Making it in LA

Los Angeles is certianly one of the hardest cities to "make it" in.

It's very big, very spread out, and totally decentralized. The mass transit is poor, on it's way to being 'fair'. You will need a car to have a decent quality of life in LA.

LA is also very clicky. People here are very clicky and are not easy to warm up too. Most people spend a lot of time isolated in their cars, they don't interact with strangers as much as other cities. Unlike, say New York where most people travel packed together in subways, or walk on the streets side by side. LA people are not forced to interact with anyone they don't specifically want to, unless it's at places they specifically go to.


I think this is why Europeans (at least my European friends) don't really like LA that much. They don't understand it, and have trouble navigating it. They like SF so much better because you can stay anywhere and go anywhere in the city easily. Some Europeans I met in Europe said of their time in LA, that they never met any LA/CA natives. It takes a while to find your 'spots' or your mix in LA, because it is so spread out.


People love to bash LA, and I def come from the camp of, shut up or ship out. LA is awesome. If you don't like it, or can't handle it. Leave. One less car on the road slowing everything down.

Some of my friends always say how LA is dirty, and gross. Parts are, sure, but LA also has parts that are really amazing and really nice. It's just that they are harder to find than in most cities.

I love LA, it is actually a truly amazing city. Built on dreams, full of dreamers. A truly postmodern place, on the edge of Western Civilization.

2011

What will happen in Hollywood in 2011?

The rich will get richer, but the spec (and media biz) is changed; if you don't see that, it will be far harder to crack for you in 2011 than it was in 2010. It's not going to get simpler, or go back to the way it was, that is for certain...

The rules have changed, they players have changed and the game has changed. Selling "projects" -- don't get stuck on spec screenplays, that is so 'first 10' as I call the 2000-2010 decade -- or getting them made and distributed is actually getting easier. It's getting $100 million cash to make a movie that has gotten harder in the last 5 years. This could be changing.

In my mind, social media, "crowd sourcing" and other tech driven innovations are going to make raising capital a whole lot different; in some ways, for some people/projects, a whole lot easier.

Once the studio distribution model for +$100 million Features is figured out, -- 2010 brought big changes to it -- and the Major studios find a method that works, the cash and economy of the film biz will kick into gear. 2011 will likely give rise to distribution models that can work for more than just "known brands".

2009 & 2010 was the virtual implosion of the old studio model:

Theater > DVD > HBO > TV

I'm not going to try and map what I think the new model looks like, but obviously the INTERNET has shattered the old model for good.

2011 -- as I see it -- will be about rebuilding. Better, bigger, faster, global, and more efficient means of distribution. This will free up money and a "New Wave" of cinema will be born.

That is my predictions for 2011 and 2012.