Here we got a report from Dr. Milo, who took in Hollywood by storm, touring the whole burg, picking up bits and pieces here and there. So take a looksee at where his adventures took him... He tried his absolute best and did a real cool job...
First-time spy "Dr. Milo" reporting in. I've been a fan of your page for quite some time, and have always wanted to provide you with a scoop.
Most people think I died in that monkey cage with Cornelius and Zira, but the truth is, it was all a ruse. I paid off that gorilla with a big batch of bananas. Since then, I've been touring the U.S. on occasion, when not working my day job. I just got back from La La Land (it appears I was there at the same time you were), and have a few tidbits for you.
Superman Lives
My first stop was the Warner Brothers Studio tour, and our tour guide mentioned that they are gearing up for Superman Lives (though she referred to it as "Superman Reborn/Superman Alive" -- not sure if she was mistaken about the "Superman Alive" title), that Nicolas Cage is still set to play Superman, and Burton is set to direct. She wasn't too excited about the project.
Wonder Woman
This is actually a scoop for Glen, but while at Warner Bros., our guide also mentioned the new Wonder Woman TV show. I said that I had read Alexandra Paul was cast as Wonder Woman, but she said that wasn't true, because… what's the best way to put this? They're looking for someone who can... fill out the costume a little better. Basically, another Lynda Carter, if you know what I mean.
Lethal Weapon 4
We passed the soundstages for Lethal Weapon 4, but they wouldn't let us in. Bummer.
After Warner Bros., I went to Universal the next day. The Universal tour is more like a theme-park ride -- they don't really show you anything, just ride you past the soundstages and reel off the names of the pictures shooting there, but don't let you see anything. The only things you do see are the Earthquake, King Kong, and Jaws attractions that they have built-into the tour, which are exciting, but certainly not informative.
Our Guide reeled off a few production names, something with George Clooney, and another with Michelle Pfeiffer, but I can't remember the titles, other than Godzilla.
My last tour was at Paramount, where I managed to snag the best scoop of all. Nothing major, but it did make me say, "Cool!"
Star Trek 9
Thank God, one of the big doors was open on the soundstage where they are building the sets for Star Trek 9. This was a huge stroke of luck because it was raining. They had a sign out front that explicitly forbade the tours from coming through, but we still managed a peak inside. They were building several sets, the largest of which was a huge, cylindrical structure that went all the way to the ceiling (very tall!). Unfortunately, they had recently completed more of the structure, so you couldn't really see the inside portion. Our Guide said that a few days earlier you could still see the interior of the set, and that it was really cool. They were building a few more sets in the other part of the soundstage, but that door was closed, so we couldn't see in. However, we did see a part that looked just like the half-circle, Holodeck gateway-thing that materializes on the sailing ship scene near the beginning of Generations. You remember when Picard got the message about his brother and nephew? Anyway, that piece looked a little beat up, so I'm sure it was the original set piece from Generations. There was also something that looked like a tunnel sitting next to it, but it was hard to tell. Oh, I asked if there was a title yet, and our Guide told me that they don't even have a finished script yet. He said they are having a lot of disagreements about it. Wish I could have gotten a picture or two, but photos were strictly forbidden.
On an interesting note, they were shooting both Voyager and DS9 on the soundstages next door, so we weren't allowed to tour those, either. However, we did see a Bajoran standing outside for a smoke. We also saw the water tank/parking lot where they shot the final whale scene of Star Trek 4. It was also used for the parting of the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments, and part of the speed boat/fight scene in Face/Off, among many others. Cool!
Both the Warners and Paramount tours are amazingly cool. I recommend them as absolute "must-see" attractions for anyone visiting L.A. I'm headed to the World of The Mouse on my next jaunt, so I hope to unearth a little something on Mulan for you. We'll see.
Then Dr. Milo sent this in as an addition to the previous piece...
During my trip to L.A. this past weekend, I went down to the Ambassador Hotel, home of the Coconut Grove nightclub, which was THE place for the stars to hang out from the 20s through the 60s. In the early days, many stars lived there, because there wasn't enough housing in Hollywood. The hotel has long been closed, but is currently owned by Donald Trump, who rents it out for filming. Warner Brothers was there setting up a location shoot for "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," the Frankie Lymon story, which stars Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, and Larenz Tate. I sort-of strolled in uninvited, so I didn't want to ask too many questions. In addition to the above info, I was told that they were shooting "all over the place." There wasn't much going on at the hotel, so apparently they had just started setting up.
The crew was setting up in the Coconut Grove, and there were pieces of paper stuck everywhere pointing the direction to "Elizabeth's Room," which the crew had to access via elevator. Apparently, they were using one of the upstairs hotel rooms. I was tempted to go upstairs, but didn't want to get chased out. They were also laying down pressboard in the hall where the shops and diner are on the ground floor of the hotel (this leads to the lobby). I'm guessing this is for a dolly shot, but I could be wrong.
The hotel itself is just amazing – you can feel the ghosts of yesteryear all through the place. On a sad note, the original Brown Derby (the one shaped like a hat) sits directly across the street. It's now a small shopping center (Brown Derby Plaza) and the "hat" sits on the top floor. It's been re-painted silver with red trim, and was just re-opened as a Chinese restaurant.
Dr. Milo
