According to The Hollywood Reporter, there's a whole film in the works all about LA cliches:They're heading into "Burning Palms," writer-director Christopher Landon's satire of Angeleno stereotypes as told through five interlacing stories..."It's kind of like a John Waters version of 'Short Cuts,' " Segal said. The segments are based on popular stereotypes of West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Westwood and Holmby Hills.
Despite his success, Leming feels out of place in Los Angeles. "[L.A.] confuses me," he said. "It's all, like, kinda glitz and glam, and I don't dig it. It's like, it's beautiful on the face, but there's nothing underneath. It's money and greed and sex appeal. And just no core values.Perhaps a kid who, according to the Times, "left his ailing mother, out-of-work stepfather and eight siblings in Morristown, Tenn." because auditioning for American Idol was more important might not be the best person to carpetbag over here and get all judgey -- not to mention his parroting of tired old Los Angeles stereotypes.
Eh, don't get that excited, Perez. A pseudonymed celebrity blogger might not be the world's number one judge of realness, even if you are from the East Coast. Perez doesn't do any appraising anyway, instead just being a cameo who interviews the contestants and assembles them into the aforementioned fakeness list. You get the expected Girl Who Everybody Hates at number one, and the sweet innocent girl from small-Texas-town at the bottom. This is the latter girl on the left:
See how innocent! This contestant, Shelley, has an uncomfortable interview segment where she describes how she "came out of her shell" this episode by the above lesbian almost-makeout, plus by touching tongues with Perez. Now if she were, say, at Burning Man, we might buy this, but as part of a televised reality show, coupled with her highly unconvincing delivery of the tale, it just seemed forced, and -- dare I say it? -- fake.
Then there's now-eliminated contestant Onch:
Well, almost all. I know, I know, these are quite possibly the absolute worst LA cliche of all, but if the Coalition to End Billboard Blight tries to put Angelyne out of business, they're gonna have some serious 'splaining to do.
I've finally been rendered speechless. This has been accomplished by an article in today's LA Times on how The Hills and Entourage are shaping people's perceptions of LA:Indeed, "The Hills," along with HBO's "Entourage," now in its fifth season,has helped to create a fervor surrounding a glitzy Los Angeles lifestyle that many viewers and tourists like Haas become entranced by and are now seeking to engage in.Certainly, television shows have long held the power to turn everyday destinations into meccas for rabid tourists.Seriously, this story needs no wry commentary, so I've really got nothing to add. The article in its entirety can be found here.
Eager fans have traveled far to snap pictures by some of the spots made famous by their favorite TV characters -- trying on stilettos at the New York City Manolo Blahnik store featured on " Sex and the City" or slugging down a pint at the iconic "Cheers" bar in Boston. But both "The Hills" and "Entourage" have -- unintentionally -- teamed up to sell the latest desirable lifestyle, using B-roll of sparkling city lights, sun-reflecting surf and palm-tree-lined streets to present a clean, almost ethereal Los Angeles.
"From the very beginning, we wanted to set L.A. up as another character. Many people do come here to pursue their dreams, and it lends itself to that fantasy because it's so beautiful -- a city by the ocean," said Adam Divello, creator and executive producer of "The Hills," which trails Conrad and her friends around the city. By day, they work (or, at least, appear to work) at prestigious public relations companies and fashion magazines; at night, they go on dates and party at the city's poshest establishments.
I absolutely love Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords/The Daily Show), especially since I saw her backstage at a National show looking and sounding exactly like her Conchords character Mel but without all the stalkiness. And now she says this in the LA Times:"I love, love Burbank," she enthuses. "I did not realize that Burbank was the butt of jokes until I did 'The Greg Proops Chat Show' [at the Largo club] last year, and I started talking about Burbank and everything I love about it, and the audience kept laughing louder and louder. They thought I was joking, but I was totally sincere."
See what happens when you come here with no preconceptions? You don't just like the place, but you love, love it. Of course, TV announcers thoughout the years made the entire country think "beautiful downtown Burbank" is a dump, but if you haven't heard that phrase (and I find it kind of hard to believe Kristen Schaal hasn't, but I'll roll with it), there's nothing wrong with the city at all.
And...okay, that postcard isn't gonna impress anyone, but honestly? That could have been taken in pretty much Anywhere, USA, during the '60s, and there are many, many cities across America that are a whole lot blander and grimmer and more joke-worthy than Burbank, not to mention more dangerous.
Anyway, Kristen, we didn't think it was possible, but we now love you even more. And if your buds Bret and Jemaine happen to be free tonight, I have a couple roles in my new film Mabel's Lovers that need to be filled.
Ugh, the title alone offends me. This is a prime example of a disparaging remark that's perfectly fine to say about Los Angeles, yet would never be made about any other city in America. Staying Human in Chicago? How about Staying Human in Seattle? Doesn't make sense, but then again those cities don't come with pre-conceived notions of, apparently, inhumanity.
