In Hollywood As In Life You Never Reach The Top

When Jim Carey was paid $20,000,000 for The Cable Guy, a record breaking salary for a movie star, John Travolta topped him by asking for $20,000,001 for movie Michael and got it. But there is always someone who makes more than you. John Travolta was invited to Robin William's birthday party in Northern California. He arrived there in his Lear Jet and was greeted by a cigar smoking Steven Spielberg, who had suggested he take Michael role in first place, and his wife Kate Capshaw.

Wild, Wild Westerns

In early days of Hollywood, for studios like Universal Westerns were easiest films to make. They required very few props and made use of wide-open spaces available in area. Even smallest studio, sometimes an empty space between two buildings known as a lot, could easily film outside. It was a cheap and effective way to involve audiences in wild chase scenes involving pure heroes like white clad Tom Mix going after dastardly villains. One time a theater was showing a Western, when film suddenly broke right at climatic scene. An emotional audience member yelled out," Hurry up and fix it before they get away!"

The master of Western was John Ford, who felt that genre was purest form of movie making. In 1956, he and John Wayne went to their regular spot Monument Valley in Utah to make powerful chase movie The Searchers. Location shooting allowed two old friends to relax by camping out, playing cards and avoiding contact with studio executives that Ford despised. The only problem was unpredictable Utah climate