Hollywood is located in the northwest of downtown Los Angeles. A group of us drove there, and we saw the eye-catching white characters HOLLYWOOD standing on the hillside behind Hollywood from a long distance. Each capital English letter is 15 meters high and 9 meters wide. It is also as bright as a pearl. It is said that in 1932, because a young actress could not bear the blow of failure, she climbed onto the “D” and jumped off the cliff to commit suicide. Since then, the signboard has been strictly protected and people are not allowed to approach it.
When we came to the gate of Universal Studios Hollywood, we were surrounded and pushed by bustling crowds. On the small square in front of the gate, there is a huge hollow and transparent globe made of stainless steel tubes, standing on a circular pool, and the surrounding springs and mist make the gleaming silver globe The setting is extraordinarily gorgeous and full of mysterious and dreamy colors. People rushed to take pictures in front of the symbolic globe, almost completely surrounding the round pool.
Universal Studios Hollywood is the largest film and television theme park in the world, covering an area of 168 hectares and built along an open half-hillside. The film and television city can be divided into three areas, that is, three content structures: one is an outdoor shooting base for sightseeing and sightseeing; the other is watching Hollywood representative works (especially high-tech contemporary films) in film and television theaters; The third is entertainment and commercial activity center. The most attractive thing is to take the tram to visit the mountains and rivers, watch and experience the location and shooting of some films. Therefore, after most tourists enter the city gate, they rush to the tram starting station.
It is a two-section bus-style environmental protection tour bus, but there are no ordinary doors and windows, and both sides can go up and down. A TV screen is installed on the top of the wall directly in front of the carriage, which is mainly used to show related Hollywood films; every time an important shooting spot is reached, certain shots in the film will appear on the screen accordingly, with English explanations; both The side by side is amazing. In fact, the entire gentle slopes and valleys surrounded by mountains and rivers were the former location scenes, with buildings of various shapes, various natural landscapes, various means of transportation, weapons and equipment, living and production facilities, and even character models dotted all over the place. All of them are the environments, scenes and used utensils and props that have been filmed in a certain movie… Therefore, when we travel around with the car ups and downs, we feel endless changes, colorful and dizzying. From time to time, I feel disorganized, dirty and even unsightly. This may just reflect the richness, complexity and diversity of the objective world, and present the breadth, inclusiveness and three-dimensionality of Hollywood movie themes. It is with such a vision and mentality that I watch and experience with great interest all the new, strange, dangerous and magical, wonderful and unique things in the journey around the world.
In fact, what you see, hear, feel, and touch along the way, although there are many kinds of things, are all in two forms: static and dynamic. The former are luxurious and beautiful office buildings, banks, post offices, shopping malls, apartments and villas, as well as tall factories and warehouses; grand and tragic war relics: bombed and burned houses and bloody ” Corpses”, the wreckage of planes, trains, and cars scattered everywhere; of course, there are also unspectacular hills, canyons, rivers, lakes, and unluxurious trees, flowers, and crops (many of which are artificially fake flowers and trees) …These are locations, real scenes or backgrounds in films that have been filmed many times, and almost all of them are created by film artists (including directors, photographers, artists, etc.) , “falsification”, “disguise” and various technological means have performed many vivid and lively dramas in the world, thus attracting, moving, shocking, charming (or “fooling”) the eyes of countless audiences , auditory and spiritual.
The dynamic performance of the shooting base is divided into two types: one is to macroscopically show the real environment and operation process of Hollywood blockbusters or huge scenes, complex plots; the other is to reproduce or simulate the wonderful shots of some films, so that tourists and audiences can experience the scene , Gather together with the characters and animals in the film, and have zero-distance contact and communication.
The first type of performance activities are the most exciting and lifelike, often making people feel like seeing the shape, hearing the sound, and smelling the smell. Many scenes and situations that happened around tourists can even make you thrilling, stunned and carried away.
When we took the tram equipped with the most advanced high-definition monitors, passed through the forest path, and drove into a small open area, suddenly, a row of churning floodwaters rushed down from the opposite hillside, throwing mud, rocks and branches along the way. After swallowing up all the sundries and debris, it roared and rushed towards the front of our car in an instant. When the people in the car were terrified and yelling in panic and excitement, Hong Feng seemed to lift and float the car, making the passengers Almost all “shared” the splash. Immediately afterwards, the mountain torrent roared and slipped past the two sides of the carriage, quietly flowing into the river ditch, and disappeared without a trace like mercury seeping into the desert. After a false alarm, everyone wiped the water from their faces and bodies and couldn’t help laughing. In fact, this is a near-miss artificially manipulated technological performance.
Unexpectedly, just as we were in shock, a black car flew in the air and rushed straight in front of our eyes. When it was about to hit the tram head-on, which aroused everyone’s exclamation again, it suddenly turned around and spun its body rapidly Suddenly, it made a few thrilling movements of rushing left and right, and rolling up and down in the air, which is staggering. It wasn’t until the tram stopped abruptly that the secret was revealed to the tourists: it turned out that the bottom of the black car and other cars of various models were connected and supported by a “mechanical arm”, and the “mechanical arm” was placed underground On the large turntable, the lifting, maneuvering, spinning and various difficult “acrobatics” performed by the driving car are all controlled by people. Only then did I suddenly realize: the thrilling scenes of cars chasing each other, colliding with each other, leaping, rolling, fighting and even exploding, burning, smashing and so on in American blockbusters are actually puppet shows of “black box operation”.
What’s more exciting is to show the war scenes shot in the film. When the tram drove to a pond with only a few hundred square meters, suddenly, a deafening explosion sounded from the quiet “golden pond” under the sun, and the originally flat water surface was filled with thick smoke and flames everywhere. , I saw a few ships bumping, shaking and burning in the billowing raging waves, while firing back at the air and shore. At the same time, in the bushes by the pond and on the dirt road, gunshots roared, smoke and dust flew up, and fierce battle scenes of desperate struggle appeared everywhere. Apparently, the aerobatic exercise with live steel cannons and open flames really has a thrilling deterrent power and artistic effect.
Coincidentally, in another small pool, several warriors dealt with and fought with pirates on the “Atlantic Ocean”. Shooting each other with a gun, suddenly falling into the water from a high place, and sometimes risking his life to rescue his comrades… Intense and intense, full of dangers, but also full of humor, finally defeated the pirates, and the wonderful performance aroused the cheers of the audience.
In addition, there are many natural and man-made disasters, emergencies and natural wonders, such as earthquakes and mountains, houses collapsing, trains derailing and colliding, poisonous snakes and beasts fighting, etc., all of which use sound, light, electricity, chemistry, Scientific principles such as biology and technical means such as computers bring people into a world full of magical, thrilling, magical and terrifying situations and atmospheres.
The second type of dynamic performance is to simulate and reproduce certain plots and details in the film at the shooting site, and simultaneously play the corresponding wonderful shots in the original film on the screen of the high-definition monitor, accompanied by English commentary.
For example, once, as soon as the tram drove into a dark tunnel, I felt a gloomy cold wind blowing on my face, followed by the strange roar of a creepy beast. I was inexplicably amazed when I suddenly saw a dinosaur rushing to the “window”. It should be known that the so-called “window” had no glass, and the roaring dinosaur with its mouth full of teeth was about to stick its head into the car. The unanimous exclamation of the tourists not only did not drive away the ferocious dinosaur, but “attracted” a group of more and bigger dinosaurs. They sometimes showed us with teeth and claws, sometimes chased and played with each other, and sometimes fought viciously. stand up. Everyone was watching lively, when suddenly some water poured in from the window with a “crash”. Instead, he laughed amusedly. Because I was sitting by the window, my head and face were naturally wet, so I subconsciously wiped my face with my hands, especially rubbing my eyes vigorously. At this time, a young blond beauty sitting next to me kindly pointed to the light brown glasses placed on the seat, smiled and beckoned me to wear them. Try it, and sure enough, the glasses for watching 3D movies are quite good, one can block the wind and water, and the other can see the three-dimensional effect. Therefore, the images of dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park” (a classic sci-fi blockbuster directed by Steven Spielberg) are more and more vivid.
Then, the scenes in the sci-fi horror adventure blockbusters “Tarzan of the Apes” (directed by Chris Buck) and “King Kong” (directed by Peter Jackson) that we watched became more vivid. The old friends we have known since childhood—apes and orangutans, full of texture and volume, and bigger, taller, and more powerful than the images on the screen, they are striding towards us tremblingly , kept roaring or running, and even stretched out huge furry and wrinkled black hands into the carriage, as if trying to grab something; it should be known that in the film, those black hands can hold the big beautiful woman on the ground. palm. This kind of visual and auditory hallucinations formed by high technology really has the artistic effect of scaring or laughing people to death.
What needs to be emphasized is that when watching the above-mentioned thrilling and highly stimulating scenes, the entire tour bus will also vibrate violently. , fully experience the fighting, murder, disaster and other plots in the film and the tense, thrilling, dangerous atmosphere in the film with empathy, so as to achieve the satisfaction of aesthetic psychology and the effect of entertainment.
After traveling by tram for a week, returning to the center of the film and television city, we went to various film and television theaters to watch masterpieces of Hollywood films. Film and television theaters include “Hollywood Bowl” (natural amphitheater), “Pilgrim” amphitheater, Greek Theater, California Art Club, etc., as well as Transformers Amusement Hall, Mummy Amusement Hall and Shrek 4D Cinema, etc. Looking at the functions of these places, in addition to replaying the highlights of some classic movies, it mainly reveals the inside story of performances and shooting, skills and sets, organs, facilities, and sometimes invites stars and actors to the stage and off the screen for live performances. , to speak out, communicate and interact with the audience. On the one hand, this plays a role in popularizing film art knowledge and disclosing and deciphering the mysteries of special effects. On the other hand, it also allows the audience to directly participate in the plot, enjoy it, and learn from it. Interestingly, there are mechanical devices on the seats and floor of the theater, which will move according to the needs of enjoying the content of the film, so that the mind and body of the audience can better sense the plot and synchronize with the characters on the screen.
In addition, the theater will also engage in some sudden “pranks” to create some kind of comic effect. For example, “Future Water World” imagines that one day in the future, the ice and snow at the two poles of the earth will melt, and all continents will be submerged under the waves. The brave heroine Helen finds a piece of land and fights desperately with the murderous demons and smokers who plan to occupy this treasure island. Defeat each other and start a new life for the survivors. The film’s special effects are superb and fascinating. Unexpectedly, when the audience was completely immersed in the thrilling scene, a “pourful rain” suddenly hit from the stage, which caught many audiences by surprise, especially those sitting in the front row suddenly became drowned. Even though, this design has been complained by some viewers, but I guess its original intention may be: to make people leave a deep impression on the film, to warn the world to care about climate deterioration, and to protect the ecological balance of the earth.
It takes ten minutes to drive from the film and television city to the bustling downtown, and you can reach the famous “Avenue of Stars”. As an important landscape and part of Hollywood, the “Avenue of Stars” is a 5-kilometer sidewalk stretching along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. . The five-pointed star on each medal is made of pink terrazzo, which is inlaid with bronze and embedded in a dark gray square; the name of the recipient is engraved on the bronze, and the ring mark at the bottom of the name represents the award The five patterns show the achievements of the stars in film, television, radio, records and stage performances. Since the first star was awarded to Joan Woodward (Woodward) on February 9, 1960, more than 2,400 directors, stars, actors, photographers and other film and television artists have enjoyed this honor so far. Among them are: the famous director Spielberg, the superstar Gregory Peck who played the leading roles in “Roman Holiday” and “Millionaire”, the hardcore star Schwarzenegger, Shirley Temple, Garbo, ” “Sexy Goddess” Marilyn Monroe and President Reagan… The Chinese who won the star medal include: Hong Kong martial arts stars Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, director John Woo, etc. Many film actors in the United States take it as a lifelong goal to engrave their names on this “celebrity corridor”. However, any star who wants to leave an artistic imprint on the Avenue of Stars must first pay an application fee of 5,000 US dollars, and in the “Avenue of Stars Branding Ceremony” held once a month on average, there must be more than 50 people in the crowd Attend the ceremony and join us.
The busiest parts of the Avenue of Stars are the Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theater. The Chinese Theater was opened as early as May 1927 and got its name because its appearance imitated the style and style of Chinese classical architecture. The 69-foot-high bronze-colored roof soars into the sky, and the two red-painted columns decorated with faucets at the entrance of the theater are quite magnificent, and the interior design is also full of Chinese artistic concepts. The most striking thing is that 173 star handprints and footprints were left on a concrete floor of about 100 square meters in front of the gate of the Chinese Theater. Walking and taking pictures, expressing love and admiration for film and television artists.
The Kodak Theater, not far from the Chinese Theatre, is a purely Western-style building that opened on November 9, 2001. Since then, it has become the new venue for the annual Academy Awards ceremony. Standing on the upper floor of the Kodak Theater, you can have a panoramic view of the hillside behind Hollywood and the large white characters HOLLYWOOD.
