Hollywood El Capitan and Cinderella

270 yards of ball gown! 3 miles of hems, and 10,000 Swarovski Crystals ...

When my sister and nephew came into town, we had a night out in Hollywood. (My nephew's request.) We got tickets online for Cinderella at the El Capitan, the old 1920s theater on Hollywood Boulevard. It's owned now by Disney so they always play their new films and documentaries there, and usually have a pre-show. 

What I love is that they usually have costumes there, from the movies. You might remember that from my Muppet movie post. 

There is a beautiful old organ in the theater and, that night, an organist playing it ...

Below, you can see the organist going down into the stage at the end of his set.

From the rafters, a blast of confetti, just before the show ...

Unlikely that you've missed the trailer but just in case ... 

I think my sis and I enjoyed the film a lot more than Benjamin, who is 9. He did say he liked the mice though! I loved the actress, Lily James, who played Cinderella (Rose on Downton Abbey!) The film was beautifully shot and definitely worth seeing, unless maybe your are a 9 year old boy!

Of course, I always appreciate costumes! My grandmother did costumes for all sorts of productions, including the light opera. My mom has made countless costumes and I designed costumes, living in San Diego, so I have a huge love of the craft. (I also love wearing them, but that's another whole subject!)

Fairy Godmother ...

Stepmother and stepsisters' dresses for the palace ball ...

 

Little princesses everywhere!

This Cinderella doll actually looked more like Anna Paquin, from True Blood! Am I right?

Heading from the El Capitan Theater and up into the Hollywood and Highland shopping area, where we parked ...

Hollywood and Highland

My sister said that the one thing she missed in the live action film, was the music. So just for her ... (I could only find the sing-a-long version to embed in the post! Excuse the awful intro and the even worse voice over tag at the end! eek!)

And the original 1950 Disney Trailer, for the animated feature ... (Is it me or did the same person do every single movie trailer voice over in the 50s? Love it!)

Of course, I love "So This is Love" which is so beautifully animated! If you want to see, click here.

But here are the lovely voices of Ilene Woods and Mike Douglas. :)

So this is love, mmmmm

So this is love 

So this is what makes life divine.

I'm all aglow, 

And now I now

The key to all heaven is mine ...

My heart has wrings, mmmmmm

And I can fly

I'll touch every star in the sky.

So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of.

Mmmmmm

So this is love.

~Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman

(So sweet, huh?!)

Los Angeles ~ So much to do ... so little time!

Now I've been happy lately

Thinking about the good things to come

And I believe it could be

Something good has begun

Oh, I've been smiling lately

Dreaming about the world as one

And I believe it could be

Some day it's going to come

~Lyrics by Cat Stevens

So much to do the last couple of months!

Sometimes, I really do feel like I'm the luckiest lady on the planet. At work one day, one of the moms came in to pick up her kids, at the studio, and was beside herself! "Tickets go on sale tomorrow for Cat Stevens!" she said, in almost breathless excitement. She is without doubt, his biggest fan. 

At this point, my jaw dropped.

I love Cat Stevens, and I had seen on Facebook that he was coming to the Nokia. As much as I wanted to go, it wasn't really in my budget and good tickets were going to be impossible to get without a pre-sale number or American Express account, or however they were doing it for this concert.

Long story short. She saw my expression and since they have 3 kids, and you by tickets in sets of 2 ... guess who go to go and sit with one of the kiddos!!!!

One of my faves!

View from the VIP terrace. Yep.

It ended up that Evie and I got the VIP tickets ... (Includes things like drinks, cheesecake and prime rib. I had the cheesecake. Evie had the Prime rib.)

It was the Peace Train tour and that's the train station on the stage, below.

Packed and sold out.

I was naughty, at the end. I was so good the whole time not taking pics (not supposed to during the concert) but I lost all self control near the end and took this pic, below, to show show you guys. Sigh. So good. The seat above is where I sat for the first half and then I switched with dad for the second half. Very cool to see two different perspectives. Both amazing.

Cat Stevens' songs brings up not only childhood memories, but also when I first moved to San Diego with my friends. I have specific memories that go with so many of the songs and by the end of the concert I was in full (silent) ugly cry. (The song Father and Son, does me in!)

He played every significant song I would have wanted him to play, and when he played Moonshadow, I knew my friend Scotty, who past away just a few years ago, was right there watching and grooving along with me. I will never forget it. 

Thanks Kari!!!

Oh, a little trivia. His song Father and Son was the first Mp3!

Here he is now, a from his new album, plus some oldies. All acoustic. Music starts at 1:08.

HOLLYWOOD COSTUME

OK, so if you are going to be in LA before March 2nd, you HAVE to go to the Hollywood Costume exhibition. It's in the old art deco May Company Building next to LACMA. (Los Angeles County Museum of Art.) It was done through the Motion Picture Academy (Thus the Oscar, below) and conjunction with the Victoria and Albert, in London.

I've seen some great costume and clothing exhibitions, in the past, but this one is on a whole other level. Not only was it the sheer number and breadth of the costumes, but it was multi media aspects, with all kinds of interviews and movie screens and ... well, it's really hard to explain!

This short video, with the lady who created it, explains it better than I can!

My favorite thing in the show was Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" costume!!! But they had costumes worn by everyone from Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe, to Harry Potter and Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. 

I didn't even know the exhibit was going on until my friend Drew called, and asked if I wanted to go! Thanks Drew!

You can't take pictures inside, so we made the most of the outdoor space. 

With my boyfriend, Han Solo. ;)

For more info and to get tickets, click here.

VIRUNGA

So this next bit, was back in November. I was at a documentary screening at the Arclight Cinema, in Hollywood. I was able to go to by being in the Union. (S.A.G.) Even though we don't vote on Docs.

It was for the documentary Varunga, which has now been nominated for Best Documentary Feature, for the Academy Awards!  You can stream it on Netflix. (you might note the big red lettering, below.)

Afterward they did a Q & A with the director and producer.

from the website:

"VIRUNGA IS THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF A GROUP OF BRAVE PEOPLE RISKING THEIR LIVES TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE IN A PART OF AFRICA THE WORLD'S FORGOTTEN AND A GRIPPING EXPOSE OF THE REALITIES OF LIFE IN THE CONGO.

In the forested depths of eastern Congo lies Virunga National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places on Earth and home to the planet’s last remaining mountain gorillas. In this wild, but enchanted environment, a small and embattled team of park rangers - including an ex-child soldier turned ranger, a caretaker of orphan gorillas and a dedicated conservationist who’s a member of the Belgian royal family - protect this UNESCO world heritage site from armed militia, poachers and the dark forces struggling to control Congo's rich natural resources. When the newly formed M23 rebel group declares war, a new conflict threatens the lives and stability of everyone and everything they've worked so hard to protect, with the filmmakers and the film’s participants caught in the crossfire.

A powerful combination of investigative journalism and nature documentary, VIRUNGA is the incredible true story of a group of courageous people risking their lives to build a better future in a part of Africa the world’s forgotten, and a gripping exposé of the realities of life in the Congo.

From director Orlando von Einsiedel and executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio."

It was really well done. Below, is the director Orlando von Einsiedel (white shirt/beard) below. I talked to him a bit. SUPER nice guy. And they had wine and h'ordeuvres.

Here are some of the folks involved in the film, interviewed on TV.

For more information, on Virunga, click here. 

One more! Because we need a little Peace Train, now!

Get your bags together

Go bring your good friends too

'Cause it's getting nearer

It soon will be with you

Now come and join the living

It's not so far from you

And it's getting nearer

Soon it will all be true

Oh, peace train sounding louder

Glide on the peace train

Come on the peace train ...

~ Cat Stevens, Peace Train

Hope your new year is off to a great start!!!
Blessings and light!

Hollywood, Miss Piggy and Sizzling Rice Soup!

My 8 year old nephew Benjamin was on spring break, so my sister brought him down to L.A., last week. They went to the zoo, while I was working, then we met up at the apartment before heading to Sushi in West Hollywood at Yoshi Sushi. First time I ever had seared barracuda sushi! And it was great! I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I took the next day off, so I could cruise around with them. Ben said he wanted to go back to Hollywood, and then visit Chinatown, so Penny got tickets to see the new Muppets' movie at the El Capitan Theater. 

El Capitan Theater

1926

The El Capitan is a beautiful old movie palace, on Hollywood Blvd. It opened in 1926, by the same developer that opened the famous Chinese Theater, across the street, and the old Egyptian Theater, a couple of blocks east. It was refurbished and reopened in 1991, just before I moved to Los Angeles.

They do this "show" with the various curtains and scrims, that kind of cracks me up, for some reason.

The Theater and adjacent buildings are owned by Disney, so they open many of their films and have many of the premieres at the El Capitan. They also do a little live show before the movie. In fact, one of the Disney Nature films brought in a whole show with live animals. 

Before Monsters University, they had a couple of musical numbers, with the Monsters … and for Muppets Most Wanted they had Kermit and Miss Piggy "live" on stage. They did a few songs, including Rainbow Connection which, of course, reminded me of me of my childhood and even made me a little weepy!

Kermit and Miss Piggy at the El Capitan

(By the way, I had an awesome Miss Piggy puppet in the 70s)

Rainbow Connection, is on the AFI list of 100 best film songs and has been covered by everyone from Willie Nelson to Lea Salonga. Just saying.

El Capitan ceiling

Not sure if they do this in a lot of cities, other than L.A. and probably New York, but the nicer theaters here often have wardrobe on display, in their lobbies. When we used the bathroom on the lower level, Ben found a room filled with (mostly) Miss Piggy's costumes from the film. We were cracking up!

They had a few other items, from the movie, including this set piece of Miss Piggy's dressing table in "Berlin."

I think this is my favorite! Love the rhinestones on her fishnets! 

And the traditional end to a fashion show … a wedding gown!

Exiting through the gift shop (of course) … the character of "Animal."

Below, looking across Hollywood Blvd., to the El Capitan, from "Hollywood and Highland."

Hollywood and Highland are streets in Hollywood as well as the name of what is basically a mall. They were trying to design it based on a 1916 D.W. Griffith film set extravaganza, for his silent movie Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages. It's kind of strange, frankly, but if you park there, and get a tea at Starbucks, you can validate your parking and pay only 2 bucks.

We headed to Hop Woo for lunch, in Chinatown, after our little Hollywood movie excursion.

Chinatown Los Angeles

 

Hop Woo

The sizzling rice soup was great. We figured Ben would like the orange peel chicken, which he did, as well as the asparagus in garlic sauce and pot stickers. (We over-ordered a bit!) 

It was all pretty decadent, and yummy, though my favorite thing is still the steamed tilapia, that I had on a previous visit. I would recommend that if you want something tasty, that's a little more on the healthy side …

During the week it was pretty slow, and not quite the bustling place that I think Benjamin was expecting. It's always visually stimulating though, and who doesn't love a red lantern!

Slightly strange mannequins? Or is it just me?

In the photo below, is Via Café, where I usually eat when I'm in the neighborhood. It's actually Vietnamese, and has a great crab noodle soup and yummy garlic fish dish with mushrooms and asparagus. (I actually ate there last night!)

Not so busy on a Thursday afternoon ...

We were throwing another bridal shower, that weekend, for my cousin Jenny and put these coins (below) in some little satin coin purses we bought for game prizes. The three coins together, on a red string in your purse, are supposed to give you endless fortune. Figured that endless fortune would make a good little prize. ;)

After our mini tour of Chinatown, I dropped off another painting at my framers, across the street, and Penny and Ben headed back to Ojai. It was a great little visit and as always, very fun having them in my hood.

Oh, here is a little extra shot of me with a couple of Muppets, taken by my favorite 8 year old. It's my new profile pic on Facebook.

Who said that every wish

Could be heard and answered 

When wished on the morning star

Somebody thought of that 

And someone believe it

And look what it's done so far

What's so amazing 

That keeps us stargazing 

And what do we think we might see

Someday we'll find it

The rainbow connection

The lovers

The dreamers …

and meeeeeee!

~Kermit the Frog

by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher

Happy April!

Blessings and light!