Fun Facts

Nowadays our society is obsessed and so media based that many trends are actually created by the rich and famous, and there is no exception when it comes to travel. The conventional all inclusive holiday package, no longer holds the allure it once did, with many people now opting instead to pick vacations where they may get a chance to see a famous celebrity. Though many of these hot spots can be quite expensive, it seems many people are willing to pay the big bucks in order to maybe see one of their favorite stars. If you are looking to rub shoulders with the rich and famous or just want to see where they hang out here are a few destinations that might interest you.

-LAS VEGAS

Always a well known hot spot, Las Vegas attracts many of the rich and famous like Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz, to name but a few. It is a glamorous city with its bright lights and extravagant shows, and because the casinos never close, and are open all night long it is known as the “City that never sleeps”. It is a shopper’s paradise, and the different casino themes offer you a view of Paris, New York and even Egypt, and the local eateries like Wynn’s SW Steakhouse might give you a chance to see Tom Cruise who is a regular.

-MOROCCO

If visiting the golden sands of Morocco don’t be surprised how easy it is to slip into a different type of culture. Glistening coastlines are highlighted by the High Atlas Mountains and striped canyons. The buildings are from a different time and are sophisticated minarets with rugged mud-brick walls, and no matter whether you visit Morocco for the casinos and nightlife, or choose to trek across the hot desert on the back of a camel, the medieval cities will leave you breathless. Marrakech and Fez are two extremely popular cities that have many famous visitors like Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, who have been spotted there often.

-BERLIN

Though it has taken some time, Berlin is now known as one Europe’s liveliest cities. What was once a run down part of East Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg has now become one of the hippest districts, with fine restaurants and chic bars lining its historic streets, it has truly evolved into a major hot spot. Whether taking a leisurely stroll through Tiergarten (a large park in the center of the city) or stopping off at the Brandenburg Gate, you just may bump into Madonna, Mischa Barton or even Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes, who happened to make the movie Valkyrie at this location.

-PRAGUE

At the heart of Central Europe is the capitol of the Czech Republic, Prague. This city is truly stunning, has a fascinating history, and not only offers unbelievable country side for sight seers, but an amazing nightlife for partiers. The beautiful Vltava River runs through a city that is filled with manmade structures over a thousand years old. This wonderful city has been visited by such stars as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Kylie Minouge and Bono.

These are but a few hot spots visited by the rich and famous.

Alright I know you are just itching to here some more about Hollywood so here it is.

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If you think that “seeing is believing” then you may want to think again. Minimalist horror as a movie genre is selling hot in the entertainment industry. Remember those good old flicks of the old that used to scare you with their blood-curdling screams and the sudden appearance or disappearance of something? Remember how that used to jerk you in your seat and scare you? Well, minimalist horror doesn’t make use of any of those techniques. It is almost free of any gore and other scenes that you may associate with a horror movie. Then what makes it a horror movie?

These movies work on the method of implication. They don’t really show as much as they imply or hint at something. So you’d probably see a door squeaking and expect some strange figure to walk in, but nothing of that sort happens. By such methods, the tension in the mind of the viewer heightens to an extent that it becomes a cause of fear and this is what makes these movies scary.

Perhaps the best example of minimalist horror is The Blair Witch Project which was released back in 1999. If you’ve seen this movie you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t you may want to watch it. It is a faux-documentary and is shot in the first-person, with just three people in it.

You almost start living the scenes with the actors as they move along their journey, another movie that falls in this genre is Paranormal Activity. Released last week, this movie too does the trick in the way the other one did… simply makes you believe there is something out there even though it isn’t shown.

The popularity of these movies can also to a great extent be attributed to the way they’ve been marketed. Both of them have made extensive use of viral marketing, a form of marketing where the social networks are flooded with the information relating to the movie. In the case of The Blair Witch Project this marketing was so successful that the rumours spread by the marketing team, “three people were lost in the forest and this camera footage of theirs was found a year later”, were believed to be true especially by the people who lived around the area where this film was shot. A similar technique has been used by Paranormal Activity, made by Oren Peli, which has been doing the rounds around the world for two years now, and was finally bought over by Paramount’s DreamWorks to be released last week.

The beauty of the two movies is that they seem original and thus very much real and shot by the actual people in the movie. They have no huge fanfare of a big star cast or scenic locations or even anything out of the ordinary homes of ordinary people. They are in fact low budget movies and are shot with hand-held cameras or security cameras under natural or minimal artificial lightning. So you not only believe you see what you don’t but you also believe that all of it is true and has happened for real to the people in the movie. No wonder with their initial, low budget investments and the huge popularity after release, both these movies have gone on to gross high revenues, shattering records of profit to cost ratios at the box office.

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Well let us face it we live in a media centered world. People around the world are hooked on celebrity news and of course the juicy gossip! This is not a new phenomenon. The first celebrities were Gods of Greek and Roman Pantheons. During the Renaissance, artists took center stage. Our interest in the stars of Hollywood goes back to the early years around 1911. By the 40’s and 50’s magazine sales took off.  It is all about Hollywood and its stars! The inception of the internet we could find out all about stars and their lives. Then came reality television in the 90’s, which could make anyone a star. Why are we so up close and personal with people we have never even met! The paparazzi play an important role and have no shortage of footage. They are just people like us, or are they? There are three reasons for our obsessions:

1.Identity- This is where a person identifies with the star. They wish they could be that person.

2.Diversion- It gives depressed people something else to focus on, is pleasing, and gives them a lift.

3.Esteem Build up- It makes us feel better about our lives when we read the latest horrible news about the stars.

If you listen to the experts are lives are boring and mundane. Why wouldn’t we want to fantasize about living the life of our favorite stars? It all boils down to wanting something we cannot have but enjoying the fact that we can still be a part of it. We all want to imagine the cars, the houses, the riches. We all want to be rich and of course beautiful handsome and thin. We love looking at the stars and their clothes and makeup and latest fashion trends. They pull us into love, hate, relationships and gossip of course. It is a fact that Hollywood stars make millions from their fans so they love to see them. The tabloids, television and papers churn out false gossip about the stars everyday and people rush for the newsstands. Our obsession with Hollywood is not slowing down any time soon. As long as there are stars, there will be people who love them, hate them or want to be them!

It seems a certain actor and woman by a certain actor enthrall men. For instance, my husband thinks Angelina Jolie is gorgeous. I think he is blind but that is another issue. The more movies and paraphernalia that comes out the more people will buy it just to see those beloved stars. Can this turn into an obsession? Well for some it has. That is why there are star stalkers out there. However, for most people it is just harmless curiosity and fantasy. It is just a harmless diversion from our own lives, jobs, families and everyday responsibilities. We all wish we had the kind of wealth, beauty and intrigue that the stars have. However, since that will probably never happen we continue to be obsessed with movie stars.

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