Hollywood... Love it, yet hate it too...

I’m 43 and basically my entire working life has been in the entertainment field. I started in sports, moved into music and for the last 12 years I’ve been in film/DVD/TV. I think entertainment is part of my genetic makeup – it is a passion… however having lived in LA for over a decade, I have to say this industry is completely profane & debased. It caters to all the baser desires and truly does not have an altruistic fiber in it’s being… And yet – I can’t think of another industry I could function in. I’m an anally-retentive organizer who’s developing strong OCD tendencies (everything Hollywood is not), but the overflowing, infectious creative energy of entertainment and the undying HOPE of bettering humanity if only once in a blue moon keeps me rooted in this messy, insane industry.

The utter decadence that multi-millions bring is flabbergasting. The behavior of these young mega-celebrities is beyond comprehension! The stupidity of a society who literally worships someone who is “famous” for being in a Girls Gone Wild video or for his or her sex tape being launched on You Tube is unfathomable. With the advent of reality television we’ve really lost our marbles! These regular-Joe wannabes are so desperate for what they think fame and money will bring them that they literally will do anything. We’ve turned this country into a huge Jerry Springer show – highlighting and celebrating uneducated, untalented and unfortunate individuals. I’m actually extremely surprised that those truly gifted actors/actresses who have busted their butts for years – learning their craft, working their way up, not compromising themselves - are not “striking” in protest for being forced out of work by these hacks who’s only talent is having a pretty face/”hot” body and sleeping with 6 people at once. It’s degrading. It’s humiliating. It’s insulting.

Half the time I’m disgusted and half the time the state of Hollywood just depresses me. At the end of the day it is truly sad. You can literally go from living on a buddy’s couch, not knowing where your next meal is coming from to making 100 thousand dollars a week, with people dressing you, doing your hair/makeup, feeding you, catering to your every whim and 100 paparazzi camped outside your door. Seriously – how can someone handle that? Even the most “normal” of people can’t help but be turned. With so many people doing absolutely everything for you, its no wonder these celebrities are drinking and doing drugs! They are bored out of their minds – they need to have something to do on their own. And because this industry creates these narcissistic self-destructive people – the industry has to keep fueling the fire – keep them hooked; keep them bound because then it can remain in control. The minute one get’s too unruly or too far-gone, the industry deletes them and shuts them out. No one is held accountable, no one takes responsibility, no one really bothers to help repair the damage they’ve created… and yet our society puts these desperately insecure, lonely, out-of-touch celebrities on pedestals and markets them as our heroes. It’s heart-breaking. It’s disgusting.

Yet the joy... the exhilaration that great music, sports, television and film bring to our lives. We literally could not live without entertainment in some form... it lifts us up when we're down, it reminds us of the best (and worst) of humanity... it inspires, encourages and challenges, relaxes us and makes us roll-on-the-floor in laughter! It keeps us in touch with life. So for me, it will always be a love-hate relationship with Hollywood... and no matter what emotion I'm feeling about it I will always want to be a part of it in some way.