John August

Los Angeles

Do you tip studio valets?

Film Industry, Los Angeles, QandA

questionmarkI don’t know what to do with the valet guys at studios when I go in for meetings. Do I tip them? How much?

— Van

I follow the keys rule: If at any point they are touching my car keys, I tip them a buck or two at the end. But I never know whether they expect it.

When you’re valet parking at a restaurant or an office building, you tip. You’re paying for parking, so it seems natural to tip the guy who brings your car back. It’s a pretty thankless job, so a small monetary acknowledgement of their efforts feels right.

But it’s more ambiguous when you’re on a studio lot. You’re not paying to park there. Generally, the only reason studio lots have valets is because they’re trying to fit more cars than the parking lot can really accommodate.

Yes, they’re providing a service, but so is the executive’s assistant who is bringing me water, and it would be weird to tip her.

I guess I tip studio valets because it’s the same job no matter where they’re doing it. The guy parking cars on a studio lot is functionally the same guy doing it for a restaurant. I would hope he’s getting paid better, but I don’t know. So I tip him.

To my recollection, Sony used to have a sign saying tips were not accepted — but then the sign went away. And at times, even fancy screenwriters get banished to the dungeon of self-parking across the street at the plaza, so I’m feeling flush and happy any time I can drive through the Madison gate.

At Warners, I follow the keys rule. The valets at the executive building will often point you to a spot rather than take your car, particularly later in the afternoon.

Dreamworks has a tiny parking lot, but the guys in charge feel like security rather than valets, so it would be odd to tip them.

As far as agencies, I tip at UTA. If I can help it, I never park at CAA. It’s the most expensive garage in Los Angeles. When parking costs more than lunch, something’s wrong.

Academy’s Film Noir series

Genres, Los Angeles, News

noirThe Academy is hosting a [Monday night screening series](http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2010/noir.html) focusing on film noir:

> Fifteen film noir classics from the 1940s, all of which were nominated in the writing categories, will be celebrated in a summer-long screening series, introduced by contemporary screenwriters whose own work reflects the film noir style.

I’ll be handling “The Dark Mirror” on July 12. (Olivia de Havilland! Twins! Murder!)

It’s a unique chance to see these films on the big screen, with terrific prints.

Date Film
May 10 “The Maltese Falcon,” introduced by Lawrence Kasdan
May 17 “Shadow of a Doubt”
May 24 “Laura,” introduced by Scott Frank
June 7 “Double Indemnity,” introduced by Nicholas Meyer
June 14 “Mildred Pierce,” introduced by Callie Khouri
June 21 “The Killers,” introduced by Billy Ray
June 28 “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers,” introduced by Robin Swicord
July 12 “The Dark Mirror,” introduced by John August
July 19 “The Blue Dahlia,” introduced by Wesley Strick
July 26 “The Stranger”
August 2 “Body and Soul”
August 9 “Crossfire,” introduced by Brian Helgeland
August 16 “A Double Life”
August 23 “Kiss of Death”
August 30 “White Heat”

Tickets are $5, or $30 for the entire series. It may sell out, so if you’re interested, [reserve now](http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2010/noir.html).

Fix or ditch the car?

Los Angeles, Random Advice

questionmarkI currently own a ’93 Oldsmobile Ciera. It’s been pretty good to me over the three years I’ve owned it, but recently it’s started to develop some major problems. There are a bunch of leaks and the fuel pump might be going out.

Should I fix the car, or ditch it and buy a new one? I’m a PA in Albuquerque right now and I’m looking to move to LA soon, so I don’t want to dip into savings to buy a new car, but I don’t want to sink a bunch of money in my Ciera just for new problems to develop later. What do you think?

— Nick
Albuquerque

random adviceDitch it. Unless you genuinely enjoy tinkering on cars, it’s not worth the time and money to keep it running.

You’re moving to Los Angeles, where you’ll absolutely need a car as a PA. You will be driving all over the city, so find one that’s considered reliable and gets very good mileage. Even though gas prices are down, filling the tank is still going to be a huge expense for you, so every MPG matters.

Should you buy a car in Albuquerque, or wait until you get to Los Angeles? Tougher call.

Buying a car in New Mexico might get you to California in one piece, but you’d have to pay out-of-state registration fees. ([Calculate how much](https://mv.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/newResidentFees.do).) If you buy a car when you get here, you won’t have that hassle and expense.

If you already have a place to crash when you get to LA, you might consider selling your car in Albuquerque and Greyhounding it here. ((I checked prices, and it’s only a little bit cheaper than flying. But it’s depressingly romantic, so I vote bus.)) First day here, find a good used car and start making calls about PA jobs.

I arrived in Los Angeles in 1992 driving a seven-year-old Honda Accord. Since it came from the Midwest, the front fenders were incredibly rusted, ((Nothing really rusts here, unless you’re right by the ocean.)) but it ran fine until the clutch gave out in ’94, just after the Northridge earthquake.

I spent a year trying to keep it running, which became incredibly stressful. Each time I turned the key, I prayed it would start. Shifting was murky; reverse wasn’t so much a slot as a vague area of possible engagement.

The weekend I sold it was my happiest in years.

Where should Ryan live?

Los Angeles

Ryan Nelson, my newly-hired Director of Digital Things, will be coming to Los Angeles this week to start looking for a place to live.

Choosing your neighborhood is an important part of any new city. But in a place as big as LA, the area you pick to live in has a huge impact on your experience: traffic, weather, hipsters and panhandlers.

So I thought I’d throw it open to LA folks to offer some suggestions.

Ryan is moving from Columbia, MO, a college town. He’s 28 and has a girlfriend. He will mostly be working from his own place, but will need to come into the office (Mid-Wilshire) at times.

He’ll be making enough money that he could afford an apartment without a roommate. No exotic pets that I know of.

Thoughts? What part of town makes sense for Ryan?