History of Hollywood

The history of Hollywood is comprised of the remnants of multiple timelines, rearranged and collapsed together in the wake of the Big One. The inherently contradictory and anachronistic nature of such a combined history makes it hard to document accurately. For instance: certain historical figures tragically died young after living for over a century, at least one war ended before it actually started, and several decades seem to have disappeared entirely.

Hollywood uses its own calendar out of necessity, due to temporal irregularities such as the year 1954 occurring nine separate times across a thirty year span. Everything prior to the Big One is BBO (Before Big One), and everything after is AH (Anno Hollywood, or more informally, Age of Hollywood). Chronological aftershocks have been known to shift events and rewrite minor aspects of the timeline, requiring an official realignment of the calendar to ensure that the Big One is always situated at 0 AH.

Prehistory

The allure of Hollywood as a location for the film industry predates both the film industry and humanity, suggesting some sort of unknown attraction at work. Fossilized remains have been unearthed including clapperboards, basic trailers, and even fragments of scripts. However the lack of any language or concept of the three-act structure have made these impossible to understand by modern Hollywood standards. Multiple extinction events previously undocumented seem to be based solely around the Hollywood area, possibly from stunts gone wrong or intense contract disputes.

After the arrival of humanity, early civilizations in the region gradually became just as obsessed with film-making. Coupled with the inability to actually make films, many of these civilizations collapsed, leaving behind confusing artifacts and bizarre legacies that many later civilizations struggled to understand. It was not until the arrival of American settlers that humanity could live in the area without serious issues, thanks to the complete disinterest of the settlers in any civilization but their own.

Dawn of Hollywood

When film was finally invented around 100 BBO, the industry quickly took hold. By 95 BBO there were several competing studios based out of the city of Los Angeles, doing their best to film whatever might spark the public's interest. Among these earliest studios were future "Big Five" members Bernard Bros. and Sovereign Pictures, as well as smaller players like Harker Film Productions and S.O.S. Studios.

Discovery of the Gwanji Valley

Main article: Gwanji Valley

In 91 BBO, director and explorer Cooper Malone discovered a complex cave system south of Los Angeles. After three months he resurfaced, claiming to have found a hidden valley only reachable through the maze of subterranean tunnels.

With a number of investors intrigued by the possibilities, Malone managed to set off with a full expedition within six weeks of his return. Setting off with all the film gear they could carry, the expedition was well equipped to document the numerous prehistoric monsters that killed and ate most of them.

Malone was among the survivors, although now with slightly less fingers and significantly more scars than when he had started off. He named the place Gwanji Valley, supposedly after his great aunt, but later expeditions found the word carved repeatedly into the local rock by unknown hands (or claws), suggesting that Malone may have plagiarized the name.

After the Malone expedition, the route was widely publicized, leading to numerous movies being filmed there, and an even larger number of gruesome fatalities.

Toon Town appears

Main article: Toon Town

It is hard to pinpoint when toons first arrived in Hollywood, but it is widely accepted that it was around 89 BBO, the year when the first cartoon was released. Despite being just two minutes long, it was nevertheless a sensation.

Mightosaurus

Main article: Mightosaurus

First sighted in 83 BBO, the creature that came to be known as Mightosaurus was presumed to have left the Gwanji Valley by following the route worn by countless film crews. Certainly the gigantic predator had a keen sense of smell, leading it straight to Los Angeles where it rampaged through the city streets, wrecking small buildings and automobiles, and killing over twenty residents.

At the time theorized to have been a previously undiscovered variant of dinosaur, hence the name, it is now widely understood that Mightosaurus was in fact a juvenile kaiju, and Hollywood was lucky to have encountered it before it fully matured.

The Battle of Los Angeles

Main article: Battle of Los Angeles

Hollywood's growing eccentricities had become cause for alarm in the highest levels of government. In order to quell what was perceived as dangerous moral failings, over the span of several years, multiple laws were put in place to exert control: the Hays Code, the Cartoon Violence Act, and the Motion Picture Decency Act. Each one was more demanding than the last, at least in the eyes of the film studios.

In 68 BBO, three studios attempted an armed coup of the area, having hid the expenses for hiring and outfitting private militaries within fake movie budgets. Despite certain setbacks, they succeeded in taking control of key areas of the city, and forced the local authorities to rescind what the studios called the "anti-cinema" laws.

Even though the US military was brought in, the entrenched position of the studios made any kind of counter-offensive impossible. At a stalemate, the US government flew in several high-ranking negotiators with the promise of building a better Hollywood for everyone. The government had recognized that the localized chaos of Hollywood could never be stopped, but it could be harnessed.

The ensuing compromise, increasing government power in the region while also giving the major studios greater freedoms, led to what became known as the Golden Age of Hollywood.