Category: entertainment

entertainment

The Man Behind Madame Tussauds Wax Figures

Becca

By Rebecca Ford
Hollywood Patch

Neil Linssen is up to his elbows in hands. As the Creative Studios Development Manager for Madame Tussauds Hollywood, Linssen is tasked with the upkeep of the more than 100 wax figures. Dozens of spare hands, used to replace any damaged digits, are kept on a shelf in the studio where Linssen and the other artists work.

Every morning, Linssen and his team spend two to three hours checking over each wax figure for scratches and dings. Unlike at other wax museums, visitors are allowed to touch and interact with the wax figures at Madame Tussauds (which opened in Hollywood in 2009), and sometimes a celebrity might get roughed up.

Each figure costs an average of $300,000 and takes several weeks of labor to create, so keeping them in top shape is of highest priority. Linssen, who had just returned from a trip to Palm Springs to measure a top-secret celebrity for his wax figure, sat down with Hollywood Patch to talk about the process of making and maintaining these very famous faces.
Continue reading “The Man Behind Madame Tussauds Wax Figures” →

entertainment, news

The Man Behind the Velvet Rope

Becca

My latest piece for Hollywood Patch:

The Man Behind the Velvet Rope: Michael Utsinger
Nightlife promoter Michael Utsinger on creating what he calls a “party salad” at some of Hollywood’s hottest clubs.

If you’ve been to any of Hollywood’s hottest clubs in the past few years, you’ve probably seen Michael Utsinger, 28, standing outside behind the velvet rope, or chatting with his celebrity clients at tables in a dark corner.

Utsinger is one of the biggest promoters in Hollywood, and is currently promoting  Mondays at Teddy’s at the Roosevelt Hotel, Tuesdays at Hemingway’s and Fridays at the newly opened Roxbury.

Utsinger, a Los Angeles native, not only promotes at night, but holds a day job as the president of BoxEight Studios, an arts organization in downtown Los Angeles that puts on art and fashion event year-round, including during Los Angeles fashion week.

Patch sat down with Utsinger at the pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to chat about nightlife and fashion in Hollywood.

Hollywood Patch: How did you get into promoting?

Michael Utsinger: I had some friends that were in the biz, and I was going out a lot, and always just rolled with a big crew. And they were like, ‘Hey Michael, why don’t you roll with a big crew and promote for us?’ It’s been going well. That was about six years ago.

Hollywood Patch: Have you felt there have been changes to the nightlife scene in Hollywood?

Utsinger: Definitely. I think now is one of the craziest times in the club industry in terms of saturation. There’s so many people trying to promote and bring people out. I think the old school, the way I grew up, was with really tight doors, and a handful of promoters in the city only. It was a really tight group of people and other cats just weren’t let into the circle. But now that there are so many clubs opening up, owners have to expand and kind of outsource the promotions and that kind of hurts the quality of the people. So, I think there are only a few kind of niche promoters and scenes left.

Read more at Hollywood Patch.

entertainment

Hollywood Patch

Becca

I’ve started doing interview with the new Hollywood Patch. It’s a hyper-local website on the Hollywood neighborhood. I get to interview local businesspeople and residents on their life in Hollywood. Here is my latest, and links to my previous pieces:

Birds Offers ‘Fast Food with a Liquor License’

Mary Preston, co-owner of the Franklin Village hangout, also helps rescue lost dogs and provides a nightly demonstration of her hula hoop skills.

Mary Preston has enough personality to take over an entire restaurant—which she does most nights when she hops up on a table at Birds and hula-hoops (some nights she can be found teaching the basics in the bar).

She’s a hands-on owner who offers to climb the teetering ladder to fix a fan blade, and speaks fluent Spanish to her staff. The menu of basic homestyle cooking isn’t going to impress foodies, but Preston is the first to say that Birds is not primarily about the food.

Preston and business partner Henry Olek started the restaurant back in 1994 when he was a writer and she was an actress and a couple of writers’ strikes prompted them to seek other ways to make a living.

Both lived in the Hollywood Hills and wanted the restaurant to be close by. They bought the space, which used to be a Chinese restaurant, and the rest is chicken and wine.

Hollywood Patch: How did you come up with the concept for Birds?

Mary Preston: I think necessity is the mother of invention. I didn’t want to hire a chef because I knew that chefs take a third of your profits right off the top.

So, I wanted something that leaned towards the healthy side of eating. Rotisserie chicken was all the rage at the time. I knew that the machine itself would cook the chicken.

I’m not a great cook, but I’m more into the bar side. I’m not a chef, so we decided to do down-home recipes. A lot of the recipes are my mother’s. The corn bread and the chicken pot pie and stuff like that.  We wanted something that was fast and affordable, but not fast food. It’s fast food with a liquor license. That’s what I call it.
See more at Hollywood Patch.

My other Hollywood Patch pieces:

Tour Guide Has a Hollywood Story of His Own

Sitting Down with an Upright Comedy Director

entertainment

University Link Magazine- December

Becca

This month, One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush talks about her efforts to help clean up the Gulf. She’s an LA native who is using her fame for good by speaking out on environmental and human rights issues. She also fights for animal rights!

We’ve also got a great interview with Olympian Evan Lysacek and Tron star Beau Garrett.

You can order a copy of the issue here.

entertainment, travel

Mazatlan, Mexico

Becca

I spent the past few days in Mazatlan, Mexico. It’s a beautiful town, with so much pride and culture. It’s extremely safe for tourists, and then welcome you with open arms. The views are breathtaking and the adventures are endless. Mazatlan has some of the best food I’ve ever had, especially the shrimp, tortilla soup and guacamole. Here are some photos. I’ll have more editorial soon.

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