How to Make it in LA in 6 months in 10 Easy Steps...

1. I actually have no idea.
2. Be bold?
3. Be ruthless.
4. Meet people!
5. Connect with people: anyone, especially limo drivers.
6. Crash parties.
7. Be at the right place at the right time.
8. Get lucky?
9. Cry a lot.
10.I really have no idea. Nobody does.

Thank god for our cats. For while we struggle and toil to make it here, they go about their business of sleeping and cuddling with no thoughts of fame, fortune or even creative fulfillment. Long as J and I are around, they are content. And the sun helps.

I am exaggerating, we are not struggling, we are actually going about our own business of working on our respective creative endeavors, working out, going to classes and drop ins, getting manicures...

Manicures - now that's something to talk about. Campbell, before he left, showed up with the nicest, cleanest fingernails you have ever seen on a guy. He was all smiles - "Only fifteen bucks" He encouraged me to get one too and I said no, so he put $20 in my hand and sent me down to the Vietnamese family run business on Santa Monica. Of course, J wasn't going to let me get a manicure without her getting one too.

A lovely young lady got me settled while a handsome young lad took care of J. Suddenly the girl was gone and replaced by a rather abrasive, ugly young flamer. Now I dont know about you guys, but if I am going to take the big step to metro by getting my nails done, I don't want a guy doing them, gay or not. I asked for the girl to come back and thankfully they obliged. Luckily her English was terrible so I could just sit back and enjoy the delight of being pampered. Unfortunately, she didn't understand me when I said "No polish". She meant that to be "Polish". Anyway, the three of us went to the Coffee Bean and admired each others' glossy nails. Another day in West Hollywood.

Before I forget, more star sightings! J is for sure winning with a major sighting of Neve Campbell in a local eatery although C had numerous sightings of obscure actors from the TV present and past. I had the misfortune of seeing Andy Dick once again. C and I were thrilled to meet and be in the lovely home of Donna Mills, star of Knots Landing. We also met Fisher Stevens (actor who once dated Michelle Pfeiffer) who has an academy award nom for a major doc this year about the dolphin trade in Japan. Then there was Francis Fisher (wife of Clint) who J & I spotted at a Marianne Williamson lecture. Oh, and Marianne herself of course.

Marianne authored "A Return to Love" and is one of our heroes. She just happens to be back in LA after 12 years and wants to give back to the community - so she gives pay what you can lectures every Tues night at a theater about 5 minutes from here. Frustrated as one can get in the rat race called Hollywood, one is reminded of the truly important things on these Tuesdays - to meditate, stay close to your source, to love and remember who we really are and why we are really here. Much as my ego keeps telling me it is to make the next Seinfeld, it is really just to spread the love, baby.

Patrick brought his "Actor", the SAG award he got for Glee to class last Wednesday and jeez is that thing heavy! That boy is proud and so he should be. We had a great talk about the biz at Cat and Fiddle on Thursday and it made me want to go for it even more. Just gotta get that visa. Good news is that my new hotshot New York lawyer thinks I have a good shot at it. Bring on the paperwork!

J and I had our first drop in with Barbara Deutsch, renowned entertainment biz coach. Good kick in the ass. Thanks to a contact there, J now has an audition for the most happening music cabaret in LA! My task was to go to Samual French and research managers and agents. Holy crap - do not, I repeat, do not go to this bookstore with your wallet if you are an actor, filmmaker, director, producer, musician, film buff, etc, etc. The temptation is too great and you will leave broke (but armed with all the imperative info you need to make it and make it big!) I have never seen the volume or variety of such books in my life. Wow. I could easily have left there with the entire Hollywood Creative Directory and thirty other great titles - but I resisted. I will have to rely on my slowly but surely expanding circle of contacts.

Had a few "meetings" this week. Most notable was the one with my cousin's attorney. I was to meet them at a bar on Melrose but when I got there, cop cars were blocking off the entire strip and red lights were flashing everywhere. They wouldn't tell me what was happening and they wouldn't let me on the street so I went down a back alley and convinced the Mexican cooks to let me go through the kitchen. About five minutes in, the music stopped and the manager announced that we must all evacuate. There was a car on the street with a suspected bomb. Rather than panic, my cous's lawywer insisted they get their burgers, for which they'd been waiting a very long time for. Everyone left while we waited for the cook to pack 'em up to go.

Burgers in hand, we left and there was a great buzz on the street. Everyone was talking to each other. Several New Yorkers said it reminded them of being in NY again. Someone said actor/musician Jared Leto was doing a screening of a documentary when some guy came in with a suspicious package. The bomb squad was called in. Check out this link.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1631430/20100205/30_seconds_to_mars.jhtml

My cousin's attorney's car was parked right on the street beside the suspicious car and he wanted to move it but the cop said no way. "Hey, I know my rights". He started going toward it and all of us had to remind him this wasn't a negotiation for some movie deal - this was the bomb squad and they were not going to let him get his car. Now that's the kind of tenacious attorney I want on my team. In fact, it would just be cool to say I have an "attorney".

"Sorry I flaked out". Apparently this is a legitimate excuse in LA, a reliable source told me. Sometimes you arrange to meet someone and they just don't show up. A few days later you might get a call from them saying "Sorry man, I flaked out.". There is nothing you can do, especially if this is an important contact.

So right now I want to apologize for being rather tardy with the latest installment of this blog. I flaked out man. Sorry.

Okay, so I have a potential attorney now and another friend from Vancouver is trying to set me up with a manager. My Canadian agent tells me no managers are taking on new clients until the economy improves. But apparently you don't need a manager anyway. If you're a great actor, someone will see you. If you have a good script, all you have to do is talk about it and it will eventually make it's way around this town. And someone will option it. But you cannot rest. If you want to make it in LA, you must always be on the ball - for that record exec or agent from William Morris might just be sitting next to you at the Yogurt Stop and you had better have something funny to say and your pitch ready.

Now that the car siren that has been blaring for the past half hour has finally stopped, I will go and wake up J and we will have a breakfast meeting - or maybe just breakfast.