Hollywood Backlots
Sketches and watercolor paintings of behind-the-scenes filmmaking. • The sets, the props and the crews.
Several years after I landed in Hollywood in 1975, I began sketching my environment. In 2000, I went on location to Detroit, MI to work on a film, so I put together a small watercolor kit and painted the sets, the city and anything else I found interesting. The ‘Backlots’ gallery is the result.
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Breaking into show business can be a bit like breaking into a bank vault, with one big difference; you wonʼt go to jail for trying.
Hollywood gatekeepers spend as much or more time winnowing talent out as they do ushering talent in. At the end of the day, it may not be the most talented who get in.
So, the term breaking into show business resonates with many of us who have figured out the combination to overcoming the odds and obstacles of entering a career in filmmaking.
If you look at the vault from the vantage point of a magician instead of a thief, you might find yourself inside the safe sooner than you think. The secret is… (excerpt from my book book, ‘Back Lot Talk’.