The name of Hollywood may be synonymous with the movies, but the studios themselves moved out of Tinseltown long ago; the nitty-gritty business of actually making films goes on over the hills in otherwise hot and boring
Burbank. Studio tours
include a solid look inside
NBC
, 3000 W Alameda St, Burbank (Mon-Fri 9am-3pm; $7; tel 818/840-3537), the rather uninspired walk-through for
Paramount Studios
, 5555 Melrose Ave, Hollywood (Mon-Fri 9am-2pm; $15; tel 323/956-4552,
), and the technically oriented trek into
Warner Bros Studios
, 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; $33; tel 818/972-TOUR,
). The largest of the old backlots belongs to
Universal Studios
, whose four-hour tours (summer daily 8am-10pm; rest of year daily 9am-7pm; $43; tel 818/508-9600,
) are more like a trip around an amusement park, with high-tech rides and "evening spectaculars" often based on current movies. The shows are without exception cheesy, but for fans of explosions and pratfalls, they're an absolute must.
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