Standing at the base of the 14-meter-tall, bright white letters overlooking the sprawling city of Los Angeles, our tour guide tells us, “The Hollywood Sign is America.”
Administrator Jeff Zarrinnam has been asking visitors for 40 years what the symbol represents to them, and one standout answer has been “All the way up, baby.”
“LA is not just the entertainment industry, it is about people striving to achieve their goals. The sign is a beacon of ambition that motivates them to push themselves to the limit,” says Zarrinnam.
Normally, approaching the sign would trigger sirens and the arrival of helicopters. There is 24-hour surveillance and an entire LAPD sheriff’s department dedicated to protection.
But “Mr. Hollywood” himself lets us in through a locked gate on a private tour – a man with a once-in-a-generation title. The next day, Miley Cyrus does the same tour.
Zarrinnam’s parents immigrated to the States in the 1950s; His German mother was a hair producer and his Iranian father was a waiter. Both pursued the American dream. Today, Zarrinnam is a hotelier and chairman of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
The Hollywood Sign Trust maintains the sign and a special division of the LAPD protects it.
I ask Mr. Hollywood if that dream is still alive in LA. He acknowledges that the city has a homeless problem, but emphasizes that Mayor Karen Bass is “full-on” focused on solving the problem.
During my four-day stay in LA, I got the impression that it was a case of “thrive or dive.” The cost of living is sky-high, but for those who can make a living, the options are endless. It’s a lifestyle-obsessed culture that’s all about playing hard and playing hard.
We visit Erewhon, a health products supermarket where aspiring celebrities shop, seemingly just to be seen and get a photo for the ‘Gram. On the shelf is a 470ml jar of East African sea moss soaked in alkaline water for NZ$83.
To adapt, I buy Hayley Bieber’s smoothie, which contains 13 ingredients, including sea moss, and costs NZ$30. But to me it just tastes like a strawberry milkshake.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
The weather in Los Angeles is almost constantly sunny and the hours of sunshine extend well into the evening, even in autumn.
Later I see a robot shopping cart on the street delivering groceries. It stops to make room for a pedestrian, a homeless man, who pushes it to the side, leaving it to lie on its back like a beetle.
The hustle and bustle of LA is brought home to me when I meet up-and-coming rappers handing out mix CDs on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You don’t find many takers.
I take one for the novelty, but when I see this, another rapper quickly comes over and offers me a signed CD labeled “J Doggy Dog.”
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
LA isn’t glitz and glamour, it’s guts and glamour, a lifelong resident and tour guide tells us.
“We survive out here on donations. $20 would be enough,” he tells me. It’s an obvious scam, but I tell him and he enthusiastically tells me that I “brought the dream back to life.”
I take a photo with them and who knows, I might have just met the next big thing.
There are celebrities everywhere in LA, as long as you can recognize them. It turns out that it can be difficult to recognize famous faces on the street when they’re just living their lives and looking like a normal person.
During a visit to the LACMA art museum, a woman almost runs into me. Soon after, I was told it was Eva Longoria, traveling with her children.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
The juxtaposition of fancy cars and run-down, graffiti-covered theaters is a classic LA sight.
On another occasion, while sipping a cortado at a cafe at the foot of the Hollywood Hills, I saw Anna Kendrick a few tables away. Then Cliff Curtis comes in.
He doesn’t seem to recognize Kendrick, but I take the opportunity to introduce him and ask him if he has any tips for Kiwis moving to the city.
“Some people have a natural flair for LA life, but I’m a little less inclined. I like finding little corners to hide in these back streets up in the canyons,” he says.
I ask him if he managed to find a place to watch the recent Rugby World Cup final, and sure enough he found two British pubs in LA for just that purpose.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Tim Phin of Remix Magazine and actor Cliff Curtis in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.
On a bike ride through Hollywood’s old money suburbs, Erik Hines of Bike and Hikes tells us there are two sides to LA.
He explains that LA is not glitz, but boldness and glamour. During World War II it was a center of munitions production, and after the war there was a call for workers to emigrate to LA.
Three million people have moved there in 15 years, attracted by well-paying jobs and affordable housing, he says. The decorative homes purchased for around $15,000 are now worth up to $120 million.
Likewise, the film industry was attracted to cheap real estate – not the luxurious California lifestyle and sun.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
The iconic Central Perk fountain and cafe set from the TV show Friends is on display at Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles.
When we visit the Warner Bros. studio lot, it is eerily quiet, be it because of the actor’s strike or because of the sadness over the death of Matthew Perry. The property is the size of a city, like a Vatican in LA.
The fountain from the intro to the Friends sitcom “I’ll Be There for You” is preserved there along with a fiberglass couch. A bouquet of flowers was respectfully placed next to it.
Visitors can also take a seat in the café atmosphere of Central Perk and have their photo taken at the TV group’s regular table.
Our guide tells us that since working on the tour, he has been shocked by the mania that the sitcom has created among visitors, along with The Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow set.
He has had several jobs in the entertainment industry, including as a paparazzo, and working as a tour guide is the latest. “You take any job you can get in this city,” he says several times.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Visitors to the Warner Brothers studio in Los Angeles can have their photo taken on the Central Perk Cafe set of Friends.
Discover LA’s Chris Heywood believes the city’s diverse neighborhoods offer a place for everyone who visits them.
“We’ve heard from focus groups that people come here because they can really be themselves and take risks,” he says.
Divided into districts dedicated to art, music or film, the city has ethnic enclaves with the largest diaspora of various countries, including Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Iran.
Last but not least, he says, Kiwi travelers should go there for the Californian weather, which is warm during the day and cool in the evening.
“LA has 329 days of sunshine a year and at night there is automatic air conditioning, you just open a window.”
Fact file:
Get there: Delta Air Lines flies daily from Auckland to Los Angeles. From April to October the service is reduced to three times a week. See: delta.com
Carbon footprint: CO2 emissions are created when flying. To reduce your impact, consider other travel options, combine your trips, and if you must fly, consider offsetting your emissions.
The author flew as a guest of Delta Air Lines.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Marijuana is legal in Los Angeles and the smell is in the air as soon as we leave the airport.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
LACMA Art Museum’s iconic lampposts are a favorite for images for the ‘gram.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Palm trees are everywhere in Los Angeles, but they are not native.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
LA isn’t glitz and glamour, it’s guts and glamour, a lifelong resident and tour guide tells us.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
The weather in Los Angeles is almost constantly sunny and the hours of sunshine extend well into the evening, even in autumn.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Los Angeles has different rules with high fines and each district may have its own bylaws.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Wide-open streetscapes and people-watching opportunities abound in the second-largest city in the United States.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Former bank buildings in Downtown LA have been converted into high-end lofts for rent and purchase.
Jonathan Killick/Stuff
Downtown LA seen from the Hollywood Hills.
Comments are closed.