Company Town

Even though L.A. has a diversified economy, and we don't work in the movie industry nor live in a typical "Hollywood" neighborhood, there is no escaping the fact that this is Company Town. TV and movie production may not be the largest industry in the region in terms of jobs or GDP, but it is the most palpable. It dominates the culture, with glitz and chutzpah.

What of the actors/actresses waitressing in every restaurant, the screenwriters locked onto their computer screens at the local cafés, the daily movie shoots, the production houses and visual effects studios popping up everywhere, producers discussing deals at the local car wash, the multiple art and film schools, the regular star sightings -- and even more regular tart sightings?

More telling is the rock star following members of a production crew will attract. Last night, we went to the American Cinematheque's Matrix Anniversary Marathon: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions played back to back, plus a Q&A = 8 hours that left us with aching bottoms + hair smelling like popcorn.

The Q&A panel included the 1st AD, editor, sound editor, and set designer. It was clear from the get go that the audience included hard core fans, who brought posters, T-shirts and other trivia hoping for an autograph. Each member of the panel got swarmed by groupies who knew everything about their individual work, and were anxious to get as close as possible to their Star -- like the 1st AD above.

Where else are crew members other than actors and directors known and treated as celebrities? One can reasonably say: only in L.A.
photo LA Frog