5 Lessons Learned From 1950's SUNSET BOULEVARD

Billy Wilder’s 1950 film noir classic, SUNSET BOULEVARD, won three Academy Awards and has inspired countless viewers to wrap their heads in leopard-print turbans while perfecting lines like, “We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces!”

Why do people still freak out over this film? Perhaps it’s William Holden’s cleft chin, or nostalgia for the Golden Age of cinema. Could be that people enjoy experiencing the worst of Hollywood made by the best of Hollywood. Or, maybe we all just like seeing Gloria Swanson, a true silent screen goddess making the mother of all comebacks in this film, do her Charlie Chaplin routine.

Here are a few things we learned while watching the film for the umpteenth time and deciding that we are firmly #TeamNorma:

1. When a delusional former silent film star (Norma Desmond) falls for you (Joe Gillis) – try not to end up floating in her pool, even if you do make the most handsome corpse ever.  Next time you want to leave, try sneaking out the back door while she is playing bridge with Waxworks buddies like Buster Keaton.

2. If you happen to be a former silent film star that has not had a hit in, oh….decades, it is important to pay attention to your budget. When hiring staff, save some coin by hiring someone like Max, who can chauffeur, be a butler and play the organ. Yes, he may have once directed you and been your husband, but—bygones!

3. Don't mix work and, um, pleasure. If you accept the role of Norma Desmond’s male “companion”– be that and only that. If she wants you to work on her comeback screenplay where she will play a teenager, tell her to to hire a ghostwriter. And if you want to hone your writing skills, start a blog.

4. While living with a former silent film star, don’t fall in love with any sweet ingénues like Betty Schaefer. True love does not exist in film noir, and you don’t have time for it anyway because you are busy attending funerals for monkeys and driving through the hills with Norma and Max.

 

5. If YOU are the former silent film star and are losing your grip on reality, one must always remember their adoring public and make an entrance like the queen of the screen you once were. Assemble the police and the press, and descend the stairs of your mansion to deliver one of the most famous lines in film history: “All right, Mr. DeMille. I’m ready for my close-up.”

 

 

 

And by the way...don't bother looking for Norma's house on Sunset Boulevard; it was actually on WILSHIRE Boulevard, and has since been torn down. 

 

Hear my Classic Movie Recall review of SUNSET BOULEVARD here. 

 

This blog was co-written with Tracey LaMonica.

Tea For Two With A Side Of Old Hollywood Glam At The Millennium Biltmore Hotel

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, a Historic Cultural Landmark, is located on Grand Avenue, right across the street from the Central Library, and has retained its classic glamour for almost 100 years. It opened in 1923, and at the time was the largest hotel west of Chicago. Even now, surrounded by skyscrapers, it still looks and feels imposing with a solid eleven stories. It is beautiful and warm on the inside, and the perfect place to kick back and relax with an afternoon tea break.

The Biltmore has always had a strong Hollywood connection, from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences being founded here, to the rumor that MGM Art Director Cedric Gibbons sketched a drawing on a napkin that was the basis for the Oscar statue, to hosting eight Academy Awards ceremonies in the 1930s and 1940s.

It is tough to pin the décor down to one style; is it Mediterranean? Beaux Arts? Spanish? Yes, yes, yes, and more. As you stroll in, make sure you look up in the Galleria to see the hand-painted, frescoed mural ceiling done by Italian artist Giovanni Smeraldi (one of the restaurants in the hotel was named after him).

Afternoon tea happens Wednesday through Sunday (reservations are recommended), in the Rendezvous Court, which was once the hotel's lobby. The tables are set up beside a gently gurgling fountain, under Italian chandeliers, and at the foot of an impressive Spanish Baroque staircase that you may have seen on the TV show Entourage.

 The Princess Tea includes a pot of tea, a freshly baked scone with cream and preserves, and a selection of freshly baked cakes. The Victorian Tea (which is what I--Lara-- had on my visit) came with more than enough food and drink to fill up two people, served on a three-tiered stand on tables covered in white tablecloths and set with china featuring a sweet rose pattern.

There is a wonderful variety of teas to soothe away stress and help you forget that you are surrounded by the busy streets of Downtown Los Angeles, including Ceylon and India, Black Tea Blended, English Royal Breakfast, Masala Chai, Lemon Echinacea (good for a cold), and Apricot Cinnamon. 

The tea sandwiches are cut into tiny diamond shapes...with the crusts off, of course! My selection included egg salad and asparagus, smoked salmon and dill butter, cucumber and cream cheese, and ham and cheese on pumpernickel. 

The pastries include fruit tarts, chocolate truffles, and  freshly baked scones with homemade Devonshire cream and strawberry preserves that will most likely have you licking the heavenly clotted cream off of your fingers.

(This blog is also up at www.ClassicMovieRecall.com, where you can also hear my podcast.)

Contact Info:
Millennium Biltmore Hotel
506 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90071
213-624-1011

Tell Me Something Good Tuesday

Why am I hugging two K-EARTH 101 Street Teamers in front of our Surf Pig? Which is, literally, a van with a pig on a surfboard on top.

I got to be a part of Tell Me Something Good Tuesday, which my friends Gary Bryan and Lisa Stanley do every week on the K-EARTH 101 Morning Show. The idea is that people share something positive that has happened to them on the radio with our millions of listeners, and that makes everyone happy.

We took it to the streets (Ventura Boulevard and Allott) of Sherman Oaks early this morning, and we were looking for someone who wanted a $100 Starbucks gift card for breakfast.

It took about 30 minutes to find someone, but a beautiful and sweet mama named Alicia walked up with her little daughter, Zoe, and asked, "What are you guys doing?" As people tend to do when there is a pig on a surfboard on a van behind you.

We told her about the gift card, gave Zoe a Barbie DVD, and then told her about one small twist: We asked if she would be willing to pay it forward and spend the gift card money to buy breakfast for everyone in Starbucks.

She didn't even hesitate, and gave us an excited yes! She called her mom to tell her to listen, went on the air to talk about what she was doing and how K-EARTH used to be her mom's station but is now her station (yay!), and then we headed inside.

It was a joy to see the surprise on everyone's faces when they placed their order and were told their coffee and food were being paid for by Alicia. One gentleman we talked to, Jacques, said he had been coming every morning for years to have breakfast and talk with his buddies (most of whom are veterans), and that this was the first time that anyone had bought him breakfast. And btw, the Starbucks manager, Ashlyn, and her team were AMAZING.

The money went quickly, as it tends to do when there is life-giving hot coffee and breakfast paninis, and when it was all gone we went back on the air because we had a surprise for Alicia: Tickets to see The Who in concert!!! She got super excited, and we were all  so happy to see that she was happy.

I noticed that, for the rest of the day, I did things like let people merge in front of me on the 101 and 405, and I smiled at people when I might normally have had RBF (resting b*tchy face), and I talked to the people around me and asked how their day was going. Mainly, I was inspired to share how Alicia didn't hesitate to share what she had been given, and I am now thinking of ways that I can give back. A day like today is a great example of why I love radio and how it still has the power to make a difference in people's lives.