LOS ANGELES — As the 747 double-decker plane started to descend over the city of Los Angeles, I saw a whole new meaning to the city of lights. No wonder California has had so many power outages — I've never seen anything like it. Lights — in every color — flashing, strobing, gleaming.
As 350 of my fellow travelers and their crying kids made their way off the plane, I was just happy to finally be on the West Coast.
I had been traveling for 10 hours straight. It was my first time visiting the West Coast. A native of the Jersey shore, the furthest west I've been is State College.
I was sent to LA to cover the premiere of David Spade's newest flick, Joe Dirt, my big break as a meager movie reviewer, and because of "maintenance" problems with the plane, we had to make an emergency landing in Denver and I missed seeing the movie.
But I wasn't upset, I was in a new city, and I was a journalist — I could handle anything. (This bout of euphoria was probably due to my mild sleep deprivation but it worked for me.)
After retrieving my luggage, I was ready to go. I hailed a cab. The driver, a middle-aged man, had an unidentifiable accent. He asked where I was going, and I said the Four Seasons.
"In Beverly Hills?" he asked.
"I guess," I answered, while frantically rummaging for the hotel's address.
"There's only one," he said.
"Then that's where I'm staying," I said as I read the address to him.
For the first time the cab driver turned around. He smiled and said, "My dear, you're going to Hollywood."
And with that he sped away from the airport into this new exciting world. I looked from left to right trying to take in all I was seeing. The half-hour cab ride to the hotel seemed like five minutes. My cab driver told me all of the hot spots in LA, as it was quite obvious that I was an out-of-towner.
I told him of what brought me to LA, and he told me how many limousines were outside of the theater I was supposed to be in right now.
"I had no idea what was going on, limos everywhere, I couldn't get down the street; I knew it had to be something big," he said.
As we passed the sign entering into Beverly Hills, I knew all those Wednesday nights spent watching Beverly Hills, 90210 had paid off — I recognized it immediately. Porsche after Porsche sped by; we were stopped at a red light.
Two blocks ahead, I saw it — the pinnacle of what is Beverly Hills — Rodeo Drive.
Again the cab driver turned around, "My dear, you're in Beverly Hills."
"I know," I shrieked, "I see Rodeo Drive."
"Oh, yes, Rodeo Drive. Very expensive. One pair of shoes for $1,000. I don't know how people pay for that," he said.
The light turned green. As we passed Rodeo Drive, I looked down the famous street to see that I was at the exact spot where Julia Roberts runs across the street in Pretty Woman.
I was in total awe. Before I knew it, we were in the front of the Four Seasons and the doorman had opened the cab door for me.
The driver and I parted, and I walked into the lobby. Marble floors glistened. To my right a cocktail lounge — women dressed to the hilt, men old enough to be their fathers dressed in suits.
Everyone had blonde hair and dark tans — you could tell who the natives were because they were probably about 28 but their skin looked like that of a 45-year-old.
I checked in, found my room and again was having scenes from Pretty Woman pop into my head.
The room was great. It had a balcony that looked over Beverly Hills, but the bathroom was amazing. The second I looked in, I saw the huge bathtub — just like the one in which Julia Roberts was singing Prince songs. And I can't forget to mention that there was a TV in the bathroom.
The Ace of Spades
Joe Dirt, funnyman Spade's newest film, and the reason I was in LA, will hit theaters Wednesday. Because of the Easter holiday, the release date was moved up two days from the usual Friday release.
"We really want this to be a spring break movie," said Director Dennie Gordon.
In Joe Dirt, Spade plays a role more sympathetic than his previous roles. Joe Dirt tells the story of a kid who is abandoned by his parents at the age of eight and he spends the rest of his life looking for them. Of course, along the way, Joe meets up with some interesting characters — namely, a mysterious school janitor played by Christopher Walken and a radio DJ played by Dennis Miller.
"Here's a guy that's just trying to be a good guy. He's not mean to people and he's not sarcastic and he's not a jerk," Spade said of his character in a press release.
In Chris Rock's diary special on MTV, he compared a press junket to a police interrogation, saying they are one in the same — the bright lights, the probing questions.
The press junket for Joe Dirt was hectic, but with a room full of print and radio journalists, there were no bright lights or microphones. Luckily I managed to nab a seat in the smaller of the two rooms for domestic press, so the layout was as such: eight reporters to lead four interviews in one hour.
Spade, the star of the movie and definitely the star of the press junket, was the first of our interviews. Spade wore a red, white and blue flannel shirt and jeans and had shoulder-length layered hair. He's probably only around 5 feet 4 inches tall, and if it weren't for the trail of beautiful publicists, you wouldn't know he's a star.
He sat right away and requested that the shades be drawn because his eyes are very light sensitive due to an accident while filming Black Sheep.
"This is the only business where I can be that much of a pussy and not get fired," Spade said, referring to his star treatment.
For the rest of the interview, Spade was down-to-earth and poised. He joked about his fame, saying it's a slow news week when he appears on the cover of The National Enquirer and admitted, "I know it's such a scam."
Spade spoke candidly of one of his best friends, the late comedian Chris Farley, with whom he costarred in Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, as well as in the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Spade talked about the "different" sense of humor that he and Farley shared and said he misses Farley most "when funny things come up."
"I just want to call him and leave a message on his machine," he added.
Both of Farley's brothers, Kevin and John, are in Joe Dirt.
Spade also spoke briefly about his past relationship with actress Lara Flynn Boyle, who is currently dating Jack Nicholson.
"There's a cute girl in the mix now and then," Spade said.
Spade, who co-wrote the film, can be seen on Thursday nights as Dennis Finch in the NBC sit-com Just Shoot Me.
Spade is teaming up with his co-writer, Fred Wolf, again as they work on their next film titled Puka Pete. Wolf is said to be directing Puka Pete, his first feature film.
Next, enters Brittany Daniel, wearing an outfit from Nude on Melrose that consisted of two pieces of frayed denim cut in big triangles that tied in the back as a shirt and a denim skirt with a triangle shape cut out of the front of it. Daniel is best recognized as the rebellious twin on Sweet Valley High and as Eve, the seductress who tried to devirginize Dawson, on the WB show, Dawson's Creek.
"I have such a tough job," laughed Daniel as she talked about her role on Dawson's Creek.
In Joe Dirt Daniel plays the beautiful but untouchable Brandy, who falls head over heels for Joe.
Next up was Jaime Pressly, who has a relatively small role in the film and can also be seen on the big screen in Tomcats, which she described as "campy but funny."
First things first, a refill of Pressly's coffee, which she fixed herself — sugar no cream — and we were ready to go. When I first saw Pressly wearing a cropped top, hip huggers and covered in glitter, I realized just how petite she really is. Maybe the old adage that the camera adds 10 pounds is true — she is tiny, however you'd never know that she probably couldn't break 100 pounds dripping wet just by talking to her. She exudes confidence.
Pressly can be seen on the small screen as Audrey in the WB show Jack and Jill. "I just love comedies, period," Pressly said of her recent acting ventures. Pressly, who compared acting to faking an orgasm, said she prefers dorky guys to hunky studs (and she proves this in Joe Dirt — she falls for Spade's mullet-haired character).
"Cocky gets old and looks fade," said Pressly, who has most recently been linked to Jack and Jill co-star, Justin Kirk.
Pressly's next film is the action/drama Ticker, starring Dennis Hopper. Pressly plays Hopper's love interest, an odd pairing perhaps. As Pressly said, "I could be his granddaughter!"
Joe Dirt is director Gordon's first feature film. Her previous works include television episodes of Ally McBeal, The Practice, Jack and Jill, Dawson's Creek and Party of Five.
"Working with David was a scream," said Gordon of the film, which was shot over 35 days in 90 locations.
Gordon also spoke about musician Kid Rock, who makes his feature film debut playing what she called "a local yocal who is American Badass squared."
