Hollywood Walk of Fame: Is it sponsored or awarded?

Come June–July each year the Hollywood is abuzz with its new Hollywood Walk of Fame nominations, enlisted by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. This year the list has names from Chef Gordon Ramsey to actors Rami Malek, Demi Moore, Emily Blunt and of course, the first Indian actress Deepika Padukone; the declaration of the list has on one side garnered humongous support for the Piku star, and on the other hand raised questions about the nature of the honour.

Here’s taking a look at what the Hollywood Walk of Fame really comprises and what goes behind the scenes of these Hollywood Boulevard installations.

What do we know about the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce?

Extending from Hollywood Boulevard to La Brea and from Sunset to Yucca on Vine Street, the Hollywood Walk of Fame is an honour which has been bestowed to around 2700 celebrities over six, unchanging categories.

These categories are Television, Motion Pictures, Recording, Sports Entertainment, Radio and Live Performance. It is however interesting to note that anyone, including just a fan, can nominate a celebrity, with permission, of course, to be eligible for the honour.

A letter of agreement from the celebrity has to be attached to this application for it to be considered. The nomination has to be done via official forms available in the official website and requires the applicant to submit it along with a submission fee of $275. Moreover, an application, if selected, is valid for two years, within which the celebrity has to accept the honour.

Otherwise, details will have to be re-submitted for a second nomination. There are provisions of these terrazzo and brass to be awarded posthumously as well where the deceased celebrity can be nominated two years after their death.

Each celebrity has a two year window within which they would have to accept and schedule their Hollywood Walk of Fame installation ceremony. What is intriguing here is the fact that celebrities will have to sponsor or pay a sum of $85000 which is used for the ideation, creation, installation and regular maintenance of the Walk of Fame. This fee is also subject to change depending on the final decision of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The nominees cannot choose a location for their star as it is done by the Chamber and other local bodies keeping in mind logistical issues.

After revealing what goes on behind the Hollywood Walk of Fame one cannot wonder if other Indian actresses like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra had a hard miss in the nominations. Moreover, with a well-known chatter about Deepika’s PR team, netizens speculate if it was another move to bring her into positive spotlight, especially after the news of her exit from Spirit and Kalki 2 over an 8-hour working shift demand as she embraced motherhood.

Nevertheless, Deepika surely has made India proud and continues to bring the country and its essence with her on global platform. The actor has recently put up a story on her Instagram summing up her feeling in just one word – Gratitude. On the work front, she will be seen in Atlee’s next.

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