Day #30 Mary Kay Does Hollywood

I have committed to taking every day of this journey as a gift and making it special all on its own, living in the moment, wondering and musing, laughing and giving praise and gratitude to God. Day #30 was no exception.

I typically draft the next blog entry a day early as I begin to snap photos and formulate themes and text. Originally I had titled this post, "Women Not Working Watching Men at Work." And then I lived the day with Denise. OMG.

Leaving Denise's condo in Burbank, we worked our way through the infamous LA traffic on I-5 and I-10 to make our way to Venice Beach.

Lunch first. (More yummy clam chowder for me!)

Music by Nathan from our seats in the sidewalk cafe

The Pacific surf...another perfect weather day

Can you feel the joy? The peace? The happiness?

A spur of the moment decision the evening before, we booked a phenomenal tour of SONY, formerly MGM, Studios - 2+ hours in a working, 77 acre studio lot. And not just any lot... the places, the spaces where every movie star you can name has walked and breathed life into scripts. I was STAR STRUCK. I was THRILLED. I was GIDDY. (Denise, by the way, enjoyed this first time tour herself.) MGM studios, where there are more stars than there are in heaven!

The links below provide more detail for those interested, and Wikipedia has provided the basic summary of the transition from MGM to Sony Studios here.

^{Sony_Pictures_Studios}  

MGM stands for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, an iconic example of the old glamor of the Hollywood studio system. The tagline for MGM was "More stars than there are in heaven" and considering that the studio had many of the biggest names in Hollywood history under contract, that slogan contained a bit of truth. Equally recognizable is Leo the Lion, the roaring feline that opened every MGM studios production.

MGM began to collapse along with the entire studio system in the 1950s. Competition from television made it necessary to make ever more extravagant movies on a bigger budget. Over the course of the decade, many stars were released from their contracts and the quality of the MGM product declined to the point that by the 1960s, it was no longer possible to distinguish between an MGM movie and a movie made at any other studio.

After Warner Bros. acquired Lorimar in 1993, Sony purchased the MGM Studios from Warner Bros. Sony's newly acquired Columbia Pictures had been sharing with Warner Bros. their studio lot in Burbank in a partnership called the Burbank Studios beginning in 1972. The property underwent a three-year comprehensive plan as it transitioned to the 45 acres (0.18 km²) Sony Pictures Studios complex.
Sony acquired the property, first renamed Columbia Studios, in poor condition and thereafter invested $100 million to renovate the studio complex. They painted and upgraded the buildings, many of which still bore the names of film luminaries such as Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth and Burt Lancaster. They erected new walls around the lot and restored the ironwork gates. They also added nostalgic art deco and false fronts on Main Street, plus hand-painted murals of Columbia film posters.
The Sony Pictures Studios has one of the best post-production facilities available and is open to the public for tours. The studio continues to record TV sitcoms such as Rules of Engagement. The long-running game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and its spin-offs are taped at Sony. The revival of American Gladiators was also taped there.

History of MGM Studio

Living large... all in, or all out

The blockbuster movies have all been filmed here...including the most recent Spiderman. Over the years, some studios have been transformed to digital and creative think tanks bring it to life. I may be in love!

Tour guide, Chet, from Louisiana told the historical and current stories of MGM's golden years, fall and the $100M makeover the 77 acre lot got when SONY bought it. Many places were NO PICTURES, NO RECORDING. So I took what I could and will describe the rest in other ways.

St. Augustine's Catholic Church is just outside the studio on Jasmine Avenue.

I snapped the church spire above the trees from inside the studio gates.

Main Street where it becomes clear that the studio lot is like a mini city - stores, hospital, post office, etc.

Streets and building renamed for the biggest stars, producers, directors.

Can you guess who this building was named after?

Imagine standing where they have all been. (One place where photos weren't allowed were the steps where a young Katherine Hepburn waited to meet Spencer Tracey for the very first time because she knew he was inside and coming out soon.)

We saw her on-site bungalow. It has only been in recent decades that actors and actresses worked as independent contractors. In the early years they worked for the studios and did whatever movies they were instructed to do while under contract.

Rita has a building named for her. Have you ever seen Pal Joey or  The Lady from Shanghai?

Imagine standing in the warehouse stages where huge productions and Fred Astaire owned the spotlight!

We walked in many of these spaces and toured a working sound effects studio where they make shoe sounds, etc. - whatever background noises that will enhance the finished product of the film. Fun. Fun. Fun.

Will Smith's gi-normous trailer was on the lot, preparing for his arrival next week to shoot for his next film.

And then we went into Studio 12, known in the industry as one of the best, most perfect acoustic space. I have loved and followed Barbra all of my life in print and in movies and didn't know until today that I could have been following a fan site, Barbratimeless. I walked in this space where they just recorded the soundtrack for Spiderman. I walked in the space where Barbra has recorded nine albums and movies. OMG.

Barbra Streisand fan site

West L.A.

Over on the west side of Los Angeles are the Sony and Twentieth Century Fox studios, location of countless Streisand triumphs over the years. Barbra records her albums these days at Sony. The scoring stage that now bears her name is the best acoustical facility in town, according to music industry insiders. Swing by Fox and you just might see the ghostly relics of the massive "Dolly" set constructed for the show-stopping parade scene in the picture. Some have said that "Dolly" was such a financial disaster for Fox that the studio couldn't afford to take down the film's massive 14th Street set. Remnants of the set have remained there for decades.

And then, in that same space, I accepted an opportunity to sing Over the Rainbow, just like young Judy Garland did when making The Wizard of Oz. (Well, maybe not just like it...)

 Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then oh why can't I?

If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow
Why oh why can't I?

Scarecrow and Tin Man and Dorothy and Lion follow the yellow brick road.

The Loli-pop-kids welcoming Dorothy and Toto to Munchkin Land!

Toto

Scary Flying Monkeys have captured Toto!

Glinda, the Good Witch

The Wicked Witch of the West, just before the famous lines, "I'm melting....." 

The 1939 filming was in black and white. Technology changed that in 2003.

We visited this studio as the Wheel of Fortune Studio was actually taping in front of a live audience next door.

More than 5.000 shows later, Alex Trebek has aged a bit! (Haven't we all?)

Buzzers ready... Category JEOPARDY TRIVIA

 ANSWER: The creator of Jeopardy.

QUESTION: Who is Merv Griffin?

Denise and I did not play Wheel of Fortune, but we were winners of FUN, LAUGHTER, RENEWAL OF FRIENDSHIP,

But wait! The day was not over. We had reservations for a live taping on the hit TBS comedy, Men at Work.

Characters: Tyler, Neal, Gibbs and Milo in the breakroom of the magazine where they all work, Full Steam. A quick synopsis follows with a link to their website.

^Wikipedia
Men at Work is an American comedy series that airs on TBS. The series was created by Breckin Meyer and stars Danny Masterson, Michael Cassidy, Adam Busch, Meredith Hagner, and James Lesure. The series premiered on May 24, 2012 at 10 pm.^[1] TBS has renewed the series with a 10 episode order, which is slated to launch in 2013.^[2] 

The series follows Milo (Danny Masterson), a guy who has been recently dumped and tries to re-enter the dating scene with the help of his three best friends/co-workers, Tyler, Gibbs and Neal (Michael Cassidy, James Lesure, Adam Busch), the latter friend who's the only one who has a girlfriend, Amy (Meredith Hagner). Together, the four friends help each other navigate through relationships, friendship and working together at the same magazine, "Full Steam". The gang mainly hang out at the diner or at the workplace.

http://www.tbs.com/shows/menatwork/ 

200+ people, with an emcee winding us up and coaching us on the details of what was going on in front of the cameras and behind the cameras. We saw it all. An original taping of a brand new episode. They rewrote on the spot and the ACTION call given by the director. We were quiet when the buzzer sounded and the red light flashed, but in between we laughed, we danced, we clapped, we competed, we told stories, we had FUN FUN FUN. The experience was nearly six hours and a hoot. I got to tell my story and show off my new tattoo and for that I was given the coveted prize of the evening: An autographed ORIGINAL script of the episode we saw taped! OMG! Denise and I went crazy. I nearly peed myself!

The episode was actually renamed at the taping, Milo - the Good and the Bad.

• Danny Masterson as Milo Foster
• Michael Cassidy as Tyler Mitchell
• Adam Busch as Neal
• James Lesure as Gibbs
• Meredith Hagner as Amy Jordan (not shown)

And this, my friends, was a VERY GOOD day. Loving my life. Loving God.