It’s Day One of SIGGRAPH. So Nancy & I get invited to the Houdini party. Which is being held on the 4th & 5th floor of the Hollywood & Highland complex.
Photos by Nancy Stadler
So we’re out on the terrace — nibbling on pot stickers & egg rolls, schmoozing with other SIGGRAPH goers as well as enjoying a pretty nifty view of the city below … When Nancy – as she’s looking down at Hollywood Boulevard – notices something peculiar. So she points and says “What’s that?”
So I look down and see that – directly across the street in front of the Disney Store next to the El Capitan – is one of those orange metal barriers. You know, the sort of thing you set to make people go around a construction area.
Photos by Nancy Stadler
Now why this caught Nancy’s eye was that there was only one of these barriers set up on the sidewalk in front of that Disney Store. And the sidewalk under the barrier – even from five floors up – looked … Well, different.
Now it was just about this time that “light finally shined over Marblehead” … And I remembered that Donald Duck’s walk of fame ceremony was supposed to be held bright & early Monday morning. More importantly, I seemed to recall that this toon titan’s star was supposed to be located right in front of the Disney Store on Hollywood Boulevard …
You don’t suppose …. ?
One quick elevator later (Not to mention taking our lives in our hands by crossing at that mid-block crosswalk in front of the Chinese Theater. Yikes! That was scary!), Nancy and I were walking down the sidewalk in front of the El Capitan. And – sure enough – right outside the entrance of the Disney Store, around an orange construction barrier, was Donald Duck’s walk of fame star.
Photos by Nancy Stadler
Okay. I know. It doesn’t look all that impressive now. But you have to understand that this particular walk of fame star is still in the process of being creative. Earlier on Sunday, an artisan that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce showed up to insert this star in the sidewalk outside the Disney Store.
The first step involves removing the original portion of the sidewalk. Next, a new batch of concrete is poured. But not before the brass outline of a star is carefully centered in the wet cement.
Next the star’s name is carefully centered within the brass outline. After that, a circular medallion honoring that celebrity’s achievements (In this case, the medal honors Donald Duck’s work in film. Hence the teeny outline of an old fashioned motion picture camera) is placed below the name.
After the name & medallion are in place, the artisan pours pink colored concrete to the area within the brass star outline. To add that all important layer of Hollywood glitz, small shiny white stones are pressed into the still-drying concrete.
All of this new concrete is then allowed to set. Which leaves us with that admittedly less-than-glamorous sight in front of Hollywood’s Disney Store.
Not to worry, though, folks. For late Sunday night / early Monday morning, the artisan will return under cover of darkness. And – by using abrasives as well as polishing equipment – Donald Duck’s star will soon take on a much more pleasing & professional appearance.
And – under cover of darkness – a platform will be erected. More importantly, Donald’s star will be hidden away under a fake blank walk of fame star.
So that – come Monday morning – Johnny Grant, the honorary Mayor of Hollywood, can preside over an unveiling ceremony that adds a real sense of class & excitement to the occasion.
Of course, that’s all going to happen tomorrow … er … today … whenever … But – for now – Donald Duck’s unfinished walk of fame star is right there out in the open, for the whole world to see, prior to its Hollywood debut … Complete with its very own tossed-away postcard & stomped out cigarette butt right near by.
Ah, well … Fame is fleeting, I guess.
Anywho … I hope you enjoyed this look at the somewhat unglamorous side of work-in-progress Hollywood. Tomorrow, I hope to be back with more fun stories from LA’s SIGGRAPH.
Til then, take care, okay?
jrh