This post is #14 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on. I [...]
advertising
There’s a moment in The Jerk that’s definitely not the funniest from that excellent Steve Martin film, but that’s stuck with me the longest. Navin Johnson, the lovable, Candide-like fool played by Martin, sits across from his beloved Marie in what is for him the scenario of his dreams: through a combination of optimism, hard work [...]
I know Brandon will be all over my shit for not posting the actual GOOD-LOOKING VS. ATTRACTIVE blog first, but frankly, I am so pissed at Dreamhost now, I can barely write straight*. Besides, it’s too hot here in Ye Olde Time Los-Angeles-with-a-hard-”g” to think deeply. And I’m a former media maven. So I’m using [...]
When you calibrate your afternoon not by the subtle changes in the play of light through your office window but by the shifting of the shrill Judge Judy into the ‘shucks, ma’am’ sucker punch or Dr. Phil… When you feel your ire rise as basket-base-football cuts into The Simpsons and back-to-back repeats of King of [...]
Today I auditioned for a spot I’d really like to book. The part is funny, the casting director is smart (meaning, the spots he casts are low in cheese factor) and, imagine, I could use the money. Casting directors often give a group explanation prior to a string of individual auditions to save time and [...]
A couple of days ago, I read a brief article/interview with Tim Robbins in this month’s issue of Los Angeles magazine. Mostly it just reinforced my impression of Robbins as a smart, talented guy whose impressions of himself are exactly the same, only more so, but there was one item which caught my eye. Despite [...]
Artists bruise easily. And, like any sensible namby-pamby playing in a brutal schoolyard, they will do one of three things when bullies lob rocks at their heads or pants them during recess: run crying to the authorities, summon the cloak of invisibility or fight back. I’ve never been much of a crybaby (although I like [...]
Comments Off
“Drive, drive, drive; branding, branding, branding.”
Back in the go-go ’80s, my art director and I made silk purses out of some serious sow’s-ear assignments and so were let into the inner sanctum: pitching spots for the second pool of a wildly successful TV campaign for the agency’s big, fat American car account. The campaign was the first (yes, really) to [...]
