I celebrated Thanksgiving with Jon and Ivana and several of their European friends, two Italians and two Brits. Considering the fact that Ivana is from Italy also and Jon was born in Marin County, that made me the only true American there. It was a fine traditional feast with all the trimmings, prepared specially for the occasion by an Armenian caterer from Santa Monica.
Afterwards we went to see the movie "Unbreakable," which many of us found disappointing. Maybe it was all the hype, but I was expecting something a lot more engaging than that. By comparison, a week later I saw "Best In Show" and was thoroughly delighted. I wonder what would happen if they gave Christopher Guest $10 million up front plus an unlimited budget and two box office heavies to star. Would he put out a dud like "Unbreakable"? Maybe "Best in Show II: Planet of the Shih-Tzus."
As for me, I continue to devote myself to my craft purely for the sake of artistic integrity, untainted by the trappings of wealth, success, fame, encouragement, attention, charity or even pity. Someday my monastic persistence will pay off and my earnest efforts will be recognized for what they truly are: a desperate attempt to gain wealth, success, fame, encouragement, attention, charity and/or pity.
Meanwhile, at work, the case I have been working on for the past two years has come to an end: in short, we won. One of our motions for Summary Judgment was granted, meaning the Judge was able to decide the issue as a matter of law rather than fact. So a lot of pressure has been taken off me and I can now look forward to possibly taking some extended time off in the near future. I may want to travel a little. I hear you can get some good deals on flights to Rome...
One final comment on the Presidential Litigation: I tuned in to see the sincere and heartfelt concession speech of Al "Call the Cops, 'Cause I Wuz Robbed" Gore and the homespun and unrehearsed acceptance speech of George W. "My Dad's Cronies and Powerbrokers Can Whup Your Dad's Cronies and Powerbrokers" Bush the other night and frankly it was quite a letdown. I was really enjoying the dramatic ups and downs of the "Battle for the White House." It was kind of exciting to log on to MSN each day to see the latest twists and turns and read the latest briefs, decisions, polls and analyses. It was also quite an education, I was getting to the point where I could actually name most of the members of the Supreme Court. (Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, Doc, Bashful, Sneezy, Prancer and Vixen)
Anyway, after the speeches were over, I watched a rerun of "West Wing" in which C.J. uttered the strikingly timely line: "In a democracy, sometimes the other guy wins..." It made me feel a little better to know that even though we have to suffer through four years of George W. "the Babbling Baptist" Bush, at least we can still take comfort in the fact that we still have a good man like President Martin Sheen to look up to.
When all is said and done, we all live in Hollywood.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
Love, HWD
I turned 41 this month, and therefore now consider myself something of an elder statesman. As such, I feel it my patriotic duty to weigh in on some of the vital issues with which we, as Americans, are currently wrestling.
There are those who say that our beloved political system is a farce, a travesty, a multimedia interactive theater of the absurd. I myself have said those things. After a few beers I get pretty opinionated.
However, I believe if that if we examine our ongoing presidential crisis more closely we will find that it is a grand lesson in how surprisingly effective our endearingly cumbersome government with its myriad laws, arcane rules, Byzantine codes, nit-picking procedures and unfathomable electoral shenanigans, actually can be.
Here's two guys: One is a governor whose dad was president, vice president, head of the CIA, ambassador to China, ambassador to the UN and a war hero, and whose grandfather was a senator who co-founded a secret society called Skull and Bones that has covertly manipulated virtually every important historical event since WWI. The other guy is the friggin' vice president, has been for eight years, and before that he was a senator and so was his dad.
Both of these guys have all of the essential qualifications to be president: They are white males, they are at least six feet tall, they can smile and kiss ass at the same time and they have millions of dollars of corporate sponsored and professionally laundered funds at their disposal. They both waged impressive campaigns, strategically orchestrated by the finest political minds money can buy. They both offered well-crafted, easily digestible, virtually indistinguishable platforms covering all the issues the voters are supposed to care about. And they both did everything in their considerable power to persuade us to elect them president on November 7th, 2000.
But we didn't. There was a glitch in the system. A Florida state law that triggered an automatic recount, which in turn set off a chain of events that continues to unfold. Leaving us, thus far, without a winner.
And as far as I'm concerned, the system worked perfectly. Neither one of these guys did anything to capture the hearts of the voters. Neither one offered real change or even a half-baked attempt at change. Both just did what they thought they had to do to get elected. Both played the game as safely as possible. Both avoided risk. And nobody won.
Of course when the mail-in votes are counted we will probably end up with one or the other. But, whoever wins, I hope both candidates and their parties have learned an important lesson --
Don't count your dimpled chads before the state election commission, the secretary of state, the state supreme court, federal district court and a bipartisan committee selected at random from a pool of retired oil company executives and substitute teachers, determines that all state and local election codes have been observed and there is absolutely no chance whatsoever that anyone who voted in this past election will ever seriously consider passing within one thousand feet of an official polling place for as long as they walk on God's green earth.
Love, HWD
It's been two years since I moved to Los Angeles, time for another review.
It's been a year since I began my latest screenplay, BEFORE THE FLOOD, and I'm still tinkering with it. Lately I've been working on three songs that are part of the story, which is about a burned-out rock star who has been enlisted by a kind of 'guardian alien' to help her defend the human race against annihilation by the cosmic landlords she represents. Two of the songs form the musical bookends of the story and even though I only use a few of the lyrics in the script, I felt that I needed to work out the rest of the songs for the sake of completeness. The third song doesn't even appear in the script, it is only referred to by one of the characters, but I like the idea of having an actual song instead of just a title.
The other script I have spent the most time on this year is IN YOUR DREAMS. The process of getting that contract signed sealed and delivered has turned into a Hollywood version of 'Waiting for Godot'. The latest word is that one of the partners at the production company has been on location all summer and hasn't had a chance to review my suggested changes to the contract. Uh-huh.
My job has turned from a brainless temp-job into a full time stress-fest. The case I'm working on has been dragging on for over five years and is currently scheduled to go to trial next spring. I am swamped with paper, tasks and deadlines and constantly at the beck and call of three very busy lawyers. And yet, most of the time it doesn't seem to affect me at all, because I know that at any moment I could walk out the door and never look back. That's because, thanks to the steady paycheck, I have been able to pay of all my debts and even save up a few bucks on the side. The real problem with the job is that I am getting used to the steady paycheck and am ignoring my writing.
I think the best thing that has happened this year was when Jon and Ivana moved here. I have missed having Jon around for the past few years and it's good to have him back in the USA. But the added bonus is that I have gotten to know Ivana. From the first day I met her, I have felt like we are connected on a level that goes beyond language and friendship. I feel lucky to have such good friends so close by.
My mom is coming out for a visit this week. On Saturday we are going to the wedding of one of my best friends from way back in Louisville, Gary Kostalnick. His family moved out here some thirty years ago and it will be cool to see him get married.
Sometimes I get to feeling a little disconnected from the rest of the world and that's one of the reasons I began sending out these letters. I don't know if the internet really does have the power to reconnect people to one another, it's just a tool after all whose power is determined by those who use it. But, tools can be very helpful at times, especially the right tool at the right time. Thanks for helping to keep me feeling connected.
Hope you are all doing well.
Love, HWD
