Wow- this is some of the greatest insight I’ve heard to LA- from “The Anonymous Production Assistant” who has been blogging since Spring 2008.
Where are you from?
Anonymous is anonymous. I’m from everywhere and nowhere! But in all seriousness, what matters is that I’m not from LA. Anyone who’s not disillusioned to LA will find it different than anywhere else.
How long have you been in LA?
A while, and not long enough.
What was your major at college?
I went to Big Expensive Private Film School, like many of this generation of film participants.
What prompted your packing your things and “heading west”?
Anyone will tell you that LA is where the industry is. That’s a true statement. Despite all the outsourcing, the business still lies here. If you’re to make your contacts as a producer, writer, or editor, anyone creative basically, your chances definitely increase when you are in town to have in-person meetings with people, which make a much greater impact than emails.
What were your first impressions?
LA is super weird, but it’s also magical. To not find it hideously soulless and corporate, you really need to have a sense of humor and an eye for the things beyond the surface.
I stress the sense of humor part. If you can’t laugh at some plastic surgery-addicted bimbo on the arm of a hustler old enough to be her father, rather than think of the hubris of humanity, then, well, LA’s going to get to you.
You realize though the ridiculousness of day to day operations, as I talk about on the TAPA blog, that movies in the end are made by real people with human hands. A lot of love goes into each and every frame. You’ll find some of your greatest friends in this business and it’s impossible to deny that.
How did you get your first assistant job?
A lot of people email into the TAPA blog wondering this exact question and I discuss it at length. While there are a lot of advertised open positions for assistants, the job usually goes to a friend of a friend, someone personally recommended to the boss.
That’s what happened for me and to most other people I know. I’ve even gotten jobs by talking to random people at bars and parties. I tell you, it works! You never know who’s having a drink beside you.
Do you enjoy working on tv shows or movies better?
TV shows are like a regular job. They last a lot longer and the hours of the day stay pretty consistent. The work is consistent, everything is consistent. Some people actively search out TV for that exact reason (reality tv exempt).
Work on movies is for the hardy and adventurous. You’re constantly looking for the next gig, sometimes it lasts a few days and sometimes a few months. You can get flown all over the world if you have the right contacts. But the hours are unbearable, the stress is unbelievable, and it’s really hard to maintain any sort of personal life.
I’m still jostling between both. I love it when I get on a TV show because I know I’m good for a little while, but I make my best friends and have my most vivid experiences on features. I don’t know, it’s a “grass is greener” situation sometimes.
I’ve been an assistant too- and I remember when our show was cancelled, all the assistants dove for the office supplies- stocking car trunks with reams of paper. Tell everyone how much time has to be devoted to assisting versus the amount of personal time you get per week- and how much money you have left to eat with after a 60/80 hour week.
I know its unsatisfactory to say, but the amount of money you have left depends of the job. Sometimes what matters isn’t really your pay, since there’s a pretty standard rate accepted in the business, but whether you get paid at all!
If you work at a studio, you’re guaranteed a paycheck. Thank god! If you work independent… well, make sure with production when you get paid because some productions only pay deferred or will get you a check weeks, even months after the gig.
That’s the most frustrating thing about working indie, is waiting for a check that you can only cross your fingers won’t bounce. Either way, independent or studio, you won’t have a lot at the end of the day.
Average for a production assistant is $125/day. Not a lot. But you end up saving a lot when all your meals are paid for…but you might be working six days a week. I was on a studio project once that had people working overtime every day six days a week, so it can happen on any project on any budget. About taking supplies at the end of the show, I think anyone would do that, who doesn’t like free stuff?
What will make assisting worth it to you?
It’s the experiences and the friends you make. I joke that great friends are made through great trauma, and some shoots really are traumatic!
You really share something with those people afterwards. Also, the experiences make for some of the greatest cocktail conversation; while most people talk about what tie someone was wearing on casual friday, your friday was propelling SUV’s over a parking lot for some FX B-roll, or taping a live show in Paris for an ad campaign, or watching an Oscar nominated actress perform a monologue in an emotional scene.
Most of the time it’s not that exciting, but when it is, it’s quite memorable. You really have to crave these moments to stay invigorated, because the work is so hard.
Any anonymous on-set horror stories to share?
The benefit of being TAPA is telling these stories on the blog but… getting kicked out of a location is the worst no matter what shoot it’s on. A big production can bribe their way out, but I’ve been on a number of shoots where the crew just ends up on the sidewalk like an estranged boyfriend, equipment piled up and people sitting around not knowing what to do, the homeowner just yelling their head off at a defeated producer and the director holding back tears in the corner… the actors locked up in their own spaces no longer censoring their opinions as to how terrible this shoot is and what pay they sacrificed to be here… it’s so sad, you don’t even know.
And as a crew member, you just sit there, shuffling your feet, just hoping to get paid at the end of all this shit. When a shoot becomes a sinking ship, it’s just terrible.
Do you vote on The Brown List?
No. I’m not that cool.
If LA were say a significant other- describe the relationship/affair you have with this town.
Like the evil mistress. It’s the best sex ever, but she’s so manipulating you get brainwashed. And whenever you leave her she’s still in your head saying, “You can’t run from me, you know you love me, I’ll always be there!” And you’re like “Go away! I just want to have a normal life, driving off cliffs can be exhausting!”
Being female, has working for men or women been healthier?
To be honest, being a female working for a female can be really really difficult. This sounds horribly anti-feminist, but there’s some sort of taciturn competition between women in Hollywood, which is totally uncool!
Some powerful women can be horrifically mean. They see young start-ups as a threat. Some female producers can not have female assistants because they don’t get along with them. It’s really hard to win, as a woman.
You work for a guy and he doesn’t take you seriously, you work for a girl and she sees you as competition. I wish I could say that it was an even playing field, but there’s a reason you see so few women in Hollywood. I do have the controversial opinion that women in Hollywood are cruel to other women; we have to change that or we’ll never gain momentum.
You hear the stories about women sleeping their way to the top Hollywood, on the behind the camera side. You read the Hollywood Reporter and see in print ‘I used to want to be an actress, then I magically became a writer/producer’ type of quotes. Do you ever wonder if this is the standard? I’ve even heard it for female execs and male assistants too…
It’s not standard. In getting a simple job yes, sometimes the pretty one gets it first, but they get weeded out as the requirement for true talent and effort rises. It is very possible now to be powerful without the sex, but you definitely have to be mean. You have to be very mean.
Women in particular cannot be execs without being twice as cruel as their male counterparts. It’s as if in order to be high up there, they have to relinquish all sexuality entirely, make themselves completely asexual, so that men don’t see them that way and only see the businesswoman.
Maybe I’m being too harsh or controversial, but thats been my experience. You have to be so strong that people are too afraid of blackmailing you. Same goes for men too.
Passivity is seen as a damning weakness and will be preyed on. You want to speak strongly, have conviction, and have a lawyer at all times. Also, if the big men won’t let you play the game, you play it your own way. Some people will never see you equally until you prove yourself first, the classic catch-22, so you have to go out there and make your own company a success, say screw you to those that didn’t believe in you.
What will it take for you to feel like you’ve conquered this hill?
For me, it sounds corny but I just want to keep learning. I know that money and jobs will never come easy, but as long as I’m working in places where I can learn from my superiors and have different experiences and a positive work environment, I’ll be happy (until the day I make my own films, that is). Surprisingly, that’s a lot to ask for, a boss that’s smarter than you and a happy place to work.
Where else would you live if it weren’t LA?
Probably out of the country. Because national health care is awesome.
Find TAPA blogging here.
Rockin’ Robyn
Hot Mama in the Hizzy
What’s the latest craziness going on at Robynger International?
This week is relatively calm. The Death Set are not in town! I just added Gosteffects to my management roster. Off to a great start with his bootleg remix of Imogen Heap’s “Just For Now” hit #1 on Hype Machine popular chart & #1 Twitter Chart, as well has his cover of “House of God” which hit #1 on Hype Machine’s Twitter Chart. 2012 is off to a great start!
When I met you I didn’t think you were a LA native. What makes you a LA Woman?
Your intuitions were correct. I’m actually a Canadian or “frostback” as my dear Canadian friend calls us. Although, I do have my US citizenship now. I guess that makes me a traitor.
You wrangle a lot of all male musicians. What’s your secret? The ones I’ve known are always trying to hook up. It’s so difficult to get them out of the club and back onto the tour bus.
Patience and remaining the least intoxicated person in the “group”.
What are the stats on women in the music business on the management side?
I don’t know a lot of female managers. I can’t speak to hard core statistics. I do find people often automatically assume I’m an assistant or day manager, rather than the head of my own management company. I get it from men and woman alike. I can only deduce that’s because it is rare to find a female manager doing it on her own.
What’re your best sources for A&R now-a-days?
Word of mouth is always the best.
I remember when we made buttons. What slogan would you put on a button now that sums up LA to you?
That slogan was “you will die someday”. Which is actually pretty positive. Make each day count. Sum up LA - Here Comes The Sun.
What LA female musician sums up the city in your opinion?
That would have to be Yasmine Kittles of Tearist. Yasmine moved to LA several years ago to make music. Today she’s fully embedded in the LA Arts and Music scene, has a bunch of fans and is a big supporter of the music scene. She’s a bad ass lady!
What’s the latest evolution in female musicians? How have we gone from ones in all lace body suits in the 80s to the ones we have now?
In general terms - it’s gone from Goddess to Diva. The former graceful with inner beauty, the latter bitchy and contrived.
I’ve known you to live in three parts of town. What’s been your favorite?
Hands down the Hollywood Dell. The area just above Franklin and Vine. Two seconds away from crazies on Hollywood Blvd. It feels slightly secluded with nature at your doorstep.
Best LA date?
First official date with my bf - we both ordered a kale salad that wasn’t on the menu. I knew it was the beginning of something special.
Worst LA date?
The guy who kept insisting we have sex in the club bathroom. Then accused me of having sex with someone else in the bathroom!! I cut the date short. then as I was dropping him off, pointing to his “johnson” before getting out of the car, in one last attempt to get a bj.
Your most awesome LA moment ever?
Hard to pick one. The spontaneous new year’s day party a few years back, the first HARD fest NYE when my night took a very lovely turn, my little kitty cat FUR wandering into my backyard and subsequently my life. Lots of awesome moments and people in LA. This is definitely my home.
R.M. makes the RPM’s spin.
Lazerchampion, not taserchampion, k?
What can I say? Emily is cool as they come.
Tell us about the origins of Lazerchampion. Does this mean champion
of being lazy or champion of some sort of laser tag?
Lazerchampion is a nickname I was given while working at a post house
Dirty Robber, we ended up hiring another Emily onto the project and
keeping the “other” Emily aka: Wildcat, the editor straight from me
was getting complicated. So I became Lazerchampion and she became
Wildcat, the names stuck for both of us.
When did you get to LA and why’d you come here? and when did you feel
like you had “arrived” here?
I came to LA 5 years ago I had been working in advertising/post in NYC
for many years and really wanted a change of scene and discover myself
in a new city. Los Angeles is a difficult city at first. I feel like I
finally am at home here, it took a lot to happen personally and
professionally in order to feel that way.
Is being bi-coastal confusing?
For me, no it is not. I love so much about Los Angeles, I think it is
an underrated city and judged unfairly often by east coasters. NYC
always has a place in my heart and is where I grew up, it will always
be home.
Also being a New Yorker- are there things you think you will just
never understand about LA?
Yes, I think this obsession with fast food is so strange. I grew up
with hippie parents and we NEVER really ate fast food so I never crave
it, sure I will crave a burger but I am never thinking wow I can’t
wait to go to Carl’s Jr., no offense, barf.
You’re hanging onto your 917 area code. I let mine go and got a 310.
Think you’ll ever be ready?
Probably never, but if I bought a house I would get a local land-line number.
When did it dawn upon you that you were going to be a designer?
I have always been artistically inclined, I have been drawing, paint
and crafting since I was a child. Being a designer/art director was a
natural progression for me when searching out how to apply myself into
a career.
How has LA influenced the aesthetic tastes in your work?
I think car culture affects us all, there is this disconnect from
humanity. In such a large city as NYC people are always speaking of
the “energy” of the city of course there is energy when you have a lot
of people crammed into a tiny space. Here is Los Angeles there is
space there is so much quiet personal time.
Who are some of your favorite women designers?
Oh sheesh, I am going artists and designers very general, Tatiana
Atrocha, Tara McPherson, Seonna Hong, Stella McCartney, Camille Chu
and many other fabulous woman.
Have there been any LA based designers who you think are just the shit
right now?
The shit? Hmm No I cannot say that there is…Besides me. Ahem.
What’s the funnest project you’ve been part of?
A director made me edit a “famous toy that shall not be named” footage
he shot into a faux porno with terrible graphics, looking back that
was pretty funny.
You have a bunch of books as your Twitter background. Do you think
Fahrenheit 451 is going to happen? Reading anything good?
I am reading something awesome right now Falling For Me, its hysterical.
Fahrenheit 451, woah it’s getting heavy.
What part of town do you claim as your own?
Los Feliz/Silverlake is my jam.
If you could sum up LA in one woman- who would be your choice and why?
Holy Moly, I have no idea. I do not think I could nor do I think I want to!
What makes you a LA Woman?
Not completely sure. I would say the fact that I drive a car, I enjoy
the outdoors enough to make myself go for a hike beautiful Griffith
Park and just that I enjoy what this city does offer.
Your best LA moment yet?
Hiking in Griffith Park is wonderful to me. None the less my best
moment I think would be when I was driving around and I realized I
knew where I was going, I new this town enough to find my way around.
E tweets here.
Wendy S Keeping Her Faith
When you were growing up in Memphis, what were your impressions of Los Angeles?
My Mother and I left Memphis when I was 7 and I grew up in Georgia in the Buckhead/Atlanta area. I visited Los Angeles a lot when I was growing up. I knew Los Angeles as the place with the palm trees, Mickey Mouse and the Beach.
What do people in your home town think of you living all the way out here?
People in my hometown think I’m too far away from home and that I’m missing out…
What part of town do you like best and why?
I really love Topanga Canyon and the community. When my first daughter was a baby I used to drive around in there and just enjoy the silence and the beauty of the Canyon.
How did you get started with commercial acting?
I was at a BBQ with my family and a Casting Director asked me if we’d be interested in auditioning for a non-union Target commercial, we did, we booked it and I found an agent shortly thereafter and have been working ever since, through God’s Grace.
What’s been the funnest job you’ve been on?
The funniest job that I’ve ever been on is for a computer and software manufacturing company and the director was notorius for having a short temper, me being super GREEN…forgot that I was miked and was talking under my breath. He and the sound department got a good laugh…way to break the ice.
Do you define yourself as a LA woman?
Sure, I feel like a LA woman in the sense that I’m a traditionalist and a free spirit… I enjoy the diversity of L.A. and the opportunity to be in a place where so many people come to make their dreams come true and the people that support the process. Sometimes I don’t realize how much I’m influenced by L.A. culture until I go back to Atlanta or Memphis.
How is it raising two daughters in LA?
It has been GREAT raising two daughters in L.A! This city has great parks and a lot of free events for families to participate in and meet other families. Since so many people here are transients, and everyone is looking to find their own ”rock” in this town I’ve never felt out place or not welcome. I do feel that my Daughter’s have a different self image as opposed if they had grown up in the South and they’ve done well with their commercial career as well. I don’t know if they could’ve done that anyplace else.
Best LA moment ever?
My best L.A. moment ever was in ’98, and I was production coordinating for a kid’s television show and during a taping my co-workers asked me to go check on something in the audience. Well, when I go out there I see some of my high school teachers and a few girls from my graduating class and they were visiting the set with their Upward Bound Program. It was kind of my “aha moment” and I knew I was in the right place and on the right track. Talk about God sending you signs… woohoo!
Elise.a.betta Queen of The Desert
Always enamored by this gal. See why~
You have a great knack for alliteration – foxes and furs, poppies and pearls. Are you writing any other things?
Well thank you. Currently I am writing a dark monologue for a short film entitled Nite Virgo. The film follows two Virgos (not virgins) lost in their thoughts, far from reality and in an occult dream land.
Tell me more about your tribal beliefs and what draws you to arugula and electricity.
As for tribal beliefs, honestly not true, I prefer to refrain from political discussions, and at the time I edited my profile tribal seemed the furthest from what the masses would accept. Arugula, well I love Tapas, and arugula seems to be the garnish on every dish, and so delicious. Electricity—it’s in the air, I meant more in the spiritual sense, high frequency lightness. Positive vibes.
What are the best treasures you’ve found in the desert?
The desert has some of the best thrift stores. If you wander far enough there’s always mounds of waste in the deserted areas. Once I found a stream of teddy bears along a dirt road. I would drive along and there another would be. I believe altogether there were about 10 abandoned bears. I mainly collect bones and rocks, recently found a donkey jaw bone and the femur of a coyote. Quartz crystal and petrified wood as well.
You have one of the best instincts I’ve seen when it comes to photography and styling. What are your key influences?
Honestly this is difficult to say, I like so many different looks. I dress in a different decade nearly every week. I tend to post only one style on my blog though, and I would like to expand that. I do not read fashion magazines, and I hardly keep up with other bloggers. I have not purchased clothing from a retail store for almost a year (apart from some Levis I recently bought, and a bridesmaid dress for a wedding).
Mostly I go with my instinct, sometimes I will walk through the popular retailers, or browse through Nastygal.com or Lookbooks.nu and then go thrifting to find looks I liked.
For photography I love out of focus, diffused lighting, I prefer to shoot either in the desert or the forest. Currently I am inspired by Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, after reading Just Kids.
It’s great you and your gal friends work on projects together. What’s your next collaboration going to be?
After I finish editing Nite Virgo, I will be starting production on a music video for my boyfriends band Psychedelic Milk. And for photography, I would like to do a forest shoot with occult influences, dark and demure.
You’re excellent at finding magic and conveying it in images. Corny inquiry- but what’re your tips for women to do that in their every day existences?
Magic….hmmm this is something that is internal. Perhaps read Be Here Now.
Who would you name as your ultimate LA Woman (from anytime in history)?
Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. In reality, I hardly pay attention to famous people. I honestly am not decided on any one woman. All the women that come to mind were from either SF or NY.
How did you meet your boyfriend? Any other LA couples that you emulate?
My boyfriend, Brian, and I met in college. We were taking the same Life in the Cosmos class and he spotted me from afar and then after class one day he approached me and handed me a note that said ‘I like your vibes” and so on. We have been together almost ever since for almost a year.
As for emulating a specific couple, well no one in LA, but our ultimate couple match is when Camille Bidault-Waddington and Jarvis Cocker were together. She’s a stylist and he’s a musician.
What sets you apart from traditional concepts of the LA Woman?
I am actually not sure I am different from any traditional LA woman. Likely, I am distinctly modeled after the traditional LA woman. It is in my blood for now, but I am headed for SF or NY after I graduate college, so perhaps I will differ then.
What’s the most amazing LA moment you’ve had?
LA moment hmm. Eating tapas at the SLS Hotel, as pretentious as it is. Actually, I wrote an ethnography on Playboys in LA, and there is one night that I wrote of that would sum up this question. Perhaps another day.oOO I am inspired I may blog about it.
One night I remember entering a night club, and upon entry Madonna’s “Hollywood” came on, kinda perfect. And I love that little coffee shop up on Franklin that has a forest inside it.
Elisabeth tweets here.
The Doc Is In
Need your popular culture diagnosed? Got a PhD for you. She’s responsible for the books True Blood & Philosophy and Twilight & Philosophy, among others.
You = New York to Australia to LA – wow. Where are the craziest (in a good way) women?
I grew up in Boston so I’m biased but I’d have to say Sydney has the most amazing women—athletic, intellectual, creative, free-spirited, adventurous, fun, laid-back…it’s all good times Down Under. Sydney reminded me of Cali quite a bit, but the people in Sydney had natural beauty—not as fake- inside or out.
Tell me about your middle grade novel series. Are you encoding any fun messages in them?
The novels are about maritime adventures set in the 19th century; the female characters are all independent, smart and strong.
When did you develop an interest in vampire pop culture?
Vampires in pop culture have been an interest since I could turn the knobs on the small black and white television my parents had in the 70’s; I had a lot of time alone, and remember learning how to turn the television on. I might have been two-ish. Bela Lugosi’s Dracula was on. I related to the social judgement and subsequent isolation ”monsters” endured from “normal” humans.
What’s on your slate of book developments on topics relating to women’s studies?
I wrote a book about four years ago on women with cancer; my point, in part, was to refute the image of the absent mother so popular in films like Sleepless in Seattle, and of course, Disney…Bambi, need I say more??
As a survivor myself, I had felt the negative impact from the social perception of women with cancer- particularly mothers, and I wanted to prove that women were more than just a funeral scene and deserved better than to be replaced by a blonde-Meg-Ryan-type.
Of the ten or so women in the book, half are no longer physically here. Recently, the husband of an interviewee who died in 2009 contacted me, asking to see the chapter on his wife. He said he was in a good place and ready to read the chapter.
I put the project away about three years ago, when I lost my job, too overwhelmed by what had happened and how it happened to deal with the push necessary to get the book published.
Days before I was fired, this same interviewee died. She wasn’t the first, or last. And I didn’t fully understand why I had put the project away until I started to re-read the chapters at the request of the loved one, who’s raising a daughter alone and trying to navigate the dating world with a broken heart…even after three years.
One quote stood out. I’d asked her, as she pushed her way through her third diagnosis of ovarian cancer, now metastasized all over her liver and lungs, if she wanted to keep going with the interviews. She told me that it was more important than ever, because it would help someone else dealing with the disease—that person could learn something valuable from her experience…and by experience, she meant death.
I may revisit the project in 2012; it is important for women’s voices to be heard, especially those women whose voices have been silenced.
It’s why I write…because one day, my voice, too, will be silenced.
Who for you (in history) is the ultimate Angeleno woman?
Even though it may be cliche, Angelina Jolie is the ultimate LA woman; she grew up in LA, went to high school there, and started contributing to the business that made LA what it is today at a very young age.
She’s too skinny, drinks too much coffee, and smokes too many cigarettes- but she defies convention, goes with her gut, and shows tremendous compassion, not to mention incredible talent.
How has living in LA changed you? / What makes you a LA Woman?
I’m actually not a fan of LA; my first experience at LAX is to blame. But I love the Pacific coastline and the sunshine. Not sure it’s changed me much.
I’m back living in NY right now, working as a visiting lecturer at a small liberal arts college. I don’t think of myself as an “LA Woman”. I’m a bit harder to define than that.
Do young women entering adulthood in LA need a bucket of cold water over their heads or do you think they’re on the right track to being assets to our sex/gender?
The hard part for younger women living in LA has to be the dichotomy between the high materialism and the exaggerated focus on physicality with “real” life- could mess with anybody’s head. Even mine! I almost tattooed a phoenix on my ass…and botoxed my brow. Luckily, I came to my collective senses. But I was like 37… how is a 16-year old supposed to have the fortitude to avoid those temptations?
Every woman is an asset to our gender…at least, every woman has the potential to be. That’s the beauty of the female brain: we evolve.
LA is like the world’s pop culture machine. Do you think we’re putting out realistic images of how we really are in Los Angeles?
Interesting question. The film, Valentine’s Day comes to mind. I thought it wasn’t too off from “real” LA life- you know, where your neighbor is like a 70-year old woman who had a brief stint in some major Hollywood hits from the 60’s, and the guy who back-ends your car on the expressway is some mega athlete or star.
I also think of The Muse…fun film, particularly because LA is just like that: kind of fantastical, where anything seems possible. In general though, no, the simulacra’s its own best evidence. The desert of the real is definitely not located in LA, or the films that portray it.
What are the best pop culture out-puts for women now-a-days? Positive fictional female role models?
Pop culture outlets for the gals? Well, they’re cracking the comedy circuit, a bit. Chelsea Handler, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Whitney! (not that I like her show at all…it misses the mark, but it’s a good start)
There’s always ups and downs though. We never really make much headway. Though the Hurt Locker was a nice first. Anything is always possible in the movies…I’d say that’s the garden of pop culture Eden for all my female peeps.
Bite into the apples, girls!
What’s been your best LA moment so far?
The ocean. Always a good moment.
Doc H tweets here.
Dee Talks Dirty To Me
Step aside Dee Dee Ramone, there’s a Dee more rawkin’ than thee.
May I present “Dirty Dee”.
How did you get word “Dirty” in front of “Dirty-Dee”?
Originally stemmed from my dad when Michael Jackson’s song, ‘Dirty Diana’ came out. He used to sing my name like he was MJ. Very creepy now that I think about it. Anyway, throughout the years people have called me that so it was a no-brainer when thinking of a twitter handle.
How long have you been in LA? What part of town do you claim as your turf?
I’ve been here since I was 10yrs old. Moved from Atlanta to Alta Loma, a small town in the Inland Empire. I went to college in Long Beach & after graduation moved to the Westside, been here 10 years & I love it. However, I usually go out in Hollywood. The people dress better & smell nicer.
When you first got here, what were your WFT moments? Do they still happen to you?
I was so young I barely remember what it was like. I did lots of drugs between then & now so my memory is sketchy.
What do people where you’re from think about Angelenos?
My entire family moved here around the same time. Nobody is left in Georgia. I only have one friend I have kept in touch with & she can’t wait to come for a visit. She thinks we are all weed-smoking, tan, & liberal.
How did you imagine LA would be? Did that vary a lot when you became a resident?
I had no clue about la as a child, had never heard of it so I didn’t have any expectations. I will say that tv & movies do glorify the hell out of this place. There is so much douche-bagery going on it’s unreal.
What is the weirdest thing that’s been requested from your line of work?
I work in a nightclub so I’ve been asked all sorts of inappropriate things; people have offered me money to go home with them, both guys & girls. They always ask me if I know where to get them some drugs, they also ask if I want to be in their movie or music video or they offer me jobs in their rinky-dink offices.
Do you define yourself as a LA Woman? Why?
I am 100% a LA woman. I am vain about my appearance, I have a sick obsession with shoes, I love glitz & glamour, yet I am also a total beach bum. And to solidify my Angeleno authenticity, I also have my weed-card.
Worst date in LA?
There’s been so many I have contemplated writing a book. One time I went out with a guy who took me to a Russian spa where the masseuse tried to tell me it was a Russian custom to get a massage fully nude, without a sheet covering you.
I told him to fuck off and I walked out. Met my date downstairs in the cafe where he then brought out a bottle of vodka & said it was customary to drink shots after. I highly doubt that but who am I to turn down a drink?
He then drove me all the way to Malibu, in my sweatsuit & we had dinner at Nobu where he kept saying hi to all the celebrities, Gabrielle Reece, Laird Hamilton & Cindy Crawford. He kept using their names & saying hello, like they were all friends. It was mortifying. It was clear that they didn’t know him but were being nice. And he thought I was impressed by his famous friends. That was our first & last date.
Best date in LA?
I took someone out on a date and it was the best date to date for both me & him. I charted a sailboat for the two of us & 10 of his closest friends. I got a case of champagne & 3 cases of beer & some munchies from Gelson’s and we went up the coast to Malibu & back to the marina at sunset. It was something new for all of us & gave everyone a chance to connect without distraction. Everyone still talks about that & it happened over 6 years ago.
Best LA moment so far?
There’s been so many. I have a very blessed life. In 2000-2002 I went to all of the Lakers playoff games and the championship games with the owner, Dr. Jerry Buss. Sitting in the owner’s suite, I met a ton of celebrities. I was finishing my last year of college and I felt like the coolest girl in the world.
I’ve flown private to Vegas & Mexico and thought it was amazing. I couldn’t help but be cheesy and take photos.
I work in a club so I always meet celebrities so I’m kinda jaded by that. But I sometimes do step back & appreciate the perks of my job. I have gotten close to & talked to lots of celebs that most people would kill to.
I will say, nothing beats the feeling I get as I drive to Malibu with the windows rolled down, music turned up & seeing the Pacific on my left while the sun shines down on me. That is hands down the best LA moment.
Dianna tweets here.
SoCal, oh how. Epitome of what you think of when you think of LA, right? Took this in Laguna Beach. And visions of Angelenos danced through their heads…
Move over “adorkable”. Adorable is for pets and small children. Bapable is more like it. Grown women are beautiful and capable.
40 years ago The Doors came out with the song “LA Woman”. David Lee Roth’s crooned about “California Girls”. Lou Reed’s talked about some wimmin in “Walk on The Wild Side”. Wait, that was Miami, F-LA and they were all in New York. Well…
LA Women have the gift for gab. Everyone knows that we don’t walk. We drive to trail head parking lots where we leave our cars and then hike. We’re not all out to constantly sleaze the day. We’re just birds who squawk our own squawks.
I got inspired by interviewing some extraordinary fresh young women in other cities with my writing partner in T&A Do LA - Gaby Dunn in New York City and Claire Murray and Lindsey Jade Cornish in London. Therefore, I’ve decided to talk to women where I live- The Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.
Seeing the outside view and opinions of women in LA made me think. Before I moved here, I thought everyone was blonde and bronze (not that’s there anything at all wrong with these two) and air-headed and shallow- that is still the going opinion- plastic. Certain television shows have perpetuated this image of complete cattiness and vapidness.
I’m lucky I have great females (and males) in my urban support system, though I have stayed away from packs of women out here. Out of my two female friends I’ve had for the last two decades- one lives in Cambridge, England and one in Silverlake in Los Angeles. I’m glad I have great women to whom I credit my attitude and my brain- my mother, Marjorie Thompson in London and Susan Sidel in New York City. In LA I’ve observed a group of four, where each week three of them got together and talked shit about one of them and ostracized her, except then all stayed “friends”. Next week, rotate. I believe this is called mobbing and have written about it (then anonymously) happening in work and academic environments for UCLA’s Fem. This is why I don’t see my own Sex and The City quartet in a town like LA.
There are a lot of odd scenarios out there between LA Women- good and bad. I’ve had to listen to LA Women whose main goals were dating someone in Maroon 5 or on The WB. I’ve been cornered by women who have talked my ear off about themselves and never even asked me where I’m from. I’ve had another woman refuse to acknowledge my living and breathing because people said we looked very similar. I’ve had another woman buy a round of drinks for a table for everyone except me because I was dating her ex. Then again, I became great friends with a woman, where we both had once dated the same guy. Living in the shadow of Hollywood somehow affects people. A lot of the stuff I just described is common place. There are strong stereotypes about the superficiality and insecurity of LA Women, but I am out to disprove that this is not all of us.
I’m seeking to show there are women here who are contrary to the popular belief. I just presented a paper in November 2011 at The University of London’s Center for Cultural Memory about Women/Visual Rhetoric on Ageism, Sexuality and Conformity. I have a chapter coming out January 2012 on Asian American women and the Internet in a book about race, gender and media from The University of Illinois, Chicago. It does seem still that all the women who get praised for being literate and cultural are mostly East Coasters/foreign and exotic. However, I looked around me physically and digitally and saw that my friends and my buddies on Facebook and Twitter are the antithesis of the predominant concept of The LA Woman.
This blog is in hopes they may be able to help me figure out why I’m here - what’s drawn them in and kept them in Los Angeles. I was a Londoner and a New Yorker before I was twenty-two. I’ve moved away from LA, seeking the quieter life, only to come back. I have dreams about moving back to my other two cities- just haven’t had the opportunities to do so.
Like for many, when I moved to LA in my twenties, it was complete culture shock. One of my stories is that I was filling up my gas tank on my standard white compact car for work at the corner of Hollywood and Vermont when I saw a hot pink Corvette pull up across from me at 8:00AM. A bleached blonde in a tight mini-dress peeked out, then opened the door and barfed not far from my feet.
I left New York City after 9/11 because I was a pansy. I had the chance to come to LA thinking I’d stay for six months, wait for the mood to lift and go back to The Big Apple for good. That never really happened, besides considerable stints in NYC.
I’m slowly admitting LA is my home base, among other things to myself, and want to share with you some women that the big magazines and websites may have missed.
I also want to explore notions of women’s relationships with and against one another and see how we can work on this. I think women should be more aware how we treat ourselves and each other.
xT
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P.S. Here’s a funny, satirical bit by Stacey Grenrock Woods called How to Pick Up a Local Lady in LA Mag. Yay or nay? Been meaning to write a response piece.
