My Hollywood Gratitude Journal, Still Going
A Thanksgiving homily about where we are and this industry
A break today from my recent obsession, reporting on the curious happenings over at local monopoly shop Penske Media Corp. Those include another hidden Golden Globes event in a problematic Middle Eastern country, as well as my bombshell news about the California Attorney General reopening its look at the proposed ownership of the Golden Globes (nope, deal still not closed) — and CBS’ out clause from airing the show in January if “controversy” emerges again.
Here are last week’s columns to read aloud to your family over the holidays:
Anyway!
I don’t spend a lot of time on gratitude here. It might be the most important sentiment, but it’s also often the least interesting — and the line between gratitude and self-satisfaction can be thin. As a commentator, my job is to point fingers, not hand out participation trophies.
All the same, if you’re gainfully employed anywhere near the entertainment industry and most (if not, all) of the words that come out of your mouth are complaints or gripes, then the world might have a point when they say, “Maybe this crank has some bigger problems.”
My own complaints are a function of wanting for this industry to prosper. If people would just read the instruction manual and learn how to operate this industry properly, I’d be happy as a high school theater class going to sing along at a packed showing of Wicked.
If ever there were a moment to dig deep and remind ourselves that we’ve got a thing or two to feel grateful for, let it be this Thanksgiving week.
The rending of garments may have quieted a bit post-election, post-streaming, post-fill in the blank, but the town continues to stumble in a dulled shock/acceptance, instinctively reaching for a smoothie and McCarthy salad to remind us of our place in the world.