Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lig...

Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pack. Hollywood Hills is a trendy place to live, close to all of the Downtown action. How many people can boast of living within minutes of the Sunset Strip, filled with its vast lighting on every corner and cutting edge design? Whether you're looking for a community with an active source of nightlife opportunities, or you desire to live in a community that is very pedestrian-friendly, Hollywood Hills is a great choice for your next purchase. "Buying a Home in Hollywood Hills" Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pack. Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pack. Hollywood Hills is a trendy place to live, close to all of the Downtown action. How many people can boast of living within minutes of the Sunset Strip, filled with its vast lighting on every corner and cutting edge design? Whether you're looking for a community with an active source of nightlife opportunities, or you desire to live in a community that is very pedestrian-friendly, Hollywood Hills is a great choice for your next purchase. "Buying a Home in Hollywood Hills" Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pack. Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pack. Hollywood Hills is a trendy place to live, close to all of the Downtown action. How many people can boast of living within minutes of the Sunset Strip, filled with its vast lighting on every corner and cutting edge design? Whether you're looking for a community with an active source of nightlife opportunities, or you desire to live in a community that is very pedestrian-friendly, Hollywood Hills is a great choice for your next purchase. "Buying a Home in Hollywood Hills" Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pacConsidered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pack. Hollywood Hills is a trendy place to live, close to all of the Downtown action. How many people can boast of living within minutes of the Sunset Strip, filled with its vast lighting on every corner and cutting edge design? Whether you're looking for a community with an active source of nightlife opportunities, or you desire to live in a community that is very pedestrian-friendly, Hollywood Hills is a great choice for your next purchase. "Buying a Home in Hollywood Hills" Considered to be one of the most desirable and attractive communities in the Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills not only boasts bright lights, but highly touted multi-million dollar mansions, townhomes, and condominiums. Located just minutes away from the hip and lively downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills is often the first choice for those looking to purchase a home that is surrounded by plenty of recreational and entertainment opportunities. A typical townhome or condominium in the Hollywood Hills real estate market runs from the very low $500,000's, to well beyond single digit million dollar figures. As for single family homes, figures are often quoted at as little as the high $700,000s and that extend well into double digit million dollar figures. To date, the average selling price for homes in Hollywood Hills is around $2.5 million. Not just home to actors and those in the entertainment industry, homes in Hollywood Hills are the perfect choice for families due to its spectacular neighborhoods and canyon, mountain, and city views. Hollywood Hills has proven to be a sight for sore eyes -- as well as a place for those who wish to escape the monotony of cookie cutter homes as many homes you'll find in this area are also custom built to the owner's satisfaction. While Hollywood Hills has more positives than negatives, there are certain considerations you should take into account before purchasing a home here, one in particular being the area's susceptibility to mudslides. Depending on the location of your home, you may encounter the issue of mudslide warnings during rainy seasons in California. While there are precautions and warning systems that have been set in place, ensure that you are adequately covered under your insurance for these types of potential dangers as it could save you a lot of money in the long run. A typical home in Hollywood Hills blends the Tuscan-style villa with its warm tones, with a more modern and sleek home featuring clean lines, open windows, and tons of lighting. More often than not homes purchased in Hollywood Hills undergo plenty of remodeling to make it unique from the pack.

ntroduction: The full name of the book is "American Idol after Iraq" which is published by Blackwell - Wiley in 2009. The autho...

ntroduction: The full name of the book is "American Idol after Iraq" which is published by Blackwell - Wiley in 2009. The author of the book Nathan Gardels has been the editor of New Perspectives Quarterly since it began publishing in 1985. He has written widely for the daily papers and journals since mid 1980s and he has been a Media Leader of the World Economic Forum (Davos) as well. Apart, he has given speeches in Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (IESCO). Gardels holds degree on Theory and Comparative Politics from UCLA. His co-author Mike Medavoy has had a very active role in making large number of Hollywood movies. Throughout his career in Hollywood, he has been active in politics as well. In 1992 and 1996 he advocated Bill Clinton and in 2008 he was in favor of Barack H. Obama. He was born in Shanghai, of Russian-Jewish parents; he graduated with honor in History from UCLA. Summary In this must-read book the authors explain and mainly discuss the public diplomacy and Hollywood role in shaping it, mainly in the new era after 9/11 terrorist attacks. The foreword is by Joe Nye, Harvard Professor which is mostly well-known with his notion of "soft power". Once again, Nye asserts the importance of the soft power- Weapon of Mass Attraction- and recalls that not missiles and bomb but the American soft power was the key in collapse of Berlin Wall and consequently Soviet Union, the Evil Empire as Reagan called it. Nye believes that in wake of the new century American soft power is not as powerful as the past decades. It is because of the mistreatment of the prisoners in Gitmo and Abu Ghoraib prison by American troops. The world does not believe and trust America as before. Professor Nye puts forward that in the Information age success is not merely the result of whose army (hard power) wins but also whose story (soft power) wins. He recalls the US challenge and problem with Islamists hardliners and extremists in which hard power is needed to defeat them but WMA is needed to win the hearts and minds of the moderate Muslim which are the majority in the Muslim world. He accentuates the fact that democracy and human right could much more easily achieved with soft power with a long lasting effect. Obviously, the most important tool as soft power for America are its giant media-industrial complex and Hollywood which broadly discussed by the authors in their script. HEARTS, MINDS AND HOLLYWOOD: Hollywood, as the authors put forward has been the largest machine of dream making and storytelling in human history. Unlike most countries in the world America's image is based not only on who they are and what they do, but on how the Americans present themselves to the world through their global window. The most attractive and glamorous production of this machine has been the image of America as the promise land of infinite possibility and opportunity where individual liberty is in hand and the society is always on the move. In its 100 years it has opened a new window toward the world in which America has been seen through it and Americans has seen the world through it, as well. Some believe it has been truly and largely successful in telling and selling the American (version of) stories in past 100 years. "The dreams of America - individual freedom, middle class, prosperity, social mobility, the rule of law- which were made the dreams of the world, too, were pictured by Hollywood." Other than that it has been used as a tool by the American Government fighting against "freedom" enemies, Fascism, Communism. Even the author argues that during the tensest day and peak of the Cold War, it was J.F.K who ordered the managers in the Hollywood that the Ian Fleming 007 espionage novels ought to be made into motion pictures. Other than that he mentions that to fight against Fascism and Nazism in the twentieth century Hollywood made the fist celebrity known globally, Charlie Chaplin who diminished and underestimated the power of Hitler in The Great Dictator. It followed the Wilsonian ideal in America's role in bringing democracy and self determination to the other parts of the world. These are samples which shows that Hollywood in its lifetime has used and been used as a tool and actor for America's political purposes. By creating roles known globally, like Rambo and James Bond, Hollywood has beaten its enemies, world foes and made it believable that the US is the ultimate savior of the world. Its values are absolute and universal and needed to save human and humanity. Accordingly, Washington eagerly sought to employ Hollywood's influence and soft power at home to make people in favor of his own foreign policy objectives. But it could not be generally accepted that America's secret weapon, Hollywood, the biggest soft power tool is playing a positive role all the time. Not only foreigners criticize Hollywood to spreading violence, porn culture through its images in the world but within the US there are who reprimand and knock the film industry as well. To a great extent Fukuyama asserts that "It is perceived as the purveyor of the kind of secular, materialistic, permissive culture that is not very popular in many parts of the world, especially the Muslim world." It is living without any responsibility which is creating the greatest tragedy of our time. It is emptied of a spiritual dimension. Many believe that Hollywood is not doing a great job in elevating spirituality and morality of America in the world to win the hearts and minds of the people, but conversely Hollywood is sowing the seeds of loathing and hatred in the world generally and in the Muslim world particularly. Some, like Bill Bennett, Ronald Reagan's secretary of education openly and famously charged that Hollywood is undermining the America's mainstream values. This is much clearer when we take a look at the PEW foundation Poll in April 2005, which nearly 61% of Americans are concerned what their children see or hear on TV. Accordingly, "Soft power does not necessarily increase the world's love for America. Soft power is still power and still makes enemies". If there is a resistance to military presence and occupation, surely there would be an opposition and resentment to cultural invasion and occupation. For example even in Turkey which is America's NATO Ally, the most popular novel in 2004 which was sold more than 800000 copies envisioned a war between Turkey and the US in which finally Turkey wins. Even American brand of secularism which is pictured in movies has been the source of concern among the religious leaders in the West. Pope Benedict XVI carried forward the worry that aggressive secularism reflected in the media was eroding the religious Foundations of America. He told American bishops that "America's brand of secularism poses a particular problem. It allows for professing belief in God and respects the public role of religion, but at the same time can subtly reduce religious belief to the lowest common denominator. The result is a growing separation of faith from life." Although the Noble poet Octavio Paz called America "the Republic of Future" which always eyes on future and new horizon in which Hollywood has been successful to create. But now due to democratization of digital media all around the world the future is not a Gospel for American soft power and its culture. For instance, although American soap operas largely viewed and seen from Malaysia to Canada, but in South Korea, for example 92% of TV and video games are domestically produced and are telling and selling their own stories. In the age of globalization, we may be witnessing the end of "the end of the history"-which Francis Fukuyama stated after the end of the Cold War. Process and era of globalization, accelerated the modernity and post modernity and diversification around the world. The Singaporean diplomat, Kishore Mahbubani, makes this critical point in his book, "The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible shift of Global Power to the East" asserted that the great paradox about the failed Western attempts to export democracy to other societies is that in the broadest sense of the term, the West has actually succeeded in democratizing the world. One key goal of democracy is to empower its citizens to make them believe they are masters of their own destiny. The number of people of in the world who believe this has never been higher. Even in the undemocratic society of China, citizens have seized the opportunities provided by the economic freedom they enjoy to completely change their lives.... In the global term there has been a huge democratization of human spirit." Due to the point that some assert that in a democracy the voting booth and the box office share the same public. So, Hollywood has largely been considered to be the United States of America muscle in public diplomacy to win the hearts and minds of public as well as elites around the world. The trend of globalization and democratization of the media and the increasingly power sharing in many centers - the rise of the rest -as Fareed Zakaria calls it, results in an atmosphere in which Hollywood is not the expected and absolute winner. Apart, by the development of the communication technology mainly Internet and the emergence of Netizen (Network citizen) now everyone is their own story teller and filmmaker which is growing largely in numbers. It leads all people to move to the same neighborhood, more and more people want to see and hear their own stories on the screen, to see that their own ideas and cultures has been projected and reflected on the screen and then to enjoy the latest offerings.ntroduction: The full name of the book is "American Idol after Iraq" which is published by Blackwell - Wiley in 2009. The author of the book Nathan Gardels has been the editor of New Perspectives Quarterly since it began publishing in 1985. He has written widely for the daily papers and journals since mid 1980s and he has been a Media Leader of the World Economic Forum (Davos) as well. Apart, he has given speeches in Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (IESCO). Gardels holds degree on Theory and Comparative Politics from UCLA. His co-author Mike Medavoy has had a very active role in making large number of Hollywood movies. Throughout his career in Hollywood, he has been active in politics as well. In 1992 and 1996 he advocated Bill Clinton and in 2008 he was in favor of Barack H. Obama. He was born in Shanghai, of Russian-Jewish parents; he graduated with honor in History from UCLA. Summary In this must-read book the authors explain and mainly discuss the public diplomacy and Hollywood role in shaping it, mainly in the new era after 9/11 terrorist attacks. The foreword is by Joe Nye, Harvard Professor which is mostly well-known with his notion of "soft power". Once again, Nye asserts the importance of the soft power- Weapon of Mass Attraction- and recalls that not missiles and bomb but the American soft power was the key in collapse of Berlin Wall and consequently Soviet Union, the Evil Empire as Reagan called it. Nye believes that in wake of the new century American soft power is not as powerful as the past decades. It is because of the mistreatment of the prisoners in Gitmo and Abu Ghoraib prison by American troops. The world does not believe and trust America as before. Professor Nye puts forward that in the Information age success is not merely the result of whose army (hard power) wins but also whose story (soft power) wins. He recalls the US challenge and problem with Islamists hardliners and extremists in which hard power is needed to defeat them but WMA is needed to win the hearts and minds of the moderate Muslim which are the majority in the Muslim world. He accentuates the fact that democracy and human right could much more easily achieved with soft power with a long lasting effect. Obviously, the most important tool as soft power for America are its giant media-industrial complex and Hollywood which broadly discussed by the authors in their script. HEARTS, MINDS AND HOLLYWOOD: Hollywood, as the authors put forward has been the largest machine of dream making and storytelling in human history. Unlike most countries in the world America's image is based not only on who they are and what they do, but on how the Americans present themselves to the world through their global window. The most attractive and glamorous production of this machine has been the image of America as the promise land of infinite possibility and opportunity where individual liberty is in hand and the society is always on the move. In its 100 years it has opened a new window toward the world in which America has been seen through it and Americans has seen the world through it, as well. Some believe it has been truly and largely successful in telling and selling the American (version of) stories in past 100 years. "The dreams of America - individual freedom, middle class, prosperity, social mobility, the rule of law- which were made the dreams of the world, too, were pictured by Hollywood." Other than that it has been used as a tool by the American Government fighting against "freedom" enemies, Fascism, Communism. Even the author argues that during the tensest day and peak of the Cold War, it was J.F.K who ordered the managers in the Hollywood that the Ian Fleming 007 espionage novels ought to be made into motion pictures. Other than that he mentions that to fight against Fascism and Nazism in the twentieth century Hollywood made the fist celebrity known globally, Charlie Chaplin who diminished and underestimated the power of Hitler in The Great Dictator. It followed the Wilsonian ideal in America's role in bringing democracy and self determination to the other parts of the world. These are samples which shows that Hollywood in its lifetime has used and been used as a tool and actor for America's political purposes. By creating roles known globally, like Rambo and James Bond, Hollywood has beaten its enemies, world foes and made it believable that the US is the ultimate savior of the world. Its values are absolute and universal and needed to save human and humanity. Accordingly, Washington eagerly sought to employ Hollywood's influence and soft power at home to make people in favor of his own foreign policy objectives. But it could not be generally accepted that America's secret weapon, Hollywood, the biggest soft power tool is playing a positive role all the time. Not only foreigners criticize Hollywood to spreading violence, porn culture through its images in the world but within the US there are who reprimand and knock the film industry as well. To a great extent Fukuyama asserts that "It is perceived as the purveyor of the kind of secular, materialistic, permissive culture that is not very popular in many parts of the world, especially the Muslim world." It is living without any responsibility which is creating the greatest tragedy of our time. It is emptied of a spiritual dimension. Many believe that Hollywood is not doing a great job in elevating spirituality and morality of America in the world to win the hearts and minds of the people, but conversely Hollywood is sowing the seeds of loathing and hatred in the world generally and in the Muslim world particularly. Some, like Bill Bennett, Ronald Reagan's secretary of education openly and famously charged that Hollywood is undermining the America's mainstream values. This is much clearer when we take a look at the PEW foundation Poll in April 2005, which nearly 61% of Americans are concerned what their children see or hear on TV. Accordingly, "Soft power does not necessarily increase the world's love for America. Soft power is still power and still makes enemies". If there is a resistance to military presence and occupation, surely there would be an opposition and resentment to cultural invasion and occupation. For example even in Turkey which is America's NATO Ally, the most popular novel in 2004 which was sold more than 800000 copies envisioned a war between Turkey and the US in which finally Turkey wins. Even American brand of secularism which is pictured in movies has been the source of concern among the religious leaders in the West. Pope Benedict XVI carried forward the worry that aggressive secularism reflected in the media was eroding the religious Foundations of America. He told American bishops that "America's brand of secularism poses a particular problem. It allows for professing belief in God and respects the public role of religion, but at the same time can subtly reduce religious belief to the lowest common denominator. The result is a growing separation of faith from life." Although the Noble poet Octavio Paz called America "the Republic of Future" which always eyes on future and new horizon in which Hollywood has been successful to create. But now due to democratization of digital media all around the world the future is not a Gospel for American soft power and its culture. For instance, although American soap operas largely viewed and seen from Malaysia to Canada, but in South Korea, for example 92% of TV and video games are domestically produced and are telling and selling their own stories. In the age of globalization, we may be witnessing the end of "the end of the history"-which Francis Fukuyama stated after the end of the Cold War. Process and era of globalization, accelerated the modernity and post modernity and diversification around the world. The Singaporean diplomat, Kishore Mahbubani, makes this critical point in his book, "The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible shift of Global Power to the East" asserted that the great paradox about the failed Western attempts to export democracy to other societies is that in the broadest sense of the term, the West has actually succeeded in democratizing the world. One key goal of democracy is to empower its citizens to make them believe they are masters of their own destiny. The number of people of in the world who believe this has never been higher. Even in the undemocratic society of China, citizens have seized the opportunities provided by the economic freedom they enjoy to completely change their lives.... In the global term there has been a huge democratization of human spirit." Due to the point that some assert that in a democracy the voting booth and the box office share the same public. So, Hollywood has largely been considered to be the United States of America muscle in public diplomacy to win the hearts and minds of public as well as elites around the world. The trend of globalization and democratization of the media and the increasingly power sharing in many centers - the rise of the rest -as Fareed Zakaria calls it, results in an atmosphere in which Hollywood is not the expected and absolute winner. Apart, by the development of the communication technology mainly Internet and the emergence of Netizen (Network citizen) now everyone is their own story teller and filmmaker which is growing largely in numbers. It leads all people to move to the same neighborhood, more and more people want to see and hear their own stories on the screen, to see that their own ideas and cultures has been projected and reflected on the screen and then to enjoy the latest offerings.

ntroduction: The full name of the book is "American Idol after Iraq" which is published by Blackwell - Wiley in 2009. The autho...

ntroduction: The full name of the book is "American Idol after Iraq" which is published by Blackwell - Wiley in 2009. The author of the book Nathan Gardels has been the editor of New Perspectives Quarterly since it began publishing in 1985. He has written widely for the daily papers and journals since mid 1980s and he has been a Media Leader of the World Economic Forum (Davos) as well. Apart, he has given speeches in Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (IESCO). Gardels holds degree on Theory and Comparative Politics from UCLA. His co-author Mike Medavoy has had a very active role in making large number of Hollywood movies. Throughout his career in Hollywood, he has been active in politics as well. In 1992 and 1996 he advocated Bill Clinton and in 2008 he was in favor of Barack H. Obama. He was born in Shanghai, of Russian-Jewish parents; he graduated with honor in History from UCLA. Summary In this must-read book the authors explain and mainly discuss the public diplomacy and Hollywood role in shaping it, mainly in the new era after 9/11 terrorist attacks. The foreword is by Joe Nye, Harvard Professor which is mostly well-known with his notion of "soft power". Once again, Nye asserts the importance of the soft power- Weapon of Mass Attraction- and recalls that not missiles and bomb but the American soft power was the key in collapse of Berlin Wall and consequently Soviet Union, the Evil Empire as Reagan called it. Nye believes that in wake of the new century American soft power is not as powerful as the past decades. It is because of the mistreatment of the prisoners in Gitmo and Abu Ghoraib prison by American troops. The world does not believe and trust America as before. Professor Nye puts forward that in the Information age success is not merely the result of whose army (hard power) wins but also whose story (soft power) wins. He recalls the US challenge and problem with Islamists hardliners and extremists in which hard power is needed to defeat them but WMA is needed to win the hearts and minds of the moderate Muslim which are the majority in the Muslim world. He accentuates the fact that democracy and human right could much more easily achieved with soft power with a long lasting effect. Obviously, the most important tool as soft power for America are its giant media-industrial complex and Hollywood which broadly discussed by the authors in their script. HEARTS, MINDS AND HOLLYWOOD: Hollywood, as the authors put forward has been the largest machine of dream making and storytelling in human history. Unlike most countries in the world America's image is based not only on who they are and what they do, but on how the Americans present themselves to the world through their global window. The most attractive and glamorous production of this machine has been the image of America as the promise land of infinite possibility and opportunity where individual liberty is in hand and the society is always on the move. In its 100 years it has opened a new window toward the world in which America has been seen through it and Americans has seen the world through it, as well. Some believe it has been truly and largely successful in telling and selling the American (version of) stories in past 100 years. "The dreams of America - individual freedom, middle class, prosperity, social mobility, the rule of law- which were made the dreams of the world, too, were pictured by Hollywood." Other than that it has been used as a tool by the American Government fighting against "freedom" enemies, Fascism, Communism. Even the author argues that during the tensest day and peak of the Cold War, it was J.F.K who ordered the managers in the Hollywood that the Ian Fleming 007 espionage novels ought to be made into motion pictures. Other than that he mentions that to fight against Fascism and Nazism in the twentieth century Hollywood made the fist celebrity known globally, Charlie Chaplin who diminished and underestimated the power of Hitler in The Great Dictator. It followed the Wilsonian ideal in America's role in bringing democracy and self determination to the other parts of the world. These are samples which shows that Hollywood in its lifetime has used and been used as a tool and actor for America's political purposes. By creating roles known globally, like Rambo and James Bond, Hollywood has beaten its enemies, world foes and made it believable that the US is the ultimate savior of the world. Its values are absolute and universal and needed to save human and humanity. Accordingly, Washington eagerly sought to employ Hollywood's influence and soft power at home to make people in favor of his own foreign policy objectives. But it could not be generally accepted that America's secret weapon, Hollywood, the biggest soft power tool is playing a positive role all the time. Not only foreigners criticize Hollywood to spreading violence, porn culture through its images in the world but within the US there are who reprimand and knock the film industry as well. To a great extent Fukuyama asserts that "It is perceived as the purveyor of the kind of secular, materialistic, permissive culture that is not very popular in many parts of the world, especially the Muslim world." It is living without any responsibility which is creating the greatest tragedy of our time. It is emptied of a spiritual dimension. Many believe that Hollywood is not doing a great job in elevating spirituality and morality of America in the world to win the hearts and minds of the people, but conversely Hollywood is sowing the seeds of loathing and hatred in the world generally and in the Muslim world particularly. Some, like Bill Bennett, Ronald Reagan's secretary of education openly and famously charged that Hollywood is undermining the America's mainstream values. This is much clearer when we take a look at the PEW foundation Poll in April 2005, which nearly 61% of Americans are concerned what their children see or hear on TV. Accordingly, "Soft power does not necessarily increase the world's love for America. Soft power is still power and still makes enemies". If there is a resistance to military presence and occupation, surely there would be an opposition and resentment to cultural invasion and occupation. For example even in Turkey which is America's NATO Ally, the most popular novel in 2004 which was sold more than 800000 copies envisioned a war between Turkey and the US in which finally Turkey wins. Even American brand of secularism which is pictured in movies has been the source of concern among the religious leaders in the West. Pope Benedict XVI carried forward the worry that aggressive secularism reflected in the media was eroding the religious Foundations of America. He told American bishops that "America's brand of secularism poses a particular problem. It allows for professing belief in God and respects the public role of religion, but at the same time can subtly reduce religious belief to the lowest common denominator. The result is a growing separation of faith from life." Although the Noble poet Octavio Paz called America "the Republic of Future" which always eyes on future and new horizon in which Hollywood has been successful to create. But now due to democratization of digital media all around the world the future is not a Gospel for American soft power and its culture. For instance, although American soap operas largely viewed and seen from Malaysia to Canada, but in South Korea, for example 92% of TV and video games are domestically produced and are telling and selling their own stories. In the age of globalization, we may be witnessing the end of "the end of the history"-which Francis Fukuyama stated after the end of the Cold War. Process and era of globalization, accelerated the modernity and post modernity and diversification around the world. The Singaporean diplomat, Kishore Mahbubani, makes this critical point in his book, "The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible shift of Global Power to the East" asserted that the great paradox about the failed Western attempts to export democracy to other societies is that in the broadest sense of the term, the West has actually succeeded in democratizing the world. One key goal of democracy is to empower its citizens to make them believe they are masters of their own destiny. The number of people of in the world who believe this has never been higher. Even in the undemocratic society of China, citizens have seized the opportunities provided by the economic freedom they enjoy to completely change their lives.... In the global term there has been a huge democratization of human spirit." Due to the point that some assert that in a democracy the voting booth and the box office share the same public. So, Hollywood has largely been considered to be the United States of America muscle in public diplomacy to win the hearts and minds of public as well as elites around the world. The trend of globalization and democratization of the media and the increasingly power sharing in many centers - the rise of the rest -as Fareed Zakaria calls it, results in an atmosphere in which Hollywood is not the expected and absolute winner. Apart, by the development of the communication technology mainly Internet and the emergence of Netizen (Network citizen) now everyone is their own story teller and filmmaker which is growing largely in numbers. It leads all people to move to the same neighborhood, more and more people want to see and hear their own stories on the screen, to see that their own ideas and cultures has been projected and reflected on the screen and then to enjoy the latest offerings. ntroduction: The full name of the book is "American Idol after Iraq" which is published by Blackwell - Wiley in 2009. The author of the book Nathan Gardels has been the editor of New Perspectives Quarterly since it began publishing in 1985. He has written widely for the daily papers and journals since mid 1980s and he has been a Media Leader of the World Economic Forum (Davos) as well. Apart, he has given speeches in Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (IESCO). Gardels holds degree on Theory and Comparative Politics from UCLA. His co-author Mike Medavoy has had a very active role in making large number of Hollywood movies. Throughout his career in Hollywood, he has been active in politics as well. In 1992 and 1996 he advocated Bill Clinton and in 2008 he was in favor of Barack H. Obama. He was born in Shanghai, of Russian-Jewish parents; he graduated with honor in History from UCLA. Summary In this must-read book the authors explain and mainly discuss the public diplomacy and Hollywood role in shaping it, mainly in the new era after 9/11 terrorist attacks. The foreword is by Joe Nye, Harvard Professor which is mostly well-known with his notion of "soft power". Once again, Nye asserts the importance of the soft power- Weapon of Mass Attraction- and recalls that not missiles and bomb but the American soft power was the key in collapse of Berlin Wall and consequently Soviet Union, the Evil Empire as Reagan called it. Nye believes that in wake of the new century American soft power is not as powerful as the past decades. It is because of the mistreatment of the prisoners in Gitmo and Abu Ghoraib prison by American troops. The world does not believe and trust America as before. Professor Nye puts forward that in the Information age success is not merely the result of whose army (hard power) wins but also whose story (soft power) wins. He recalls the US challenge and problem with Islamists hardliners and extremists in which hard power is needed to defeat them but WMA is needed to win the hearts and minds of the moderate Muslim which are the majority in the Muslim world. He accentuates the fact that democracy and human right could much more easily achieved with soft power with a long lasting effect. Obviously, the most important tool as soft power for America are its giant media-industrial complex and Hollywood which broadly discussed by the authors in their script. HEARTS, MINDS AND HOLLYWOOD: Hollywood, as the authors put forward has been the largest machine of dream making and storytelling in human history. Unlike most countries in the world America's image is based not only on who they are and what they do, but on how the Americans present themselves to the world through their global window. The most attractive and glamorous production of this machine has been the image of America as the promise land of infinite possibility and opportunity where individual liberty is in hand and the society is always on the move. In its 100 years it has opened a new window toward the world in which America has been seen through it and Americans has seen the world through it, as well. Some believe it has been truly and largely successful in telling and selling the American (version of) stories in past 100 years. "The dreams of America - individual freedom, middle class, prosperity, social mobility, the rule of law- which were made the dreams of the world, too, were pictured by Hollywood." Other than that it has been used as a tool by the American Government fighting against "freedom" enemies, Fascism, Communism. Even the author argues that during the tensest day and peak of the Cold War, it was J.F.K who ordered the managers in the Hollywood that the Ian Fleming 007 espionage novels ought to be made into motion pictures. Other than that he mentions that to fight against Fascism and Nazism in the twentieth century Hollywood made the fist celebrity known globally, Charlie Chaplin who diminished and underestimated the power of Hitler in The Great Dictator. It followed the Wilsonian ideal in America's role in bringing democracy and self determination to the other parts of the world. These are samples which shows that Hollywood in its lifetime has used and been used as a tool and actor for America's political purposes. By creating roles known globally, like Rambo and James Bond, Hollywood has beaten its enemies, world foes and made it believable that the US is the ultimate savior of the world. Its values are absolute and universal and needed to save human and humanity. Accordingly, Washington eagerly sought to employ Hollywood's influence and soft power at home to make people in favor of his own foreign policy objectives. But it could not be generally accepted that America's secret weapon, Hollywood, the biggest soft power tool is playing a positive role all the time. Not only foreigners criticize Hollywood to spreading violence, porn culture through its images in the world but within the US there are who reprimand and knock the film industry as well. To a great extent Fukuyama asserts that "It is perceived as the purveyor of the kind of secular, materialistic, permissive culture that is not very popular in many parts of the world, especially the Muslim world." It is living without any responsibility which is creating the greatest tragedy of our time. It is emptied of a spiritual dimension. Many believe that Hollywood is not doing a great job in elevating spirituality and morality of America in the world to win the hearts and minds of the people, but conversely Hollywood is sowing the seeds of loathing and hatred in the world generally and in the Muslim world particularly. Some, like Bill Bennett, Ronald Reagan's secretary of education openly and famously charged that Hollywood is undermining the America's mainstream values. This is much clearer when we take a look at the PEW foundation Poll in April 2005, which nearly 61% of Americans are concerned what their children see or hear on TV. Accordingly, "Soft power does not necessarily increase the world's love for America. Soft power is still power and still makes enemies". If there is a resistance to military presence and occupation, surely there would be an opposition and resentment to cultural invasion and occupation. For example even in Turkey which is America's NATO Ally, the most popular novel in 2004 which was sold more than 800000 copies envisioned a war between Turkey and the US in which finally Turkey wins. Even American brand of secularism which is pictured in movies has been the source of concern among the religious leaders in the West. Pope Benedict XVI carried forward the worry that aggressive secularism reflected in the media was eroding the religious Foundations of America. He told American bishops that "America's brand of secularism poses a particular problem. It allows for professing belief in God and respects the public role of religion, but at the same time can subtly reduce religious belief to the lowest common denominator. The result is a growing separation of faith from life." Although the Noble poet Octavio Paz called America "the Republic of Future" which always eyes on future and new horizon in which Hollywood has been successful to create. But now due to democratization of digital media all around the world the future is not a Gospel for American soft power and its culture. For instance, although American soap operas largely viewed and seen from Malaysia to Canada, but in South Korea, for example 92% of TV and video games are domestically produced and are telling and selling their own stories. In the age of globalization, we may be witnessing the end of "the end of the history"-which Francis Fukuyama stated after the end of the Cold War. Process and era of globalization, accelerated the modernity and post modernity and diversification around the world. The Singaporean diplomat, Kishore Mahbubani, makes this critical point in his book, "The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible shift of Global Power to the East" asserted that the great paradox about the failed Western attempts to export democracy to other societies is that in the broadest sense of the term, the West has actually succeeded in democratizing the world. One key goal of democracy is to empower its citizens to make them believe they are masters of their own destiny. The number of people of in the world who believe this has never been higher. Even in the undemocratic society of China, citizens have seized the opportunities provided by the economic freedom they enjoy to completely change their lives.... In the global term there has been a huge democratization of human spirit." Due to the point that some assert that in a democracy the voting booth and the box office share the same public. So, Hollywood has largely been considered to be the United States of America muscle in public diplomacy to win the hearts and minds of public as well as elites around the world. The trend of globalization and democratization of the media and the increasingly power sharing in many centers - the rise of the rest -as Fareed Zakaria calls it, results in an atmosphere in which Hollywood is not the expected and absolute winner. Apart, by the development of the communication technology mainly Internet and the emergence of Netizen (Network citizen) now everyone is their own story teller and filmmaker which is growing largely in numbers. It leads all people to move to the same neighborhood, more and more people want to see and hear their own stories on the screen, to see that their own ideas and cultures has been projected and reflected on the screen and then to enjoy the latest offerings.

The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of...

The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of tourists converge on this historic neighborhood to experience a taste of film and television history, excitement and glamour. Finding hotels in Hollywood, is a relatively easy experience with hotels on all the major streets and points of interest. Hollywood Blvd is the main artery that runs through the historic area of Hollywood. Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex and the El Capitan theatre are all on Hollywood Blvd. Also on Hollywood Blvd is the Roosevelt Hotel. An older property going back to the 1920s, today's Roosevelt Hotel is owned by the Thompson Hotel chain and is the scene of weekly Hollywood parties, celebrities and events. The Roosevelt hotel is across the street from the Hollywood and Highland media complex. A stretch of the Walk of Fame runs on the sidewalk that is connected to the Roosevelt Hotel. The Hollywood and Highland media complex is home to the Kodak and Mann's Grauman's Chinese theaters. In the center of the Hollywood and Highland complex is the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel is an all white structure and towers over the entire center. Those with rooms on the south side will find views of all of Hollywood and Highland, Los Angeles and Downtown. Walking out the front doors of the lobby guests will be in the heart of fountains, world class shopping, the subway with nonstop routes to Universal Studios and Downtown LA and hourly departures of tour buses bound for all parts of LA. Running parallel to Hollywood Blvd and stretching behind the Hollywood and Highland complex is Franklin Avenue. Several family style budget hotels line this corridor and all provide easy access to the Hollywood and Highland Center. The Magic Castle Hotel is family friendly and is adjacent to the Magic Castle where every evening magic shows are performed on an invite only basis-although guests of the hotel are invited for free. The Magic Castle hotel is walking distance to the Hollywood and Highland Center and Walk of Stars. Running right off of Franklin is a tiny street called Orchid Drive that terminates into the back wall of the Hollywood and Highlands complex. On this street is the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, Hollywood Liberty Suites and Hollywood Orchid Hotel. All of these properties are smaller, no larger than 2 story structures that house clean, efficient, smaller hotel rooms that are perfect for the backpack traveler or family. By being adjacent to the Hollywood and Highlands complex, guests are just steps away from all the excitement of tour buses, Walk of Fame and dining opportunities. Another area in Hollywood with a high concentration of accommodations is the hotels on Highland Ave stretching north of Franklin. Per Journey Continent's hotel guide, these hotels are more family oriented and it is not uncommon to see groups of families walking to and from this hotel stretch on Highland Ave from the Hollywood and Highlands center. These hotels include the Best Western Hollywood, Hollywood Heights Hotel, Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn. The final area in Hollywood worth a notable mention of hotel locations are the hotels along Sunset Blvd. All of the hotels in this area are budget and include the Rode Way Motor Inn, Days Inn and Saharan Motor Hotel. The distance from these hotels to the Hollywood and Highlands complex is over a mile and they are not as convenient to the main attractions to Hollywood as the other hotels that are on Hollywood Blvd. or adjacent. The Sunset Strip is two miles to the west of this area. This area is often gridlocked with traffic on Friday and Saturday nights as there are several night clubs along this stretch that bring visitors and club goers from all over southern California. Solo backpackers may find this area of accommodation affordable and fun. However visitors with children and families may not find the area to be the most welcoming compared to the more family oriented hotels of Hollywood near the Hollywood and Highland complex. The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of tourists converge on this historic neighborhood to experience a taste of film and television history, excitement and glamour. Finding hotels in Hollywood, is a relatively easy experience with hotels on all the major streets and points of interest. Hollywood Blvd is the main artery that runs through the historic area of Hollywood. Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex and the El Capitan theatre are all on Hollywood Blvd. Also on Hollywood Blvd is the Roosevelt Hotel. An older property going back to the 1920s, today's Roosevelt Hotel is owned by the Thompson Hotel chain and is the scene of weekly Hollywood parties, celebrities and events. The Roosevelt hotel is across the street from the Hollywood and Highland media complex. A stretch of the Walk of Fame runs on the sidewalk that is connected to the Roosevelt Hotel. The Hollywood and Highland media complex is home to the Kodak and Mann's Grauman's Chinese theaters. In the center of the Hollywood and Highland complex is the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel is an all white structure and towers over the entire center. Those with rooms on the south side will find views of all of Hollywood and Highland, Los Angeles and Downtown. Walking out the front doors of the lobby guests will be in the heart of fountains, world class shopping, the subway with nonstop routes to Universal Studios and Downtown LA and hourly departures of tour buses bound for all parts of LA. Running parallel to Hollywood Blvd and stretching behind the Hollywood and Highland complex is Franklin Avenue. Several family style budget hotels line this corridor and all provide easy access to the Hollywood and Highland Center. The Magic Castle Hotel is family friendly and is adjacent to the Magic Castle where every evening magic shows are performed on an invite only basis-although guests of the hotel are invited for free. The Magic Castle hotel is walking distance to the Hollywood and Highland Center and Walk of Stars. Running right off of Franklin is a tiny street called Orchid Drive that terminates into the back wall of the Hollywood and Highlands complex. On this street is the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, Hollywood Liberty Suites and Hollywood Orchid Hotel. All of these properties are smaller, no larger than 2 story structures that house clean, efficient, smaller hotel rooms that are perfect for the backpack traveler or family. By being adjacent to the Hollywood and Highlands complex, guests are just steps away from all the excitement of tour buses, Walk of Fame and dining opportunities. Another area in Hollywood with a high concentration of accommodations is the hotels on Highland Ave stretching north of Franklin. Per Journey Continent's hotel guide, these hotels are more family oriented and it is not uncommon to see groups of families walking to and from this hotel stretch on Highland Ave from the Hollywood and Highlands center. These hotels include the Best Western Hollywood, Hollywood Heights Hotel, Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn. The final area in Hollywood worth a notable mention of hotel locations are the hotels along Sunset Blvd. All of the hotels in this area are budget and include the Rode Way Motor Inn, Days Inn and Saharan Motor Hotel. The distance from these hotels to the Hollywood and Highlands complex is over a mile and they are not as convenient to the main attractions to Hollywood as the other hotels that are on Hollywood Blvd. or adjacent. The Sunset Strip is two miles to the west of this area. This area is often gridlocked with traffic on Friday and Saturday nights as there are several night clubs along this stretch that bring visitors and club goers from all over southern California. Solo backpackers may find this area of accommodation affordable and fun. However visitors with children and families may not find the area to be the most welcoming compared to the more family oriented hotels of Hollywood near the Hollywood and Highland complex.The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of tourists converge on this historic neighborhood to experience a taste of film and television history, excitement and glamour. Finding hotels in Hollywood, is a relatively easy experience with hotels on all the major streets and points of interest. Hollywood Blvd is the main artery that runs through the historic area of Hollywood. Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex and the El Capitan theatre are all on Hollywood Blvd. Also on Hollywood Blvd is the Roosevelt Hotel. An older property going back to the 1920s, today's Roosevelt Hotel is owned by the Thompson Hotel chain and is the scene of weekly Hollywood parties, celebrities and events. The Roosevelt hotel is across the street from the Hollywood and Highland media complex. A stretch of the Walk of Fame runs on the sidewalk that is connected to the Roosevelt Hotel. The Hollywood and Highland media complex is home to the Kodak and Mann's Grauman's Chinese theaters. In the center of the Hollywood and Highland complex is the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel is an all white structure and towers over the entire center. Those with rooms on the south side will find views of all of Hollywood and Highland, Los Angeles and Downtown. Walking out the front doors of the lobby guests will be in the heart of fountains, world class shopping, the subway with nonstop routes to Universal Studios and Downtown LA and hourly departures of tour buses bound for all parts of LA. Running parallel to Hollywood Blvd and stretching behind the Hollywood and Highland complex is Franklin Avenue. Several family style budget hotels line this corridor and all provide easy access to the Hollywood and Highland Center. The Magic Castle Hotel is family friendly and is adjacent to the Magic Castle where every evening magic shows are performed on an invite only basis-although guests of the hotel are invited for free. The Magic Castle hotel is walking distance to the Hollywood and Highland Center and Walk of Stars. Running right off of Franklin is a tiny street called Orchid Drive that terminates into the back wall of the Hollywood and Highlands complex. On this street is the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, Hollywood Liberty Suites and Hollywood Orchid Hotel. All of these properties are smaller, no larger than 2 story structures that house clean, efficient, smaller hotel rooms that are perfect for the backpack traveler or family. By being adjacent to the Hollywood and Highlands complex, guests are just steps away from all the excitement of tour buses, Walk of Fame and dining opportunities. Another area in Hollywood with a high concentration of accommodations is the hotels on Highland Ave stretching north of Franklin. Per Journey Continent's hotel guide, these hotels are more family oriented and it is not uncommon to see groups of families walking to and from this hotel stretch on Highland Ave from the Hollywood and Highlands center. These hotels include the Best Western Hollywood, Hollywood Heights Hotel, Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn. The final area in Hollywood worth a notable mention of hotel locations are the hotels along Sunset Blvd. All of the hotels in this area are budget and include the Rode Way Motor Inn, Days Inn and Saharan Motor Hotel. The distance from these hotels to the Hollywood and Highlands complex is over a mile and they are not as convenient to the main attractions to Hollywood as the other hotels that are on Hollywood Blvd. or adjacent. The Sunset Strip is two miles to the west of this area. This area is often gridlocked with traffic on Friday and Saturday nights as there are several night clubs along this stretch that bring visitors and club goers from all over southern California. Solo backpackers may find this area of accommodation affordable and fun. However visitors with children and families may not find the area to be the most welcoming compared to the more family oriented hotels of Hollywood near the Hollywood and Highland complex.

The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of...

The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of tourists converge on this historic neighborhood to experience a taste of film and television history, excitement and glamour. Finding hotels in Hollywood, is a relatively easy experience with hotels on all the major streets and points of interest. Hollywood Blvd is the main artery that runs through the historic area of Hollywood. Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex and the El Capitan theatre are all on Hollywood Blvd. Also on Hollywood Blvd is the Roosevelt Hotel. An older property going back to the 1920s, today's Roosevelt Hotel is owned by the Thompson Hotel chain and is the scene of weekly Hollywood parties, celebrities and events. The Roosevelt hotel is across the street from the Hollywood and Highland media complex. A stretch of the Walk of Fame runs on the sidewalk that is connected to the Roosevelt Hotel. The Hollywood and Highland media complex is home to the Kodak and Mann's Grauman's Chinese theaters. In the center of the Hollywood and Highland complex is the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel is an all white structure and towers over the entire center. Those with rooms on the south side will find views of all of Hollywood and Highland, Los Angeles and Downtown. Walking out the front doors of the lobby guests will be in the heart of fountains, world class shopping, the subway with nonstop routes to Universal Studios and Downtown LA and hourly departures of tour buses bound for all parts of LA. Running parallel to Hollywood Blvd and stretching behind the Hollywood and Highland complex is Franklin Avenue. Several family style budget hotels line this corridor and all provide easy access to the Hollywood and Highland Center. The Magic Castle Hotel is family friendly and is adjacent to the Magic Castle where every evening magic shows are performed on an invite only basis-although guests of the hotel are invited for free. The Magic Castle hotel is walking distance to the Hollywood and Highland Center and Walk of Stars. Running right off of Franklin is a tiny street called Orchid Drive that terminates into the back wall of the Hollywood and Highlands complex. On this street is the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, Hollywood Liberty Suites and Hollywood Orchid Hotel. All of these properties are smaller, no larger than 2 story structures that house clean, efficient, smaller hotel rooms that are perfect for the backpack traveler or family. By being adjacent to the Hollywood and Highlands complex, guests are just steps away from all the excitement of tour buses, Walk of Fame and dining opportunities. Another area in Hollywood with a high concentration of accommodations is the hotels on Highland Ave stretching north of Franklin. Per Journey Continent's hotel guide, these hotels are more family oriented and it is not uncommon to see groups of families walking to and from this hotel stretch on Highland Ave from the Hollywood and Highlands center. These hotels include the Best Western Hollywood, Hollywood Heights Hotel, Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn. The final area in Hollywood worth a notable mention of hotel locations are the hotels along Sunset Blvd. All of the hotels in this area are budget and include the Rode Way Motor Inn, Days Inn and Saharan Motor Hotel. The distance from these hotels to the Hollywood and Highlands complex is over a mile and they are not as convenient to the main attractions to Hollywood as the other hotels that are on Hollywood Blvd. or adjacent. The Sunset Strip is two miles to the west of this area. This area is often gridlocked with traffic on Friday and Saturday nights as there are several night clubs along this stretch that bring visitors and club goers from all over southern California. Solo backpackers may find this area of accommodation affordable and fun. However visitors with children and families may not find the area to be the most welcoming compared to the more family oriented hotels of Hollywood near the Hollywood and Highland complex. The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of tourists converge on this historic neighborhood to experience a taste of film and television history, excitement and glamour. Finding hotels in Hollywood, is a relatively easy experience with hotels on all the major streets and points of interest. Hollywood Blvd is the main artery that runs through the historic area of Hollywood. Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex and the El Capitan theatre are all on Hollywood Blvd. Also on Hollywood Blvd is the Roosevelt Hotel. An older property going back to the 1920s, today's Roosevelt Hotel is owned by the Thompson Hotel chain and is the scene of weekly Hollywood parties, celebrities and events. The Roosevelt hotel is across the street from the Hollywood and Highland media complex. A stretch of the Walk of Fame runs on the sidewalk that is connected to the Roosevelt Hotel. The Hollywood and Highland media complex is home to the Kodak and Mann's Grauman's Chinese theaters. In the center of the Hollywood and Highland complex is the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel is an all white structure and towers over the entire center. Those with rooms on the south side will find views of all of Hollywood and Highland, Los Angeles and Downtown. Walking out the front doors of the lobby guests will be in the heart of fountains, world class shopping, the subway with nonstop routes to Universal Studios and Downtown LA and hourly departures of tour buses bound for all parts of LA. Running parallel to Hollywood Blvd and stretching behind the Hollywood and Highland complex is Franklin Avenue. Several family style budget hotels line this corridor and all provide easy access to the Hollywood and Highland Center. The Magic Castle Hotel is family friendly and is adjacent to the Magic Castle where every evening magic shows are performed on an invite only basis-although guests of the hotel are invited for free. The Magic Castle hotel is walking distance to the Hollywood and Highland Center and Walk of Stars. Running right off of Franklin is a tiny street called Orchid Drive that terminates into the back wall of the Hollywood and Highlands complex. On this street is the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, Hollywood Liberty Suites and Hollywood Orchid Hotel. All of these properties are smaller, no larger than 2 story structures that house clean, efficient, smaller hotel rooms that are perfect for the backpack traveler or family. By being adjacent to the Hollywood and Highlands complex, guests are just steps away from all the excitement of tour buses, Walk of Fame and dining opportunities. Another area in Hollywood with a high concentration of accommodations is the hotels on Highland Ave stretching north of Franklin. Per Journey Continent's hotel guide, these hotels are more family oriented and it is not uncommon to see groups of families walking to and from this hotel stretch on Highland Ave from the Hollywood and Highlands center. These hotels include the Best Western Hollywood, Hollywood Heights Hotel, Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn. The final area in Hollywood worth a notable mention of hotel locations are the hotels along Sunset Blvd. All of the hotels in this area are budget and include the Rode Way Motor Inn, Days Inn and Saharan Motor Hotel. The distance from these hotels to the Hollywood and Highlands complex is over a mile and they are not as convenient to the main attractions to Hollywood as the other hotels that are on Hollywood Blvd. or adjacent. The Sunset Strip is two miles to the west of this area. This area is often gridlocked with traffic on Friday and Saturday nights as there are several night clubs along this stretch that bring visitors and club goers from all over southern California. Solo backpackers may find this area of accommodation affordable and fun. However visitors with children and families may not find the area to be the most welcoming compared to the more family oriented hotels of Hollywood near the Hollywood and Highland complex. The Hollywood area of Los Angeles in recent years has come to rival the excitement found in Times Square New York. Every day thousands of tourists converge on this historic neighborhood to experience a taste of film and television history, excitement and glamour. Finding hotels in Hollywood, is a relatively easy experience with hotels on all the major streets and points of interest. Hollywood Blvd is the main artery that runs through the historic area of Hollywood. Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex and the El Capitan theatre are all on Hollywood Blvd. Also on Hollywood Blvd is the Roosevelt Hotel. An older property going back to the 1920s, today's Roosevelt Hotel is owned by the Thompson Hotel chain and is the scene of weekly Hollywood parties, celebrities and events. The Roosevelt hotel is across the street from the Hollywood and Highland media complex. A stretch of the Walk of Fame runs on the sidewalk that is connected to the Roosevelt Hotel. The Hollywood and Highland media complex is home to the Kodak and Mann's Grauman's Chinese theaters. In the center of the Hollywood and Highland complex is the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel is an all white structure and towers over the entire center. Those with rooms on the south side will find views of all of Hollywood and Highland, Los Angeles and Downtown. Walking out the front doors of the lobby guests will be in the heart of fountains, world class shopping, the subway with nonstop routes to Universal Studios and Downtown LA and hourly departures of tour buses bound for all parts of LA. Running parallel to Hollywood Blvd and stretching behind the Hollywood and Highland complex is Franklin Avenue. Several family style budget hotels line this corridor and all provide easy access to the Hollywood and Highland Center. The Magic Castle Hotel is family friendly and is adjacent to the Magic Castle where every evening magic shows are performed on an invite only basis-although guests of the hotel are invited for free. The Magic Castle hotel is walking distance to the Hollywood and Highland Center and Walk of Stars. Running right off of Franklin is a tiny street called Orchid Drive that terminates into the back wall of the Hollywood and Highlands complex. On this street is the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, Hollywood Liberty Suites and Hollywood Orchid Hotel. All of these properties are smaller, no larger than 2 story structures that house clean, efficient, smaller hotel rooms that are perfect for the backpack traveler or family. By being adjacent to the Hollywood and Highlands complex, guests are just steps away from all the excitement of tour buses, Walk of Fame and dining opportunities. Another area in Hollywood with a high concentration of accommodations is the hotels on Highland Ave stretching north of Franklin. Per Journey Continent's hotel guide, these hotels are more family oriented and it is not uncommon to see groups of families walking to and from this hotel stretch on Highland Ave from the Hollywood and Highlands center. These hotels include the Best Western Hollywood, Hollywood Heights Hotel, Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn. The final area in Hollywood worth a notable mention of hotel locations are the hotels along Sunset Blvd. All of the hotels in this area are budget and include the Rode Way Motor Inn, Days Inn and Saharan Motor Hotel. The distance from these hotels to the Hollywood and Highlands complex is over a mile and they are not as convenient to the main attractions to Hollywood as the other hotels that are on Hollywood Blvd. or adjacent. The Sunset Strip is two miles to the west of this area. This area is often gridlocked with traffic on Friday and Saturday nights as there are several night clubs along this stretch that bring visitors and club goers from all over southern California. Solo backpackers may find this area of accommodation affordable and fun. However visitors with children and families may not find the area to be the most welcoming compared to the more family oriented hotels of Hollywood near the Hollywood and Highland complex.

Hollywood, California conjures up images of movie stars, film production and fame seeking hopefuls arriving by the bus loads daily. While ...

Hollywood, California conjures up images of movie stars, film production and fame seeking hopefuls arriving by the bus loads daily. While some of these perceptions are true, most film production has moved on to other parts of Los Angeles. A visit to today's Hollywood is more of a bustling tourist destination and beginning point for all the sights around LA and a historic landmark to the film and television industry's past. The main route through Hollywood is Hollywood Blvd. It is along Hollywood Blvd visitors will see the Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment center, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the El Capitan Theatre and several hotels including the Roosevelt Hotel, the brand new W Hotel and the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. In addition to the main sights and attractions of Hollywood Blvd, it is also the street to catch one of many tour buses departing hourly for tours of celebrity homes, Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. One of the newest and biggest attractions to open in Hollywood in recent years has been the Hollywood and Highland entertainment center on Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave. The center is a multi level outdoor shopping, dinning and entertainment complex. The structure has an U shape with the open end facing out onto Hollywood Blvd. At any of the levels visitors can look out onto busy Hollywood Blvd and the Walk of Fame, the Hollywood sign, the many fountains on the ground level or take in the sight of both the Kodak Theatre and Renaissance Hollywood Hotel rising from the back of the complex. It is the Kodak Theatre where the annual Academy Awards are now held. At the base of the Hollywood and Highland center and along the Walk of Fame is Grauman's Chinese Theater. Here visitors from all over the world come to place their hands in concrete imprints of hands and feet left from some of the biggest movie stars in the world. All along Hollywood Blvd and adjacent to the Hollywood and Highland center is the Walk of Fame. Consisting of over 2,300 stars representing celebrities from music, film, radio, TV and producing, the Walk of Fame extends down Hollywood Blvd and up down the side streets. There are many budget shopping opportunities along this stretch of Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood memorabilia stores are a dime a dozen on this stretch selling Hollywood t shirts, plastic Oscars, discarded paparazzi photos of celebrities and more. In front of the Hollywood and Highland complex tour buses depart hourly for all parts of Los Angeles including tours of celebrity homes, Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. Extending behind the Hollywood and Highland center is Franklin Ave. Off of Franklin Ave is a little street that stretches deep into the Hollywood Hills called the Outpost Estates. This was the original neighborhood that the first major Hollywood stars of the 1920s and 1930s called home. Many of the homes in this area have been renovated to maintain their original look and feel from that time. Today most of these houses are all over a million dollars and many, the higher up on the road, have amazing views of all of Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles. Regular tour buses departing from Hollywood Blvd give visitors a complete rundown and exposure of this historic area of Hollywood. La Brea Blvd is the major north, south artery running through Hollywood. There are many boutique shopping and dinning opportunities along this stretch. At La Brea and Melrose is where the Melrose Ave shopping district is located. Extending west from La Brea all the way past Fairfax and into West Hollywood, the Melrose Ave shopping district is full of boutique retailers selling everything from belts, boots, chic clothing, lingerie and even movie poster, books and music. The first ever Johnny Rockets opened on Melrose Ave still stands there today. On Melrose Ave east of La Brea is the famous Paramount Pictures studio lot. One of the last studios to call Hollywood home, Paramount has a long history of producing some of the biggest movie titles of all time. Today this active studio lot is home to daily productions of day time and prime time television shows, movies and commercials. Paramount Pictures does offer a guided tour of the lot and visitors can get some revealing glimpses of the inner workings of the studio just by walking the perimeter. Hollywood, California conjures up images of movie stars, film production and fame seeking hopefuls arriving by the bus loads daily. While some of these perceptions are true, most film production has moved on to other parts of Los Angeles. A visit to today's Hollywood is more of a bustling tourist destination and beginning point for all the sights around LA and a historic landmark to the film and television industry's past. The main route through Hollywood is Hollywood Blvd. It is along Hollywood Blvd visitors will see the Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment center, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the El Capitan Theatre and several hotels including the Roosevelt Hotel, the brand new W Hotel and the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. In addition to the main sights and attractions of Hollywood Blvd, it is also the street to catch one of many tour buses departing hourly for tours of celebrity homes, Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. One of the newest and biggest attractions to open in Hollywood in recent years has been the Hollywood and Highland entertainment center on Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave. The center is a multi level outdoor shopping, dinning and entertainment complex. The structure has an U shape with the open end facing out onto Hollywood Blvd. At any of the levels visitors can look out onto busy Hollywood Blvd and the Walk of Fame, the Hollywood sign, the many fountains on the ground level or take in the sight of both the Kodak Theatre and Renaissance Hollywood Hotel rising from the back of the complex. It is the Kodak Theatre where the annual Academy Awards are now held. At the base of the Hollywood and Highland center and along the Walk of Fame is Grauman's Chinese Theater. Here visitors from all over the world come to place their hands in concrete imprints of hands and feet left from some of the biggest movie stars in the world. All along Hollywood Blvd and adjacent to the Hollywood and Highland center is the Walk of Fame. Consisting of over 2,300 stars representing celebrities from music, film, radio, TV and producing, the Walk of Fame extends down Hollywood Blvd and up down the side streets. There are many budget shopping opportunities along this stretch of Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood memorabilia stores are a dime a dozen on this stretch selling Hollywood t shirts, plastic Oscars, discarded paparazzi photos of celebrities and more. In front of the Hollywood and Highland complex tour buses depart hourly for all parts of Los Angeles including tours of celebrity homes, Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. Extending behind the Hollywood and Highland center is Franklin Ave. Off of Franklin Ave is a little street that stretches deep into the Hollywood Hills called the Outpost Estates. This was the original neighborhood that the first major Hollywood stars of the 1920s and 1930s called home. Many of the homes in this area have been renovated to maintain their original look and feel from that time. Today most of these houses are all over a million dollars and many, the higher up on the road, have amazing views of all of Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles. Regular tour buses departing from Hollywood Blvd give visitors a complete rundown and exposure of this historic area of Hollywood. La Brea Blvd is the major north, south artery running through Hollywood. There are many boutique shopping and dinning opportunities along this stretch. At La Brea and Melrose is where the Melrose Ave shopping district is located. Extending west from La Brea all the way past Fairfax and into West Hollywood, the Melrose Ave shopping district is full of boutique retailers selling everything from belts, boots, chic clothing, lingerie and even movie poster, books and music. The first ever Johnny Rockets opened on Melrose Ave still stands there today. On Melrose Ave east of La Brea is the famous Paramount Pictures studio lot. One of the last studios to call Hollywood home, Paramount has a long history of producing some of the biggest movie titles of all time. Today this active studio lot is home to daily productions of day time and prime time television shows, movies and commercials. Paramount Pictures does offer a guided tour of the lot and visitors can get some revealing glimpses of the inner workings of the studio just by walking the perimeteHollywood, California conjures up images of movie stars, film production and fame seeking hopefuls arriving by the bus loads daily. While some of these perceptions are true, most film production has moved on to other parts of Los Angeles. A visit to today's Hollywood is more of a bustling tourist destination and beginning point for all the sights around LA and a historic landmark to the film and television industry's past. The main route through Hollywood is Hollywood Blvd. It is along Hollywood Blvd visitors will see the Walk of Fame, Hollywood and Highland entertainment center, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the El Capitan Theatre and several hotels including the Roosevelt Hotel, the brand new W Hotel and the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. In addition to the main sights and attractions of Hollywood Blvd, it is also the street to catch one of many tour buses departing hourly for tours of celebrity homes, Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. One of the newest and biggest attractions to open in Hollywood in recent years has been the Hollywood and Highland entertainment center on Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave. The center is a multi level outdoor shopping, dinning and entertainment complex. The structure has an U shape with the open end facing out onto Hollywood Blvd. At any of the levels visitors can look out onto busy Hollywood Blvd and the Walk of Fame, the Hollywood sign, the many fountains on the ground level or take in the sight of both the Kodak Theatre and Renaissance Hollywood Hotel rising from the back of the complex. It is the Kodak Theatre where the annual Academy Awards are now held. At the base of the Hollywood and Highland center and along the Walk of Fame is Grauman's Chinese Theater. Here visitors from all over the world come to place their hands in concrete imprints of hands and feet left from some of the biggest movie stars in the world. All along Hollywood Blvd and adjacent to the Hollywood and Highland center is the Walk of Fame. Consisting of over 2,300 stars representing celebrities from music, film, radio, TV and producing, the Walk of Fame extends down Hollywood Blvd and up down the side streets. There are many budget shopping opportunities along this stretch of Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood memorabilia stores are a dime a dozen on this stretch selling Hollywood t shirts, plastic Oscars, discarded paparazzi photos of celebrities and more. In front of the Hollywood and Highland complex tour buses depart hourly for all parts of Los Angeles including tours of celebrity homes, Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. Extending behind the Hollywood and Highland center is Franklin Ave. Off of Franklin Ave is a little street that stretches deep into the Hollywood Hills called the Outpost Estates. This was the original neighborhood that the first major Hollywood stars of the 1920s and 1930s called home. Many of the homes in this area have been renovated to maintain their original look and feel from that time. Today most of these houses are all over a million dollars and many, the higher up on the road, have amazing views of all of Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles. Regular tour buses departing from Hollywood Blvd give visitors a complete rundown and exposure of this historic area of Hollywood. La Brea Blvd is the major north, south artery running through Hollywood. There are many boutique shopping and dinning opportunities along this stretch. At La Brea and Melrose is where the Melrose Ave shopping district is located. Extending west from La Brea all the way past Fairfax and into West Hollywood, the Melrose Ave shopping district is full of boutique retailers selling everything from belts, boots, chic clothing, lingerie and even movie poster, books and music. The first ever Johnny Rockets opened on Melrose Ave still stands there today. On Melrose Ave east of La Brea is the famous Paramount Pictures studio lot. One of the last studios to call Hollywood home, Paramount has a long history of producing some of the biggest movie titles of all time. Today this active studio lot is home to daily productions of day time and prime time television shows, movies and commercials. Paramount Pictures does offer a guided tour of the lot and visitors can get some revealing glimpses of the inner workings of the studio just by walking the perimeter.

In December a shocking decision was made that will have strong implications to future development and growth in Hollywood, CA that will b...

In December a shocking decision was made that will have strong implications to future development and growth in Hollywood, CA that will be seen in the years to come. The Hollywood Community Plan was overturned, leaving City planners and real estate developers alike in disarray. In June of 2012, the Los Angeles Department of City Planning completed their update to the Hollywood Community Plan, which was in turn adopted by the City Council. Like many, the City saw, and still sees, Hollywood as a community that is making a comeback. Reminiscent of the "Tinseltown" we all know of at the turn of the 20th century, the original movie capital of the world has seen a strong gentrification process over the last 10-15 years. Although this historic entertainment district still remains at the center of downtown Hollywood, other unique districts have also emerged; including newer media and entertainment uses down by Santa Monica Boulevard, major medical in East Hollywood near the 101 freeway, creative office and tech in Central Hollywood and a mix of multi-family and single-family residential scattered throughout. Hollywood also has a very high concentration of historic buildings, specifically in its downtown core. Many of these were dilapidated and often vacant commercial buildings that were recently converted by developers into new apartments or condos through the City's Adaptive Reuse process. Some examples of these include The Broadway Hollywood, The Lofts @ Hollywood & Vine and the Sunset/Vine tower. There have also been a handful of ground-up mixed-use projects that have gone up (e.g. 1600 Vine, Sunset & Vine Windsor, Blvd6200) turning Hollywood into an attractive residential and commercial center where residents can live, work, play and shop. New hotels and destination lifestyle centers have emerged, which have boosted both tourism and business to the community (e.g. W Hotel, Hollywood & Highland, Redbury Hotel). The purpose of the Hollywood Community Plan update was to help ensure the continued economic growth and revitalization of the area. According to the plan itself, the City's vision for Hollywood by the year 2030 through the implementation of the Hollywood Community Plan is "a compact city that is growing vertically, mixing residential, commercial and industrial uses in new and interesting ways. With core industries in entertainment, tourism and health care, this is a Hollywood which supports a strong local and regional economy. A rich, multimodal transit system, an inviting walking environment, and mixed-use housing along transit corridors to promote a livable community and enable many Hollywood residents to reduce their use of cars. The balanced growth of commercial and residential uses provides a jobs-housing balance, enabling an increasing number of residents and visitors to live, work, play and shop in Hollywood. Implementation of mixed-income housing incentives creates opportunities for people who work in Hollywood to find affordable housing nearby. A successful growth plan must be a sustainable plan. Therefore, the Hollywood Community Plan promotes building, landscape, transportation and land use policies that take the long view towards protecting the environment. Recognizing the value of Hollywood's impressive historic architecture and cultural resources, the Community Plan seeks to protect these assets, as well." The Hollywood Community Plan update ended up changing a lot of the antiquated zoning that had been in place in Hollywood since the last zone change update in 1988. The latest changes were made to help protect historic and single-family neighborhood and on the flipside, others changes were made to allow more height and density near core areas and along transit corridors in an attempt to promote new development in the vehicle of Smart Growth. Even though the Hollywood Community Plan update was adopted by the City in 2012, there was a case brought on late during the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) appeal period of the Community Plan's EIR (Environmental Impact Report). This Superior Court case against the City of Los Angeles was brought on together by three (3) plaintiffs, who were all local community and preservation groups (Fix the City, La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association of Hollywood, and SaveHollywood.org). The plaintiffs' main reason for filing suit was that they believed that City Planners and City Council relied on inaccurate population data for Hollywood, which was in turn used as the basis for some of the areas that were "up-zoned" to allow increased height and density for new projects. They claimed that the City's EIR for this Hollywood Community Plan update showed a false population increase in the area due to previous revitalization. According to the plaintiffs, the City allegedly used outdated census data from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which showed approximately 225,000 people in Hollywood. Using this figure, the City assumed a future population of 250,000 people by the year 2030, a projected increase of 25,000. The problem is that the US 2010 Census came out showing roughly 200,000 people, which was slightly less than the 225,000 people shown in the City's EIR. So, instead of an increase of 25,000 people by 2030, in reality, it really meant an increase of 50,000 people. Critics state that by using higher-than-actual population figures as the basis for the additional height and density allowed in the Community Plan, real estate developers can now build larger, higher and denser buildings based on the new zoning that was a result of accommodating this demand, in turn meaning that traffic will become worse, views of existing residents will be impacted and infrastructure will be inadequate. I'm not sure if I am buying into that logic as it would be worse if the City "underestimated" the population data, rather than using a higher, or in other words, a more conservative set of population data. One could argue that it is better to error on the side of a higher future population, because what if it actually happens? If would be better to have the flexibility and ability to build a sufficient amount of housing, office space and infrastructure as opposed to having our hands tied and not be able to accommodate a higher-than-projected surge in Hollywood residents if it were to occur. This author will not speculate on what happened during the compilation of census data in the EIR or why the discrepancy was not fixed by the City prior to releasing the Final EIR, but in not doing so, a chink was left in the armor for local NIMBY's and advocacy groups to penetrate in a Community Plan, that for the most part, from an urban planning prospective, made a lot of sense for the future of Hollywood as a whole. After reviewing the evidence, Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs, stating that the population data shown in the Hollywood Community Plan update's EIR was "fatally flawed" and should be repealed as it failed to comply with the State of California's environmental laws when it was adopted. So, what does this mean now for the City? No doubt the City will fight this ruling. This was a document that the City and its supporters viewed as the key to transforming Hollywood up through the year 2030 "from a hotspot of criminal activity into a vibrant center of jobs, residential towers and public transportation," according to the LA Times. It looks like the City is going to have to start 'from scratch' with its entitlement process and revise their EIR for the Hollywood Community Plan in order to reflect more accurate population data and translate that into a whole new set of zoning requirements and design guidelines. This will likely take a minimum of 1-2 years to prepare and eventually get re-adopted. A timeline of 1-2 years is probably the best case scenario considering that the previous iteration took the City over seven (7) years to get adopted. This ruling also means that the City will not be able to approve or issue permits for any future projects that relied on the zoning changes from this Hollywood Community Plan update that was overturned. So, what does this all mean? For one, it means that all Hollywood projects that were or are currently in the planning stages that were predicated on this Hollywood Community Plan update are in a very precarious situation. There were many real estate development deals and projects, large and small, which were 'on the boards,' so to speak, when this event occurred. Major projects such as The Millennium Hollywood by Millennium Partners, Columbia Square by Kilroy Realty, Hollywood Palladium by Crescent Heights, Selma & Vine by Camden Development and several mixed-use projects by Champion Real Estate; each having several hundred much-needed rental units apiece, may have relied, either partially or fully, on the new zoning of the now defunct Hollywood Community Plan update to make their projects possible. Since the overturning of the Community Plan reverts the zoning in the area back to its previous iteration, which is more stringent in terms of height and density, some of these projects may no longer pencil financially for these developers. The larger projects may be large enough to absorb the hit, but the medium and small-size projects are likely in 'dire straits.' These developers are now holding the bag, owning a piece of property that one can build fewer units on that one could a year or two ago. The ruling has effectively decreased the land value and development potential of their properties. I was personally affected by the overturning of the Hollywood Community Plan update. In December, my firm was in the process of tying up a piece of property in Hollywood near Franklin and Wilcox to develop a new ground-up market-rate apartment complex. We would have been able to build 58 units pursuant to the zoning adopted in the Hollywood Community Plan update and everything was moving forward. We had a signed LOI, an equity partner on board and a jump-start on engaging consultants for design, engineering and entitlements. Less than 24 hours from executing a Purchase and Sales Agreement, Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman made his monumental ruling and our deal imploded overnight. Now, instead of a 58-unit apartment deal, the judgment dropped ours down to a 38-unit deal. The amount of money that we were planning to pay for the property no longer worked since we lost 20 units instantaneously. Where the proposed purchase price worked for a 58-unit complex, it was simply too much for a 38-unit complex, so we had to bow out of the transaction. Unfortunate as it was, in hindsight, it was good that this news came to light at the time that it did, rather that after we were to Close on and own the property like some of the aforementioned developers. This ruling is going to throw the 'proverbial' wrench in the City's goal to continue revitalization of Hollywood and promote future development and economic growth in the area. Keep in the mind that newly-elected Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, was previously the Councilman for District 13 (CD13), which covers Hollywood, Silver Lake, Atwater Village and parts of Echo Park. Since the Hollywood Community Plan update was a work in progress for over seven (7) years, these zoning changes were a brain child of Garcetti's. One would expect that the City's fight against this ruling will be fueled by Garcetti's personal investment into the vision. Will the City prevail? This author believes so, although it is just going to be a matter of time, as I stated before. However, as any savvy developer or investor knows, real estate is all about timing, and one has to wonder if the current multi-family cycle may be nearing an end by the time this is all straightened out. Lastly, this change is going to have major implications on the broker community, residual land values and any transactions over the next several years. Developers will not be allowed to build as many units on a particular piece of land as they could have before the ruling. For example, a piece of property that is 40,000 square feet (just under one acre) in the heart of Hollywood could have had a zoned density of 400 lot square feet per dwelling unit, allowing a maximum unit count of 100 units (40,000 lot square feet / 400 lot square feet per dwelling unit = 100 dwelling units). Now, with the new ruling, the zoned density for that particular parcel might have dropped to 600 lot square feet per dwelling unit, allowing a maximum unit count of 66 units (40,000 lot square feet / 600 lot square feet per dwelling unit = 66.67 dwelling units ≈ 60 dwelling units). Let's say a developer thinks they can get pretty healthy rents in this particular area of around $3.00/sf/month. Let's also assume that the developer's underwriting allows them to pay $100,000/door for land in this area for a new ground-up multi-family project to pencil at those rents. What this means is that their land basis for this 40,000 square foot property changed from $10.0M (100 units x $100,000/door) to $6.6M (66 units x $66,666/door) overnight. That's a 33% reduction in land value. One can speculate on the effect that this 'down-zoning' is going to have on the real estate market in Hollywood. The problem is that most property owners and real estate agents are not yet aware of the change that occurred in December or simply do not understand the implications that it carries. Unfortunately, it is going to take some time for this knowledge to sink in and our goal is that this article aids in that education process. Many property owners and real estate agents who do not intimately know the zoning code, are still going to be under the impression that property values are worth what they were in 2013, before the ruling. That is not the case, however, as one can see from the example given above. Residual land values could have dropped by 33% and in some cases even more, from the sole result of this ruling. There is a direct correlation between the comparable rents and allowable density (number of units) versus what developers can realistically pay for land. If a broker gets a new listing in Hollywood where there is an opportunistic play, it would be prudent for them to engage a knowledgeable Architect or consultant that clearly understands the new zoning in Hollywood to perform a density/feasibility study. If not, do not be shocked when offers come in much lower than listing and keep in mind that, for the most part, these are not lowball offers - they are the right offers. My only wish is that property owners and brokers eventually become educated on these changes so that development (even at the lower density) can continue in Hollywood so that the community can take a step forward rather than two steps back.In December a shocking decision was made that will have strong implications to future development and growth in Hollywood, CA that will be seen in the years to come. The Hollywood Community Plan was overturned, leaving City planners and real estate developers alike in disarray. In June of 2012, the Los Angeles Department of City Planning completed their update to the Hollywood Community Plan, which was in turn adopted by the City Council. Like many, the City saw, and still sees, Hollywood as a community that is making a comeback. Reminiscent of the "Tinseltown" we all know of at the turn of the 20th century, the original movie capital of the world has seen a strong gentrification process over the last 10-15 years. Although this historic entertainment district still remains at the center of downtown Hollywood, other unique districts have also emerged; including newer media and entertainment uses down by Santa Monica Boulevard, major medical in East Hollywood near the 101 freeway, creative office and tech in Central Hollywood and a mix of multi-family and single-family residential scattered throughout. Hollywood also has a very high concentration of historic buildings, specifically in its downtown core. Many of these were dilapidated and often vacant commercial buildings that were recently converted by developers into new apartments or condos through the City's Adaptive Reuse process. Some examples of these include The Broadway Hollywood, The Lofts @ Hollywood & Vine and the Sunset/Vine tower. There have also been a handful of ground-up mixed-use projects that have gone up (e.g. 1600 Vine, Sunset & Vine Windsor, Blvd6200) turning Hollywood into an attractive residential and commercial center where residents can live, work, play and shop. New hotels and destination lifestyle centers have emerged, which have boosted both tourism and business to the community (e.g. W Hotel, Hollywood & Highland, Redbury Hotel). The purpose of the Hollywood Community Plan update was to help ensure the continued economic growth and revitalization of the area. According to the plan itself, the City's vision for Hollywood by the year 2030 through the implementation of the Hollywood Community Plan is "a compact city that is growing vertically, mixing residential, commercial and industrial uses in new and interesting ways. With core industries in entertainment, tourism and health care, this is a Hollywood which supports a strong local and regional economy. A rich, multimodal transit system, an inviting walking environment, and mixed-use housing along transit corridors to promote a livable community and enable many Hollywood residents to reduce their use of cars. The balanced growth of commercial and residential uses provides a jobs-housing balance, enabling an increasing number of residents and visitors to live, work, play and shop in Hollywood. Implementation of mixed-income housing incentives creates opportunities for people who work in Hollywood to find affordable housing nearby. A successful growth plan must be a sustainable plan. Therefore, the Hollywood Community Plan promotes building, landscape, transportation and land use policies that take the long view towards protecting the environment. Recognizing the value of Hollywood's impressive historic architecture and cultural resources, the Community Plan seeks to protect these assets, as well." The Hollywood Community Plan update ended up changing a lot of the antiquated zoning that had been in place in Hollywood since the last zone change update in 1988. The latest changes were made to help protect historic and single-family neighborhood and on the flipside, others changes were made to allow more height and density near core areas and along transit corridors in an attempt to promote new development in the vehicle of Smart Growth. Even though the Hollywood Community Plan update was adopted by the City in 2012, there was a case brought on late during the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) appeal period of the Community Plan's EIR (Environmental Impact Report). This Superior Court case against the City of Los Angeles was brought on together by three (3) plaintiffs, who were all local community and preservation groups (Fix the City, La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association of Hollywood, and SaveHollywood.org). The plaintiffs' main reason for filing suit was that they believed that City Planners and City Council relied on inaccurate population data for Hollywood, which was in turn used as the basis for some of the areas that were "up-zoned" to allow increased height and density for new projects. They claimed that the City's EIR for this Hollywood Community Plan update showed a false population increase in the area due to previous revitalization. According to the plaintiffs, the City allegedly used outdated census data from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which showed approximately 225,000 people in Hollywood. Using this figure, the City assumed a future population of 250,000 people by the year 2030, a projected increase of 25,000. The problem is that the US 2010 Census came out showing roughly 200,000 people, which was slightly less than the 225,000 people shown in the City's EIR. So, instead of an increase of 25,000 people by 2030, in reality, it really meant an increase of 50,000 people. Critics state that by using higher-than-actual population figures as the basis for the additional height and density allowed in the Community Plan, real estate developers can now build larger, higher and denser buildings based on the new zoning that was a result of accommodating this demand, in turn meaning that traffic will become worse, views of existing residents will be impacted and infrastructure will be inadequate. I'm not sure if I am buying into that logic as it would be worse if the City "underestimated" the population data, rather than using a higher, or in other words, a more conservative set of population data. One could argue that it is better to error on the side of a higher future population, because what if it actually happens? If would be better to have the flexibility and ability to build a sufficient amount of housing, office space and infrastructure as opposed to having our hands tied and not be able to accommodate a higher-than-projected surge in Hollywood residents if it were to occur. This author will not speculate on what happened during the compilation of census data in the EIR or why the discrepancy was not fixed by the City prior to releasing the Final EIR, but in not doing so, a chink was left in the armor for local NIMBY's and advocacy groups to penetrate in a Community Plan, that for the most part, from an urban planning prospective, made a lot of sense for the future of Hollywood as a whole. After reviewing the evidence, Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs, stating that the population data shown in the Hollywood Community Plan update's EIR was "fatally flawed" and should be repealed as it failed to comply with the State of California's environmental laws when it was adopted. So, what does this mean now for the City? No doubt the City will fight this ruling. This was a document that the City and its supporters viewed as the key to transforming Hollywood up through the year 2030 "from a hotspot of criminal activity into a vibrant center of jobs, residential towers and public transportation," according to the LA Times. It looks like the City is going to have to start 'from scratch' with its entitlement process and revise their EIR for the Hollywood Community Plan in order to reflect more accurate population data and translate that into a whole new set of zoning requirements and design guidelines. This will likely take a minimum of 1-2 years to prepare and eventually get re-adopted. A timeline of 1-2 years is probably the best case scenario considering that the previous iteration took the City over seven (7) years to get adopted. This ruling also means that the City will not be able to approve or issue permits for any future projects that relied on the zoning changes from this Hollywood Community Plan update that was overturned. So, what does this all mean? For one, it means that all Hollywood projects that were or are currently in the planning stages that were predicated on this Hollywood Community Plan update are in a very precarious situation. There were many real estate development deals and projects, large and small, which were 'on the boards,' so to speak, when this event occurred. Major projects such as The Millennium Hollywood by Millennium Partners, Columbia Square by Kilroy Realty, Hollywood Palladium by Crescent Heights, Selma & Vine by Camden Development and several mixed-use projects by Champion Real Estate; each having several hundred much-needed rental units apiece, may have relied, either partially or fully, on the new zoning of the now defunct Hollywood Community Plan update to make their projects possible. Since the overturning of the Community Plan reverts the zoning in the area back to its previous iteration, which is more stringent in terms of height and density, some of these projects may no longer pencil financially for these developers. The larger projects may be large enough to absorb the hit, but the medium and small-size projects are likely in 'dire straits.' These developers are now holding the bag, owning a piece of property that one can build fewer units on that one could a year or two ago. The ruling has effectively decreased the land value and development potential of their properties. I was personally affected by the overturning of the Hollywood Community Plan update. In December, my firm was in the process of tying up a piece of property in Hollywood near Franklin and Wilcox to develop a new ground-up market-rate apartment complex. We would have been able to build 58 units pursuant to the zoning adopted in the Hollywood Community Plan update and everything was moving forward. We had a signed LOI, an equity partner on board and a jump-start on engaging consultants for design, engineering and entitlements. Less than 24 hours from executing a Purchase and Sales Agreement, Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman made his monumental ruling and our deal imploded overnight. Now, instead of a 58-unit apartment deal, the judgment dropped ours down to a 38-unit deal. The amount of money that we were planning to pay for the property no longer worked since we lost 20 units instantaneously. Where the proposed purchase price worked for a 58-unit complex, it was simply too much for a 38-unit complex, so we had to bow out of the transaction. Unfortunate as it was, in hindsight, it was good that this news came to light at the time that it did, rather that after we were to Close on and own the property like some of the aforementioned developers. This ruling is going to throw the 'proverbial' wrench in the City's goal to continue revitalization of Hollywood and promote future development and economic growth in the area. Keep in the mind that newly-elected Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, was previously the Councilman for District 13 (CD13), which covers Hollywood, Silver Lake, Atwater Village and parts of Echo Park. Since the Hollywood Community Plan update was a work in progress for over seven (7) years, these zoning changes were a brain child of Garcetti's. One would expect that the City's fight against this ruling will be fueled by Garcetti's personal investment into the vision. Will the City prevail? This author believes so, although it is just going to be a matter of time, as I stated before. However, as any savvy developer or investor knows, real estate is all about timing, and one has to wonder if the current multi-family cycle may be nearing an end by the time this is all straightened out. Lastly, this change is going to have major implications on the broker community, residual land values and any transactions over the next several years. Developers will not be allowed to build as many units on a particular piece of land as they could have before the ruling. For example, a piece of property that is 40,000 square feet (just under one acre) in the heart of Hollywood could have had a zoned density of 400 lot square feet per dwelling unit, allowing a maximum unit count of 100 units (40,000 lot square feet / 400 lot square feet per dwelling unit = 100 dwelling units). Now, with the new ruling, the zoned density for that particular parcel might have dropped to 600 lot square feet per dwelling unit, allowing a maximum unit count of 66 units (40,000 lot square feet / 600 lot square feet per dwelling unit = 66.67 dwelling units ≈ 60 dwelling units). Let's say a developer thinks they can get pretty healthy rents in this particular area of around $3.00/sf/month. Let's also assume that the developer's underwriting allows them to pay $100,000/door for land in this area for a new ground-up multi-family project to pencil at those rents. What this means is that their land basis for this 40,000 square foot property changed from $10.0M (100 units x $100,000/door) to $6.6M (66 units x $66,666/door) overnight. That's a 33% reduction in land value. One can speculate on the effect that this 'down-zoning' is going to have on the real estate market in Hollywood. The problem is that most property owners and real estate agents are not yet aware of the change that occurred in December or simply do not understand the implications that it carries. Unfortunately, it is going to take some time for this knowledge to sink in and our goal is that this article aids in that education process. Many property owners and real estate agents who do not intimately know the zoning code, are still going to be under the impression that property values are worth what they were in 2013, before the ruling. That is not the case, however, as one can see from the example given above. Residual land values could have dropped by 33% and in some cases even more, from the sole result of this ruling. There is a direct correlation between the comparable rents and allowable density (number of units) versus what developers can realistically pay for land. If a broker gets a new listing in Hollywood where there is an opportunistic play, it would be prudent for them to engage a knowledgeable Architect or consultant that clearly understands the new zoning in Hollywood to perform a density/feasibility study. If not, do not be shocked when offers come in much lower than listing and keep in mind that, for the most part, these are not lowball offers - they are the right offers. My only wish is that property owners and brokers eventually become educated on these changes so that development (even at the lower density) can continue in Hollywood so that the community can take a step forward rather than two steps bacIn December a shocking decision was made that will have strong implications to future development and growth in Hollywood, CA that will be seen in the years to come. The Hollywood Community Plan was overturned, leaving City planners and real estate developers alike in disarray. In June of 2012, the Los Angeles Department of City Planning completed their update to the Hollywood Community Plan, which was in turn adopted by the City Council. Like many, the City saw, and still sees, Hollywood as a community that is making a comeback. Reminiscent of the "Tinseltown" we all know of at the turn of the 20th century, the original movie capital of the world has seen a strong gentrification process over the last 10-15 years. Although this historic entertainment district still remains at the center of downtown Hollywood, other unique districts have also emerged; including newer media and entertainment uses down by Santa Monica Boulevard, major medical in East Hollywood near the 101 freeway, creative office and tech in Central Hollywood and a mix of multi-family and single-family residential scattered throughout. Hollywood also has a very high concentration of historic buildings, specifically in its downtown core. Many of these were dilapidated and often vacant commercial buildings that were recently converted by developers into new apartments or condos through the City's Adaptive Reuse process. Some examples of these include The Broadway Hollywood, The Lofts @ Hollywood & Vine and the Sunset/Vine tower. There have also been a handful of ground-up mixed-use projects that have gone up (e.g. 1600 Vine, Sunset & Vine Windsor, Blvd6200) turning Hollywood into an attractive residential and commercial center where residents can live, work, play and shop. New hotels and destination lifestyle centers have emerged, which have boosted both tourism and business to the community (e.g. W Hotel, Hollywood & Highland, Redbury Hotel). The purpose of the Hollywood Community Plan update was to help ensure the continued economic growth and revitalization of the area. According to the plan itself, the City's vision for Hollywood by the year 2030 through the implementation of the Hollywood Community Plan is "a compact city that is growing vertically, mixing residential, commercial and industrial uses in new and interesting ways. With core industries in entertainment, tourism and health care, this is a Hollywood which supports a strong local and regional economy. A rich, multimodal transit system, an inviting walking environment, and mixed-use housing along transit corridors to promote a livable community and enable many Hollywood residents to reduce their use of cars. The balanced growth of commercial and residential uses provides a jobs-housing balance, enabling an increasing number of residents and visitors to live, work, play and shop in Hollywood. Implementation of mixed-income housing incentives creates opportunities for people who work in Hollywood to find affordable housing nearby. A successful growth plan must be a sustainable plan. Therefore, the Hollywood Community Plan promotes building, landscape, transportation and land use policies that take the long view towards protecting the environment. Recognizing the value of Hollywood's impressive historic architecture and cultural resources, the Community Plan seeks to protect these assets, as well." The Hollywood Community Plan update ended up changing a lot of the antiquated zoning that had been in place in Hollywood since the last zone change update in 1988. The latest changes were made to help protect historic and single-family neighborhood and on the flipside, others changes were made to allow more height and density near core areas and along transit corridors in an attempt to promote new development in the vehicle of Smart Growth. Even though the Hollywood Community Plan update was adopted by the City in 2012, there was a case brought on late during the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) appeal period of the Community Plan's EIR (Environmental Impact Report). This Superior Court case against the City of Los Angeles was brought on together by three (3) plaintiffs, who were all local community and preservation groups (Fix the City, La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association of Hollywood, and SaveHollywood.org). The plaintiffs' main reason for filing suit was that they believed that City Planners and City Council relied on inaccurate population data for Hollywood, which was in turn used as the basis for some of the areas that were "up-zoned" to allow increased height and density for new projects. They claimed that the City's EIR for this Hollywood Community Plan update showed a false population increase in the area due to previous revitalization. According to the plaintiffs, the City allegedly used outdated census data from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which showed approximately 225,000 people in Hollywood. Using this figure, the City assumed a future population of 250,000 people by the year 2030, a projected increase of 25,000. The problem is that the US 2010 Census came out showing roughly 200,000 people, which was slightly less than the 225,000 people shown in the City's EIR. So, instead of an increase of 25,000 people by 2030, in reality, it really meant an increase of 50,000 people. Critics state that by using higher-than-actual population figures as the basis for the additional height and density allowed in the Community Plan, real estate developers can now build larger, higher and denser buildings based on the new zoning that was a result of accommodating this demand, in turn meaning that traffic will become worse, views of existing residents will be impacted and infrastructure will be inadequate. I'm not sure if I am buying into that logic as it would be worse if the City "underestimated" the population data, rather than using a higher, or in other words, a more conservative set of population data. One could argue that it is better to error on the side of a higher future population, because what if it actually happens? If would be better to have the flexibility and ability to build a sufficient amount of housing, office space and infrastructure as opposed to having our hands tied and not be able to accommodate a higher-than-projected surge in Hollywood residents if it were to occur. This author will not speculate on what happened during the compilation of census data in the EIR or why the discrepancy was not fixed by the City prior to releasing the Final EIR, but in not doing so, a chink was left in the armor for local NIMBY's and advocacy groups to penetrate in a Community Plan, that for the most part, from an urban planning prospective, made a lot of sense for the future of Hollywood as a whole. After reviewing the evidence, Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs, stating that the population data shown in the Hollywood Community Plan update's EIR was "fatally flawed" and should be repealed as it failed to comply with the State of California's environmental laws when it was adopted. So, what does this mean now for the City? No doubt the City will fight this ruling. This was a document that the City and its supporters viewed as the key to transforming Hollywood up through the year 2030 "from a hotspot of criminal activity into a vibrant center of jobs, residential towers and public transportation," according to the LA Times. It looks like the City is going to have to start 'from scratch' with its entitlement process and revise their EIR for the Hollywood Community Plan in order to reflect more accurate population data and translate that into a whole new set of zoning requirements and design guidelines. This will likely take a minimum of 1-2 years to prepare and eventually get re-adopted. A timeline of 1-2 years is probably the best case scenario considering that the previous iteration took the City over seven (7) years to get adopted. This ruling also means that the City will not be able to approve or issue permits for any future projects that relied on the zoning changes from this Hollywood Community Plan update that was overturned. So, what does this all mean? For one, it means that all Hollywood projects that were or are currently in the planning stages that were predicated on this Hollywood Community Plan update are in a very precarious situation. There were many real estate development deals and projects, large and small, which were 'on the boards,' so to speak, when this event occurred. Major projects such as The Millennium Hollywood by Millennium Partners, Columbia Square by Kilroy Realty, Hollywood Palladium by Crescent Heights, Selma & Vine by Camden Development and several mixed-use projects by Champion Real Estate; each having several hundred much-needed rental units apiece, may have relied, either partially or fully, on the new zoning of the now defunct Hollywood Community Plan update to make their projects possible. Since the overturning of the Community Plan reverts the zoning in the area back to its previous iteration, which is more stringent in terms of height and density, some of these projects may no longer pencil financially for these developers. The larger projects may be large enough to absorb the hit, but the medium and small-size projects are likely in 'dire straits.' These developers are now holding the bag, owning a piece of property that one can build fewer units on that one could a year or two ago. The ruling has effectively decreased the land value and development potential of their properties. I was personally affected by the overturning of the Hollywood Community Plan update. In December, my firm was in the process of tying up a piece of property in Hollywood near Franklin and Wilcox to develop a new ground-up market-rate apartment complex. We would have been able to build 58 units pursuant to the zoning adopted in the Hollywood Community Plan update and everything was moving forward. We had a signed LOI, an equity partner on board and a jump-start on engaging consultants for design, engineering and entitlements. Less than 24 hours from executing a Purchase and Sales Agreement, Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman made his monumental ruling and our deal imploded overnight. Now, instead of a 58-unit apartment deal, the judgment dropped ours down to a 38-unit deal. The amount of money that we were planning to pay for the property no longer worked since we lost 20 units instantaneously. Where the proposed purchase price worked for a 58-unit complex, it was simply too much for a 38-unit complex, so we had to bow out of the transaction. Unfortunate as it was, in hindsight, it was good that this news came to light at the time that it did, rather that after we were to Close on and own the property like some of the aforementioned developers. This ruling is going to throw the 'proverbial' wrench in the City's goal to continue revitalization of Hollywood and promote future development and economic growth in the area. Keep in the mind that newly-elected Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, was previously the Councilman for District 13 (CD13), which covers Hollywood, Silver Lake, Atwater Village and parts of Echo Park. Since the Hollywood Community Plan update was a work in progress for over seven (7) years, these zoning changes were a brain child of Garcetti's. One would expect that the City's fight against this ruling will be fueled by Garcetti's personal investment into the vision. Will the City prevail? This author believes so, although it is just going to be a matter of time, as I stated before. However, as any savvy developer or investor knows, real estate is all about timing, and one has to wonder if the current multi-family cycle may be nearing an end by the time this is all straightened out. Lastly, this change is going to have major implications on the broker community, residual land values and any transactions over the next several years. Developers will not be allowed to build as many units on a particular piece of land as they could have before the ruling. For example, a piece of property that is 40,000 square feet (just under one acre) in the heart of Hollywood could have had a zoned density of 400 lot square feet per dwelling unit, allowing a maximum unit count of 100 units (40,000 lot square feet / 400 lot square feet per dwelling unit = 100 dwelling units). Now, with the new ruling, the zoned density for that particular parcel might have dropped to 600 lot square feet per dwelling unit, allowing a maximum unit count of 66 units (40,000 lot square feet / 600 lot square feet per dwelling unit = 66.67 dwelling units ≈ 60 dwelling units). Let's say a developer thinks they can get pretty healthy rents in this particular area of around $3.00/sf/month. Let's also assume that the developer's underwriting allows them to pay $100,000/door for land in this area for a new ground-up multi-family project to pencil at those rents. What this means is that their land basis for this 40,000 square foot property changed from $10.0M (100 units x $100,000/door) to $6.6M (66 units x $66,666/door) overnight. That's a 33% reduction in land value. One can speculate on the effect that this 'down-zoning' is going to have on the real estate market in Hollywood. The problem is that most property owners and real estate agents are not yet aware of the change that occurred in December or simply do not understand the implications that it carries. Unfortunately, it is going to take some time for this knowledge to sink in and our goal is that this article aids in that education process. Many property owners and real estate agents who do not intimately know the zoning code, are still going to be under the impression that property values are worth what they were in 2013, before the ruling. That is not the case, however, as one can see from the example given above. Residual land values could have dropped by 33% and in some cases even more, from the sole result of this ruling. There is a direct correlation between the comparable rents and allowable density (number of units) versus what developers can realistically pay for land. If a broker gets a new listing in Hollywood where there is an opportunistic play, it would be prudent for them to engage a knowledgeable Architect or consultant that clearly understands the new zoning in Hollywood to perform a density/feasibility study. If not, do not be shocked when offers come in much lower than listing and keep in mind that, for the most part, these are not lowball offers - they are the right offers. My only wish is that property owners and brokers eventually become educated on these changes so that development (even at the lower density) can continue in Hollywood so that the community can take a step forward rather than two steps back.