Julie Goes to Hollywood: Julie Gets Down to Work

I used to think showbiz was tough, but then I got a job. The high stakes drama that goes on behind the scenes of a big corporation makes Hollywood look like marshmallow night at theater camp.

I went to work for a certain global entertainment company, which wasn't necessarily the happiest place on earth. Don't get me wrong, I was tickled to finally find myself inside the fold. But it's a very stressful thing, bringing the magic.

Where I once started the day alone with my thoughts, I was now jolted awake by a chorus of semi-professional moms questioning my commitment to producing big fun for the family when I didn't appear to have one. Turns out creative gals can be surprisingly unimaginative around who we choose to give birth to, who we go home to and what we do when we get there.

The truth is what I like to do is sit alone in a barn and write screenplays in hopes of selling another one already. So, having carved out a small pocket of time to accomplish this -- free of judgement, expectations and regular pay -- just why am I back to blogging?

I agree with the late Nora Eprhon, the quintessential lady writer, who compared blogging to hostessing a party. "It had a different function from other kinds of writing," she said, "in that it wasn’t meant to just be this piece of writing that people read, it was meant to be a piece of writing that started a conversation among the readers. Which became a reason for people to read it, so that they could then express what they thought about it. And once you learn that about blogging, then you first of all have the sense not to read any of the comments—because at a certain point they will be mean about you."

Drats, so there's no escaping the mean girls. Well, bring it, bitches. That means you, soul-sucking directress of the bored with your fake smile and sunny corner office. You too, fancy agent who never called despite the big dreams and burnt marshmallows we girls shared back in theater camp. We're in my wheelhouse now, where the hours are hell and the benefits nonexistent -- but I'm finally running the show again.

Please don't expect any apologies here for the fact that my prince showed only briefly before I had him deported. I have always been a princess, and without a gaggle of noisy little pretenders to the throne vying for my attention, I'm in a very good spot to kick some royal ass.

Or I could land another big job. Please mention my name if you know anybody in need of an experienced mid-level pixie duster with a loyal blog following.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Waking Ambrose
"Julie tells us stories not just about her aspirations and the long road to their fulfillment but also the rented bungalow, her neighbors, her dogs, her past, her friends, her losses, snark and entertainments. She writes about the whole Los Angeles the way they did when they were writing for Bogart."

Confessions of a Hollywood Juicer
"Julie has been around the Hollywood block in various incarnations, and her voice resonates with experience, insight, and humor. She puts up new posts at a pace that leaves me dizzy. Maybe that's because, unlike many of us who write about the industry, she's a pro at the keyboard, and it shows."

Complications Ensue

"Julie seems like a fascinating person who's had a charming life, unless it's the other way around. After chucking what some might consider a glamorous career as a foreign correspondent, she's got another blog about being a peon in Hollywood. I bet she gets a book out of it."

Write Procrastinator

"Screenwriter Julie knows story structure, Hollywood lore and how to show her evil landlord that the siege of Stalingrad was
just a picnic."

Kung Fu Monkey (John Rogers)

"Adding a few links I promised, as I rip through my stacked e-mails. In the Spec-Monkeys, the filthily amusing "Things They Won't Tell You in Film School." I believe the children are our future. The cynical, misled, drunken ranting children.