Hollywood

Day 8

Today was all about Hollywood.  We started the day with a trip to the famous Hollywood Sign.  It was a cold overcast day so not as clear a photo as I was hoping.

From there we went to the Stars homes.  Unfortunately most of them were behind high trees and fences or security gates.  Attached is the timber house of Harrison Ford's which he built himself.  Apparently he was a carpenter before he became a movie star.
The ones we could see were magnificent and I took a lot of photos but then I have to try to remember who lived where.

On the way back we drove down the Hollywood Walk of Fame and saw Scarlett Johansson get her star there.  Our driver went around the block 3 times so we could get a good photo.  She was then introduced to the crowd by her co-star Jeremy Renner (Hurt
Locker fame)and we got another one of her making her speach.

From there we did the Warner Bros tour.  It was a real eye opener and everything was not what it seemed.  The sets looked like brick homes but were actually facades of ply and fibre glass.  They explained how and where movies were made and even MASH was made on the hill just above the block. 

We went on the set of The Mentalist and it is all made in 3 small plain rooms.  Everything was done with virtual or digital background images.  Ian's eyes lit up when we went into the vehicle area and he came across Clint Eastwoods 1972 Gran Torino.  There was also the Dukes of Harrards, Batman, gangster cars etc.

Tomorrow is just around Los Angeles on the Hop On Hop Off bus.