Location: 2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood

Unquestionably, if I had to pick one of my absolute favorite places in all of Los Angeles, it would be The Hollywood Bowl. The open sky, a perfect view of the Hollywood Sign right in front of you, and the unique vibe of “Bowl-goers” picnicking and hanging out on the grounds before the start of a live musical show. It’s an exciting place to be, and while the nearly 18,000 seat venue would be intimidating, I always found it to be one of the most intimate places you can possibly be in LA. There isn’t a bad seat in the house (and trust me, our seats were about as high up as you can go). I spent my second night in a row over the holiday weekend under the stars. This time, celebrating a century of movie music with Paramount Pictures.

{Making our way to the high, high (read: cheap) seats} 🙂

{“Bowlers” hanging out before the big show}

{View just as we arrived to the amphitheater}

Host, Jason Alexander; conductor, David Newman; and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, took us on a journey through the best musical scores of our time as Paramount Pictures turned 100 years old. An opening montage comprising 174 feature film clips from their library kicked-off the night. What a treat to look back over some of the most famous movie sequences scored with live orchestral music. After George Costanza Jason Alexander took the stage for a short opening monologue, the night took a turn to highlight those films that are particularly memorable not only in picture, but most importantly, in sound; touching every decade since the 1920’s. The great scenes from Sunset Boulevard, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Godfather Trilogy, Titanic, and Mission: Impossible (among others) projected on the big screen as the full orchestra below brought each frame and line of dialogue alive with the recognizable melody that made the film iconic.

It was a night filled with humor, music, film, and the best tuna on wheat Subway sandwich I’ve ever had (my personal happy point). What a wonderful way to celebrate Hollywood’s only remaining and oldest film studio. Happy Birthday Paramount Pictures! Thank you for your part in cultivating my love and life filled with cinema. Here’s to another 100 years of movie magic and making it to Mission: Impossible 33 (where yes, Tom Cruise will still be alive to star in the film, looking exactly the same, and doing his own stunt work).