Los Angeles Times to Publish on May 21 “The Dream Machine” Special Sunday Calendar Section

LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2006 – The Los Angeles Times on May 21 will publish “The Dream Machine,” a special Sunday Calendar section chronicling the history of Hollywood and looking at the challenges facing Southern California’s leading industry.

The section is the third in a series of eight special features or themed sections marking The Times’ 125th anniversary covering Southern California. It will be available online May 21 at www.latimes.com/hollywood125.

The special section will include a gallery of historical Hollywood photos from The Times’ archives and a Hollywood insider’s timeline extending from 1886, when Hollywood was named, to The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition earlier this year of Pixar Animation Studio.

Other features include:

• The Newcomers – With talent the one universal passport, Hollywood has always been a place for immigrants. In writing another chapter in its love affair with foreign writers and directors, Hollywood this time looks to the Far East and Latin America.
• A Survivor Who’s Seen it All – With almost 50 years in the business, producer David Zanuck is a survivor in an industry that remains a chilly, unforgiving universe. With a string of credits that includes “The Sting,” “Jaws,” “The Verdict” and “Driving Miss Daisy,” the former head of 20th Century Fox studio remains in demand long after many of his contemporaries already have retired.
• A System Gone With the Wind – In the first half of the 20th century, Los Angeles was divided into small kingdoms and principalities with names like MGM, Warners and RKO. The steady decline of the studio system over the past 50 years has changed how Hollywood operates. Today, nearly all movies are made as one-off ventures, even if they hire studio space and borrow studio money.
• A Drought of Self-esteem – Hollywood didn’t notice Los Angeles as more than an occasional backdrop until the mid-1940s. With “Double Indemnity, “Mildred Pierce” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” Los Angeles became another mythological city – but, this time, not a magical one.
• The Allure of Illusion – Film Critic Carina Chocano looks at the contrast between what is glamorous now and what was glamorous in the days of Cary Grant and Norma Shearer. What she found says much about American society and the decline of the movie studios.
• Hollywood’s 10 Best Films – Film Critic Kenneth Turan offers his list of the films that made Hollywood history.
• Leading by Example – Television Critic Robert Lloyd looks at the top 10 television series that worked themselves into the country’s social fabric.
• The Pictures-perfect City – Columnist Patt Morrison asks, “Why did the distant burg of Los Angeles become to the movies what Mesopotamia and Athens were to ancient civilizations?”
• Unseen Hands – In a company town where people stay to watch the film credits, you’d think we’d know what a gaffer really does. A look at six technical craftspeople and their behind-the-scenes roles.
• A Medium in Motion – From color film and synchronized sound to DVDs and online distribution, the story of Hollywood is punctuated by technological innovations. While they opened new paths for directors, actors, writers and audiences, not all of these changes came easily – or without a fight.
• Hollywood Beat – From the trades, fan magazines and radio programs of the 1920s and 1930s to today’s blogs, supermarket tabloids and news 24/7, the news media continually have evolved to cover Hollywood. Even amidst this change there remains one constant: the insatiable need to know more about the stars we claim as our own – and devour at will.
• Night Life –What made Los Angeles’ nightlife unique for decades was its connection to the entertainment industry and the unique relationship between Hollywood personalities and the public. But then came the velvet ropes.
• The Universal Lot – In a city notorious for tearing itself down, there are still fascinating places where movies are made. One of them is the Universal lot in the Hollywood Hills.
• Hollywood Novels – Until the next television season begins, here are 10 less-well-known books about Hollywood you might want to read.

Future Sections

On June 21, The Times will publish a special auto section chronicling Southern California’s love affair with the automobile. The section will be separate from the weekly Highway 1 features section.

Future special sections will focus on California’s higher education, fashion trends and the people who made Southern California what it is today.

The Times’ year-long anniversary celebration, leading up to Dec. 4, 2006, also includes community events in partnership with other prominent Southern California special events and institutions, a Publisher’s Forum series highlighting The Times’ journalism and other public speaking engagements featuring Times executives.

About the Los Angeles Times

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of nearly 2.4 million and about 3.4 million on Sunday. With its media businesses and affiliates - including latimes.com, TheEnvelope.com, Times Community Newspapers, Recycler Classifieds, Hoy, and California Community News - the Los Angeles Times reaches approximately 7.7 million or 59 percent of all adults in the Southern California marketplace every week.

The Los Angeles Times, which this year marks its 125th anniversary covering Southern California, is part of Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB), one of the country’s leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information about the Los Angeles Times is available at www.latimes.com/mediacenter.

Contact:
David Garcia
213-237-4715
david.garcia@latimes.com