by Scott Pape |April 30th 2009
G’day from LA.
I’m sitting at a cafe located on Hollywood Boulevard, just down the road from the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, where celebrities put their hands in wet cement, and stars names line the street.
First impressions?
It’s smelly, smaller than I imagined, and chock-full of tourists taking photos of out-of-work actors dressed up as movie stars. Kind of like a low-rent Gold Coast. Still, people from all over the world dream about making it here, and one day having their name etched on to a star on the pavement (that a homeless people will one day urinate on).
Nearly everyone I’ve met is an actor, or more correctly a barperson who is ‘between jobs’. Still, there’s an energy here that’s unmistakable. For all its troubles, what makes the US great is its capitalist, can-do culture.
People are hungry for success. They’re out to make it big. And, unlike in Australia, they don’t resent people who have got there ahead of them. As far as I can tell there’s no ‘tall poppy syndrome’. Most people I’ve spoken to see somebody else’s success as evidence that they too can achieve great things.
Justin is a thirtysomething actor I met in a Mexican restaurant. Over a few Coronas he told me that he’d had good roles in a number of independent movies, and some bit parts in movies that went straight to DVD.
He’s aware that making it in Hollywood is one big gamble. A bit part leads to another small part in a movie that becomes a hit and suddenly you’re on your way to becoming a superstar. Or so the theory goes.
While the likelihood of this happening to him is remote, it hasn’t stopped him trying.
Unlike many of his friends, who now have comfortable lives in comfortable towns, Justin is living his dream. Whether he makes it or not isn’t the point. ‘Just being in the thick of things, and giving it a shot is a big buzz in itself’, he says.
While the out-of-work actor is almost a cliché, perhaps they’re onto something. After all, they wake up most mornings with a burning desire to express themselves creatively.
It’s not comfortable, but it’s an adventure. I spent a little while discussing how Justin could get his money sorted so that he’d have a financial backstop just in case the million dollar deal never eventuates, and to ensure he can keep treading his own path.
CELEBRITY SPOTTING IN LA
I haven’t spotted a celebrity, but a bloke in a bar off Sunset Strip told me that a few years back Paris Hilton picked up a guy that was standing out the front of the place I’m staying in. Then again, anyone staying at any hotel in California could probably say that.
THIS WEEK:
Hired a convertible. Check.
Offered a lift to an Irish backpacker to keep me company as I make my way
through the desert. Check.
Bought a sat-nav system and directed it to Sin City. Check.
Getting closer to seeing Warren Buffett in the flesh? You better believe it.
Tread your own path!
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eole/2366027093/
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