Get out of Dodge

I've written a couple blog essays that I haven't published. It's just as easy to hit the 'draft' or 'delete' button as the publish button. It's something more people should do more often. I include myself in that bunch. This entry may deserve one of those buttons, but I'm putting something up to let people know I'm actually still getting in front of the computer.

Plenty has been happening in the last month, which may be one of the reasons I haven't been blogging so much. We're in the midst of AFM (The American Film Market) which has seemed quiet this year. A friend, in town with his movie, has been making some decent sales -- so I guess things are going alright in spite of the seeming lack of energy.

Elsewhere in town the Red flags are waving again, which is frightening. They indicate high winds – hot winds – dangerous winds. The danger of fire is still present even though more humidity is in the air and the temps have dropped. For the most part, the signs of the devastating fires of the past weeks are over where I live. The plainest sign of them was the air – skies that would turn Orange and Gray, and a haze over everything. Though There was only one day that was really bad, I have had a small cough for days and my throat feels similar to the 'day after a party'. Since there hasn't been a party most evenings before, I attribute it to the smoke that was once forests and homes.

The biggie now for many people in this town is the impending Writer's strike. It's going to come to pass and the feeling is that it's going to last a long time, that it will wipe a lot of people out – and ultimately, that writers will lose. It's a shame and the deregulation of the 80's, which has continued to run rampant to this day, is one of the big reasons it will be so difficult for writers to win. Huge multi-faceted corporations are hard to beat. Sony, et all, don't need to make movies to survive. It's a hell of a beast that's being fought, made worse by the fact that all the unions haven't banded together to fight at the same time. Over and over, people in the film business prove themselves as being their own worst enemies.

If one believes in residuals for artists, (which is a well established part of the pay equation) the fight is justified. It would be nice if the AMPTP weren't so greedy. But they are. And so – the strike will happen.

Seems a good time to get out of town for a bit, and coincidentally, that's just what I'm doing. In two days, I will be in Helsinki, Finland and then off to St. Petersburg, Russia. No computers, no internet, no cell phone, no nothing. It will be the first time since I had my first 2400 baud modem that I will be away from it all so completely. Wish me luck on that, and expect to see full postings of the journey when I return.

Best of luck to all that live and work in Los Angeles.