Posts Tagged ‘chicago’

As another beautiful Southern California summer begins, people throughout the country flock to the Los Angeles area to enjoy all that one of the top tourist destinations in the world has to offer.

From Disneyland to Hollywood to the Malibu coast, SoCal is known for fun in the sun! One of most underrated hotspots that the golden coast offers is a tiny speck of land sitting in the Pacific Ocean: Catalina.

Just 20 miles off the coast is a picturesque little island named Catalina, where over 500 Hollywood features, commercials and more have been filmed.

With it’s beautiful bay, soft beaches, cozy streets and open land visible from the moment you pull into Avalon Harbor, it is easy to see why Catalina captured the heart of Tinseltown over 100 years ago, and why even today, Hollywood’s biggest stars escape to the amazing sliver of paradise.

Since the early 1900s, the island has been a favorite place for Hollywood, and has stood in for Italy, Africa, Tahiti and many, many more locales. Along with being a stunning backdrop, Catalina has also been the playground for many of the Hollywood elite throughout the years, as a variety of stars ranging from Charlie Chaplain to Christopher Walken to Nicolas Cage have vacationed, and even former President Ronald Reagan was given his first ever acting gig while on the island covering the Chicago Cubs (who held their spring training there).

With its idyllic beaches, beautiful harbor, cute little curio shops and more, Avalon (the city that lies on Catalina Island) has much to offer for any visitor, be they an A-lister or a family of five.

Some of the world’s best snorkeling, deep sea fishing and hiking can be done on Catalina, even all on the same day should one want to. Surfing, and shopping are also excellent excursions, and checking out the history of the island at the Catalina Island Museum is a definite must for all those coming in to explore.

Catalina is accessible via cruise ship, helicopter or boat (via great little ferries leaving out of Long Beach, Marina del Rey or San Pedro harbors). Highly recommended things to do on the island are grabbing breakfast at Sally’s (the Spanish omelette is amazing!), renting a golf cart to explore and see the wild buffalo, zip-lining, snorkeling, taking a nice ride on a glass bottom submarine and (of course) some beach time!

With so much to offer, one day might not be enough, but planning ahead you can find reasonable rates at one of the many hotels or inns on Avalon.

All of us here at Positively Celebrity implore you to make a little detour on your next visit to the Los Angeles area and spend a day or two on the beautiful island of Catalina to see the sights!

And, as always, be sure to check back for all things celebrity from Richard Munassi right here at Positively Celebrity!

If you didn’t spend your weekend at Grant Park in Chicago, then you really, really missed out. Lollapalooza 2010 was hugely successful!

So successful, in fact, multiple sources are reporting this year’s attendance as the largest since the music festival made Chi-town its home in 2005.  240,000 music lovers invaded the windy city from August 6-8 and enjoyed some positively awesome performances.  So what exactly did you miss?

Concerts from fan favorites like MGMT…

…The Strokes

…and Green Day.

Devo proved that they can still “Whip It,”

and John Popper and Blues Traveler brought it back with “Hook.”

Living legend, Mavis Staples, was a treat for all the old souls…

…and  80’s band, X Japan,  rocked it out for all the heavy metal heads.

Bringing its awesomeness back to Illinois for the next eight years, Lollapalooza has signed a deal to stay in Chicago through 2018. So mark your 2011 calendars, give yourself an early Labor Day vacay, and plan to jam out at next year’s Lollapalooza!

Be sure to check out more great articles from Music Editor Erica Renee Davis right here at Positively Celebrity!

With “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” setting a box office record opening for a musical with $42 million last weekend, it doesn’t look like movie musicals are dead.

The all-time best movie musicals like “The Sound of Music,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Grease,” and “West Side Story,” thrived in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s; but, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any movies worth singing about lately. Read on for the best movie musicals to be made within the last decade.

5. Sweeney Todd (2007) Sure most musicals are uplifting, but Sweeney Todd does not lack in musical quality. Based on the Broadway musical, Tim Burton’s dark drama set in Victorian England about a murderous barber out to revenge the man who exiled him and stole away his wife and daughter boasts soaring, melodramatic songs sung by Johnny Depp whose singing is as good as his acting.

4. Walk the Line (2005) Not only does this biography of Johnny Cash tell a moving story, it has the music to match it. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon – as Johnny and June Cash – not only portray the country duo to a hilt; they perfectly capture their singing styles. All together this makes great storytelling and a great soundtrack. Witherspoon won an Oscar for Best Actress.

3. Once (2006) This low-budget film starring real life performers, rather than professional actors, wasn’t a hit at the box office, but the Academy noticed it. Earlier this year, Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard were awarded with Best Song with the titular “Once.” It’s a simple film that tells the love story of two characters who aren’t even given names through the songs they write, rehearse and record in the course of a week.

2. Moulin Rouge! (2001) Unlike “Once,” this movie musical is stylish, glitzy, and over-the-top, which is what makes it so much fun. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor play star-crossed lovers in 1899 Paris. Kidman is Satine, a prostitute at the underworld night club (the titular Moulin Rouge) and McGregor is the idealistic, romantic poet who sings beautifully heartbreaking songs to his beloved Satine in a film reminiscent of “Romeo & Juliet.”

1. Chicago (2002) One of a handful of movie musicals to win Best Picture, “Chicago” boasts an all-star cast of Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly and Queen Latifah; spectacular, jazzy songs and dance numbers, and an intricate, tantalizing story of love and murder set in 1920s Chicago. Zeta-Jones won Best Supporting Actress.