As a means by which to chronicle what is going on in the American cultural zeitgeist and how we cater to that, The Hollywood And Highland Character Count is an infrequently occurring sociological examination. Every few Fridays, we’ll share who the performers are that are clogging the Hollywood and Highland sidewalks and see how they change and shift in relationship to what is happening in the entertainment world. We’ll make predictions, keep count of who stays and goes, and log just what is happening at the best microcosm of what is on the world’s mind: Hollywood and Highland.

Today Hollywood and Highland was packed. Like, P A C K E D. It was so hard to maneuver and there seemed to actually be a lot of characters out. I guess Summer is in full swing as there was no shortage of shorts, short sleeves, tank tops, bubbies, and people who like to stand and stare. It was a successful trip, though!

The Character Count
• Bumblebee
• Rambo
• Storm Trooper
• Darth Vader
• Wolverine
• Dora The Explorer
• Buzz Lightyear
• Woody
• Tinkerbell
• Green Lantern
• Iron Man
• Black Widow
• Wonder Woman
• Ariel from The Little Mermaid
• Halo Guy
• Yoda
• Jack Sparrow

Recurring Characters
• Two Red Spidermans
• Two Black Spidermans
• Two Batmans
• Two and a half Catwomen

Real People
• Two Michael Jacksons

Friends
• Bumblebee and a Batman were showing off.
• Woody and Buzz because DUH.
• Wonder Woman and a Catwoman were friends.
• Iron Man and Black Widows were tag teaming.
• Wolverine and Batman were partners in cheap costumes.
• The Storm Trooper and Darth Vader because of course.

Etc.
• A group of street performers had the most attention.
• Again: the people from Iris are getting more and more elaborate costumes.
• The CD guys are back! Five total, though.
• Characters At Madame Tussaud: Shrek and…Leonardo Dicaprio? What?
• The $10 store people now include a woman on stilts.
• There was some electronics set up that not only blocked foot traffic but was not cool in general.
• There was some green screen set up in front of the Chinese Theatre doing the same thing.
• NO BOA CONSTRICTOR GUYS!!

Observations
• For the Catwomans, Batmans, and Spidermans, for every one there was a bad one. Literally: one had a good costume and the other had a broke ass shitty costume.
• Related: Wolverine had the cheapest costume. it was literally a reflector vest and a mask.
• Related related, one of the Black Spidermans and one of the Red Spidermans had HUGE bulges. Not that their junk was big but their costume fit terribly. I made a face like, “What that??” and power walked away.
• One of the Batmans had on platform shoes.
• There was a clown who dressed like he was on acid, AKA 1992 neons.
• The Michael Jackson who stands on the MJ star always looks like someone just beat him, like he’s this SUPER sensitive guy.
• We’re not sure if it was a pop-up store but the Sees Candy store shuttered.
• There weren’t a lot of Jonny Depps and there haven’t been in a while. Be that as it may, there was a tourist who looked EXACTLY like Jonny Depp in The Rum Diary.
• The half of a Catwoman? Well, she was a combination of Catwoman and Katy Perry. It was a mindfuck.
• There was a magician not doing magic. I was mad.
• The strangest was this guy who had on no shirt and painted his chest pink with a pink scalp mask on. I have no idea who he was and I’ve seen him before and thought he was Frankenberry. On close inspection, he is just a guy with his chest painted pink.

Awards
• Most Creative: Pink Guy? Was it performance art??
• Most Popular: Bumblebee and Batman, for sure.
• Best Duo: The portion of The Avengers that was Black Widow and Iron Man.
• Most Concerned For: Jonny Depps.
• Most NOT Missed: Snake Men.
• WTF: Pink Guy.

Surprised We Did Not See…
• That Brave girl! Still no her!!
• Ice Age people.
• Ted.
• Magic Mike? Sure, Magic Mike.
• Lizard Guy from Spiderman.
• I give up on seeing a Man In Black or Dark Shadows Jonny Depp. Also, Katniss.

Character Predictions And Questions Over Next Two Weeks
• More Batmans, I guess.
• Breaking Bad people?