Old Film Clips Keep ‘em Dangling
DEAR HOT: My girlfriend is visiting and wants to buy inexpensive L.A. souvenirs that aren’t the usual T-shirts with palm trees or snow globes with cavorting Disney characters. Is there anything remotely tasteful for less than $10?
DEAR HOT SHOPPER: Check out the earrings (pictured) from the Mann’s Chinese Theater gift shop in Hollywood. They range in price from $4 to $45 and are made of discarded film leader.
Gail Jennings, a production coordinator for ABC, purchases the leader from film supply houses, then turns it into earrings for her L.A.-based firm, “Film at 11:00.”
On occasion, Jennings has wound up with scenes from such films as “Poltergeist” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” But she’s more likely to find those familiar number-in-a-circle, countdown graphics that precede the movie--or footage she can’t begin to identify.
“I get it all by chance,” she says of the film, which is then colorized and sometimes adorned with stones.
“I didn’t go out and make a deal with Steven Spielberg. I’m careful not to use the film in recognizable ways. My attorney says I’m OK as long as I keep my receipts from where I bought it.”
The Mann Chinese Theater gift shop is at 6925 Hollywood Blvd.
SHOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE: When actress Cybill Shepherd wants a memorable shopping experience, she doesn’t head for Melrose Avenue, Rodeo Drive or Montana Avenue.
She tells Hot that her favorite place to shop is at the corner of Sherman Way and Coldwater Canyon in North Hollywood, at Bang Luck Market Plaza, a Thai mini-mall.
“It’s just an experience. In the Bang Luck Market, they have kitchenware and plates that are typical of the things people have in Thailand. You can rent videos there and they sell spirit houses,” she says, referring to the small, household shrines that enclose Hindu and Buddhist symbols.
“There’s also two restaurants. They have the most incredible seafood and roast duck. And homemade noodle soup--the best I’ve had outside of Thailand. Going there is a real cultural shift. You don’t feel like you’re in L.A.”
