First of all, I'm writing this on my new computer! It's an Emachine 400i with megagig hard-bytes and CB RAMs, cellulite processing and 56K moslems. I also got a 15" color monotone and a 720 dpw printer. I have interstate access and bvd drives as well as sound-guards and cereal proliferies. But enough techno babble.
Today marks my sixth month at my temp job, a fact I celebrated by asking for more money. (They want me to fill out a Raise Review Form first.) In just a few days, I will be celebrating another milestone: my first year in California. I've been thinking a lot about what I have accomplished so far, and while it doesn't amount to much, it feels like a solid start. My chief accomplishments have been 1) getting here 2) buying a car 3) finding an apartment 4) getting a job (to pay for the car and the apartment) 5) buying a computer and 6) buying scriptwriting software.
Now I know it seems as though most people might be able to accomplish these tasks in less than a year, but I am satisfied with my glacial progress. The longer I'm out here the more I realize that this isn't going to be a hit and run exercise and I need to prepare for the long haul. My most recent acquisition -- the scriptwriting software -- is the culmination of my year of preparation. It is the ultimate tool for the screenwriter, allowing me to sit down and write, rewrite, edit, rearrange, etc., without ever again having to worry about or hassle with format changes, pagination, headers and footers and all the little conventions of the screenplay form that have been giving me grief for the past five or ten years. It has already substantially increased my life expectancy. Plus it has this cool feature that actually reads your script out loud using various preprogrammed voices.
Meanwhile the rest of the world continues to whirl by, occasionally offering glimpses of what life is like outside my apartment. Mrs. Norman Green (nee Lauren Lazin) was in town for a visit, to pick up an Emmy or two and visit with her west coast friends and associates. I was lucky enough to join her and a group of successful TV producer types at the Jones cafe just down the Blvd. Lauren looked great as always and her friends were very nice. One of them turned out to be Peter Byck, formerly of Louisville, whose brother Dan went to school with my sister Susan and cousin Cathy briefly dated Dave Todd (who didn't?) and is somehow related to the Sperrys (who isn't?). [Speaking of the Sperrys -- Brian "Prince Hal" Nesin's girlfriend Allison used to baby-sit for Jon Sperry's nephews in the world's greatest apartment in the fabulous Majestic on CPW.]
Another married lady was in town recently, Mrs. Daddy-Bear Kiley-Osborn, formerly of New Canaan, who was visiting her father Tim in the Hollywood Hills along with her latest production, the young Casey Rowan Kiley-Osborn of Park Ridge NJ. I spent the evening with Susie, Casey, Tim, Tim Jr., Laura and the lovely and talented Tricia hanging out around the pool, checking out where Ringo and Babs used to live, looking down at the glittering lights below and watching Casey drool. Fortunately I was wearing cotton pants (they're absorbent). The amazing thing about those Kiley-Osborn kids is, you wouldn't think there could be another one as adorable as the first three, but sure enough, they've done it again. Then again, the parents are pretty adorable too.
By the way does anyone know where Dan Haar is? Let me know if you do. My last email to him got returned.
Happy Anniversary to Warren and Pattie Eastman!
Those are the highlights for this month. Don't forget to write back and let me know how you are all doing.
Last night was Little Clay's birthday and there was a party with plenty of barbecued steak for everyone. It wasn't as big as Blake's party, but the food was a little better. They always throw a good party out there, even when they haven't planned one. Take last week for example... To begin with, I had found this book in a used book store that was perfect for Little Clay because it was the history of the Andy Griffith show -- his favorite TV show. I bought it wondering if his birthday was coming up. Sure enough I got a call from Norma the next day inviting me to Little's party. What great timing, I already had a gift! I marked the date on my calender to be sure I wouldn't miss it.
The next night I went out to a club called The Jointe to see my friend Dimitri and his band Zumbi play trip-hop. I wasn't out that late but, apparently it was just enough to compromise my immune system because the next day I had a sore throat and that night a fever. As per the Temp Health Plan, I continued working full days while gobbling echinacea, vitamin C and aspirin. By mid week I was pretty out of it. Meanwhile, I spoke to my friend Jennifer Feraday and asked her if she wanted to come to Little's party. I wanted her to meet the kinfolk so she would feel more welcome in this alien environment (she's from New York.) She agreed to come and I focused my energy on getting well so that I would be up for the party.
On Saturday, I was finally able to sleep in all morning and by that afternoon I was feeling much better, but still a little foggy. I picked up Jennifer, she looked quite beautiful, and coached her on the way as to who would be there, how they were related and what they did. Like me, she is a little apprehensive when dealing with situations involving meeting strangers.
By the time we got to the house, she was fully briefed. We seemed to be the first ones there, as there were no other cars parked out front. I rang the bell and Little came to the door, a bit disheveled, unshaven and with a surprised look on his face. I wondered if it was a surprise party and everyone else was hiding somewhere. He invited us in and I noticed that there seemed to be no preparations for the big event, no decorations, no extra tables, no presents -- and no guests. Big Clay said "Rich, you should have called -- we're just about to eat!" I said "But what about the party?" They all laughed. Norma said, "the party is next week."
Fortunately I couldn't have picked a better time or place to screw up. We ended up having dinner with them and playing a couple of rounds of darts and having a great time. Jennifer got the chance to get to know them a little, more than she would have at the actual party, and they really enjoyed meeting her. I, meanwhile, kept trying to figure out what week it was and how I got there and how I need to get a better calendar.
This week's party was fun too, Jennifer couldn't make it, but everyone was asking about her and everyone got to hear the story of how I came to the party a week early. Little liked his Andy Griffith book, which he waited all week before opening. I'm sure I'll be hearing about this for a long time to come.
In other news: I made a list of all the people who now have my script, which is about a dozen. That includes a couple of new folks via Tricia Kiley whom I saw a few weeks ago and passed along a fresh copy of RED HERRINGS for her to convey to various producers that she keeps in contact with. I'm reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and hoping to get some insights into how to make things happen. One of the habits is LEARN HOW TO USE A CALENDAR.
Hope all is well with all of you. Please feel free to write back. There are some of you I haven't heard from in a while. I won't name any names. You know who you are.
I am sending out letters to everyone who has a copy of my script instead of phoning them this month, hoping to whet their appetites with a little taste of wholesome comic goodness. Here is the basic text: "Dear So and So, I have been here in Hollywood for over six months now, yet I am just as wide-eyed and innocent as the day I arrived. The sinful lure of obscene wealth has not tainted my rigorous devotion to my craft. Neither has the naked siren's call of unbridled erotic fulfillment swayed my focus from the task at hand. (So to speak.) The Good Lord willing this insufferable situation will soon change before I miss out on all the fun. Hope you are enjoying your summer. Sincerely, etc.
p.s. Enjoy my screenplay RED HERRINGS with your favorite beverage."
Meanwhile I have stumbled onto a few new contacts, one at work through one of the receptionists who knows a certain executive producer. Another is a guy I met recently at cousin Blake's birthday party. I spent most of the party talking with three lovely sheilas from New Zealand (kiwi birds), but fortunately little Clay dragged me away from them long enough to introduce me to an old family friend who is going to try his hand at producing, having worked for several years in post production (like Blake) and having developed a long list of industry contacts. He's going to call his company New Hollywood Productions. Has a nice ring, I think.
A couple of weeks ago I went out to Orange County to visit the Kostalnicks, close family friends from way back in the early Louisville days. They moved out here about thirty years ago, but my Mom has kept in touch with them. It's a little strange seeing a kid who was your best friend when you were eight years old who is now thirty eight. How'd he get so old? But for the most part it was a lot like it was thirty years ago, so much has changed but the basic feelings are still there.
I woke up from a dream the other night in which a group of people were being used as surrogate "imaginers" for those who had lost the ability to use thier own imaginations. It took place in the future where there was a technology that enabled their thoughts to be harvested and transferred into the others. In this (future) society, no one has need for original thought since everything is pre-selected and programmed to function without any confusing choices or risky decisions. Obviously, it is a Utopia very different from our present day chaos. I'm planning to turn it into a screenplay, if I can figure out a way to present the idea in an easily mareketable and commerically viable form that will be immediately grasped as something familiar but with a twist, that tells a universal story particularly suited to 15 - 35 year old test audiences.
I went to Venice beach the other day and was formally baptised in the Pacific Ocean. I guess I am officially a Californian now. Awesome!
