The effect Hollywood has on employment makes a strong case for “life imitates art.” Hard-working people can fall in love with what they see on-screen, and turn their fantasies into reality. Such was the case for famous geneticist, Dr. Adam Rutherford, whose interest in scientific research was directly inspired by the movies: “Ghostbusters” and “Back to the Future.” Hollywood is responsible for some significant boons in employment, with the greatest impact on military recruitment, but it’s also provided career inspiration for some truly incredible people in the fields of medicine, criminal justice, and science.
“Top Gun” Prompts Rise in Navy Applications
In 1986, “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, inspired Navy applications to go up 500 percent. According to “Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies” by David Robb, these recruits wanted to be naval aviators like the characters in the film. The movie’s producer even claimed “Top Gun” worked as a recruiting video, and he wasn’t wrong. Navy recruiters often waited outside theaters, hoping to catch eager new recruits ready to sign up after watching the film.
Booze and the movies go way back. From the self-medicating part-time hooker heroine of 1931’s “Safe in Hell” — a highlight of 2013’s Turner Classic Movies Festival — to the lovable dipsomaniacs of “The Thin Man” and “Harvey” and on into more recent times with such frequently soused superheros as James Bond and Tony Stark, the movies have glamorized alcohol. When Hollywood wanted to, it could make habitual drunkenness charming, funny, and, of course, sexy.
While the movies once celebrated cigarette smoking as well, modern day Hollywood Boulevard makes it tricky for smokers to indulge in their passion, give or take some hookah bars and a medical marijuana “clinic.” Booze, however can be obtained with great ease. All you need is plenty of ready cash or a clean credit card or two and you can have your fill of cocktails.
And that’s exactly what I did between classic, near classic, and merely really interesting movies the weekend of the 2013 TCM Fest. What follows is a (relatively) brief journal of the drinks I found going up and down the boulevard we call Hollywood the final weekend of April.
Now, I should add that this listing is my no means exhaustive and is, with one exception, limited to cocktails one can purchase on Hollywood Boulevard proper, no side streets allowed, within an easy walk of Sid Grauman’s old Chinese and Egyptian Theaters and the legendary Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the heart of Hollywood and the home base of the TCM Fest.
We always loved going to Los Amgeles to shoot Featured Models, as we ran across amazing beauties like Rachel Sterling, who you might recognize from her appearances in films like “Wedding Crashers.”
I was on hand recently on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood for a private screening of the third installment of the “Death Race” franchise, “Death Race 3: Inferno,” hosted by Luke Goss and director Roel Reiné. It was great to see the film after traveling to South Africa to cover the filming of the movie last year. After seeing it, I’m convinced it was easily the best yet in the series. With most of the cast returning from “Death Race 2,” including Luke Goss and Tanit Phoenix, Roel Reiné directing and Mike Elliott producing, all of the pieces were in place for a very successful production, and the end-result was excellent. “Death Race 3” is available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
This latest version, inspired by Roger Corman’s cult classic, “Death Race 2000,” finds the legendary Frankenstein (Luke Goss) in a new competition, a winner take all race in South Africa. Set in an underground convict prison inside an abandoned Cape Town rock quarry, the extreme action soon explodes out in to the Kalahari Desert, with more explosions, car wrecks and wild to the death chases than you can imagine. he director himself even commented on the sheer number of cameras destroyed in the making of this film.
The Death Race, a brutal prison blood sport that bid the opportunity for prisoners to race for their chance to be released from prison, but it is to the death they must go. This race in turn is broadcast worldwide in this future apocalypse for the sadistic joy of a twisted civilization with a desire for blood thirst. There are some interesting twists to the story, however, and you’ll have go along for the ride to find out what happens.
Rounding out the cast is Ving Rhames and the stellar Danny Trejo, whose real life experiences in San Quentin helped bring a hardened authenticity to his portrayal of Goldberg. I had the opportunity to interview them in South Africa as you can see from clicking on their names above, along with lead actor Luke Goss, Robin Shou and Fred Koehler.
“Death Race 3” also brings an ever greater bevy of beauties on board this time, now with female co-pilots (the Nav Girls) next to the drivers and even one “all girl” race team led by Dutch model Michelle Van Schaik in her acting debut. Hot pit crew girls also prep the outlandish desert cars between races. Bullz-Eye was granted exclusive photo sets of the Navigation Girls, the sexy driver team and the female star Tanit Phoenix (“Death Race 2,” “Femme Fatales”). We also interviewed them all as well, so follow the links above to their photo sets and video interviews.
Hollywood is all about the Benjamins (what’s new?) so we shouldn’t be surprised, and the studios are eager to make anything that will highlights CGI effects in order to capitalize on the foreign box office.
Fortunately, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is a worthy reboot of the franchise according to Jason Zingale in his Bullz-Eye.com movie review. The cast is excellent, and we have a clip of the lovely Emma Stone above discussing her role on the red carpet.
