Red Carpet, Hollywood, Hungarians

We know very little about the Hungarians who went to Hollywood, although we have a lot to be proud of. Tropical Magazine talked to the founder of the Hungarian Hollywood Council, Balázs Bokor. The once consul general in Los Angeles, last year he decided to found a civil organisation that pays homage to Hollywood’s legendary Hungarian stars.

The presidency of the seven-member council is assisted by the Oscar-winning animation film director, Ferenc Rófusz as vice president, Béla Bunyik, the founding director of the Los Angeles Film Festival and Gabor Csupó, an award-winning animation film director and there is also close co-operation with the local governments.

Ricse, Tolcsva. Two of the rural places the organisation visited, commemorating the film studios William Fox in Tolcsva and Adolph Zukor in Ricse. 20th Century Fox developed from the film-theatre empire of the Hungarian producer Vilmos Fuchs in the 1930s. Adolph Zukor was born into the family of a Jewish rural grocer and later became a pioneer in Hollywood film production when he founded Paramount Pictures. It is no chance that 24 film personalities of Hungarian origin have stars on the Hollywood boulevard in Los Angeles. Alongside Zukor and Fox, one of the greatest performers of the free and modern age also has a spot on the promenade. Harry Houdini was born in the 7th district of Pest under the name Erik Weisz. The Council members commemorated him on the 143rd anniversary of his birthday and those interested visited the Houdini House in Buda Castle.

Szombathely, the birthplace of Andor Kraszna-Krausz was not missed from the 25 stops of the tour either. The Focal Press publishing office was founded by a famous Hungarian photographer in 1938 and their most popular publication ‘The All-in-One Camera Book’, has sold more than one million copies.

According to Tropical Magazine, the Hollywood Council also focuses on the current excellent crop of Hungarians besides those of the past. Gábor Piroch, stunt master, made a separate short film for audiences. The audience, dumbfounded by heart stopping falls and tricks with cars and motorcycles, were really lost for words when they saw the stuntman’s picture with Arnold Scwarzernegger.

A four-day film festival was held in Szeged in memory of Vilmos Zsigmond, who received the golden statue for his camera work, and a creative camp, under the name of the famed cameraman, where young people were able to learn imaging and cutting skills, was recently held.

Photo: Tropical Magazine

Endre Hules, a film director from Los Angeles, talked about the mysteries of the profession of filmmaking and directing to young people who wanted to get to acquaint themselves with the profession first hand.

Photos: Tropical Magazine

Source: by Gabriella GYÖRGY/Tropical Magazine