Hollywood

CHAPTER ONE

The place and the movies

What do you think of when you hear the word 'Hollywood'? Do you think of wonderful films like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Titanic, or Gone with the Wind? Or exciting film stars like Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and Marilyn Monroe? Perhaps you remember the Hollywood sign in big letters in the hills or you think of famous roads like Sunset Boulevard or Hollywood Boulevard.

Hollywood is different things to different people. Firstly, it is a place in California in the west of the United States. But it is not a town, it is part of the big city of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is the second biggest city in the United States and it has nearly four million people. About 200,000 of them live in Hollywood in the northwest of the city.

Of course, Hollywood is not only a place. When we talk about a new Hollywood movie or the latest Hollywood star, we are talking about the American film industry. It is the most famous film industry in the world with a long and interesting story. Today, most movies are made near Hollywood, not in it. But everybody calls them Hollywood films (and 'films' and 'movies' are the same thing).

Hollywood is not only famous for films. It is an important place for the music, television, and radio industry. The television show Hannah Montana with the singer Miley Cyrus was made at a TV studio in Hollywood.

The movie industry began in Hollywood in the early twentieth century. Filmmakers came from across the United States and made films here. But why did people first move to Hollywood? What was different about this small place in California?

CHAPTER TWO

The village

Today, Hollywood is a part of Los Angeles with many cars, shops, and hotels. But in 1853, there was nothing here, only one small house and lots of tall cactuses. At first, this place had the name Nopalera, after the many Nopal cactus plants here.

By 1870, farmers began to move to the area and they called it the Cahuenga Valley. This part of California is famous for its nice weather. The Santa Monica mountains to the north stop the wind. There are more than 260 days of sun every year but only thirty-seven days of rain. It is not cold in winter and it does not usually go under seven degrees Celsius here.