I feel the same way about Los Angeles as Woody Allen feels about New York City. Although it’s not an island, I rarely want to leave the City of Angels.
LA has everything I need packed into one city. Mountain views, endless trails, beaches, top restaurants with every cuisine from around the world. Of course, the all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ in the heart of K-town is the cherry on top.
Lately, every headline in the trades; from Variety to Deadline reminds us that Hollywood is supposedly dying. Everyone in the entertainment industry is packing up for Atlanta or Austin, fleeing to avoid high taxes and permitting headaches.
“Nothing is filming in LA,” is a line I hear every week. But I don’t believe it.
This past week, I binged the show “Everyone Is Doing Great.” Written by and starring James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti, the comedy makes Los Angeles a star just as much as its bro-protagonists. I even paused as one establishing shot featured a regular valet attendant on Hillhurst Ave in my neighborhood of Los Feliz. I paused once more to smile at a scene of Coletti and Jamie Chung kayaking in Mother’s Beach.
From the parks in Santa Monica to the cafes in West Hollywood, Lafferty and Colletti did a fine job seamlessly spotlighting our city.
“Nobody Wants This” equally features Los Angeles as a main character in the best way, whether Kristen Bell’s character is buying a $20 smoothie on Vermont Ave. or meeting someone at the local Westside synagogue. In fact, the show has even inspired a tour for visitors who wish to stop and see all of the show’s locations around LA.
On a more commercial level, ABC’s “The Rookie” just premiered its ninth season and that series could not be more of an ode to the officers of LAPD and the city they serve. Sure, it doesn’t make sense when they’re patrolling multiple divisions from Wilshire to DTLA. Sure, sometimes they’re geographically challenged; solving a murder on La Brea Ave one minute and the next they’re eating a hot dog in Venice Beach, but the point is: Los Angeles is still very much alive on the silver screen.
Just as I admire filmmakers like Ed Burns and Allen’s commitment to keeping Manhattan as their stories’ backdrop, I also salute the showrunners, writers and producers who have created these series that have become an ode to Los Angeles.
Cameras are rolling. Hollywood is still breathing.
