Ellen
Los Angeles. You crazy, weird, like it/hate it sort of city.
This past weekend I ventured down south with my friend Andrea to see a taping of the The Ellen Degeneres Show. We cruised amongst the crazies at Venice Beach; drank steins of German beer in the sun; ate vegan, raw, macrobiotic stuff at Seed (and now I know what Seitan is - ummmm?); shopped the boutiques of Santa Monica; lunched in Pasadena; laid poolside at the Sheraton; went running around the greater LAX neighborhood and finished up on the Warner Brothers lot for the Ellen show.
As always, I have mixed feelings about L.A. Going there for trade shows over the years - on the company dime - I stayed at boutique hotels like The Standard, The Mondrian and the Chateau Marmont where I always felt gigantically out of proportion and generally out of place. Sunset Blvd was more of the same. Even sitting poolside anywhere was a major scene. And it was hot. So hot. Then my friend Leigh took me to the Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods - both awesome, low-key, funky. And I found trails to run heading up towards Griffith Park. And I saw the mountain ranges in the distance and ran for miles along the Santa Monica beach path. And so, over the years, I've come to realize that L.A. has a lot more to offer than the microscopic view I'd had over a decade working in events. Although, I still feel like its a wild card - I never quite know what to expect.
So it was a nice surprise to experience a different type of L.A. this time around. The Ellen taping surpassed my expectations.
Ellen's people were high energy from the minute we checked in to the minute we left. From the parking garage where we amassed hours earlier to check in, to the studio where we stood and danced at every commercial break to the exit where we received our giveaway of the day - a Clint Eastwood DVD retrospective - they were fist-pumpingly enthusiastic and friendly.
Andrea and I scored sweat seats dead center near the back so we had a great view of the overall studio that had a video backdrop of snow-covered trees in honor of the Olympics. A guy worked the crowd as dance music - an Ellen staple - pumped through the speakers and he laid out the show for us. What to expect, how to react. It wasn't so scripted that he held up "APPLAUSE" cards but he kept things fun with dance-offs and suggested dance moves during breaks. We both agreed he could host his own show.
Ellen started with a short monologue, then a game show, then a video clip from some of the US skaters from Vancouver. She interviewed Julia Mancuso via satellite from Whistler (Yeay US Ski Team!) and Woody Harrelson live in the studio. Then she gave a struggling couple who'd fallen on hard times $20,000. It was fun to see the woman break out in shrieks and tears and hug her husband and hug Ellen and generally jump around in disbelief.
The atmosphere was contagious and everyone in the audience - old/young, male/female, straight/gay - seemed caught up in dancing and laughing and clapping and truly having a great time. I know if a camera caught me at any point I would've looked rapt with interest, mouth agape, probably laughing or smiling. It's just a feel-good experience overall. And totally free. Amazing.
Thanks for inviting me along for the adventure, AZW.
As always, I have mixed feelings about L.A. Going there for trade shows over the years - on the company dime - I stayed at boutique hotels like The Standard, The Mondrian and the Chateau Marmont where I always felt gigantically out of proportion and generally out of place. Sunset Blvd was more of the same. Even sitting poolside anywhere was a major scene. And it was hot. So hot. Then my friend Leigh took me to the Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods - both awesome, low-key, funky. And I found trails to run heading up towards Griffith Park. And I saw the mountain ranges in the distance and ran for miles along the Santa Monica beach path. And so, over the years, I've come to realize that L.A. has a lot more to offer than the microscopic view I'd had over a decade working in events. Although, I still feel like its a wild card - I never quite know what to expect.So it was a nice surprise to experience a different type of L.A. this time around. The Ellen taping surpassed my expectations.
Ellen's people were high energy from the minute we checked in to the minute we left. From the parking garage where we amassed hours earlier to check in, to the studio where we stood and danced at every commercial break to the exit where we received our giveaway of the day - a Clint Eastwood DVD retrospective - they were fist-pumpingly enthusiastic and friendly.
Andrea and I scored sweat seats dead center near the back so we had a great view of the overall studio that had a video backdrop of snow-covered trees in honor of the Olympics. A guy worked the crowd as dance music - an Ellen staple - pumped through the speakers and he laid out the show for us. What to expect, how to react. It wasn't so scripted that he held up "APPLAUSE" cards but he kept things fun with dance-offs and suggested dance moves during breaks. We both agreed he could host his own show.Ellen started with a short monologue, then a game show, then a video clip from some of the US skaters from Vancouver. She interviewed Julia Mancuso via satellite from Whistler (Yeay US Ski Team!) and Woody Harrelson live in the studio. Then she gave a struggling couple who'd fallen on hard times $20,000. It was fun to see the woman break out in shrieks and tears and hug her husband and hug Ellen and generally jump around in disbelief.
The atmosphere was contagious and everyone in the audience - old/young, male/female, straight/gay - seemed caught up in dancing and laughing and clapping and truly having a great time. I know if a camera caught me at any point I would've looked rapt with interest, mouth agape, probably laughing or smiling. It's just a feel-good experience overall. And totally free. Amazing.Thanks for inviting me along for the adventure, AZW.
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