Well, I took the plunge and went to Los Angeles in search of the holy grail. Here I am in the San Fernando Valley to prove that I am here. The mountains and palm trees really hit it home that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. My first week I was actually cold much of the time! In Canada one is always dressed for the cold (sweaters, etc) and blasts the furnace but here one feels foolish if they wear more than a t-shirt and jeans. Other things of interest include: not being able to drink water from the tap, and seeing many guys that look/ dress just like the Big Liebowski. I've also never seen so many Hispanics before, not that there's anything wrong with that.
One of the first places I went was Santa Monica where I started to notice a pattern. Huge line-ups to bathrooms, to get a coffee, to try on clothes and just about every thing else in L.A. Another thing I noticed were the many outdoor heat lamps, which I thought was a great idea. Ironic that they would have them in sunny California but not in freezing cold Toronto.
For animators and Hollywood types, Burbank is the mythical place where it all happens. [correction: this is actually Glendale but they are in close proximity to each other]
I haven't found any pictures of the Disney sequel studios so I decided to post my own in case anyone is curious of its development. They are two huge buildings literally across the street from their rival, Dreamworks.[note: since I took this photo, news broke that the Circle 7 Sequel division was shelved and that 3d feature animation would move from the hat building to these buildings once they are completed]
The "free" lunch at Dreamworks is legendary but not what it once was. Although people who work there complain about the food, I was still pretty impressed.
I didn't know anyone at Disney so I couldn't get a tour of the studio but I did get to see Sony Imageworks.
Here's a few expat Canajun friends of mine taking in a balmy February day.
Kristen thinking about Steve at a gorgeous Santa Monica beach sunset.
