Invisible L.A.

As of January 22, 2008 the nominations for the Oscars were annouced. The Oscars have been home to the Kodak Theater which is located at Highland and Vine in Hollywood. Not only are the Oscars broadcasted there, so is the Ameican Idol finals.

The Kodak is a 3,600 seat theater. The Kodak also is centrally located within a shopping mall and movie thearter. It also sits comfortably on top of L.A’s mass transit, the red line subway. One of the subways major stops is the Highland/Vine - Kodak Theater Stop. Prepping the theater is done about a week ahead of the broadcast. So many fans and tourists can watch as the set up begins. Including seeing the full size statueets of Oscars lined along the red carpet walkway of the theater. Yes viewing this Hollywood history is free prior to the broadcast. Or you can attempt to be a spectator on the night of the Oscars in hopes to catch a glimpse of your favorite actor and or actress via the street in front of the theater.

The Oscars have been broadcasted from the theater since 2002. Previously they were broadcasted from the Shrine Auditorium located across from the USC campus on Jefferson and Hoover in Los Angeles. The Oscars were originally at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood on May 1, 1929. The Roosevelt Hotel is one block west of the Kodak.

Here are some of the following nominations for certain catergories

Best Picture

Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman - Juno
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Actor

George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away from Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose (La môme)
Laura Linney - The Savages
Ellen Page - Juno

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett - I’m Not There
Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Original Screenplay

Diablo Cody - Juno
Nancy Oliver - Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Brad Bird - Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins - The Savages

Best Adapted Screenplay

Christopher Hampton - Atonement
Sarah Polley - Away from Her
Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

On January 22, 2008(same day the 2008 Oscars were annoucned) the 2005 Oscar nominated Best Actor, Heath Ledger died in his SoHo, New York apartment. Results of his death are unknown pending an autopsy. May are hearts go out to Heath Ledgers family.

Eight Miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles is the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Rose Parade is traditionally done every year on New Years Day. The Rose Parade started January 1, 1890. Following the parade is the Rose Bowl football game. The Rose Bowl football game started January 1, 1923. Many of the local television stations will carry the Rose Parade live and uniterrupted of commercials. Than a rebroadcast roughly an hour later. The football game is later in the day at 2:30 PM(PST)

Now, one may wonder if this is in Pasadena, what does this have to do with Los Angeles other than the close proximity. Well this year for the 2008 Rose Bowl the beloved Trojans of USC will be playing against University of Illinois. USC is located in downtown Los Angeles.

So of course I will have to say something other than GO TROJANS!!!!!!!!!!! Right? Ok maybe not so loud. I will try and be a little unbiased and be fair. Ok maybe, NOT. GO TROJANS!!!!!!. Besides my niece goes to the esteem University of Southern California. And my son goes to high school directly across the street from USC and has about two classes on the campus as well. So it can very hard not to a wee bit biased. Sorry. Besides how many times has USC Trojans appeared in the Rose Bowl in the 105 year history. 31 times. Yup. A whopping 31 times including this 2008 year. Out of the 30 appearances. USC has won 22 of the 30 appearances. So Illinois is going to really want the ring pretty bad and work real hard to get it. The action starts at 2:30 PM(PST).

But for those who are strictly Rose Parade fans you can either reserve bleachers at certain locations of the parade route. Or you can be one of thousands who camp out the night before for a spot in the front row(curb side seating of course). The parade starts around 8 am in the morning and roughly lasts two to two and half hours. The Rose Bowl theme this year is “Passport to the World’s Celebrations.” The length of the Rose Parade route is 5 1/2 miles.

Many people are being encouraged to take the Metro system to the game and or parade. One can get there either by bus and or the light rail system(Yellow line from Union Station). The Yellow runs roughly every 8 - 12 minutes. The traffic is crazy so I would highly recommend parking at Union Station for $6 and paying the all day fare for $5. Which is much easier on the wallet and less of a headache of remembering where your car is and paying high priced parking fees. And for those who have missed the Rose Parade, you can view the floats after and on January 2, 2008. You can get a direct service to where the floats are wherehoused. For more information on Metro transportaion for the Rose Parade/Bowl festives.

You can reserve your Greyhound bus seat for an additional $5 per ticket

Reserved seating is sold one way and in select cities on specific schedules. The reserved seat upgrade must be purchased in person at the departure terminal, even if you bought your ticket online. Priority seating may be reserved from 30 days in advance to 45 minutes prior to departure, but you must be present at the gate no fewer than 20 minutes before departure.

GreyHound Bus Tickets amy be purchased at the follwoing location in Los Angeles:

Greyhound Bus Lines Hollywood
1715 N Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 466-6384

Priority seating initiative is available across the United States on the following routes:

Atlanta-Orlando; Atlanta-Charlotte; Atlanta-Savannah; Atlanta-Tallahassee; Baltimore-New York; Boston-New York; Charlotte-Richmond; Chicago-Memphis; Chicago-Milwaukee; Chicago-Minneapolis; Cincinnati, all schedules; Cleveland, all schedules; Dallas-Houston; Dallas-San Antonio; Detroit-all schedules; Houston-Dallas; Jacksonville-Charlotte; Jacksonville-Tallahassee; Las Vegas-Los Angeles; Las Vegas-Phoenix; Los Angeles-Las Vegas; Los Angeles-Phoenix; Los Angeles-Sacramento; Los Angeles-San Francisco; Minneapolis-Chicago; New York-Baltimore; New York-Boston; New York-Philadelphia; New York-Washington; Omaha-Chicago; Orlando-Atlanta; Philadelphia-New York; Phoenix-Las Vegas; Phoenix-San Diego; Richmond-Dallas; Sacramento-Los Angeles; San Antonio-Dallas; San Francisco-Los Angeles; San Francisco-Sacramento; Savannah-Atlanta; Seattle-Portland; Seattle-Spokane; Seattle-Vancouver; Tallahassee-Atlanta; Tallahassee-Jacksonville; Tallahassee-Montgomery; Tampa, all schedules; and Washington-New York.

Los Angeles MTA Metro System Service Alerts announced “On New Year’s Eve Monday, December 31 (into Tuesday, January 1), all Metro Rail lines will run all night, every 20 minutes.”

Metro will offer a special Holiday Free Fare Program for all Metro Bus and Metro Rail lines operating on New Year’s Eve.

The free fare program, approved by Metro’s Board of Directors, will be in effect between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. only on the nights and early morning hours of December 31-January 1.

Patrons boarding a Metro Bus, including the Metro Orange Line or the Metro Red, Purple, Blue, Green or Gold rail lines during the hours designated will receive a free ride to their destination.

The Metro Purple Line operates from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Wilshire/Western and the Metro Red Line from Union Station to North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley. The Metro Blue Line operates from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, the Metro Green Line runs between Norwalk and El Segundo and the Metro Gold Line operates between Union Station and Pasadena.

For complete route and schedule information for MTA Los Angeles patrons can call 1-800-C-O-M-M-U-T-E or visit Metro’s web site and access the Metro Trip Planner at www.metro.net.

Contact
Luis Inzunza/Marc Littman
Metro Media Relations
213.922.2711/213.922.4609
mediarelations@metro.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE