Hi DaileyB, here are a few suggestions....

You're right of course about the likelihood of your daughter meeting any celebrities, but you can increase your odds of seeing some.

A guaranteed way, and something that would also be of interest to your son, is to go to a movie that's followed by a Q&A. It used to be just at industry screenings (screenings at the Directors Guild, Writers Guild, SAG, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, etc), that you'd find the stars and directors/writers/composers etc appear afterwards on panels for Q&As - who do so to lobby for award recognition. But it's become more and more ubiquitous that these folks are trotted out all over town to public movie theaters to do the same Q&As for the paying audience. (It's an industry town obviously, and award season is a major event here, and your year end visit will coincide with studios going into full pitch mode trying to get their pictures nominated.)

My suggestion is to check the LA Times when you're here for the movie listings, and you should see those that include a speaker panel. For instance, in this link for Arclight Cinemas, you'll see that there's a Q&A this Friday with the director of the film Wonderstruck: https://www.arclightcinemas.com/en/news/wonderstruck-qa
And yeah, your daughter wouldn't be stoked to see Todd Haynes most likely(!), but come December there should be a lot of the big movies playing with actors participating in the panels afterwards, and they should hopefully impress your daughter to see in person.

On the topic of attending movies during your stay, but not necessarily addressing your criteria, is the suggestion to get advanced tickets for the new Star Wars movie that opens in December (that is if your kids hadn't already seen it in Ohio before you leave for your trip!). https://www.landmarktheatres.com/los...-the-last-jedi

Another thought to increase your chances of seeing some celebrities is to have lunch where "they" are known to frequent. Here's The Hollywood Reporter's most recent Top 25 Power Lunch Spots 2017, compiled this past July.

A lot of these places would be too cost prohibitive for most family trips but there are some that are reasonable, if not economical.

My first two suggestions from that list linked above would also include a fun "Hollywood" atmosphere in that they're located in hotels steeped in history: The restaurant at the The Chateau Marmont You could go there for a small bite midday, hang out and explore the public spaces of the property after you eat. The second is the Beverly Hills Hotel and that article lists their famous Polo Lounge as the hot spot, which is quite expensive. But what I suggest is to check out their equally famous Fountain Coffee Room. It's where I take friends coming in from out of town because it's like stepping into the past. And likewise, once on the grounds you can make a little outting of it and explore the place. Just maybe your daughter will spot someone famous, but at the least just by going to either spot, you've experienced some "Hollywood" settings.

The next two suggestions from that list just may have you eye a celebrity but you're sure to have a good lunch. The first is super casual: Republique. There are big communal tables, as well other type of seating. The second is Mozza.

The problem with those two though is that they are not really adjacent to anything that would be within the theme of your visit. But this next suggestion is more multi-purpose. You'll see on that list is Thomas Keller's Bouchon, which is pricey. But on the groundfloor is his bakery with pretty outdoor seating which could be great if the sun's shining. It serves sandwiches and salads, as well as all the great baked goods: Bouchon Bakery And in this link you'll see the picture of what the informal bakery area looks like: https://www.thomaskeller.com/beverly...nfo-directions
But the great thing about this place, located on Canon in Beverly Hills, is that you can use one of BH's free 2 hour parking structures and then afterwards walk around the town, Rodeo, Beverly Drive etc. And all the Christmas decorations will be up, and that should be a nice "Hollywood" experience for your kids.

The last thought on where to eat where you may encounter some famous folk, but that also would be a nice LA destination for your trip in and of itself, is to go up PCH to the Malibu Farm Cafe at the end of the Malibu Pier. (That is if the weather is nice). There's also the Malibu Farm Restaurant at the beginning of the pier.

Moving on to your budding film maker of a son, unfortunately the new AMPAS museum won't be ready for your trip, but he might be interested to check out the Academy's library which is open to the public. You can give him the link and he could check it out for himself. Maybe there's something specific there that he'd be enthused to see: http://www.oscars.org/library

The Academy itself sometimes has screenings and events open to the public, but during your visit I don't think anything will be available. However I'll share the link in case someone else reading this might find it of use: http://www.oscars.org/events

A similar thought is that you could check out the Writers Guild Foundation Library. If your son is interested in this type of visit, this one is more "multipurpose" in that it's located catty-cornered to the historic Farmer's Market which is adjacent to the Grove. And the Grove will still be all decked out for Christmas. So a brief visit to the WGA Library, then lunch at Farmer's Market and a stroll around the Grove - that could be a fun itinerary.

The WGA Foundation also has seminars open to the public, here's the link:
https://www.wgfoundation.org/writing-seminars/
Like the Academy, I don't think they'll have anything around the time of your visit, but posting the link in case it's of use to someone else.

Lastly, if you "do" Beverly Hills, with lunch at Bouchon Bakery perhaps, as well as exploring Rodeo Dr, you could also take in the Paley Center for Media on Beverly Dr and Little Santa Monica. Like the links to the 2 libraries above, I'd share this link with your son, so he can decide if this is something of interest to him.

Hope some of this is of use. And sorry again for not taking the time to post this more concisely!