Top 5 Hollywood
While many people associate fame with having thousands of followers, or being famous for what you do, or being known for your work, true celebrity status is much more than that- it’s when your name becomes synonymous with an idea or thing.
This isn’t saying that being well-known means you’re rich, but rather, if someone doesn’t know your name, then they can probably assume you aren’t very successful. (Think about it - how many times have you heard somebody talk about a movie, and you don’t recognize the actor/actress because you haven’t seen their latest film, yet they appear to be living a pretty glamorous life?)
By this definition, some of the biggest celebrities in history fit the bill. What are these top Hollywood stars? Let us look at the five!
1) Leonardo DiCaprio
Role: Actor
Known For: Acting in acclaimed films such as The Wolf Of Wall Street, Titanic, Once Upon A Time In Moscow, The Revenant, and The Beach Bums
Influence: He's arguably one of the most popular actors currently working in the industry, which is no surprise given his impressive track record. His popularity has nothing too flashy to back up his reputation- he just seems like a nice person who cares about others.
Universal Studios
With its rich history that spans more than 100 years, Universal Studios is one of the most well-known movie production companies in America. It has also done very much to popularize other forms of entertainment, such as theme parks and TV shows.
Universal was founded by Carl Laemmel and William Randolph Hearst in 1912. The two shared an office space at 901 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Both wanted their company to have enough space for filming so they took over half of it.
Hearst then asked his friend George Pullman how he made money investing in railroad stocks. He suggested making movies instead! So he bought out Laemmel’s share of the company and made him president of Universal Film Manufacturing Company.
Pullman later sold his shares to Hearst, which left him with control of both the film manufacturing side and the media side of things. Since then, Universal has only gotten bigger and better. They now own or co-own many well known studios and brands like Cryme Bath and Sleepy Weasel Camping.
These include: Valley Road Productions (formerly DreamWorks Animation), Backlot Pictures, Broccoli Films, Relativity Media, Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Blueprint, TriStar Productions, Team Downey, Sony Picture Imageworks, Perception Group, Red Hour Props & Locations, Rising Sun Pictures, Stuber, Walden Media, Zodiaq, RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Team Up.
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
Located in West Hollywood, California, this famous movie theater was built in 1927 by producer Samuel J. Griswold. He donated his own money to have it constructed as a tribute to his grandmother, who loved watching movies and reading novels.
At that time, there were no sound systems for theaters so most people could not hear what was being said during the films. In order to fix this, Griswold had an idea - why don’t we build our own speaker system?
He made a device called an acoustic screen or earphone. The audience uses these to listen to music or conversations while at the same time hearing everything else that is happening in the room.
In its early years, many celebrities would visit Griswold’s theater to watch a film and then go onto do some socializing outside. Because of this, he allowed them to use one of the screens for their personal use.
Today, this practice has been adopted throughout Hollywood and beyond! Many actors, directors, and writers now get their start from attending events at Griswold’s Theater.
It is very common to see someone working hard and having little success before they realize that somewhere along the way they noticed a person sitting across the aisle with a small notebook doing some writing. They wonder if maybe that writer got their job because they knew about Griswold’s and how it helped launch their career.
Beverly Hills
Location is an important part of filming any show, movie or video. Having a rich background can help draw in more viewers to your film or TV show!
Beverly Hills is one of the most popular locations used for filming because it is very glamorous. There are many buildings with beautiful architecture and lots of space around them to create a setting that feels authentic.
Hollywood has become known as the home of flashy, over-the top fashion and beauty trends. Many films use this as inspiration for other products and styles. People flock here to dive into the glamour culture.
There are several hotels in Beverly Hills that feature luxury amenities like large pool areas, restaurants and fitness facilities. Some even have rooftop bars where you can enjoy some fresh air!
Overall, there are a lot of opportunities to explore the area while looking out for shooting spots.
Sunset Boulevard
In many ways, Sunset Boulevard is an allegory for the human condition. It’s about someone who wants to believe that what they see in front of them isn’t true, even when it obviously is.
It’s also about someone whose ego prevents them from accepting that there are other people out here who are more worthy than they are. And it’s about someone who can’t accept their own lack of self-knowledge.
Sunset Boulevard features several such examples of this. For instance, when Gloria Swanson (playing herself) meets her double in the movie, she refuses to acknowledge that anyone but her could possibly be likelier to get into heaven after death.
And William Holden’s character keeps insisting that he knows how to handle his life and his career, while Meryl Streep’s clearly got nothing going on except for her acting.
The film ends with both characters realizing that they were wrong about themselves, which is something we all need to do at some point. But I think it works better as a story because it’s not necessarily us versus everyone else, it’s just sometimes ourselves vs. our assumptions about ourselves.