LA and the Demise of Hollywood

There’s a lot I could say on this topic, and believe me I have a lot of thoughts about it, but Los Angeles and to a greater extent, Hollywood is not the place to be anymore. You could point to countless events: people moving out in droves due to taxes, lowering quality of life, dumb politics changing the landscape of the city with homeless encampments popping up all over, criminals being given a slap on the wrist and rising costs for law abiding citizens. It’s like the people who run these places have utter contempt for the populace. New York’s not much different and worse in a lot of ways.

For the burgeoning artist who wants to work in film though, even the incentive of Hollywood being there, is no longer enough. Streaming is failing(Disney is hemorraghing money with their platform), mass layoffs occurring at many of the major studios (I think Paramount is looking to sell itself), producers focusing on identity and agenda over storytelling, and the demise of the “Hollywood” celebrity have completely changed the landscape. Things have drastically changed.

Not to mention the rise of disruptive technology like A.I. Of course there’s ChatGPT, the software that absolutely terrifies the writers in Hollywood.

But have you seen Sora?

Amazing? Scary? Yes. Inevitable? Also, yes.

Sora is so pervasive that Tyler Perry cancelled his plans to build an $800 Million dollar studio citing how powerful the software is. Although it’s still not ready for primetime, in about 3-4 years it will be. Studios will no longer need massive backlots with expensive overheads. They will no longer need to employee hundreds of production people. Of course, people will whine about the loss of jobs and how A.I. is dangerous to society, but I must stress this very real fact: You. Cannot. Stop. It.

I expect other studios to eventually downsize in relation to the new technological changes. Perry saw the writing on the wall and got out least he make a huge financial investment that completely sinks his business.

Sure, people will complain about A.I., but I see it no more “fake” than all the greenscreen Disney uses in most of its productions.

Black Widow (2021). They greenscreened a bar. Yes, a bar.

The future is coming whether you embrace it or not. And A.I. technology for filmmaking and other creative endeavors will become standard practice in the years to come. I’m calling it now, Sora or whatever A.I. program takes over the film industry will be used to bring people back from the dead.

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Wait…something just came across my desk.

It looks like actor James Deen, the handsome leading man of yesteryear who died in a car crash in 1955 will be appearing in a new film. Yes, you heard that right. James Deen is set to make his return in an upcoming film.

Only a matter of time before Audrey Hepburn, Bruce Lee, and Marilyn Monroe make their returns. You just know Marilyn Monroe will be back with how much her image has saturated entertainment media over the years. Even in death, they leech off you.

I digress. Back to the topic.

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Hollywood also has had its share of scandals plaguing it which has soured its image over the years. High-profile criminal convictions, sleazy producers, shady parties with the elites doing all sorts of weirdo and illegal behavior, celebrities singing “Imagine” during Covid. It’s just a mess.

The parties aren’t as F. Scott Fitzgerald as this anymore, but the vibe is. IYKYK

And lastly, the decline of movie theaters to a younger generation of viewers. I turned 39 this year which places me 20 years ahead of many college students today. Many of my actor clients fall into this age group and I often ask them about shows they’re watching, movies they’ve seen or are excited for. Many of them barely watch tv shows and a majority of them rarely go to the movies. My age group, when we were their age?! The movies was the place to be! Now, they’d rather chill at home and watch TikTok videos. Not knocking it at all, just pointing out that the viewership has changed. They don’t care about Hollywood as much as Hollywood thinks they do. The Hollywood celebrity is far less influential to the youth than the social media celebrity. Which in turn, makes Hollywood irrelevant. It no longer has its hand on the pulse of the culture and is desperately playing catch up. Fighting with every ounce of energy left in order to hold people’s interest.

“Look at me! I’m still here! I did all the things you wanted! Love me!” Hollywood desperately screams to the youth, who stares coldly into the abyss of their iPhone 15 as some zoomer dances on TikTok.

When I go to the theater now, it’s like a ghost town. Even on supposedly busy Friday/Saturday nights. Unless it’s a really huge release(Dune 2 for example), people aren’t showing up as much anymore. It makes me sad, but that’s just time moving forward.

I feel you Harry Styles. I feel you bro.

When I was in film school pre-2010, Hollywood had this veneer of sophistication. It was the standard of quality storytelling, featuring our very best artists showing what imagination and vision could be with a big machine behind it. The sort of moving pictures we got back then inspired millions nationwide and the world over. It was the place to be and everyone was clamoring to be there. Fast forward well over a decade later and it’s becoming a desert wasteland. *watches tumbleweed roll across Sunset Boulevard*

If Ariel was performing Part of Your World, she’d rise out of the ocean and see the Los Angeles landscape be more reminscent of Fallout, not Beverly Hills 90210.

Hollywood, 2024. Still want to be here Ariel?

So what does this all mean? Does that mean one shouldn’t move to Los Angeles? Maybe, maybe not. It’s hard to say. We have to take a hard look at these things and determine if it’s still viable. I’m not moving there anytime soon, not because I prefer New York(I don’t), but I don’t want to upend my operation to go to a place where the party may already be over. Maybe in the next year things will change and I’ll reconsider.

But for now, it’s too uncertain. For me and for Hollywood.

You Don't Have to Be Artsy

I freakin’ LOVE shooting on the beach. Art be damned.

A trap I think a lot of artists fall into is this notion that you have to be artsy in order to be an artist.

If you’re a photographer, you have to do some intellectually charged art project in order to be accepted by the high brows of society. Even my favorite photographer, Richard Avedon, fell into this trap. His commercial/editorial photography was immensely successful both critically and especially financially. He was rich off the beautiful images he created for glossy fashion magazines. But the art community at the time frowned their noses up and didn’t really embrace him into their elitist fold. This bothered Avedon and he would go on to labor for years on work that would earn him that seal of approval from this group of “tastemakers” of the time.

Truthfully, whether you like it or not, all of it is art. To what degree is certainly debatable, but it all falls under that umbrella. Whether you’re doing it for money or doing it for passion, it counts as art.

The thing to remember is that you don’t have to be artsy in order to be successful and/or appreciated. Daniel Day-Lewis is one of my favorite actors of all time, but I wouldn’t consider his films as entertaining as Tom Cruise’s. He’s considered more of the “artist” between the two, but that doesn’t make Cruise any less successful or appreciated for the entertainment he provides.

Your films don’t have to be these pretentious affairs with fancy cinematography set it the countryside of Europe. Your photographs don’t have to be black-and-white melancholic street scenes. Or portraits where everyone looks sad and vacant. And your music doesn’t have to be classical for it to be “art”.

Glossy, popular, even trendy work has a place. There’s no shame it and you should create it proudly. And audiences/customers love it and are often asking for it.

Don’t feed them salad when they’re asking for cake.

If you’re doing what people love and they clamor for more, give them what they want. That’s Business 101.

Speaking for myself, I dabble across genres. There’s the more serious studio portraiture. Then there’s slick, colorful photos of beautiful models in swimwear. I also do nudes. I plan to shoot lingerie. I do street photography on occassion. And I plan to produce much more color work going forward. Do I give a shit if some snob in an art gallery or pseudo intellectual type appreciates my work? It’s nice if they do, but I’m not working for their approval.

Story time. I had a colleague who’s not terribly familiar with my work, but she remarked rather ignorantly, “I think your black-and-white portrait work is more you than your swimwear stuff. It’s more like art.” Mind you, she said this more out of her disinterest in and bias against swimwear photography or work featuring models. She fancies herself an intellectual and praises the work of the French New Wave. Of course she wouldn’t like glamorous imagery of attractive models on the beach. And she’s welcome to that preference. But do I change my direction because I don’t meet her personal standard of what is art? Of course not.

I do work I personally enjoy and I encourage other artists to do the same. I don’t “chase the market”. If people like what I do and are willing to pay me for it, then I’ll continue to serve them that.

But it won’t always be salad. It will likely be cake.

Something for you to ponder on your own artistic journey. Do your glossy, colorful, trendy, beautiful, glamorous, sexy work with pride.

You too, are an artist.

Sometimes I Just Wanna Ask...

Have you ever dealt with someone who behaved in such a way that just leaves you utterly puzzled? Like it betrays all logic and reason? You can’t talk to them. Or get them to relax enough for civil conversation. They just want to throw everything away for nothing. Just a Juggernaut of unchecked, irrational emotions launching furiously in one direction.

Sometimes I just wanna ask…

I guess I’ll never understand.

RIP Akira Toriyama

It was announced over the weekend, that manga icon Akira Toriyama passed away recently on March 1st. Fans of his work (myself included) mourn the loss of one of the most iconic manga/anime artists of the past 40 years. His style is so distinctive that I think only Studio Ghibli can rival it in terms of being as easily identifiable.

I first encountered his work upon seeing Dragon Ball Z figurines featured for sale in the back of the videogame magazines I used to buy as a kid. But it wasn’t until 1995 that I picked up the game Chrono Trigger at my local Blockbuster Video that I gained an appreciation for his work.

This game right here?! Defined my childhood easily. Solely responsible for my JRPG addiction.

I would come across his work in subsequent years, especially during the late 90’s/early 2000’s when Dragon Ball Z was all the rage. I would even improve my drawing skills practicing on my favorite Dragon Ball Z characters. I can’t tell you how many times I drew Goku in high school. Fast forward all the way to 2020 and I would once again be charmed by Toriyama’s work, this time in the videogame Dragon Quest XI. A game full of so much charm and character, it’s become one of my favorite games of all time. I even went down a rabbit hole learning about the history of Dragon Quest, a series I knew about as a kid, but never got into. Dragon Quest XI got me started down the path and I’ve found nirvana.

This game hits me right in the feels every time I play it. It’s my happy place.

It was nice to discover how Toriyama was recruited to work on Dragon Quest alongside creator Yuji Horii and composer Koichi Sugiyama. They would go on to create one of the most iconic(there’s that word again) game franchises in history, collaborating on each subsequent release in the years to come. So from Dragon Ball to Dragon Quest Toriyama had already created or worked on two historical franchises. He would go on to continue to cement his legacy working on videogames, manga, and various short stories. Tragically composer Sugiyama would pass away in 2021 and now with Toriyama’s recent passing, only Yuji Horii remains from the original Dragon Quest trio. He’s currently working on Dragon Quest XII which will probably be the final project Toriyama’s work is featured in. It breaks my heart just to type that.

An absolute legend of a character. I always hated how Toriyama treated him, but glad he made him so dang cool.

As a fan, I think my personal favorite character design (and character) is Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z and a close second would be Veronica from Dragon Quest XI. She’s a major inspiration for the fantasy novel I’m working on.

It’s sad to write about the death of your heroes. Fixtures of your childhood that we wish could always be around. The youth of tomorrow may never understand the impact of people who came well before their time, but if you were someone into manga, anime, or Japanese videogames, undoubtedly you knew and respected the work of Akira Toriyama. Thank you for all the wonderful memories, amazing characters, captivating stories, and fresh ideas. May you continue to create and inspire from the heavens.

Rest in peace.

Oscarheimer

I especially loved the part when Oppenheimer said, “I have become death, destroyer of award shows.”

The 96th Academy Awards came and went and in my opinion, it was probably the best one in years. A return to form if you will. I liked how they paid homage to the history of Hollywood with previous winners presenting the nominees, music from famous scores playing to underscore the events of the night, and just homage after homage to the storied history of Hollywood.

As for the winners, it went how I predicted and how it should have gone.

Oppenheimer took home Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey, Jr.), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Editing(Jennifer Lame), Best Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), Best Score (Ludwid Göransson), and the coveted Best Picture.

I maintain, Oppenheimer was the best film of the year and it’s not even close. Barbie fans were mad the film didn’t pick up any key nominations or awards, but honestly, it didn’t deserve it. To me, an Oscar film elevates the genre, the craft, and/or shows us performances from brilliant actors that we’ve never seen before (Joaquian Phoenix as Joker, Hilary Swank as Margaret Fitzgerald, Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, Forrest Whitaker as Idi Amin, Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris). If it’s a middle of the road, run of the mill film that we’ve seen before, it’s probably not Oscar worthy. Oppenheimer was an event and a challenge to take such a complex topic, with complex individuals, simplify it without killing the soul of the story, and turn it into a film worth watching. It’s Nolan’s best. A culmination of all his brilliant years as filmmaker.

Well deserved. I’ll watch it again this week.

Poor Things and “Stylish Cinematography”

Wide angle lens = cinematography. Apparently.

Emma Stone got a well deserved Best Actress win for Poor Things. A film that was visually impressive, but didn’t win the nod for Best Cinematography. I’ve heard people rave about the cinematography of the film, but I found it indulgent.

There is a difference between stylish and effective cinematography. I haven’t heard this talked about at length, but in short, Poor Things falls into the trap of what I call “stylish” cinematography. Lots of visual flair and flourishes that don’t necessarily improve or support the narrative. It’s just chosen because it looks cool. I could film a scene of two actors arguing and put the camera on the ceiling and shoot at a downward angle, but doesn’t mean it’s “effective”. In comparison, Oppenheimer utilizes “effective” cinematography. No fluff, just beautiful imagery that supports and improves the narrative. Shallow depth of field, wide angles, etc. are all chosen with purpose and don’t distract from the action on screen. Poor Things is riddled with moments where the camera goes to a random place for no reason other than to be like “look at this cool shot we did”.

This sort of preference for “stylish” cinematography is something you see YouTube filmmakers praise and gush over, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. Yeah it’s cool you can do rotating camera shots, but is it necessary? There are many great films with little to no camera movement. Think about the script, the scene, and plane your shots around that. Not because you have a cool new camera and want to show off.

Some film study for you is the brilliant, No Country for Old Men. Simple and effective cinematography that supports the narrative, not the cinematographer’s ego.

Emma Stone and Poor Things

Emma Stone(aka Best Emma) got another Academy Award for her brilliant performance in Poor Things. What I especially liked is the physicality she brought to the role. It wasn’t just how she delivered dialogue, but her childlike, stilted movements that were part robot, part toddler. While I loved Stone’s performance, I didn’t like Poor Things. I think it was regretably feminist in all the worst ways the movement has been depicted in modern cinema. No accountability, her character is just great at everything, no consequences for her actions, all the men are bumbling idiots except the minority, etc.

And the overall concept doesn’t hold up to scrutiny soon as you turn your brain on. Spoiler, her character is the result of a scientific experiment. Her “father” found her pregnant mother dying after a botched suicide attempt. Desperate to save the baby, he removed her infant brain and put it in the place of her mother’s brain. So now she’s a baby within an adult body and all the gross implications that has when you think about a child that looks like a grown woman having promiscuous sex with countless men. Brave huh. Okay, then the fact that at the end of the movie, her father is dying and instead of, I don’t know, taking his brain out of his head and putting it in another body (which the film has already established can be done), no, she just lets him die. It’s a dumb film that tries to be smart. 6/10. But the actors are great. Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe being the standouts.

Bradley Cooper and Maestro

Bradley Cooper failed to win anything for Maestro. A try-hard, Oscar-bait film that did nothing to humanize Leonard Bernstein. It was pretentious in every sense of the word. The biggest crime this film commits is we learn NOTHING about Bernstein’s music, his process, or his creative inspirations. It’s just his sexcapades, in spades. I’m sure there was more to the man that what he did with his penis. But we never learn any of that.

Cooper’s performance wasn’t one of passion, but desperation. And it shows. Carrey Mulligan is a delight in the film. Beautiful, poised, nuanced, and she captivates in every scene. If Emma Stone didn’t win, Mulligan would have been my other pick. Don’t get me wrong, I like Bradley Cooper, but I think he has to take a less obvious approach for the Oscar. Just go do a film you’re passionate about, not one because you think it will get you the Oscar. You’re better than that.

Robert Downey Jr.

A well deserved win for perhaps the best performance of Downey, Jr.’s career. It was nice to see him distance himself from the creative black hole that Marvel/Disney has become and start doing roles with depth. Roles that will add to his legacy as an actor. No more fluff for children. And he was rewarded for it. His performance of Lewis Strauss was so good, I started to despise him. Everytime his smarmy mug would come on screen, I found myself agitated. He nailed it. Congrats sir.

Cillian Murphy

The role of a lifetime and Murphy’s best performance. This was a Daniel Day-Lewis-esque performance. Nuanced, quiet, measured, but gripping and captivating. This wasn’t a loud performance with lots of yelling and screaming to be considered “acting”. It was sophisticated and mature akin to Chadwick Boseman’s performance as T’Challa in Black Panther. You don’t have to scream or cry to win an Oscar. Just glue us to our seats by your presence on screen. I’m very happy for him because this was a film Murphy carried. He’s featured predominantly throughout the film and doesn’t miss a beat. No powerful co-star to bounce off of throughout, he has to carry us through this story. The weight of carrying a film can get to an actor, especially one used to lower-profile roles, but Murphy rose to the occasion and gave a virtuoso performance.

My Only Gripe

No one thanks the audience. They didn’t thank the fans for seeing their film and supporting their projects. Just “I’d like to thank the Academy and all my fellow actors blah blah blah”. Thank your audience you ungrateful snobs! It’s a small thing, but it would be good to feel like the general public matters. I mean they are watching the Oscars at home and bought tickets to all the films being honored.

Overall a great show that I hope is followed up with an even better one next year. Bravo to the Academy. 7/10.