Hollywood magic

Saturday, May. 15, 2004 @ 11:48 a.m.

Ahhh, Saturday morning. At the computer, sipping on my Bailey's infused coffee, listening to music coming out of French Fitch's computer in the other room... I love this. I wish everyday could be Saturday. That way, I can bum my life away and there'd be nothing wrong with it, 'cos... c'mon, it's Saturday!!

French Fitch and I watched "Calendar Girls" last night. Despite how it bombed at the American box office, I really liked it. It was funny throughout, and it really made a statement about friendship and love. And most of all, it was a true story, which makes it even more amazing. And that English accent... I think everything just sounds so posh and sophisticated when said with an English accent. That and French. Grrraarrrrr.

But anyway, I wasn't surprised when I found out late last night that "Calendar Girls" didn't do well at the American box office. Why? Because there weren't any violence, explosions, CG special effects, and there were no sex scenes with young nubile breasts jumping around. Never mind if it's a great story, it's not worth crap if there's none of the above elements. Ever noticed that Hollywood is basically all about special effects, violence, and sex? But that's just the way it goes, I guess.

Which reminds me of what a massive disappointment Hollywood was when I first moved to California many years ago. I swear, the entire city is a reflection of what it projects out to the entire world via movies: just a facade, a fake front. I used to think of Hollywood (thanks to the incredible magic of mass media) as glitzy, glamorous, posh, and simply "Wow". But when I really saw Hollywood for the first time, it was absolutely appalling. The "glitzy" parts were merely a block long, the exact place where they bring tourists. That's right in front of the Mann's Chinese Theater, where they glitz up the whole place with sparkling glittery sidewalks and stuff. Walk a block anyway from that, and you see what pretty much pervades the other 99% of Hollywood: slums. Ghettos. Dirty, full of homeless bums, and low-income housing. I'm not hating on the homeless, that's not my point here. It's just really amazing how they manage to perpetuate this teeny, tiny side of glamorous Hollywood to the entire world, to the point that it's what people expect the whole city to be. It's absolute genius.

And Los Angeles? You might think tall buildings and big huge city, like I first did. Wrong. The only place with tall buildings and the big-city feel is downtown, which is full of the more... uh, undesirable elements of society. Not where you want to travel alone after dark. The rest of Los Angeles is a huge collection of slums. There are the good areas that you hear of and see on TV, like Beverly Hills, but that's just about it. And Beverly Hills is its own city, so it's not Los Angeles at all. In fact, all the nicer areas are actually OUT of Los Angeles, like Venice, where I live. Beautiful contemporary, modern yuppie feel. A nice, cozy sanctuary away from all the L.A. fakeness. Good times.

So yeah, Los Angeles is so not what most people would expect, especially if they're not from the U.S. A macro-projection of "Hollywood Magic", I guess. And it really works. Suckered me into moving to southern California, that's for sure.

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Hollywood magic