Hollywood Praise

My very first "fan" letter. Then again, I haven't had any hate mail either, which can be more fun in its own way.

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Finally, someone is attempting to quell the growing ranks of the American
Illiterati (if I may be so bold to simultaneously create new words while
trumpeting the defense of the old ones). Having worked in the belly of the
beast (Hollywood) for over seven years now, I continually find myself coming
into contact with some of the world's biggest idiots. Mind you, Tinseltown has
its own distinct brand of nincompoop; specifically, those whose parents have
passed down their "The New Yorker" subscription to their thirty-something brood
and/or think that being 'up on the news' is looking at the front page of CNN.com
a few times a day. Adding insult to injury, is how these self-branded 'smart
people' don't even READ said news/opinion/pop culture sources. Instead, they
simply shout out (to no one in particular, since they obviously like to hear the
sound of their voices) the oh-so snappy headlines, then scan the first few
sentences as a 'primer' for conversational topics at yet another pretentious
'mixer'. Likewise, when pressed about the actual content about an article they
allegedly read their standard answer is, "...oh, I didn't have time to read it."
On second thought, maybe these are the future leaders of America Capitalism if
the political ascendancy (and brief appearance on the morning network talkshows)
of the uber-Kindergarten Cop is any indication.

Being a lifelong reader myself, I find it hard to believe it would take a
reasonably intelligent person more than ten minute to digest even the most
verbose article in "The New Yorker". Granted we live in hectic times, but to
imagine that a person whose life amounts to little more than agreeing with the
public's worsening tastes in movies as being truly 'busy', astounds me. Going
by this formula, the President and his inner circle must NEVER have time to read
a newspaper -- much less the dozens of briefs, memos and budgets that cross
their desks on a daily basis (leading one to believe that a supercomputer built
from acquired 'alien' technology must be running America).

Yet this is apparently the 'state' of 'intelligent thought' in Hollywood (and by
extension America); both who are currently in the throes of orgiastic delight
over the prospect of the man who told Sharon Stone to "consider this a divorce"
via a well-place shot to her skull, becoming the top elected official in the
state. For I imagine that the vast populace figures that the 'movie that is
their life' simply needs a healthy dose of high-octane action in order to be
worth the price of a babysitter and overprice popcorn for two. Yet I digress --
it's great to see another person attempt to cut through the clutter that is
modern life in order to get their fellow humans to think about something more
than the rising price of a Starbucks coffee or a pair of Gap jeans. Best of luck
and keep up the 'blogging' Mr. Leverenz.

Jeff Taplin
Los Angeles