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Two thousand and thirty miles later, we made it to Los Angeles. I drove with Joe, and we took the northern route. Day#1 took us from Chicago to Denver. It was fourteen hours of flatness with not much to look at. Day#2 was different; we left Denver and drove straight into the Rockies. I will retire here. This road trip brought the number of states I’ve been through to fifteen, and for sure Colorado is the most scenic. Twelve hours later we rolled into Las Vegas, which was our stop that night. It was Paddy’s day. I’m Irish. Enough said. Subsequently, day#3 was rough. It was only five hours into Los Angeles but after two-and-a-half days driving we were glad to finally make it.

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That was a little over two weeks ago, so we’re somewhat settled, and have just finished our second week of classes; Mondays we have Entrepreneurial Producing, so effectively it’s all about independent filmmaking. Tuesdays we have feature development with the producer of Donnie Darko. On Wednesdays we take a Television & New Media class, and on Thursday the order of the day is Business Affairs, which covers just about everything from financing, to international co-productions and diplomatic treaties, and entertainment law. We’ve also had a series of guest lectures featuring television showrunners, studio development executives, and even one of the writers from the Terminator movies.

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Los Angeles seems a well-rounded town; the weather is really good, so people seem generally two-points happier. Film is everywhere. The landscape is beautiful; there are good hiking trails and beaches. It’s widespread though, so you do have to drive. But the so-called Cali lifestyle seems just as you’d expect; there’s a laidback feel to even the busiest of moments.

Two weeks of school down, six to go. May will come around fast, and then we will graduate. For the first time in a long time I’m not sure what comes next, but this feels like a good place to figure that out.

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