Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Let me introduce you all to My Happy Place, otherwise known as the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Yes, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel does not only hold a place in my heart as my favourite hotel in the world, but it is also my favourite place in the world. I have so many wonderful memories from this place and the history of the Golden Age of Hollywood attached to it makes it feel like going back in time. I have stayed at the Roosevelt twice and ventured in there a dozen times for other purposes and I have had nothing but wonderful experiences there.

                The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel has been the place where stars have stayed and played since its spectacular opening in 1927in which Hollywood royalty such as Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin attended. In 1929, it became the location of the very first Academy Awards. This ceremony was nothing like the spectacle it is today. No big song numbers or comedy skits. The entire ceremony went for only fifteen minutes with thirteen awards handed out. That works out at one minute and fifteen seconds donated to each award! Could you imagine that these days? Unheard of!

                Over the years, there have been many Hollywood stars that have stayed here while in town. Some which people suggest have never left. The Roosevelt is said to be the home of Marilyn Monroe’s ghost which has been reported to be seen in the full length mirror which used to be in the room at the Roosevelt which she often stayed in.

 The ninth floor is also said to be haunted by another old Hollywood star, Montgomery Clift. He stayed in room 928 while filming From Here To Eternity. He used to practise his lines and practise playing the bugle which he character played, outside his room and along the corridor. Hotel residents staying on the ninth floor have often reported hearing a bugle and footsteps outside their room.

Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, you may still be able to see some stars at the Roosevelt. Many films such as Catch Me If You Can, Charlies Angels and Internal Affairs have been filmed there and parties held by the young and beautiful are not irregular. You never know who you are going to see at the Tropocana Bar or the Cinegrill restaurant!

I can tell you from personal experience that the best places to stay in the hotel are the Cabana Rooms. They right near the pool and although they have been renovated in recent years, they still capture the essence of classic Hollywood. The only downfall is because they are so close to the Tropocana Bar, Saturday nights can be quite noisy with music playing till late. On the bright side, you can stand on your balcony, and star spot from there! You win either way! The pool is the place to be. It really does feel like a Hollywood paradise with its palm trees, sun lounges and view of the hotel’s tower.

I’m a lover of anything old Hollywood and when I am in Hollywood, the Roosevelt is the one of the only places I can go and feel close to the way Hollywood was back in the 1930’s.I am lucky enough to have been in the Blossom Room, which is the room which the Academy Awards were held in. It was actually quite a surreal experience. The Blossom Room was empty at the time and I entered the room on the balcony level. It was strange looking down at this empty auditorium and imagining the most important event in the world of film’s calendar there 80 years before. If there is something supernatural in the hotel, I felt it there!

I love the lobby. It is true old Hollywood. Many people go to Hollywood thinking it is going to be all glitz and glamour and can be quite underwhelmed as a result. If you want to see the glitz and glamour of old Hollywood, this is where you need to be. Dim lighting, a running fountain and old fashioned leather arm chairs (good quality, not the uncomfortable squeaky kind) make you feel like you have stepped back in time and that you should be looking around and seeing women in tasselled dresses and men with cigars. I have no trouble picturing Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks standing around sipping champagne with their fellow party guests here. That’s what you want to see in Hollywood, isn’t it? Feeling the magic of Hollywood!

If you would like to stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, check out their website and rooms and rates.

http://www.thompsonhotels.com/ppc/hollywood-roosevelt/thompson-roosevelt-hotel-ppc.html?source=google+HollywoodRoosevelt+HollywoodRooseveltBrand+hollywoodroosevelthotel

A few tips before you go.

*Watch From Here To Eternity just in case you stay on the ninth floor and need to remind Mr Clift what his lines are or need to comment on whether he has got the bugle quite right.

*Stay in a Cabana Room, especially in summer so you are right near the amazing pool. Did I mention Miss Monroe shot her first commercial there?

*And finally, remember where you are. You have Hollywood on your doorstep. Love the hotel, but don’t stay in it the whole time. Go and see as much of the town as you can. The more you explore, the better it is.

Sources

“Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel” http://www.hollywoodusa.co.uk/hollywoodroosevelt.htm Accessed: 10^th July 2011

*”The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel” http://www.seeing-stars.com/hotels/hollywoodroosevelt.shtml Accessed: 10^th July 2011

NEW YORK CITY as seen in "Arthur"

New York City is the most filmed city in the world. Everyday there are at least three filmings of movies and television show's going on in different parts of the city. It is a very exciting place to be for movie buff's and lovers of television shows such as "Friends" and "Sex & The City". Everywhere you turn you are faced with the feeling of deja vu. Landmarks which you have seen dozen's of times on the screen which seem so familiar to you even if you have never been to the city before. New York City is a fabulous place to travel for movie buff's. There are many tours you can do through New York which focus on movie and TV show locations. My personal favourite is On Location Tours, which I took a tour with in late 2008. I was ecstatic to see the "Friends" apartment building (a lot smaller than what you would imagine), "Sex & The City's" Magnolia Bakery and, of course, Tiffany's from "Breakfast At Tiffanys". If you are interested in taking a coach tour of New York City, visit them at On Location Tours.

However, you may want to do a walking tour independantly. That's where we can help you. As New York City has so many famous filming locations, Travelling With The Movies will be looking at only the specific locations in a particular film in each entry. This isn't a bad thing though, as New York has so many filming locations that we are sure to cover the large majority of them overtime. So today we start with the New York filming locations for the 2011 film, "Arthur" starring Russell Brand and Helen Mirren. "Arthur" is a remake of the 1981 film fo the same name starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. To find out more about "Arthur", check out our sister site, Movie Critical.

"Arthur" is a great tourism product for New York City. Director, Jason Winer has chosen numerous known and accessible to the public landmarks to set his film. The first landmark we see is when Arthur crashes his Batmobile is the Charging Bull at Bowling Park Green in the financial district, very close to Wall Street. The bull symbolizes aggressive financial optimism and prosperity. A fitting symbol to be inserted into "Arthur" at the beginning, as it symbolizes how the film has a great emphasis on Arthur's financial position and his fight to maintain that financial position. The bull has been a great tourist attraction since it's construction and placement in 1989.  Just like Arthur accidently does in the film, tourists seem to have a fascination of the bull's genitals and many photos of people with the bull on the internet are taken from the backside rather than the front. When you visit the Charging Bull, it is a bit of a fight against the other tourists to try and get a photo of yourself with it from the front so be prepared to claim your ownership!

Another extremely popular location featured in "Arthur" is of course, Grand Central Terminal. According to Screen Junkies, Grand Central is the most popular movie location in the world. Grand Central Terminal in "Arthur" is on show. It is one of the very few opportunites you will ever get to see Grand Central station with no one in it. Arthur makes sure the station is completely clear of anyone else except himself and his love interest, Naomi for their first date, it is also where he first sets eyes on Naomi. It is quite surreal seeing Grand Central with no one in it, as is one of the places you can definately feel extremely overwhelmed. 47 platforms and 75 tracks, try not getting lost there when you have never been to New York before and you are trying to find your train back to White Plains.  On the other hand, Grand Central Station is probably the most beautiful train station you will ever see. Grand Central Station as we know it today was built in 1913, with it's magnificent outer facade, large windows, marble suitcase and amazing ceiling, as is greatly featured in "Arthur". The huge American flag was added to the great hall just days after September 11. The Whispering Gallery in which Arthur officially asks Naomi out in the movie is a popular place in Grand Central Station for marriage proposals to take place. Try it out for yourself!

And finally, you will not see a drunk Gummi Bear as you do in the film in Dylans Candy Bar at 1101 Third Ave...or at least we hope so! Dylan's is one of five stores located in the USA and is famous for housing 5000 types of candy and combining the world's of candy and fashion. In 2008 it became the largest candy store in the world with three storeys with a cafe on the upper level and three party rooms. Dylan's has been featured on Oprah and in several fashion magazines such as Elle, Vogue and Town & Country. Recently, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were spotted here with their daughter, Suri. Dylan's Candy Bar is quickly becoming a tourist attraction of New York City and is a great place to take your family.

"Arthur" is just one film which is set in New York and contains advertising to make anybody want to travel to the Big Apple. The city has so much beauty and excitement tied to it, who wouldn't want to be part of their film?

Cannes International Film Festival- Cannes, France

It seems fitting that in Travelling With The Movies' first post we should look at the location for one of the most, if not the most popular film festival location in the world. Every May, Cannes on the Cote D'Azur in southern France comes alive with film industry glamour with the Cannes International Film Festival. It is obvious to see why Cannes was chosen to host this infamous film event. The French town right on the Meditteranean Sea is sophisticated and classy with it's designer fashion boutiques and five star hotels, and extremely picturesque with it's palm tree lined promenade and crystal clear water. Let me take you inside the world of Cannes and the Cannes International Film Festival!

Cannes dates back to 125 BC when modern day Marseilles was finding it hard to control the population and turned to the Romans for help. By 1868, Cannes was starting to recieve a reputation of being a city a prestige and wealth with a number of famous English families owning property in the area. However, it was 1887 that secured the reputation of Cannes being the playground of the rish and famous, when Queen Victoria and her two sons stayed in the city. Today, old town Cannes can still be accessed and is definately worth a trip. The Old Town, Le Suquet,  has the charm of a small Italian village, with it's narrow streets and low rise buildings. The Church Of Our Lady is the perfect place to take panoramic photos of the city of Cannes and marvel at their clock tower which dates back to 1662.



 Today, modern day Cannes is popular for it's luxurious hotels such as the Martinez, the Majestic, the Carlton and the Hilton along the Boulevarde de la Croisette. During May, these hotels are the temporary homes of the who's who in the film industry. In 1955, Grace Kelly stayed in the Carlton while attending the film festival and it was during this trip that she met Prince Rainier of Monaco. The Cannes Palm Beach Casino up towards the end of the Boulevarde de la Croisette is the nightlife venue for celebrity spotting, with the likes of Paris Hilton and Billy Zane being seen here. There are also some fantastic restaurants and cafe's on the promenade that are perfect to celebrity watch from. Of course, the beaches are also beautiful. The seaside is unspoilt and the water sparkling blue, but can be very busy during the summer. A great way to see Cannes is to take a short trip on the Petit Train, which starts just near the small rides and sideshow's on the esplanade. It takes you all around Cannes and you get to listen to commentary in your own language through headphones provided.


Cannes is definately at it's busiest around festival time, when accommodation is hard to find and any accommodation will not be at rock bottom price. The Cannes International Film Festival was first started in 1939, but came to a halt as a result of Hitler's regime. The festival restarted in 1946 and the first festival was held at the original Palais de Festivals, which was on the site where the Palais Stephanie Hotel now stands.Some of the past winners at Cannes include Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now and Quention Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. This year the festival will run from the 11th of May till the 22nd of May and it has been announced that the Woody Allen film starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Marion Cotillard, Midnight In Paris will be the festival's opening feature.

 The Palais des Festivals et des Congres has been the home to the festival since 1983. It is said that the red carpet from the festival is supposed to be out all year round so that people can come and have their photos taken like they were one of the superstars, but recently tourists to the area have arrived to see the Palais and have not seen it on the stairs as promised, but rolled up towards the sides. Outside the Palais, you will find the handprints of dozens of actors and directors who have attended the film in the past. Some of these stars include Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski, Meryl Streep and the late Jane Russell. Keep a lookout for the amazing murals throughout the town with visions of movie making and actors. A favourite of many people is the Marilyn Monroe mural on the side of the Cannes Riviera Hotel, which can be seen from the train station.





Getting to Cannes:-
By Air- The closest airport is the Cote d'Azur Airport in Nice. The airport is about a half hour drive from Cannes. Taxi cab's can get quite expensive, so taking the shuttle is a good idea but it will take longer than the cab.

By Train- A train line runs right through Cannes. A train trip will take at the most 50 minutes from Nice. There are also trains which run from Paris to Genoa and stop at Cannes along the way which would take about 6 hours. It is however, a very pleasant train ride.


By Car- From Nice it will take about half an hours, but it could be longer or shorter depending on the time of the day and traffic. If you are looking to drive from Paris, it would be close to 8 hours driving time.

Welcome to Travelling With The Movies!

 Travelling With The Movies is the sister site to Movie Critical, the website primarily dedicated to reviewing the latest in cinema and independant films. While Travelling With The Movies is also about film, it is not about the critical aspects of film. It looks at the locations where movies have been set and locations associated with the world of film. How often have you seen a film and been taken by country or city it is set in? Travelling With The Movies helps you find out where the film was set and gives you information about the place such as a short history, where in the world it is and how to get there, locations associated with the film and some interesting and fun facts. This information won't just come from sources such as books and the internet, but also personal experiences of people who have actually been to these places. Travelling With The Movies is a travel website with a difference, as it is a movie website with a difference.

Again, welcome everyone to Travelling With The Movies! If you have anything to say about any of our posts or would like to help out, feel free to post a comment!

Nicki Newton-Plater