THE PHANTOM OF THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

Early Spanish California - Nopalera - 1769

     On his way to founding the Missions of Upper California, Father Junipero Serra arrives at the hacienda of Don Luis Moreno. During dinner, Father Serra presents Don Luis with a sealed document from King Charles III of Spain. The document: a land grant for 5000 acres of Nopalera for Don Luis' past service in His Majesty's army.
     As they chatted, Father Crespi asks Don Luis why his famous nephew, violinist, Fausto de Macoris, has not joined them. Don Luis explains that Fausto is a heathen, and no longer welcome at his table.
     Later, Don Luis takes his guests outside to watch the local Cahueng-na and Shoshone Indians perform their sacred ritual dances below in Big Ear Valley. As they watch, Fausto appears silhouetted in the full moon atop Coyote Rock playing screeching animal sounds and satanic melodies. Because of Fausto's constant bad behavior, and his debauchery with the Indian maidens, he is forced to leave Nopalera. However, the night before his departure, a gigantic earthquake rolls across Nopalera and Fausto is buried alive with his Guarneri violin in the wine cellar of the Moreno hacienda.  Don Luis builds a new hacienda on another hill overlooking Big Ear Valley.
     After Mexican Independence in 1928, Don Luis' land grant is divided into smaller rancheros, with Don Luis maintaining only 120 acres of his original land grant.
                                                                  
                                                                                                 1886
     Over one hundred years later and various owners later, land speculator, H.H. Wilcox, buys Nopalera. His friends, Lucky Baldwin and Griffith J. Griffith, tell him to change the name Nopalera to a more American name. Wilcox's wife, Daeida, suggests "Hollywood."
    
                                                                                                 1920
     In search of a venue for live performance for the arts, the Hollywood Arts Association acquires 120 acres of land that includes the old Moreno hacienda. The few remaining Indians around the Bowl lobby, and a law is passed that no music can be played in the Bowl between midnight and dawn, so as not to awaken the sleeping Indian spirits buried around the Bowl. The Hollywood Bowl is built and becomes the Mecca of the music world.
     In 1926, a priceless Guarneri violin is found under the Bowl during a digging and reconstruction project.

THE PRESENT

    Dude Dorsey and his heavy metal band have no place to rehearse for the upcoming Hollywood Bowl High School Competition. Desperate, Dude, an usher at the Bowl, senior at Hollywood High, and a computer whiz, devises an ingenious way to rehearse on the stage of the Bowl after midnight. He installs a freeze frame transformer into the security cameras so that the stage always looks empty. Dude and his band also install magnetic security transformers under all the security cars, which allows them to hear whenever one or more security cars approach the stage. When that occurs, Dude and the band quickly roll their instruments (all securely screwed onto dollies) into the storeroom next to the stage, where they slyly have gained access. However, the first night they rehearse, there is an earthquake -- actually, Fausto de Macoris has awakened because of the band's heavy metal music. Once awakened Fausto wanders the Bowl digging large holes in search of his violin.
    Bernie (Slander) Gander, editor of the Hollywood Blues tabloid, hears about the late night music and prints the headline: "The Phantom of the Hollywood Bowl."
    Furious at the bad press, Lawrence Chadwick Jr., Director of the Hollywood Bowl, hires P.I., Charlie Fistiano, aka Charlie Fist, to help Bowl security search for the mysterious music. Fist eventually discovers Dude and his band on the Bowl stage. At the same time, Fausto finds his violin in the Bowl Museum and takes it. Chadwick rehires Fist to help find the stolen violin.
    While Fist continues to search for the violin, Fausto is sighted at the West Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade and sleeping in front of Musicians Local 47 on Vine Street in Hollywood.
    Finally, on the night of the competition, Fausto appears atop the Bowl shell. 20,000 patrons flee as Fausto zooms throughout the Bowl igniting fires and causing chaos. Dude and Fausto fight a musical battle of decibels as police helicopters fly overhead. Will Fausto win, or will Dude send him back to his eternal sleep? Will Hollywood be saved…?