The Hollywood of China: Hengdian World Studios – Keep Calm & Wander

Hengdian World Studios

Visiting Hengdian World Studios, The Hollywood of China

Hengdian World Studios is in the Dongyang district of Zhejiang province in eastern China. It is the world’s largest film and television production facility. Spread across more than 4 square kilometers, the studio features a wide range of sets and locations, including replicas of ancient Chinese palaces, temples, and streetscapes and more modern settings such as airports and hospitals.

Visitors to this amazing place can experience the magic of the film and television industry up close, with guided tours that take them behind the scenes of some of China’s most popular productions. The studio offers a variety of tours that cater to different interests, including historical and cultural tours, as well as more specialized tours for fans of specific television shows or movies.

In addition to its impressive array of sets, Hengdian World Studios also boasts a number of modern facilities and amenities for cast and crew members. These include a large sound stage, multiple post-production facilities, and various accommodation options, from luxury hotels to more affordable dormitories.

Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

China Gay Travel Resources

Queer WeHo Without a Car – Windy City Times

West Hollywood

Winter is the perferct time to visit Southern California. With temperatures in the high 60s to 70s ( and everything in bloom as it is the rainy season ), the area is a great respite from the dreary winter in most of the country.

Best of all, you can relax and rely on transit and walking to get around with your visit to West Hollywood, arguable America’s biggest gayborhood. They also have a shared bicycle system so bring your helmet if you plan to use it.

Getting there: I grabbed a Southwest sale fare of $79 from Indy to LAX. From LAX, grab the shuttle to Lot C and take the Big Blue Bus #3 to Santa Monica for $1.25 ( ask for a transfer ). In Santa Monica, transfer to the 704 Rapid Bus Line to West Hollywood. ( Yes, I paid $1.25 from LAX to WeHo. ) Exit at San Vincente street and walk three blocks east to your hotel.

By Bill Malcolm – Full Story at Windy City

West Hollywood (WeHo) Gay Travel Resources

TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD: Hollywood Museum Salutes LGBTQ

Hollywood Museum

Hollywood MuseumWe have been to the Hollywood Museum a couple of times and now they are having a special exhibit featuring the LGBTQ community.  Steve Nycklemoe is the Director and Curator of the Museum and a VERY professional and friendly guy.  We enjoyed meeting him the last time we were there and he gave a private tour of the museum for us.

The Hollywood Museum is thrilled to announce its 2017 salute to the LGBTQ community’s contributions to the entertainment industry. The fourth annual “REAL to REEL: Portrayals and Perceptions of LGBTQs in Hollywood” exhibit, in partnership with Los Angeles CityCouncilmember Mitch O’Farrell(CD-13) and LA Pride, is an educational, entertaining and informative retrospective of LGBTQ images in film, TV, new digital platforms – featuring costumes, props, photos, and iconic imagery all telling the story of the milestones and influence that LGBTQ characters and plot lines have had in Hollywood from early stereotypes to modern-day representations.

Hollywood MuseumAdditionally, REAL to REEL celebrates LGBTQ Icons those individuals and couples who may be openly LGBTQ or not, and who support the LGBTQ community.

The Hollywood Museum’s REAL to REEL exhibition, which coincides with the annual Christopher Street West Pride activities, offers a historic perspective spanning 100 years from silent films to today’s films, TV shows, and digital platforms.

“The museum welcomes the opportunity to create and showcase this important exhibition, sharing with the public the artistic expression and extraordinary significance of the LGBTQ culture and its effect and impact on the world through the medium of entertainment,” says Donelle Dadigan, Founder and President of The Hollywood Museum located in the Historic Max Factor Building.

Hollywood MuseumThe exhibit revisits monumental LGBTQ moments in history with Rev. Troy Perry, including the Black Cat riots (1967), and on display – the infamous sign that once hung at the entrance of West Hollywood’s Barney’s Beanery. Exhibit highlights include costumes from Transparent, How to Get Away with Murder, The Walking Dead, Empire, Trans America, Sordid Lives, Cruising, Orange is the New Black, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ray Donovan, Mad Men, Arrested Development, Cabaret,K-11, as well as Cyndi Lauper’s Grand Marshall Costume (Toronto’s Gay Pride parade, 2015.

Additional exhibit items include famous costumes from Hollywood’s leading designers – Mr. Blackwell, Bob Mackie,Ret Turner, Nolan Miller, Edith Head – to today’s Project Runway with Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, as well as Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, Tyler Perry’s The Haves and Have Nots, Scandal, Two in a Half Men, True Blood, The Good Wife, and more. This year’s exhibit also includes, LGBTQ Iconsincluding Judy Garland, Betty Davis, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Ramon Navarro, Rudolf Valentino, Charles Laughton, Sam Harris, Bruce Vilanch, Sherman Hemsley, Gere Jewell, Jerry Herman, Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner and many more.

The Hollywood Museum gratefully acknowledges the following ABC, Amazon Studios, BBC America, CBS, Discovery Life, Focus Features HBO, Logo, NBC, Netflix, OWN, Showtime, TLC and 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, as well as organizations serving the LGBTQ community including ONE Archives, Christopher Street West, The Lavender Effect, and The Glaad Awards, amfAR and more.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM IN THE HISTORIC MAX FACTOR BUILDING:

See 10,000 Authentic Show Business Treasures spanning more than 100 years of Hollywood history! Located next to the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Museum in the Historic Max Factor Building houses the largest collection of entertainment memorabilia on display in the world. It is home to thousands of costumes, props, photographs, posters, celebrity automobiles and other treasures from some of the most iconic films and TV shows ever made!

See Hollywood legends – past, present, and in the making! The museum attracts thousands of fans from around the world and was recently named one of the top tourist attractions by LA Weekly and by Trip Advisor, and was voted one of the Top 10 Museums in LA by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. The Hollywood Museum is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

REGULAR HOURS: Wednesday – Sunday: 10:00am – 5:00pm (Exhibit: Fri, June 10th – Sun, Sept 4th)

TICKETS: $15 Adults: $12 Seniors (62+): $12 for students with ID and $5 Children under 5.

ADDRESS: 1660 N. Highland Ave. (at Hollywood Blvd.), Los Angeles, CA 90028 MUSEUM INFO:www.TheHollywoodMuseum.com or Tel: (323) 464-7776

FOLLOW THE MUSEUM:

WEBSITE: www.TheHollywoodMuseum.com   FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/TheHollywoodMuseum

Don and RayAlways remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone!

TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning, Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from coast to coast (And now legally married).

Proud members of the IGLTA. You can email them at gaytravelers@aol.com and visit their website at http://gaytravelersataol.blogspot.com/

Las Vegas Gay Travel Resources

SUMMER READS: TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD – Hollywood: Sometimes The Reality Is Better Than the Dream

HollywoodWe all need a good “Hollywood Fix” once in a while and a new book came out recently that will give you one of the best ones that you have had in a long time. The famous Hollywood agent to the Stars, Budd Burton Moss has recently authored his book, HOLLYWOOD:  ‘Sometimes The Reality Is Better Than the Dream’.

With over 400 pages of fascinating memories he tells about his adventures and business dealings with famous entertainers, directors, producers and everyone else in the movie business that he has been involved with in his many years in Hollywood. Names like Rita Hayworth, Jack Valenti, Hal Prince, Jon Cypher, John James, Tommy Cruise, Laura Pels, the beautiful Dina Merrill, Tom Bosley, John Gavin, Constance Towers, Carolyn Jones, Bob Barker, Sidney Poitier are just a few of the many people that he includes in this marvelous book.  The book also has over 50 priceless photographs.

Praise about his book comes from Larry King, who wrote the Forward to the book.  Other praises are from Rona Barrett, former Hollywood newspaper columnists and TV host, Mike Medavoy, producer, seven-time Oscar winner, Robert Wagner, actor and Sherry Lansing, former President of 20th Century Fox Studios and former chairman of Paramount Pictures and of course from us as well!

Budd Burton MossThis is a REAL story about the GOLDEN AGE of Hollywood. He writes about the good and the bad experiences that he has had and when one goes thru life, we all have our ‘highs’ and ‘lows’.  He tells about all of them. His escapades with Rita Hayworth who was his favorite client  are extremely interesting to read.  He relates the times he had with her all over the world and  in South America and the trials and tribulations of such adventures with her. She was NOT an easy person to travel with.

Do you think that you would like to be a Hollywood agent ?  Think again as it is a 24 hour, 7 days a week  career working with prima donnas.  The author was able to handle all of this and make loyal life long friends along the way.

Budd Burton Moss has certainly had an extremely wonderful life in his roll as a Hollywood agent and he continues to  work every day. He has done it all,  and much more will come for him. He has made remarkable friends in Hollywood but the most important thing that we respect him for is his personal life with his wife, Carolyn for over 46 years! And what  a true love story that is.  Now in his 80’s Budd Burton Moss is going as strong as ever.

Reading this book is very riveting and you can’t put it down until the last page and then you will want more!. This is one of the ESSENTIAL books for anyone really into the movies and life in Hollywood.  You can purchase this book either at your local bookstore or thru Amazon.com.  We think that it would be a great idea if someone in Hollywood would make a movie from his book! (Portrait of Budd Burton Moss by Mara Magliarditi)

Don and RayAlways remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone!

TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning, Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from coast to coast (And now legally married).

Proud members of the IGLTA. You can email them at gaytravelers@aol.com and visit their website at http://gaytravelersataol.blogspot.com/

Relive Hollywood in Paris

Moulin Rouge Image via Flickr by Gabriel Villena Fernandez
[/caption] “Paris is always a good idea,” said Audrey Hepburn, a Hollywood legend who acted in romantic movies that featured famous landmarks in Paris. With so many great motion pictures made in this European city, it’s no wonder it earns these three nicknames: The City of Love, The City of Romance, and The City of Lights. Let’s traverse the romantic lanes in Paris and get a glimpse of the landmarks that grace it. Moulin Rouge Gone are the days of French courtesans in the city of Paris, but Moulin Rouge on Boulevard de Clichy is still alive with the “can-can” dance which the nation invented. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor made this area more popular in the film with the same name. Watch a show or two and relive the past through glamorous cabaret performances.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

Paris Gay Travel Resources

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