Take a Hike, Superman!
Wed, June 2, 2010 It looks like the tradition of getting your picture taken with a guy in a dirty Spiderman costume during your vacation to Hollywood might be coming to an end. KTLA is reporting that the famous costumed (and definitely unlicensed) characters along the Hollywood Walk of Fame have been told to get lost, although that has not yet been confirmed by the LAPD.
These characters, who were the subject of the 2007 documentary Confessions of a Superhero, often include Batman, Superman, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Zorro, as well as many other assorted action heroes and cartoon stars. They can usually be found in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater, where they are available for photo ops, but since they obviously can't be paid for their work, they relied solely on tips.
Unfortunately this led to some characters getting aggressive with tourists who didn't tip. That led to complaints from tourists, and that led to the police enforcing a code regarding tips for service and operating without a business permit that got everyone booted off the street.
I've never been to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but I did once see a Dora the Explorer costume in Times Square that looked like Dora was seven days past watching that video from The Ring. I don't know if the costumes in LA were as scary as that, but it would be a shame if it was just a few bad costumed characters that ruined it for everyone else.
You can see the KTLA news report (including an interview with an upset Zorro) from an quiet Grauman's Chinese Theater entrance. Although it looks like MacGruber is playing there, so that might explain the silence too:
Reader Comments (1)
this sounds hilarious