Thanksgiving was great. I flew to CT where I was met at the airport by Dan Haar, who is still wearing that same old "THC" hat he has had for years. We stopped at his exciting workplace and his lovely home with its brand new stoop and then met my sister Cindy at a truck stop off of I-84 for a late dinner. My sister doesn't usually hang around truck stops, but this was a special occasion.
I spent the next three days at Cindy's house enjoying the holiday with Annie, Angelo, Chris and Justine. Chris is playing Greenday songs on my old guitar, while Annie and Justine regaled us with wild tales of college dorm life. Not much has changed except they all have computers and pierced body parts. And Annie has a tattoo.
Angelo cooked a sumptuous feast for us and we were later joined by Stephan who was on his own, as Susan and Saile ("John") were hanging out with my folks in Orlando. Stephan drove me to the airport early the next morning and I was home by noon.
No sooner did I get back than I made reservations to return for Xmas.
The next weekend, Mitch Cohodes showed up from Tucson where he has been living for some time (but I don't know why.) Mitch drove in with several fancy chairs that he picked up at various tag sales and second hand shops. He sold or consigned the chairs at a couple of upscale furniture dealers down on Melrose Ave. not far from my place. Apparently Mitch is some kind of chair expert. Anyway it was great seeing him again, he hasn't changed much, except for a few gray hairs. We hung out a Barney's Beanery, flirting with the waitress and watching the Arizona game on ESPN. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) the waitress that I kissed on my birthday wasn't working that night.
Work has been very hectic lately and I've been finding it difficult to make time to work on my screenplay. I finally got a good chunk written last weekend and it's turning out to be pretty interesting and kind of funny.
I've shifted my Friday night run to Saturday morning as it is getting a little cool and quite dark in the evenings. On Saturdays I go up to Lake Hollywood where it is absolutely beautiful (and flat). Last weekend it was sunny and mild and I wore just a t-shirt and shorts. Hard to believe winter is almost here.
As far as Xmas is concerned, here are the facts:
I arrive at Bradley Int'l on Xmas day as do my parents, from there I assume we will go to Cindy's. On Tues the 28th Mom is seeing a Broadway show and the rest of us are going down to NYC to spend the day as well. Everyone is invited, bring the kids. We are still trying to come up with a plan that will allow for eating, shopping, sightseeing and of course, hanging out. That night I hope to take my Dad out to hear some Dixieland jazz if we can find some. Any suggestions are welcome.
I'll be heading back on Y2K day, assuming they still have air travel...
Response to the HOLLYWOOD DICK website has been lukewarm, with only one list of favorite movies received so far, from my cousin Randy, the rocket scientist. Am I to understand that it takes a rocket scientist to click on the highlighted text and type out a simple list of movies? I think not. I hope to post the results so that all may view them, but it sure would be cooler if there were some more results to post.
This may be the last newsletter I ever write, since the end of the world (as we know it) could be just around the corner. It's been a great year, though, and I think the next one will be even better.
Hope everyone is happy and well
Love, Hollywood Dick
Just got off the phone with my friend Amy who, along with her husband, is in the midst of creating a pilot for a sitcom. Coincidentally, I recently sent them a copy of one of my sitcom spec scripts to get their professional opinions on how I'm doing. Their opinion(s): the script is great, and I'm a good writer. Now the question is, if they should happen to sell their pilot and they start looking around for writers, will they put their money where their mouths are. Which when you think about it, is not a pleasant image at all.
Anyway, I really enjoy talking to Amy, because she is funny and smart and gets all my jokes.
Meanwhile I am in the midst of writing a new screenplay, the first to be written from scratch with my new fancy software. And it is a dream come true. The software makes the whole process so much less painful that the only problem now is that I have to stop writing to perform such distracting tasks as "eating," "attending to various bodily functions," (fortunately not all bodily functions require me to leave my computer), "earning a living" (the most annoying of all distractions), "exercise," and "sleep."
But it is a pleasure to take the night off for the purpose of executing this month's newsletter. One other recent event worth mentioning is my ascension into the realm of OLD FARTS. Without any fanfare or much ado, I turned forty two weeks ago. I celebrated the following Friday night at Barney's Beanery with Brian, where I became so enamored of our waitress (Donna) that after we paid our check I went up and kissed her. You can get away with stuff like that when your FORTY, because YOU HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE. Brian and I then staggered along Sunset Boulevard looking for Sharon Stone until we realized that the person who told us that Sharon Stone was hanging out on Sunset Boulevard was a LIAR.
I shall be spending next week in Woodbury CT with the hardy members of my family who chose not to flee to Florida for the holidays. I'm looking forward to seeing them, I can't believe it's been over a year.
I celebrated my first anniversary in SoCal by casting the I Ching. My first hexagram was #26 Heaven Within the Mountain, The Taming Power of the Great, and contained this interesting bit of ancient wisdom: "Not eating at home brings good fortune."
That very weekend I found myself at a barbecue hosted by Brian's girlfriend Allison [the same Allison who used to baby-sit for Jon Sperry's cousins back in NYC] Also at this barbecue were a couple named the Gershwins and Karen, a woman I met several parties ago and who works as a story editor at a production company. The Gershwins have recently pitched an idea for a sitcom, so I thought it prudent to send them one of my TV spec scripts. I also sent a script to Karen, my latest comedy, April Fool. Good fortune, I thought. But there's more.
I finally got hold of Peter Byck [the same Peter Byck who is somehow related to, who else: Jon Sperry] and we met for dinner (not at home). Peter told me of his father's plans to start a movie production company back home in Louisville. (This bit of news had already been leaked by Jane Halliday, who read it in the Courier Journal.) They are looking for a financial advisor type to help set up the business, so I recommended Bosworth Todd (Dave's daddy.) Turns out he is a long time pal and had already turned down the job. But, they were impressed with my connections. Peter gave me a script to read and I humbly offered some minor suggestions (I rewrote the whole opening scene.) Luckily, Peter liked my ideas and we are planning to meet again soon. [By the way, Peter used to work with Lauren Lazin and Chris Connelly at MTV, I met Chris when I was dating Sue Kennedy, as they grew up together in NYC, but that is a whole other story...] Anyway, more good fortune.
My second hexagram was #1 The Creative, Heaven, the primal force. I consider this a good hexagram for a screenwriter. I have recently come up with another script idea which I am pretty excited about. I am describing it as a retelling of the story of Sodom & Gomorra, but with aliens in L.A. Naturally it is a comedy. The I Ching also counseled, "in words of the past there lies a hidden treasure." So lately I've been reading the Bible and Aristotle's The Poetics, both downloaded from the Internet, of course.
But the real big news is that I have started running again. I stop off at Pan Pacific Park three times a week on my way home from work and do a few laps. It's been a little rough getting started, but tonight I actually felt good. That is not to say I won't be icing down my knees and ankles tonight, but the aches and pains are less bothersome after only three weeks.
Otherwise I've been working a lot and not writing very much. I'd like to take some time off and crank out this new script, but so long as the golden goose is laying, I'll keep collecting the eggs. I still have some debts to pay off. As Ringo Starr said: Time takes time.
As I was coming into work today I met my friend Dimitri, who moonlights as a trip-hop vocalist. I remarked on how I like the mornings better when the clouds roll in off the water and it's nice and cool. He said that's usually how it is here in the winter, then asked: "Is it winter?" It's hard to keep track of time here. They have some pumpkins and cornstalks in the lobby of our building to remind us that it's autumn (or is it winter?) But I can't help feeling that time is catching up with me. It probably has something to do with my next birthday.
I'll be in Connecticut the week of November 22-26 for some turkey and to check out my niece Annie's new tattoo. Crazy college kids! Hope everyone is doing well. Nice to hear from David Hamburger recently (he's playing guitar for a Broadway show). Send pictures so I can put them in my new screensaver -- jpegs or gifs work best. Time to go put ice on my aching joints.
Love, Hollywood D.
p.s. Congratulations to Ryan and Shannon. (They're engaged.)
