March, 2001
Nice and Easy
Excerpt by Jim Keeble
I'm sitting by a swimming pool in Palm Springs with my laptop open. At the top of the screen are the words SCENE 1. EXT. LOS ANGELES. DAY. I adjust my Gucci shades, sip my Evian, wipe my face one more time with a fresh SPF30 sunscreen towel (it comes with the room and contains green tea, wheatferm, rosemary and mango - welcome to California) and stare at the palm trees that nod like anorexic starlets at the Oscars.
I've come to Palm Springs to write a movie. OK, to try to write a movie. Because Palm Springs is where real Hollywood writers come for peace and quiet, to regroup, re-lax and re-create. At least two famous film writers - Steve Shagan, writer of
Primal Fear, and Andrew Neiderman, author of
The Devil's Advocate live here. It's a haven, an oasis (literally) - just two hours east from the maelstrom of Los Angeles.
I've checked into the perfect hotel for my purposes: the intimate, private, 50's-style Orbit In, where there's nothing to disturb me apart from the soft dulcet tones of Dean Martin singing from the bar (a recording, I think). The stylish Orbit In is one of the clutch of new, hip 50's influenced hotels that are attracting a trendy young LA crowd.
