Launched TUESDAY March 5, 2019 on www.zReportage.com Story #696: HOLLYWOODland - Glance skywards in many L.A. neighborhoods and you'll see sneakers hanging high on telephone wires, a sign of gang territory. In Hollywood, you get a pair of Judy Garland's Dorothy shoes from The Wizard of Oz. What is it that makes people completely surrender themselves to get a whiff of stardom? Hollywood, a neighborhood located in Los Angeles, is synonymous with the glamour, money and power of the entertainment industry, and as the show-business capital of the world, it is home to many famous TV and movie studios and record companies. At The Film Independent Spirit Awards, held each year on the beach in Santa Monica the day before the Oscars, it's open season for celebrity super fans. With relatively close proximity to the Hollywood elite and a more relaxed attitude, star chasers are in a-list heaven. Nothing illustrates this obsession more than autograph hunters during Oscar season, when fan pandemonium builds up to a fever pitch, and the relentless aggressive behavior is stalkeresque. Within the obsessive celebrity culture of Hollywood there seems to be a promise of a fairytale world that might just make everything else make sense. Or not. Just follow the yellow brick road to 'Hollywoodland' where stars are born and dreams come true, at least for a lucky few and fans keep chasing the stars for a little touch of gold dust.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

January 4, 2014 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Film Independent Spirit Awards 2014, Santa Monica. Obsessive fans compete for celebrities autographs at a Cadillac Escalade SUV during the annual Independent Spirit Awards, traditionally held the day before the Oscars on the beach in Santa Monica.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

October 1, 2011 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - A fan takes a photo with a Tom Cruise lookalike on Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

January 4, 2012 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Photographers at a movie premiere in Hollywood compete to get pictures of arriving stars.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

October 1, 2011 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - A pair of 'Dorothy shoes' made famous by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz flung upon a telephone wire on Fairfax Blvd., Los Angeles.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

February 23, 2013 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Film Independent Spirit Awards, Santa Monica. Obsessive fans compete for views and celebrities autographs during the annual Independent Spirit Awards, traditionally held the day before the Oscars on the beach in Santa Monica. A girl in a pink skirt stands dejectedly in the back without a view.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

January 4, 2014 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Film Independent Spirit Awards 2014, Santa Monica. Obsessive fans hold up signs and cameras behind a barricade as they compete for celebrities autographs during the annual Independent Spirit Awards, traditionally held the day before the Oscars on the beach in Santa Monica.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

January 4, 2012 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Fans at a movie premiere in Hollywood try to get celebrity autographs of arriving stars.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

January 4, 2014 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Film Independent Spirit Awards 2014, Santa Monica. The belongs of a fan including multiple posters of various films seeking autographs during the annual Independent Spirit Awards, traditionally held the day before the Oscars on the beach in Santa Monica.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

January 4, 2014 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Film Independent Spirit Awards 2019, Santa Monica. Obsessive fans hold their cell phones up to record the action during the annual Independent Spirit Awards, traditionally held the day before the Oscars on the beach in Santa Monica.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

October 1, 2011 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Fans observe the moving of a Marilyn Monroe statue on Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

February 24, 2013 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Aspiring actors watch the Oscars at a screening party in West Hollywood.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire

January 4, 2014 - Santa Monica, California, U.S - Film Independent Spirit Awards 2014, Santa Monica. Obsessive fans compete for celebrities autographs during the annual Independent Spirit Awards, traditionally held the day before the Oscars on the beach in Santa Monica.
© Robert Gallagher/ZUMA Wire