming Lips has released a new album after so many years. Titled “Embryonic,” the album is getting favorable reviews. This psychedelic band has been in the scene for quite some time now, and while not everyone is into their music, they do have a strong following. Also, a teaser tells us that this will be the band’s last performance till next year. That’s enough reason for fans to make it to Thursday’s concert.

By the way, if you buy the CD at Amoeba, you will also get free tickets. As it was released Tuesday, I don’t know if there are any left. You could go check it out, though. I am sure that beats having to line up early at the venue.

Who would have thought? After all, mainstream journalism does not normally pay its respects to tabloids. But then again, can TMZ be categorized under this label?

I could hardly believe it, but BBC has a full write up on TMZ. Apparently, the Hollywood-based entertainment news web site has already been attracting the attention of other journalists and has been building a reputation for getting the scoop on the hottest happenings in Hollywood – ahead of everyone else. Seems to me that the BBC write up is all positive:

TMZ broke the news of Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic tirade against a police officer, and it was the first to publish the photograph of a bruised Rihanna after she was assaulted by Chris Brown.

But it was the Jackson story that focused attention on the site more than ever before. Mainstream media outlets struggled to confirm the singer’s death while TMZ had details that proved to be accurate.
Once viewed as a bunch of mavericks, the site won the grudging respect of established news organizations.

I say, what better place to evolve from being mavericks to an established and respected entity than in Hollywood? After all, this is where dreams do come true, right?

People behind TMZ also have a lot to say. Harvey Levin – that familiar grinning face you see on TMZ’s TV version – edits the web sites and claims that their extensive contact book is one of the best in town, and that it is the key to their success. Well people, if you have something to say, you know who to approach now.

Yoga has long become a trend in celebrity circles for getting and staying fit. If rumors are to be believed, though, the in thing these days is going butt naked to do yoga! Rumors being what they are, nothing has really been confirmed, but if they are to be believed, Hollywood celebrities such as Nicolas Cage, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Jennifer Lopez, and Rita Wilson are doing naked yoga.

So what is so special about naked yoga? The World Sentinel reports:

The proponents of naked yoga say that it is taboo-breaking, thrill, liberation, unique perspective, profound spiritual and healing experience; unifies body-soul-mind; sheds barriers/inhibitions/masks; provides greater freedom of movement; saves the hassle of buying expensive yoga outfits; offers acceptance of body with all imperfections; makes one feel comfortable in one´s own skin; overcomes weight/body image issue; etc. But they insist that it is not about sex.

They just had to include that disclaimer about sex, didn’t they? Anyhow, yoga practitioners say that many people actually practice yoga naked in the comforts of their own homes. After all, yoga practitioners are actually encouraged to do the exercises on their own. And who (or what) is to stop private individuals to do yoga without any clothes? Joining a whole class wherein everyone – instructor and students alike – is something else altogether!

Despite my inhibitions (and other people’s as well, perhaps), naked yoga is actually catching on. If you think about it, the Hollywood stars are not pioneers in this field. There are many naked yoga clubs around the world. Check your local listing, there might be one near you.

Photo courtesy of www.yogalifestyle.com

Hollywood relies mainly on one thing for revenue: making movies. While there are many other streams of revenue in this town, movies are what really rake the dough in. That is why when something threatens movies and the revenue they are bringing in, Hollywood execs are quick to go up in arms.

The latest threat comes in a unique shape – that of a big red box. Dubbed Redbox, this “threat” is a self-serve DVD rental kiosk which is placed in strategic locations all over Hollywood. The price of a rental is a mere $1, making it such a convenience for anyone who wants to watch a movie. Being self-serve, the Redbox kiosks are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no danger of having the movie rental store close on you or anything like that.

While people might be happy about this development, Hollywood execs are not. In fact, they are taking rather drastic measures in order to stop this threat from becoming a full blown problem. The management of 20th Century Fox, for example, has already issued a directive that their wholesalers are not allowed to sell DVDs to Redbox until a month (30 days) after the initial release. Obviously, this step is meant to help increase the DVD sales before Redbox can release their own for rental.

I know that the movie companies are out there to make money but in these hard times, average people like me really really appreciate services like Redbox. Heck, that’s better than downloading movies illegally, right?