EVE ALL ABOUT TOWN
OCTOBER 1990
You need to be a hyphenate in Hollywood in order to survive. I’ve become a poet / producer / writer / director / teacher / businesswoman / journalist.
It was not my ambition. It happened to keep me from going crazy while waiting to make sense of living here in the style I wanted. I didn’t want to remain obscure or poor. I wanted some power. Not over anyone, but just enough to get a good table and have artistic freedom. Which meant I wanted access and influence, get enormous amounts of money, have more opportunity than I could handle, hire lots of people to keep the world away, get to say how lonely it is at the top and how hard it is to find peace of mind. I came to Hollywood to be a filmmaker. Martin Scorsese is to blame for this desire. He wiped me out with Mean Streets.
I started out in the “Industry” as an executive. I needed a job. For several years I cast shows and movies for Norman Lear. That was before I moved on into writing and producing television. Lear taught me about comedy and integrity. I was amazed how he could walk away from projects because he didn’t believe in them. I wanted to be that honorable and rich. Of course he made an enormous amount of money in the golden days of television when most middle class had no alternative programming. There was a fortune to be made in syndication. He did very well, but I think he always had a need to be responsible. I was attracted to him and the idea of broadcasting because I had a passion for making sense and history. I also loved rock and roll, art, new scenes, pop culture and people who broke the rules and tried new styles. I loved the theatre so I directed.
September had its usual end of summer rush of activity. Lots of charity and society mix and mingle at this time. In three consecutive nights I went to a rap concert, a dinner on “freedom”, and the MTV Video Awards. Tolerance and opposing censorship were the prevailing themes. The right to be wrong.
The rap concert featured one of my favorites – Queen Latifah, who I think should be the star of a sit-com, which I hope to do with my partner in comedy crime, writer-producer Anne Beatts. Anne (who is a virtuoso hyphenate) and I are in the process of hanging out with the Queen who says we are “fly”. It’s a different vibe hanging back stage at a rap show than it is at a rock concert. First of all there aren’t any real musicians since rap is done d.j. style. Instead of pretty groupie girls hanging around there are posses for the different groups. The most intriguing posse was covering Public Enemy. They had strong vibes, not a lot of smiles. Very serious attitude. Some of the guys looked like young Malcolm X’s. Rap is an amazing force in our society. One think I noticed at the concert was that the most enthusiastic people in the crowd were 10-year-old white boys. Rappers are heroes to young people. Kids are getting a lot more than Flavor Flav looking like a berserk timekeeper. Digital Underground doing the Humpty Dance with inflatable dolls reminded me of David Lee Roth, who did that years back and wasn’t considered obscene. I guess when black men get hot and throb on stage it’s too wild a thing to take. There was a lot of tension around the Greek Theatre. At least 50 mounted and 100 foot police were ready and waiting. I left before the end of the show thinking that something could happen but I knew it already had. Rappers have challenged music and the future.
The next night I went to a meeting of young concerned adults at Doug Ross and Bruce Toms, who run Evolution Film & Tape and are activist-producers. My friend Seth Kaufman, artist-songwriter took me as his guest. A group of friend-associates got together to have dinner and share their thoughts on “freedom”. A lot of the crowd were members of Young Artists United, an organization committed to addressing issues. Judd Nelson, Sara Jessica Parker and Robert Downey Jr. are members. The idea of young people meeting in a living room to have a human experience seemed a lot like the 60’s without the cynicism and drugs. Everyone who came brought along a writing on “freedom”. There were readings of Nelson Mandela, Franklin Roosevelt and many personal writings and experience on the subject. I admit I was moved and even shared a poem. The food was good and I was flattered when one of the board members of Young Artists asked me if I’d like to join. I told her I already was a member of Show coalition, which is not known for its youth, but certainly for its commitment.
The MTV Awards was the next night. I wore a cat suit, thigh high boots and a short jacket. I mention my wardrobe because it tells you why I like this award show. It’s a “cool” event. I’ll admit the party on the Universal lot was too much this year. Too many invitations and getting in was insane. I got pretty tense as I was pressed forward through the sea of entry. It felt like they invited at least 1000 more people than last year. Billy Idol, Don Henley, Sinead O’Connor, Aerosmith, M.C. Hammer, Janet Jackson, were winners. I guess they came to the party. I hope they didn’t have to go through the same squeeze. I kept looking for a VIP area, but had to give up because my toes started to cramp. The boots were a good fashion statement, but too insane for walking around at night. I wound up going back to the car barefoot.
I didn’t name drop a lot, which is what the publisher wanted, but I promise next month I’ll take along a pen and pad to write down the names of the people I saw on adventures all about town. By the way for a different taste of entertainment try Poetry in Motion at Cafe Largo every Tuesday night. My partner in poetic crime, poet-actor Michael Lally, and I have been orchestrating this event for two years. Lots of poets, actors, musicians, writers, friends and hyphenates get together. It’s a chance to get out with the word. There’s a log of conversation and maybe a little bit of truth in a town where “hello” can be a lie.