On Hollywood Boulevard, the good, the bad and the seedy

A 7-foot-long red-tailed boa constrictor, being held by his owner off-camera, gets the attention of people near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Tinseltown.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Rino Piffaretti, center, dressed as the character from the movie “Scream,” entertains visitors on Hollywood Boulevard.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

On Hollywood Boulevard, LAPD officers write up a man for illegally displaying a reptile on a public sidewalk -- a 5-foot-long boa constrictor.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Street performers wearing masks depicting members of the English-Irish pop boy band One Direction try to get the attention of passersby on Hollywood Boulevard.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

LAPD officers patrol along Hollywood Boulevard near Highland Avenue. In case they need backup, Spider-Man is right there.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Pedestrians make their way along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Hollywood will always have that seediness. You’ll never remove that,” says a native. But he’s quick to tout the area’s revitalization over the last decade or so and the tourists it has lured. “It’s cleaned up a lot. It’s more what Hollywood should be.”   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)