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.)
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.
Love, Hollywood Dick
