To our English-speaking visitors: you might get lost in translation because this video was produced for the German-speaking market. Thank you for your understanding.
Video Editing & Content: Splash News, Los Angeles
Voice-Over & Translation: Dana

Can you imagine how difficult it is to find a good pizza in Los Angeles? You probably can’t. I never would have thought it would be so difficult, either. When it comes to a delicious pizza, you have no idea how spoiled people in German speaking countries are: due to the proximity to Italy, you can find great pizza places at every corner. Things look quite different over here: often, the pizzas are soggy, greasy, burned and taste like paper. It’s horrible.

I was happy as a pig in mud when I discovered the best pizza I have ever eaten in the United States. I kid you not. I found it in L.A.

Pizzeria Mozza is situated at the end of a famous shopping district, south of Hollywood: Melrose Boulevard. The pizza over there is so delicious that you just can’t have enough of it.
It is rare that a pizzeria is so crowded that you even have to wait for a place at the bar during weekdays. Here, people are usually quite concerned with their figure and prefer to eat sushi or a salad. At pizzeria Mozza, even stars like Christina Aguileira, Jake Gyllenhaal und Reese Witherspoon forget to count calories. To the right, you can see a piece “Mozza Pizza” with salami, mozzarella, Fresno chiles & tomato.”

So, if you ever happen to come across L.A. (or actually live here)–spare yourself the runaround for a good pizza place. Go to Melrose Boulevard and eat one of the pizzas at Mozza. You won’t get enough of it. Ever. This is a promise I can make to you and your waistline.
By the way: right around the corner, there is the restaurant Osteria Mozza. They serve Italian specialties (anything except pizza) and the food there is impeccable as well. But prepare to dig a bit deeper into your pockets: for a meal with two people with appetizers, prosecco and entree you will pay about $160. Please consider that, much to the contrary of countries in Europe, servers in the U.S. basically live off their tips. Therefore, about 20% of the bill is an appropriate tip.

Pizzeria Mozza, 6602 Melrose Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038; open daily from 12:00 am-12:00pm.

The new edition of “Alice in Wonderland” entices the audience with nifty 3-D effects and a superstar cast, among them Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway.
The trailer looks promising for those of us who love to use fantasy movies to transfer themselves into a different world. On top of it, I found my new favorite quote of all times:

“I need a pig here!!”

To our English-speaking visitors: you might get lost in translation because this video was produced for the German-speaking market. Thank you for your understanding.
Video Editing & Content: Splash News, Los Angeles
Voice-Over & Translation: Dana

Living in Berlin for almost ten years has sharpened my eye for street art. After all, Germany’s capitol is a goldmine for graffiti.
You will find street art in Los Angeles as well, although not quite as often as in Berlin.

Mr. Brainwash is one of the street artists who cover walls from L.A. to New York. The fascinating thing is that he is originally a film maker who wanted to do a documentary about graffiti artists. However, the whole thing inspired him so much that he took paint, brushes and stencils into his own hands. The rest is history. He created the artwork for Madonna’s album “Celebration”, which was released last year. Mr. Brainwash has made the step from a street artist to a renowned pop artist.
Above you can see one of his latest works from Hollywood, corner La Brea/Waring Ave: a mural of punk rock musician Sid Vicious (1957-1979).

Unfortunately there is a new cold front approaching for Western Europe. Gosh, how I remember these long winters in Berlin: gray, cold and depressing. And then there were the storms in spring.
You know, people in Germany shouldn’t complain. They should go to Chicago in January or February to experience what it really means to be cold. Come to think of it: Chicago has many things in common with Germany: the four seasons, the old architecture and the down-to-earthiness of its inhabitants.

Los Angeles is the contrary. Don’t ask me how the Angelenos do it, but they manage to be casual and sexy at the same time. That is my opinion. And you know what: I can prove it with fashion.
Let’s take Los Angeles: the photo of these two beauties was taken recently in Hancock Park, not far from Hollywood.

Forget the cigarette, it is actually very much frowned upon here in L.A….anyway, the shorter the skirt, the more fashionable the West Coast girl is. You should visit a club here when you get a chance. These looks will provide a man with some food for thought for quite a while.

And now take a look at this girl from Chicago: there is nothing to prove; people are what they are. Real. Unadulterated. But there is a zing to it: look at the shoes! It’s a style very similar to Berlin.

You know, I wouldn’t be able to say that I prefer the Chicago lifestyle over the L.A. lifestyle–or vice versa. I really like both. But when it comes to my place of residence, I clearly favor L.A. Anything else is just too cold.

A little consolation for people who have to live in the cold at this time: the singer Prince lives in freakin’ cold Minnesota. He says: “I like the cold. It makes all the bad people go away.”

Credits: L.A. photo by EvaLotta of HiStyley.com.
Chicago photo by Monica from themidwasteland.com.

UPDATE February 27th

I fell for it. I thought “a great director’s name is almost a guarantee for a great film.” It is not. Not in this case, at least. I left the cinema with the words “Oh well” on my lips.

To put it bluntly: the best scenes of this film went into the trailer. And all the scenes from the trailer were taken from the first ten minutes of the film. So, you are sitting there, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happens. The film remains boring. No real psychological twist, no action (although we wouldn’t even expect too much “action”–it’s not this genre, after all)–no feeling comes across.

If you want to experience goose pimples about imaginary scenes in mental institutions, watch “Twelve Monkeys” from Terry Gilliam again (1995). Gilliam also managed the bridge between reality and illusion without being confusing–much to the contrary of Scorcese.

If you haven’t watched “Shutter Island” yet, save yourself the money and watch it when it’s available in one of these DVD rental stores. If that.
I rather should have watched “Avatar” a second time. See: some old time directors don’t miss a beat in hitting the Zeitgeist, no matter how long they have been away from the film business. Some don’t. Need I say more?

I probably have messed up any future possibility of interviewing Mr. Martin Scorcese with this film review. Oh well.

What can I do when the emperor is naked? I am just the kid who calls it.

A mental hospital on a remote island. Only the worst cases get transferred there – those who have a criminal past. U.S. Deputy Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is given the task to find out about the disappearance of a patient – and discovers an evil government conspiracy.
According to DiCaprio, working on this film was a challenge because they explored what mental ill people had to go through back when psychiatric hospitals were still called ‘mental asylums.’

The film promises us some chills. Is it going to be great feature? I think we can expect that. After all, it’s a Scorcese film. In the United States, it’s going to be released February 19th.
Here, we have film- and interview excerpts!

To our English-speaking visitors: you might get lost in translation because this video was produced for the German-speaking market. Thank you for your understanding.
Video Editing & Content: Splash News, Los Angeles
Voice-Over & Translation: Dana