Updating that post from last week, there’s more information on those costumed characters hanging out on Hollywood Blvd.:
The sidewalk in front of the Chinese Theater may seem like a Tinseltown paradise where delighted visitors cavort with shabby versions of their favorite movie characters, posing for no-strings-attached pictures with Batmen and Charlie Chaplins before returning to measuring their extremities against the Chineseís world-famous concrete monuments (ìMommy, Tom Cruiseís hands are the same size as mine!î). But this is Hollywood, after all, and things are rarely as innocent as they appear. Concerned that many of these characters were shaking down tourists for tips, the LAPD called a Starving Superhero Summit to lay down the law, and when the super-behavior didnít improve, the cops went deep undercover…
We donít want to give the impression that all of the characters littering the Boulevard are violent and corrupt; somewhat predictably, there are twin Johnny Depps (in Capt. Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka flavors) who seem committed to keeping their vocation pure.
There’s an article about this (with a color photo of Elmo) on the front page of today’s WSJ.
I’m going to dress as Sean Bonner and go make me some cash! Anyone got a pair pf black dickies and a flannel shirt I can borrow?
The Jack Sparrow guy was at the casting call for Pirates of the Caribbean 3, even though it was primarily for Asian extras. He even said that was his real accent.
Joz, you should check the online version of the article… it now includes a reader-submitted photo of last Wednesday’s sting operation:
http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/culture/takedown-132829.php
Looks like the story was picked up in today’s USA Today online: http://usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2005-10-25-elmo-arrest_x.htm
And today MSN posted the AP story on their home page http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9813043/ — looks like the LAPD is serious about getting the story out!