hollywood and highland

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working as a production assistant on a show on the CBS lot. I’m here five days a week for roughly 12 hours and a few days into the job I got into somewhat of a routine. I leave my house two hours before my call, sit in traffic for what seems like forever jamming to music or crying at podcasts, stop to get coffee, arrive at work, work, and then go home. Left on Highland and stay at right until you merge onto the US 101 N.

Without fail, every single night on my drive home, I end up at a red light at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland. The first night I take this route home I think nothing of it. I’m jamming out to Kacey Musgrave’s (or maybe it was Sam Smith) completely encapsulated inside my car bubble. The outside world is merely there. The light turns green and I go, leaving the intersection in my rearview mirror. A few nights later I sit at the same red light only this time it lasts longer, long enough for an entire song to play and the next one to begin. I look around at the city lights, crowded streets, and the dozens of people walking in front of my car. They don’t see me but I see them...couples holding hands, crossing guards telling cars to stop and directing people and that’s when I notice him.

An older man on the corner of the street is dancing to either a stereo or the music playing in his head. It almost looks as though he is dancing to the music coming from my car except I know he's not because my windows are up and I’m way too far for him to hear it. I watch as he dances and smiles. Within a few moments the light is green and I start to drive, looking back and forth between the road and my passenger window, to try and get a better look at him.

Back at work I’m becoming more comfortable with the job and the people. I’ve come out of my shell and the people who once felt like distant strangers now feel like people I’ve known for years. It’s weird how that works right? Or is it just me?

About a week into the job and a few days after I’d seen the dancing man I’m walking with someone I work with and I ask how he’s doing. He responds and says he’s doing well and he asks how I’m liking the show so far. I reply enthusiastically, saying that I'm loving it, as well as all the people. He told me that I seemed shy at first but that now I seem more comfortable, which couldn’t have been a truer statement.

I’ve been working in production for about two and half years and aside from one other show, every show I'd done prior had been day playing. I’m on a show working with people for a few days and then that’s it. This show is exciting. It’s a show I’m able to be a part of for its entirety. The only hard part that comes along with that, is when I get attached to people it’s harder to say goodbye when the show comes to an end. Everyone on this show that I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with, have been some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. As much as I try to stick to my routine, it’s become increasingly clear that I’ve fallen for this group of people and the smiles I get to see five days a week.

Three nights ago, I’m driving home from work and I get stuck at yet another red light at Hollywood and Highland. I’m sitting in my car listening to Sam Smith and I look out my windows and see people crossing in front of all the stopped cars. I watch a man high five several people as he walks by them. It doesn’t even look like he knows them personally but they're all smiling and from the looks of it it doesn’t really matter. Tourists cross next to them, looking in awe at the bright lights and the big crowds, parents walk with their children in their arms, and friends walk in large groups, deep in conversation.

Moments later the light turns green, the people now stand on either side of the street. I begin to drive. As I make my way through the intersection I realize I have the biggest smile on my face at the moments I just witnessed. Strangers with names and stories that I don’t know all on their way to do something or see someone.

It’s in that moment that takes me back to this job. These people that I've seen everyday for two weeks and will continue to see until the show wraps were at once strangers. They were people with names I could barely remember and voices I didn’t recognize and now they’re colleagues and some even friends.It’s weird how someone can be a complete stranger one day but then within minutes, hours or days they’re all the sudden someone you know and recognize. Someone whose smile brightens up your day. Someone whose hello makes you smile, someone who you can no longer picture ever having been just a nameless stranger with an unknown story.

I’m so in love with this industry but it’s tricky because we can end up seeing the same people for months and then potentially not seeing them again for a few years. It’s a constantly moving, always changing business and while the thought of getting close to people is terrifying, the thought of these beautiful people staying strangers completely and totally outweighs that fear.