The Hip Pocket #404 - The L.A. Episode

It makes sense that there are so many movies about Los Angeles.

After all, Los Angeles has long been considered the center of the film industry. That is increasingly untrue for financial and social reasons, and I suspect that there will come a point when the idea of the entire industry being built around one town will seem archaic and crazy.

Growing up, I lived in places like Texas and Tennessee and Florida, and I felt like Los Angeles was a million miles away, like it was a different planet. Whenever I saw movies that were set there, I would lean in, hoping I could somehow fall into the screen and end up there. I moved here when I was 20, so I've been in LA for 36 years now. I've lived far more of my life here than anywhere else, and at this point, I feel like LA is home. My kids have lived their whole lives here. And for the first time, I'm starting to think about what it might be like to live somewhere else. I'm downshifting into a different stage of life, and at some point, I'm going to reach a point where I look at someplace else at home. It's inevitable, but it's going to be a very strange transition for me.

Clearly, I have strong thoughts about this city. What it is, what it feels like, what it means to live here. We can't even begin to get into all of it in one episode, but I figured we'd have fun seeing what everyone's first answer to the question would be, so let's call this volume one of an ongoing conversation.

In this first installment, Aundria picked Training Day, and I will happily take any opportunity to watch Denzel Washington absolutely eat that movie whole. Craig's choice was the Jon Favreau/Vince Vaughn indie classic Swingers, and I get it. For a lot of guys my age, that movie defined a certain era of Los Angeles, and looking at it now almost feels like time travel. Finally, my pick is Hal Ashby's Shampoo, a film that was made in close collaboration with Robert Towne and Warren Beatty. The older I get, the richer I feel like this movie is. It may be about a specific time in this city, but there are some eternal truths embedded in it, and I was delighted to share it with my friends.

I hope you have a good time with this one. Next week, our guest is an independent film producer who brought one of the zaniest line-ups we've ever had, and the result is a giddy, nostalgic, free-wheeling conversation that is one of my favorite episodes so far. If you like what you're hearing, please rate and review us in all the places people get their podcasts. It helps!

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The Hip Pocket is hosted by Drew McWeeny and Aundria Parker.

Craig Ceravolo is the show’s bandleader and producer.

It is a Formerly Dangerous Production.

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