A feel of Beverly Hills’ luxury

BY GEORGE ORIDO In Los Angeles

Expectations in Hollywood are heavy, with the 86th edition of the Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, set for Sunday.

Today, at the Goldwin Meyer Auditorium on Wilshire Boulevard, clips of nominated documentaries will be screened, with discussions open to participants alongside experts.

And as the pre-Oscar activities continue to take shape, a tour of the Beverly Hills neighbourhood was a great eye-opener to the lifestyles of famed Tinsel Town stars.

Through a guided tour, we set out on the two-hour drive beginning with the ride to the famous Hollywood sign that has been used to market the Hollywood brand for years.

“It is the most pictured sign in the world,” proclaims our consummate storytelling guide Bob Druwing.

From the hilltops, one can clearly see the breathtaking length and depth of the City of Angeles as it spreads into the Pacific through Malibu.

After taking some vantage shots, we get back to the open van and take the undulating tour in the heart of Beverly Hills.

Beverly Hills is a world apart – from the Sh1.7 billion palatial Holmby Hills mansion of King of Pop  Michael Jackson, where he took his last breath on that fateful day in June 2009, to the house formerly owned by his mentor Elvis Presley a few metres away.

By the end of our tour, we have seen a display of opulence, the kind that leave you in no doubt that on this side of the hills, the entertainment industry is a huge money-maker – some of the houses are valued at Sh3 billion.

Thanks to Hollywood, California is the world’s sixth largest economy.

“The people here have invested huge sums of money in human resources, technology, music and innovation,” observes Humphrey Onyango, a Kenyan working and living in Hollywood.

Onyango, who came here 20 years ago after completing school at Kisumu Boys High School, reckons that Hollywood’s good showing has been catapulted by sheer commitment to excellence and pride in growing new ideas.

Onyango’s view is in tandem with general American beliefs in freedom of expression and individual effort to excellence.

Our guide had pointed out a petrol station along Sunset Boulevard where star Brad Pritt worked as an usher to get customers to come into a newly established eatery before making his break as an actor and producer.

While Kenya’s film sector is growing, lessons in investments and proper policy formulation cannot be ignored. The budget for 12 Years a Slave, for instance, was Sh1.7bn.

The Sh300 million recently given to the industry is a step in the right direction; still, the Government must build an ultra-modern film school, hopefully with a studio. The Hollywood High School that is many a celebrity’s alma mater emphasises self-esteem and self-efficacy in children.

What is a little alarming on our tour is that amid all this affluence and almost obscene display of wealth, there are a good number of homeless people in the Hollywood area and areas surrounding Beverly Hills.

Along the Hollywood Boulevard itself, Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax Avenue and Highland Avenue, hopeless beggars can be seen looking for that one dollar from passers-by.