Hollywood Week: Day 4

Day 4 saw me making a strange decision. I decided to walk from Hollywood and Highlands to the Sunset Strip. That is no short walk. It's a good thing I like walking.

Before I started my walk, I noticed something different out on the boulevard. We have a red carpet!

However, the red carpet doesn't extend too far just yet. The walk through the centre to the Dolby Theater is still covered in bubble wrap.

You can hardly blame them. A red carpet doesn't seem anywhere near as attractive or exquisite if you think about the thousands of tourists who have walked over it before you.

It was a beautiful day so I had to take a picture of the Chinese Theater in all it's glory. No matter how many times I go to Hollywood, I always get a kick out of looking at all of the signatures on the forecourt. I always tend to be the person who is more excited about the old Hollywood stars than the new (although they are exciting too). I love Mary Pickford's and Lana Turner's.

Now considering I was going to hike to the Sunset Strip, I took La Brea Ave to get there and if you continue down La Brea towards Santa Monica, you will come across an old studio which has a statue of Kermit dressed up as Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp. This is The Jim Henson Studios and was once Charlie Chaplin's Studios. I am a big Chaplin fan so you can imagine my delight when I found this at the front, which I never knew existed. 

I often get annoyed that so many important parts of Hollywood's history have been torn down to make way for new developments, so I really love the fact that they still honour such a vital piece of Hollywood history. If one man deserves to be honoured, it is Chaplin. He did so much for film, but I most admire him for how he never backed down from what he believed in, even if it was inevitable that it was going to cause some sort of controversy.

So after my close encounter with the Chaplin kind, I set off down Sunset Blvd. I have no idea how long it took me to eventually arrive at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf opposite the Directors Guild. I wasn't really worried about timing. I just enjoyed the walk and taking it all in.

I spent a few hours just people watching and writing before I met up with my friend, Michelle there. Michelle has really helped me out with Movie Critical over the years and continues to do so. It was great to see her and talk about what we are going to be working on in the future, as well as of course talk about Hollywood during Oscars season!

Michelle gave me a bit of a driving tour about where everything takes place prior to the Oscars and after the Oscars. Afterwards I continued my walk around West Hollywood. The Chateau Marmont is another beautiful hotel. One I would love to stay in one day. It is famous for celebrity spotting and played host the Vanity Fair's post Oscar party this year.

Before turning in for the night, I took another look at the how the Dolby Theater was shaping up for the big night on Sunday.

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