Monday, February 11, 2008

We have a month off from the Two and Only. I am back working at my regular job, which is looking for regular jobs. That of course is a joke. I have never had a regular job in my life. Even what I consider a job is working with a doll, so you wouldn’t label that “regular”.

The writer’s strike is essentially over. Los Angeles is getting back to the over indulgence it is known for. Writers can write again, the Academy Awards are saved and all is right in the plastic world. Unfortunately some writers that weren’t writing before the strike will now have to say, “I’m unemployed,” rather than “I’m on strike.”

At Highland and Hollywood, the site of the Kodak Theater, there is an Oscar exhibition advertising the up and coming ceremony. Several vintage Oscars are on display as well as some of the statues that will be given away in a few weeks. One of the most interesting is a miniature Oscar that was given to Judy Garland when she was a child star. It is about half the size of a regular Oscar. As if to say, child actors are half as important. They show the process of making the Oscar statue, and list the names of all the nominees with their pictures.

At the end of the tour there is an Oscar statuette that you can actually pick up and hold for a picture. Over the weekend I was in line with Nicki and Jeff, my niece and her husband, who work in the film industry, cueing up to hold the statuette. I asked, “Wonder if the same curse holds true with the Oscar Statue as the Tony?” They didn’t know the legend, so I told them. The Tony legend says that if you ever hope to win a Tony, you can never touch a Tony until it is yours. They said they had never heard that before.

No one said anything. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement. We just got out of line and avoided touching the Oscar. There’s no sense screwing with curses and legends. I doubt I will ever be a candidate for receiving an Oscar. Five years ago I would have said that about the Tony, so you never know. However, I think some day I may get to hold Nicki and Jeff’s Oscar. Until then I will be satisfied.

As you were,
Jay