It is May 18th 2010 and I finally made it to LA, after several trip cancellations over the past couple of months. It has been over 4 years since I’ ve been here. That other time, it was December. Back then, I was amazed at the blue skies and agreeable temperatures of the LA winter. I had lunch with my friend Carla at the beautiful Getty Museum, we went to Meditation gardens (a place where you might find a Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘ star once in a while, trying to get away from the maddening crowd…), we went to see my talented friend Scott Doherty perform in Hollywood, and I basically hanged out with some of my best friends in the world, including a day in Long Beach at the Cases’ (one of the most adorable and hospitable couples in the world).
Now, it’s a different deal. I am not here on vacation. I am here to finish the editing of RAUL, the film I made with John Case, Gonzalo Rocha, and a bunch of talented Uruguayans about a 75-year old athlete. Of course, I will try to take my time to enjoy and get to know the city (cities) better.
One thing that has struck me already is the dramatic climate change involved in driving from Long Beach to the Valley and vice versa. I had once seen this episode of Entourage, where Kevin Dillon stocks up on water bottles and towels because he (ironically) has to go to see a premiere of AQUAMAN in the Valley. He acts like he is entering the gates of hell, sweats like a pig, can’t breathe, etc. Now, for me, the valley was more like heaven. The skies were blue, the pool was warm and my friend Vero’s nieces were lovely, as I played with them in the water.
It was hard returning to the chill, dewey mornings of Long Beach after that. If it hadn’t been because I have the best hosts on the planet (my producer, his wife, and their awesome son) I would have been longing for those Valley afternoons all along.
But, as fate has it, I am happy ALL OVER LALALAND. This Long Beach garden I see from my working station is as green as Alaska in the summer, everyone at the Jewish community center where I work out in the mornings is lovely, my film looks like it’s gonna be a killer, and I already saw my first Jazz concert (by an awesome High School band) here. My friends tell me the place where it happened (an Italian restaurant) was like a white jazz club. I am looking forward to the black jazz clubs now. Though they say the best ones are in the Big Apple.
I am already planning a trip to my fave painter MAX ERNST’s house in Sedona, ARIZONA, so, stay tuned.
Yeah, it is true what they say: THE WEST IS THE BEST, and I wouldn’t change it for a thing.
