An independent approach

Hollywood was born in 2021 as an independent Linux distribution with one single goal: to produce a world-class desktop operating system that anybody can use. We do not focus on servers, we do not focus on mobile phones; our efforts are strictly for the modern desktop. As an independent distribution, Hollywood is in full control of the entire operating system stack from the Linux kernel down to the shell. This allows us a unique ability to tailor together the hundreds of components that make up a modern Linux system in a harmonious way unavailable on other Linux distributions. This method of development is more in line with FreeBSD and other commercial "all-inclusive" operating systems and does not position Hollywood with a reliance on the actions of an upstream distribution. We take a solid base of open-source software and tailor our custom Hollywood desktop environment to utilize the underlying components.

Less is more

Due to the fully integrated development model adopted by Hollywood, we have selected the best pieces of software availble to fill specific roles required to make a full operating system. Unlike other Linux distributions, Hollywood does not offer alternatives to the components we have chose. There are other distributions available to fill the role of the bazaar; Hollywood aims to provide only what is required to run modern Linux applications in Qt, GTK+, Electron & more.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow's hardware

Hollywood is designed specifically for 64-bit AMD, Intel and ARM systems. Most systems circa-2010 and later should be able to run the Hollywood operating system. We have set our requirements at a reasonable level of balance between preventing e-waste and reducing support burden. By only supporting 64-bit systems (with UEFI on AMD/Intel) we have reduced the amount of platforms we need to compile and test against. This allows the development team to focus efforts on the hardware & software needs for the majority of users. This also reduces the amount of expenses required of the development team; and allows for more potential people to join the efforts to produce Hollywood.

But it's not just us

While Hollywood is an independent Linux distribution; we did not create this alone. Hollywood is a patchwork quilt of work from many projects, including but not limited to:

• Adélie Linux for the Horizon Installer and some packages
• Alpine Linux for apk the base of our system package build scripts
• Arch Linux for serving as an excellent reference during the glibc transition
• cmst for serving as the basis of our connman network control applets
• KDE Plasma for some re-used code
• Linux Kernel Developers for our kernel
• Liri OS for more of Hollywood's code including eglfs and additional Wayland support
• LXQt for a substantial amount of Hollywood's code
• postmarketOS for the ApkQt package library
• qpdfview for the basis of the Popular viewer
• rEFInd for the bootloader

To everybody who has helped make this dream a reality, mentioned above or not, thank you!

Real. Originull. Software.

Hollywood is produced by Originull Software - a global free software collective headquartered in Southern California. We have four goals:

• To produce software usable by everybody.
• To be a collective welcoming of everybody.
• To produce software that respects everybody's digital freedom & right to privacy.
• To be open & transparent in this entire process.

We are always looking for volunteers to assist with our production! Originull needs people who can assist with not only writing code, but authoring documentation, producing audiovisual creative assets, bug triage and community engagement; if you experience in these areas or if you're looking to build more experience in these areas, then you should explore our community and inquire further.