Compiled by O.

Zabolotnyi,
Kyiv 2009

Hollywood is a district in the

megapolis of Los Angeles, California, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due
to its fame of the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is
often used as a metonym (another name) of cinema of the United States. The nickname
Tinseltown refers to the glittering, superficial nature of Hollywood and the movie industry. Today,
much of the movie industry has moved into surrounding cities such as Burbank and the Los
Angeles Westside but significant auxiliary industries, such as editing, effects, props, post-
production and lighting companies, remain in Hollywood.

Left: Hollywood Boulevard as seen from the top

of the Kodak Theater (note the stars of the
Hollywood Walk of Fame)

Many historic Hollywood movie theaters are

used as concert stages to premiere major
theatrical releases and host the Academy
Awards (known as “Oscar”) ceremonies. It is
a popular destination for nightlife and
tourism and home to the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.

Motion picture industry

In early 1910, the Biograph Company based in New York sent a group of their employees
including actors Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore, and led by
director D. W. Griffith to the west coast. They started filming on a vacant lot in downtown Los
Angeles. The company decided to explore new territories and traveled five miles (8 km) north to
the little village of Hollywood, which was friendly and enjoyed the movie company filming there.
Griffith then filmed the first film ever shot in
Hollywood called In Old California, a short
melodrama set in Mexican colonial-era California
in the 1800s. But the movie company did not
remain in Los Angeles for long, and returned to
New York.

Left: A scene from The Squaw Man – the first feature

film made in Hollywood, California

The first studio in Hollywood was established by

the New Jersey-based Centaur Co., which wanted
to make westerns in California. They rented an
unused roadhouse (a sort of a cheap restaurant)
at 6121 Sunset Boulevard, and converted it into a movie studio in October 1911. The first
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feature film made specifically in a Hollywood studio, in 1914, was The Squaw Man, directed by
Cecil B. De Mille, who later became one of the most famous film directors. By 1915, the majority
of American films
were being produced
in the Los Angeles
area.

Right: Logos of some

major Hollywood film
companies

Several major film companies such as Paramount,

Warner Bros. and Columbia — had studios in
Hollywood, as did several minor companies and rental
studios.

Left: Hollywood movie studios, 1922

Right: Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are some of the

characters that became central to the company's
image of Warner Brothers.

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the

Oscars, are presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of
professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony
at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent film award ceremonies in the
world.

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, May 16,
1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor outstanding film
achievements of 1927 and 1928. It was hosted by actor Douglas
Fairbanks and director Cecil B. De Mille.

At the ceremony the hosts open sealed envelopes containing the names
of the winners who receive certificates and Oscar statuettes. The official
name of the statuette is the Academy Award of Merit. It depicts a knight
made in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of
film (see the photo on the left). The Academy Awards Ceremony is
televised live across the United States, Canada, and the United
Kingdom, and gathers millions of viewers in other countries of the world. In 2007 the ceremony
was watched by more than 40 million Americans.

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Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame runs west on Hollywood Boulevard

from Gower Avenue to La Brea Avenue and north to
south on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset
Boulevard. The Walk of Fame is nearly a three-and-a-
half-(3 1/2)-mile (5.6km) round-trip walk. Locations of
specific stars are permanent, except when occasionally
relocated for nearby construction or other reasons.

Each star consists of a pink five-pointed star rimmed

with bronze and inlaid into a charcoal square. Inside the
pink star is the name of the honoree inlaid in bronze, below which is a round bronze emblem
indicating the category for which the honoree received the star. The emblems are the following:

• Motion picture camera for contribution to the film industry

• Television set for contribution to the broadcast television industry
• Phonograph record for contribution to the recording industry
• Radio microphone for contribution to the broadcast radio industry
• Twin comedy/tragedy masks for contribution to live theater

Left: Before the 81st Academy

Awards Presentations, Hollywood and
Highland, Hollywood, 2009