Hollywood history of creation. Hollywood - the historical center of the film industry

For the American Film Industry. The name "Tinseltown" refers to the magnificent nature of Hollywood and the film industry.

Today, much of the film industry is dispersed in neighborhoods such as the Westside, but much of the supporting industry, such as editing, effects, props, final editing and lighting, remains in Hollywood, as does the Paramount Pictures location.

The first studio in Hollywood was founded by the New Jersey-based Centaur Company, which wanted to make Westerns in California. They rented an abandoned roadhouse at 6121 Sunset Boulevard on the corner of Gower Street, and converted it into a film studio in October, naming it "Studio Nestor" after the western branch of their company. The building later became the Hollywood Film Laboratory, which is now called the Hollywood Digital Laboratory. The first full-length feature film made directly at Hollywood Studios was The Indian Husband, created by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel. Feature films, created in Los Angeles before "The Indian Husband" are the films "From Dusk Till Dawn" () and " Sea wolf» ().

The four major film companies Paramount, Warner Bros. RKO Pictures and Columbia had studios in Hollywood, as did several smaller companies.

1920-1940

Before 1921, Hollywood became world famous as the center of the United States film industry. From the 1920s through the 1940s, most transportation to and from Hollywood was carried by the Pacific Electric Railway's "red cars."

Capitol Records Building

Modern Hollywood

While film production is still concentrated in the Hollywood area, most studios are located in the Los Angeles area. Paramount Pictures is the only major studio still physically located in Hollywood. Other studios in the area, including the aforementioned Jim Henson Studio (formerly Chaplin) are Sunset Gower Studios and Raleigh Studios.

Since Hollywood and the Los Feliz area were the original sites for the development of the first television stations in Los Angeles, most of them have now moved to other locations within metropolitan reach. KNBC began its move back in 1962, when they moved from the former NBC Radio City Studios, which was located on the northern corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, to NBC Studios in Burbank.

In 2002, Hollywood residents began a campaign to separate the area from Los Angeles and become a consolidated municipality, as it was a century ago. Secessionists believe their neighborhood's needs have been ignored by Los Angeles leaders. In June of that year, the Los Angeles County Council announced a referendum on the secession of both Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, putting the decision to a public vote. In order for the decision to pass, it had to receive the approval of a majority of voters in the proposed new municipality, as well as a majority of voters in all of Los Angeles. In the November elections, both referendums were not accepted by a majority of voters.

Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood is governed by several neighboring Councils, including the Hollywood United District Council (HUNC) and the Hollywood Studios District Council. The two groups are part of a network of county councils certified by the Los Angeles Department of County Development, or DONE. District councils cast advisory votes on issues such as subdivision, planning and other public issues. Council members are elected by entities, which typically include everyone who works, owns property, or belongs to an organization within the council's boundaries.

Renaissance

After many years After a major decline, when many Hollywood sites were threatened with destruction, Hollywood today is experiencing rapid gentrification and revitalization to densify the urban population. Many projects have already been completed, concentrating on Hollywood Boulevard. The Hollywood and Highland complex (on the Kodak Theater side) was the main catalyst for the area's redevelopment. As well as the numerous fashionable bars, nightclubs, and shopping centers that opened on the Boulevard or in its environs, Hollywood returned to its status as the center of Los Angeles nightlife. Many old buildings have become lofts and apartment buildings, Cosmo Loft is the first live/work loft on the Hollywood property. The A W Hotel is currently being renovated at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine.

Due to its fame and cultural identity as a historical center of film studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a metonymy for the American film industry. The name "Tinseltown" refers to the magnificent nature of Hollywood and the film industry.

Today, much of the film industry is located in neighborhoods such as the Westside, but much of the supporting industry, such as editing, effects, props, final editing and lighting, remains in Hollywood, as does the Paramount Pictures location.

Many of Hollywood's historic theaters are used as action and concert stages for the premiere of major filmed productions, as well as as a venue for the Academy Awards. It is a popular destination for nightlife and tourism, and is also home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hollywood history

Nowadays, the meaning of the word “Hollywood” is known in all corners of the earth. The spectacles they put on on the screens attract all connoisseurs of filmmaking. Hollywood cinema is without a doubt a leader among its “colleagues”. But often the concepts of “American cinema” and “Hollywood” are combined.

Hollywood cinema is by far the most popular in the world. Hollywood also has a significant influence on the cinema of other countries. It's no secret that Hollywood films set fashion in many film genres. They are also decisive in the choice of plot, in the selection of the ensemble of actors, and in creating the image of the film for the advertising campaign. Nowadays, this film empire really dictates the fashion of cinema. It produces thousands of films every year. And this is already something!

And it all started with a small plot of land in the vicinity of the small town of Los Angeles (now, when it is no longer small, it sounds quite funny). It was purchased in 1886 by a modest family of American settlers, the Wilcoxes. Deida Wilcox suggested calling the place "Hollywood." Why? From the words “holly” - holly and “wood” - forest. That's where you got "Hollywood". If only they knew then what this acquisition of theirs led to, adjacent to German peasants and an Indian reservation. Life moved on at its own pace. Soon the Wilcox couple decided to rent out the land, and around 1903, their ranch gradually sank into the depths of the new village, which was later honored to join Los Angeles as a suburb. At that time, born of the Lumière brothers, cinema more and more conquered the hearts of romantics who dreamed of embodying their world of illusions in visible picture. It did not bypass Colonel William N. Zeling, who laid the first foundation stones for the construction of a huge movie empire in Hollywood. He bought part of the land from the Wilcoxes for a branch of his Chicago film company.

Although all his actions were legal, he could not work on his favorite thing without obstacles. However, as always happens in life. In 1907, America experienced a wave of ongoing disputes regarding the ownership of projection equipment. The so-called “patent war” led to a ban on the opening of nickelodeons in and around Los Angeles. The reason was that in such semi-underground cinemas, where they paid 5 cents for admission (in English “nickel”, “odeon” - theater), stolen films were played on unlicensed equipment. So the Los Angeles municipality had to fight this troubled phenomenon. But no matter how it was, interest in cinema did not decrease, but on the contrary increased. In the 20s, in southern California, in the area of ​​the already familiar town of Hollywood, the American film industry was created and began to rapidly develop. At that time, interest in cinema in America developed parallel to the population of the country with potential viewers. For example, in 1907, 1,285,000 people came to America from Europe alone, which gave a new strong impetus to the development of cinema. It was emigrants who made an amazing contribution to the development of the country's film industry. Many of them became great directors and producers, who are well remembered in the history of cinema to this day, and their works have become classics of world cinema. Who is this? Some of them were the founders of the country's largest film studios: Adolf Zukor (Hungary), who began his career as an apprentice to a furrier, founded Paramount; Karl Leml (Germany) - sold clothes, founded Universal, the Warner brothers (Poland) - advertised bicycles, founded Warner Bros., Louis B. Mayer (Russia, Minsk) - resold scrap metal, founded Metro-Goldwin-Mayer " By the way, let's focus on the last one. Why? Because she's been there for 30 seconds extra years was the leading studio in Hollywood. And this, you see, is worth attention.

But we will start not with Mayer, but with a native of a Jewish family, Samuel Geblitz (Sachmuel Gelbfisz). This man was one of the luckiest refugees from Eastern Europe. He was born in Warsaw in 1892. He, still very young, was forced by fate to leave his homeland, and fled first to London and then to New York. Circumstances were such that he even had to change his name to Samuel Goldfish.

So in 1913, his life's path lay on American soil and stopped in California, where he mastered new profession related to motion picture production technology.

He began his film career together with two of his like-minded people (Edgar and Archibald Selwyn). He soon changed his name back to the American one - Goldwyn (he combined the first syllable of his old surname GOLDfish with the last syllable of his partners' surname SelWYN). And in 1925, together with the already well-known Russian emigrant Lewis B. Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn founded the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, which dominated Hollywood, as we have already mentioned, for about 30 years.

As for the star system, it did not exist in American cinema. The names of the actors and actresses were not mentioned anywhere. All were hidden under pseudonyms. In March 1910, Karl Leml changed the situation and entered into an agreement with actress Florence Lawrence. After this, gradually, under the influence of film business specialists, stars began to appear one after another, each of whom had their own screen role. The institution of stars in Hollywood cinema began to emerge around the 1920s and, having been formed in the 1930s, reached its full dawn in the 1940s and 1950s. The stars seemed ideal to the audience. Future stars were specially trained in courses at the film studios themselves. The huge PR industry at major film studios specifically worked to create and maintain the image of stars. The tabloid press vigilantly followed every step of the actors, talking about all the incidents in their lives and about their eccentric antics, which thus tested the boundaries of their popularity.

The history of world cinema cannot be imagined without two greatest stars era of the birth of Hollywood - Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. These were the most bright stars Hollywood. They achieved such popularity that even today there is nothing to compare with.

Mary Pickford's real name was Gladys Smith, she was born in 1893 in Canada, in the city of Toronto. She made her debut on the theater stage at the age of 7. She was called "America's Sweetheart". The image of a young, naive, virtuous teenage girl, an American "Cinderella" in her performance, became world famous. For 20 years, the appearance of this wonderful actress preserved youthful innocence and purity, which played a huge role for her as an actress.

The years of her creativity coincided with the very years when the formation of American cinema took place. And Mary Pickford was among its most important creators. First American woman to earn a million dollars in one year business woman unique mind and insight. She was one of the first who understood what cinema was and what its role was. She was very insightful and intelligent and felt that Hollywood was the future leader of cinema. It’s not for nothing that she was called “the brightest head in Hollywood,” meaning not her golden curls.

The second star of that time was Douglas Fairbanks (real name Douglas Elton Ulman). He was born in 1883 in Denver, Colorado. Since childhood he was attracted to the theater. According to some reports, he first appeared on stage at the age of 12. From 1902 he performed on Broadway and by 1910 he had won the position of one of the theater’s leading actors, becoming the living embodiment of the “ideal American” - a young, active romantic, ready to conquer the whole world. In 1915, Fairbanks traveled from New York to Hollywood, where he made his screen debut. Fairbanks' famous smile and impressive athletic build made him one of the most popular actors of the era. He is especially famous for films such as The Three Musketeers, The Thief of Bagdad, The Man in the Iron Mask and The Mark of Zorro.

Two Hollywood stars reached great heights. And, as often happens, in 1920 Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford got married. Their Pickfair mansion remained the largest and most prestigious mansion in Beverly Hills for a long time. In the 20-30s, scenes of some films were even filmed at Pickfair. It was considered a special honor to be invited to a reception at this mansion. Newspapers and movie almanacs reported literally every detail concerning the Pickfair guests.

At the end of the 60s, the studio system collapsed. Since that time, a new (modern) stage in Hollywood cinema began. Interest in traditional, formulaic star-studded studio films was steadily declining, and many even major film studios were brought to the brink of bankruptcy. Studio bosses were perplexed about what kind of movie audiences wanted to see. Experiments began. Among the young directors who were given the chance to demonstrate their abilities were George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma. And it was this group of directors who shaped modern cinema in the form in which it entered the 21st century. Their films in the late 1960s and early 1970s were huge successes. Thanks to them, the word “blockbuster” arose. The heads of large studios began to trust young directors. Moreover, inviting them for filming has become fashionable and profitable. After all, they, having come out of film schools and small studios, knew how to fit into very small budgets.

Michael Bublé, Hollywood – music video

Top Hollywood Attractions

Hollywood and Highland

Visiting numerous shops and restaurants is certainly not the most important, but also not last place on a trip to Hollywood. Located on the corner of Hollywood and Highland Boulevards, the three-story modern shopping and entertainment complex Hollywood and Highland is one of the most visited centers in Los Angeles. In addition to shops and restaurants, the complex is an excellent starting point for a walking tour, as it is located directly next to the Walk of Fame, the Kodak Theater (home of the Academy Awards) and one of Hollywood's most famous movie theaters, Grauman's Chinese Theater.

One of Hollywood's main attractions, the famous Walk of Fame, is a chain of sidewalks located on both sides of a 15-block street on Hollywood Boulevard and a 3-block street on Vine Street. About 10 million people visit the alley every year. The Alley consists of approximately 2,400 five-pointed brass Stars set into a six-foot terraz floor. Each star celebrates the achievements of a specific real and fictional "star" in the music, film or television industries. The Walk of Fame was opened in 1958.

Grauman's Chinese Theater

On the site in front of the Walk of Fame, you can see one of the most popular attractions in Hollywood - the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. Located on Hollywood Boulevard, the movie theater was built in 1927 by famed Hollywood impresario Sid Grauman. The cinema is one of the main monuments of the "golden era" of Hollywood and one of the most popular places for film premieres. It is worth noting that the choice of stars who leave their hand and foot prints in the cement on the Walk of Fame is made by the owners of the cinema. On the area in front of the cinema you can see prints of many celebrities, including Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Jack Nicholson, Marilyn Monroe, Clint Eastwood. Since 2007, the cinema has been owned by the CIM Group company. The cinema is open 24 hours a day. You can buy a ticket for a tour of the cinema or just buy a ticket for one of the sessions.

Hollywood Bowl

One of the best concert halls The Hollywood Bowl, an open-air amphitheater in Hollywood, was built in 1922. The hall can accommodate about 18,000 spectators. The concert season at the Hollywood Bowl lasts from late June to mid-September. However, in addition to this, a number of unscheduled events take place in the hall, such as the Playboy Jazz Festival.

Hollywood sign

By far the most recognizable monument in Hollywood is the famous HOLLYWOOD monument in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. The memorial sign was installed at an altitude of 491 meters above sea level, on the slope of Mount Lee in Griffith Park in 1923 as an advertisement, and subsequently gained wide popularity, becoming the main symbol of the US film industry. Each letter is 9 meters high, 15 meters wide, and a total of 4,200 light bulbs are used in the letters. It was originally planned that the sign would stand for about a year and a half, but with the development of the American film industry, it was decided to keep the sign. The sign has undergone several restorations and the letters are now 1.5 meters shorter than they were in the original version.

Usually the monument is not accessible on a regular tour, but you can choose several convenient places from which the best view of the famous inscription opens. Most convenient places Hollywood Reservoir, Mulholland Drive, Franklin Avenue in Gower, Hollywood at Highland Shopping Complex, Griffith Park Observatory are considered for sign review.

Los Angeles Farmers Market

Among the popular and most visited attractions in Hollywood and Los Angeles is the famous shopping mall Farmers Market. The shopping center is located on the site of a historic farmers market that has existed since 1934. In 2002, the market area was turned into a huge shopping center, preserving part of historical buildings. The Farmers Market attracts approximately 3 million visitors each year. The center is located at the corner of Third and Fairfax. The center is open 24 hours a day.

Sunset Strip

One of the largest shopping and nightlife centers in Los Angeles, the Sunset Strip is located on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. The Sunset Strip is a 1.5-mile stretch between Doheny Drive and N. Crescent Heights Blvd. The Sunset Strip is quite a rich place in terms of attractions. Among the main attractions are the Rocky and Bullwinkle statue, the luxurious Sunset Tower Hotel, the popular Comedy Store comedy club, the Plaza chain of stores and restaurants, the legendary Whiskey A GoGo bar in the 1960s, where such celebrities as Jimi Hendrix began their careers, The group Doors, The Byrds, Led Zeppelin.

Excursions to film studios

No the best way Find out what happens behind the camera lens than take part in a Hollywood studio tour. Most of these tours invite tourists to visit real, working studios. But unfortunately, this means that the tour can only be taken on a weekday when the studios are open.

Visiting the filming of the show

With a little planning, you can become part of the studio audience while filming a comedy, reality show, or game show. What's even nicer? It's free - and you get the opportunity to express yourself.

Hollywood Christmas Parade

If you're lucky enough to be in Los Angeles for the Thanksgiving holiday, you shouldn't miss one of the world's most colorful annual parades - the Hollywood Christmas Parade. The parade has been celebrated annually for the past eighty years and has long become one of the main cultural news of American television. A number of celebrities take part in the parade each year. The parade was first held in 1928 and was originally called the Santa Claus Lane Parade. In 1978, the event changed its name to the Hollywood Christmas Parade. The parade takes place annually on the third Thursday of November. The parade follows a 3.5 kilometer route along Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard.

Hollywood is rightly called the city of dreams, because it is here that all the significant events in world cinema take place. The area contains iconic places and attractions of America. But, despite the fame of Hollywood, its location on the world map remains a mystery to many.

Geographical location

Immortal Hollywood is located on the territory of the USS State of California. The position of the city is determined by the following parameters: 34.1001587 north latitude
118.3404312 west longitude. Hollywood is a Los Angeles neighborhood.

The area is 12 km away from the center of Los Angeles, and you can get there fairly quickly. The symbol of the metropolis is the corporate inscription located in the Hollywood Hills. The famous inscription has an unremarkable history. It was a marketing ploy to attract people to a new area - Hollywood. At the same time, the active development of the film industry began.

Nearest major cities to the famous Hollywood are Santa Monica and Glendale. Nearby is the Beverly Hills area, which has repeatedly become the main location for films and TV series.

Fascinating facts:

• the world-famous inscription was created in 1923;

• The founders of Hollywood are married couple Wilcox. They began to develop the area in the desire to create a religious community;
• in 1939, the famous inscription received color illumination, which made it visible from almost any part of the city;

• until 1949, the inscription contained additional letters forming the word LAND;
• a British actress named Peg ended her life by jumping off the cliff after Hollywood failed to recognize her talent;

• During World War II, Oscar statuettes were made from plaster to save money;

• in 1960, the first star was created on the Walk of Fame, after which various world-famous stars appeared there;

• in Hollywood, films can be shown absolutely anywhere in the city, even in cemeteries;
• in the entire history of Hollywood, there are 4 known cases of abduction of stars, the weight of each of them exceeding 150 kg;
• the famous area has statistics of films made, the largest number of which were based on Shakespeare's plays;
• the most popular Hollywood character is Count Dracula;

• the first African American actor was cast in the film in 1887.

Local attractions

Sunset Boulevard is a unique street in the western part of the famous area. This street is rightly called a star street, since it was chosen by numerous representatives of bohemian society as a place of residence. The length of the street is more than 35 km. Sunset Boulevard intersects Ecological Park. There are beautiful parks and places to relax here.

Paramount Studios, the history of the famous company that made Hollywood popular, began in 1912. The founder of the company is Adolph Zukor, who decided to open a cinema for the middle class with leading actors. His cinema turned into a filming studio in just a couple of years, where Hollywood's first hits were created.

Highland is a unique place with numerous shops, restaurants, and entertainment centers. Here life is always in full swing. Highland is located almost in the center of Hollywood, not far from the Walk of Fame.

Grauman's Chinese Theater - The landmark was built in 1927, representing a symbol of the area's "golden era". The cinema site has its own walk of fame with the imprints of many celebrities.

This is the place where the world's most important film hits have been created for more than a century. This is where the most popular movie stars live. This is a place where millions of tourists come every year in the hope of being photographed, meeting a star, or touching the glory of great filmmakers past and present on the famous Walk of Fame.

Where is Hollywood?

Many people think that this is a city in America. If you are among them and don’t even know where Hollywood is, then keep in mind that this is not a city at all, but only an area of ​​a large metropolis. It is located in the USA, in the state of California, northwest of the center of Los Angeles and is part of it. Hollywood itself is quite large and today all its surroundings are occupied by film industry facilities.

Despite the fact that the city of Los Angeles does not have a tradition of dividing districts and neighborhoods with any special boundaries, or in any way separating them from each other, such an exception was made for Hollywood. This is the only district of the city that is separate and has its own borders, as well as independence from the city. This was done in 2005. Despite its independence, Hollywood is still administratively subordinate to Los Angeles and does not have its own municipality, but it has its own Chamber of Commerce, a representative of which is elected every year and represents the interests of the district, as the “honorary mayor” of Hollywood.

History of appearance

Hollywood owes its appearance to the Wilcox couple. California became their new home, where they moved after the death of their only child in 1886. Here they bought a small plot of land. No one lived here at the time, but the family saw the potential of this place and wanted to create a small ideal town. The community began to develop, and by 1900 there was already a post office, a market, a hotel and even its own newspaper. And the population of the community, which previously bore the name Cahuenga, was 500 people. Los Angeles was 16 kilometers from the settlement and there were citrus groves on the way to it. So that the residents of the village could get to the city, a tram line was laid, but trains did not run along it often, and the journey took a lot of time. At the same time, the founders of the settlement came up with and registered the name Hollywood, which translated as “holly forest.”

In 1902, construction of the first part of the Hollywood Hotel began here among the citrus groves. California and its capital, Los Angeles, added Hollywood to its membership a year later, as it was necessary to supply the town with water and join the sewer systems.

The emergence and rise of the film industry

Filmmaking began in this region even before the advent of Hollywood. The first film studio was founded in Los Angeles in 1909. A year later, the Biograph company sent the film crew of one of the films to the west coast of the city. While searching for a free area for filming, they found a place (where Hollywood is now) whose inhabitants welcomed them warmly. The first Hollywood film, “In Old California,” was filmed here. A year later, the first film studio was founded here. The Centaur company was going to film westerns in these places. And soon such giants as Paramount, Warner Brothers and Columbia opened their film studios here.

Modern Hollywood

At the end of the 40s of the 20th century in the USA, Hollywood was experiencing a boom in its development - the largest film companies located here? gave jobs to a lot of people. Due to the movie stars living near the film sites, real estate here was worth huge money. In the early 50s, the expressway was built, which became the modern link between Hollywood and Los Angeles. The subway network has also expanded to Hollywood.

However, at the end of the 20th century, many film companies moved film production to other cities and states, and the country's television and radio companies, which were previously located only here, also moved.

Empty production facilities, houses and other areas were on the verge of destruction, and the former luster of Hollywood was lost. However, today there is a revival of this place. Old buildings are being converted into lofts and residential apartments. New entertainment venues are opening, bringing Hollywood back to its former glory.

Attractions

No one can argue that the main attraction and business card Hollywood is the Hollywood sign - the famous white letters forming the inscription "HOLLYWOOD" on a hill. The sign appeared in 1923 and was originally longer - the inscription read "Hollywoodland" and was just an advertising ploy for the sale of real estate in the area. It was planned that the inscription would stand for only a year and a half, but during this period there was a boom in the development of the film industry, and the inscription on the Hollywood hills became a symbol of this place. Thanks to her, people all over the world learned in which city the inscription “Hollywood” on the hills indicates the center of the world film industry. Due to numerous acts of vandalism, the last four letters were dismantled.

The second most important attraction is the Walk of Fame. It is located on Hollywood Boulevard on the sidewalks on both sides of the street and stretches for 15 kilometers. Along its entire length there are about 2.5 thousand stars with the names of prominent figures in theatre, cinema, television, radio and music industry. Here are the names of not only actors and directors, but also singers, producers, and even fictional characters, for example, Mickey Mouse.

Another sign of Hollywood and a landmark that the whole world knows about is the Kodak Theater, which annually hosts the most significant film award in the world - the Oscars. The stage of this theater is one of the largest in the USA, and the capacity of the hall is 3,400 people. In addition to the Oscars, for which the American Film Academy rents the theater for one week a year, various concerts, shows and other awards are held here.

How to get there?

So, knowing where Hollywood is, everyone understands that first they need to fly to the USA, namely Los Angeles. There are direct flights from Moscow, and Aeroflot airline flies there. Travel time will be 213 hours. You can also fly with a transfer in Europe or Asia.

From Los Angeles Airport you can get to Hollywood by taxi, or by shuttle, which stops right outside the airport. Please note that travel time and comfort will be approximately the same, but the price of a taxi is twice as expensive - approximately 40 dollars versus 20 for a shuttle.

The history of the creation of Hollywood goes back to the beginning of the 19th century. As the story goes, the very name “Hollywood” owes its birth to the Wilcox couple who moved to America and acquired a large plot of land in the vicinity of the then small town of Los Angeles. At the request of the wife, this site was named Hollywood, which translated means “wood” - forest and “holly” - holly. According to historians, a few years later, the Wilcoxes began to rent out part of their land, and over time, a settlement grew around their estate, which was annexed to Los Angeles as a suburb.

HOLLYWOOD HISTORY. HOW THE CINEMATOGRAPH WAS CREATED

How did Hollywood begin?

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Colonel William N. Zeling bought part of the land from the Wilcox couple, where he located part of his film company, which he created in Chicago. The development of cinema in America received a big boost with the significant settlement of its territory by settlers. It was the immigrants who became the founders of the largest American film studios, for example, apprentice furrier Adolf Zukor, an immigrant from Hungary, became the founder of Paramount, and the Warner brothers, who were engaged in advertising bicycles, eventually created Warner Bros., clothing dealer from Germany Karl Leml became the founder of the Universal company, and the Metro-Goldwin-Mayer company was founded by the Russian scrap metal dealer Louis B. Mayer.

Paramount English "Paramount"

At first, actors in American films acted under pseudonyms, such as "Vitograph Girl" or "Little Mary". However, the signing of a contract with actress Florence Lawrence by Carl Laeml, the founder of the Universal film company, marked the beginning of an era of glory and fame for Hollywood actors and put an end to the work of incognito actors. This initiative was readily taken up by other film companies. From then on, Hollywood stars began to appear one after another.

Universal English "Universal"

As history goes, the first Hollywood film was The Indian Husband, a Western directed by Cecil B. deMille.

Excellent natural conditions Hollywood, its cozy streets have become an excellent basis for filming films. Thanks to this, up to 800 films a year were created in Hollywood. Since then, the history of Hollywood has developed at a tremendous pace. With the development of cinema, the infrastructure necessary for film companies is actively developing in this city: financial institutions, restaurants, clubs and many other entertainment complexes. In addition, the population of Hollywood was divided into two parts - the elite and the auxiliary workers. Gradually with central street residential buildings were replaced by various film studio buildings.

The development of cinema has led to increased competition between small film studios. To avoid bankruptcy, it was profitable to create large film trusts from small film studios. Subsequently, these film trusts began to merge with distribution companies. This is how film companies appeared "Paramount", "United Artists", "Metro Goldwyn Myers", "Warner Brothers".

United Artists eng. United Artists

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Hollywood developed rapidly, and soon the whole world was talking about it. Almost every actor and actress dreamed of taking part in the filming Hollywood movie and of course become a star, and not just a star, but a star of Hollywood proportions.

A few words from the history of Hollywood cinema

The first Hollywood film studio was the Nestor studio, created by the Centaur company. Westerns were the first films to be released by Centaur. Who would have thought that 10 years after the opening of a film studio in an abandoned diner along the road, Hollywood would be talked about as the center of the film industry in the United States of America.

Film history buffs consider “The Birth of a Nation” to be the beginning of cinema, special type art. This film was directed by David Wark Griffith, who introduced the film culture that would define everything further development film industry. It was he who was awarded the Oscar for his special contribution to the development of cinema.

I would also like to dwell on the history of the appearance of the figurine itself. There are several versions of the appearance of this name. According to the first version, the figurine was named by librarian Margaret Herrick, who saw the figurine and exclaimed that it looked so much like her uncle Oscar. The second version says that Bette Davis named the figurine “Oscar” because it looked very much like her husband, whose name was Oscar. It is worth noting that the figurine acquired its name a little later than it was first awarded. Since the first Oscars, this event has been followed by residents of many countries.

Alan Crosland, who starred in the film The Jazz Singer, was able to conquer all of America with his talent and gift for establishing psychological contact with the audience. This unique ability was noted by Charlie Chaplin himself. This film was released in 1927 and became the first sound film. It was with the advent of sound cinema that the golden age of Hollywood cinema began.

Alan Crosland – Jazz singer

The first film to be shot in widescreen format was The Shroud. This film was directed by Henry Coster in 1953. First color feature film was filmed in 1935 by director Rouben Mamoulian. The appearance of this film, entitled “Becky Sharp,” is considered the beginning of the era of color cinema in Hollywood.

Henry Koster – Shroud

Rouben Mamoulian – Becky Sharp

Despite all the advantages of sound films over silent films, the transition to new look cinema turned out to be a very expensive undertaking for Hollywood, so he was forced to turn to banks and other financial institutions for help. Under pressure from certain financial institutions that expressed certain views of religious groups, Hollywood film companies were forced to sign a certain Production Code, according to which they had to avoid topics that were unacceptable to these organizations. Joseph Breen supervised the implementation of this code.

Here are the main prohibited points of the Production Code:

• religious beliefs should not be subject to any criticism;
• it was forbidden to show surgical operations;
• films should not include drug use;
• a ban on demonstrations of drunkenness was imposed;
• Films should not depict cruelty to children or animals;
• the use of curse words in speech was prohibited;
• the film could not show violence or details of robberies, so as not to encourage breaking the law;
• the killing of a policeman by a criminal in the film was also prohibited, although the police themselves could kill criminals in unlimited numbers;
• a ban was imposed on sexual relations in the film. Passionate kissing, naked actors, same-sex or interracial relationships were strictly prohibited.

History of Hollywood. Part 1. Kinetoscope pioneers

History of children's and family cinema

In the 1930s, going to the cinema was a family affair since there were no television movies. Based on this trend, films were created in such a way that they would be interesting to any viewer. However, there were also films that were aimed at children, although adults also readily watched them.

Shirley Temple is considered the most famous young actress of the time. She first appeared on screen at the age of 4 years. Over the next 10 years, she starred in 31 films. Her popularity reached such proportions that many children's toys began to be named after her.

It was the 30s of the last century that became the peak of popularity of child actors and actresses. Among them are Peggy Ann Garner, Freddie Bartholomew, Margaret O'Brien. Much more often, young actors appeared in musicals and comedies. Famous singer Deanna Durbin, who starred in the film “The Hard Age,” saved Universal from bankruptcy in 1938.

However, the luxurious life of the little actors also had a downside. Before filming, they studied at a school at the film studio, and the shooting day often ended after midnight. Many of the children were given various pills to keep them from falling asleep on set and from gaining weight. As a result, some children developed drug addiction.

Only a few young stars managed to maintain their popularity into adulthood. Some were left without a livelihood at all because their parents spent all the money they earned. One of these actors, Jackie Coogan, was forced to sue his mother in order to get back at least a small part of the money he earned. Subsequently, the “Coogan Act” was even approved, according to which half of the money earned by the child actor was to be transferred to his personal account so that in the future he could safely dispose of it.

History of the Star Institute

Initially, there was no institution of stars in Hollywood cinema. As such, it appeared in 1920 and only in 1930 was it finally formed. At the dawn of Hollywood cinema, stars seemed as inaccessible to moviegoers as the stars of heaven. Aspiring actors and actresses were taught in special schools at the studios, and large PR companies worked to maintain the image of movie stars. The tabloids have become a source of information about the personal lives of Hollywood movie stars, bringing to the reader the slightest details of unattainable stars. Over time, when Hollywood cinema began to acquire modern features, the actors became closer to the viewer, and in addition they had more freedom. Now a Hollywood actor or actress could independently choose the films in which they would like to star and shape their image. We can definitely say that already in the 90s of the last century, the actors themselves began to set the tone for the development of Hollywood cinema.

We can highlight the following famous people who played an important role in the history of the development of Hollywood cinema:

• Max Linder, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers and Harrold Lloyd made Hollywood comedies famous;
• Rodolfo Valentino made Hollywood melodramas famous;
• John Ford made some of the most entertaining Westerns;
• The film noir genre was made famous by Humphrey Boggart;
• Fred Astern and Gene Kelly made Hollywood musicals famous;
• Thrillers were made famous by Alfred Hitchcock.

Since films were being made at that time that were mainly aimed at mass audiences, this somewhat narrowed the possibilities and desires of directors. Based on this, the leading places were occupied by the actors who were most loved by the public.

However, by the early 60s, the mass audience was fed up with films that were made according to the template, and this led to the collapse of the existing studio system. The directors thought about the question of what the viewer wants to see on the screen, and this is what led to the emergence of new ideas in cinema. New wave the development of Hollywood cinema gave Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and others the opportunity to show their strengths. It was these directors who were destined to stand at the origins of modern Hollywood cinema.

History of the Walk of Fame

Many have already heard about the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At their core, these are the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, where handprints are found. famous personalities Hollywood. Today there are 2600 prints there and this is not the limit. The alley is regularly replenished with new specimens.

The Walk of Fame's roots go back to the 50s. This project was developed by E.M. Stewart, which he worked on for several years. The main contradiction in the creation of this alley was the question “who is worthy to leave their imprint.” Initially, the number of applicants was 6 people. Subsequently, it increased to 130 and was constantly changing.

The year 1958 was marked in Hollywood by the laying of the first six stars, but only in 1960 did its official opening take place. Since then, the number of prints has grown many times over. It is worth noting that stars are received not only by actors, but also by other figures in the film industry. The awards are held in five categories: contribution to the development of the film industry, sound recording, theater, television and radio.