Our Shot As Hollywood "A" Listers

---

It would be criminal to go to Los Angeles and not visit Hollywood and Universal Studies, so we booked ourselves on a tour. On the way, we stopped off to see the Hollywood sign up in the hills for some compulsory photos. Once high up, it was frightening how obvious the smog was, as it hung over the city below.

Universal Studios has a huge public area with loads of things to see and do, but the most interesting part is a tram ride round all the various film sets. We saw the house from Psycho, the town square from Back to the Future (and the Dukes of Hazard), a burning house, a flood, the parting of the red sea and a lake with a frankly laughable excuse for Jaws. Apparently the real one was being fixed. Things started to get very tacky when we were trapped in an earthquake, attacked by ‘Cylons’ and then by King Kong. There was also a special effects studio where they showed you all the various techniques. This was extremely interesting. I didn’t realise that the peoples' voices are the only sounds on a movie soundtrack that aren't dubbed in afterwards.

Back in the public area, we got asked if we wanted to be interviewed for a TV programme. We of course jumped at the chance as everyone wants to be in the movies and this was about as close as we were likely to get. I fumbled and spluttered like a simpleton, but Mike was a complete star and I am sure that if we had managed to get to see the programme, he would have been on!

Later we saw a Miami Vice stunt show with explosions, guns, boats, helicopters - all pretty spectacular stuff. There was also a demonstration filming of Star Trek (an absolute must) and the rather naff Adventures of Conan.

On the way back, the tour took us through Hollywood itself, including Hollywood Boulevard, the Chinese Temple (with all the hand and foot prints) and Beverly Hills. We saw a hotel that apparently inspired the Eagles' song "Hotel California". We weren’t convinced!

---

Photos

Television Interview
Our shot at stardom in Universal Studios

Universal Studios
Waiting for the start of the studios tour

Psycho House
The house from the movie Psycho

Back to The Future
The town square from the Back to The Future movies and the original Dukes of Hazzard

Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood sign in the distant hills

Footsteps
Humphrey Bogart prints outside the Chinese Theatre