Tidy Bald Spots and the Trades
The Place: The Grill, a restaurant, 9650 Dayton Way, Beverly Hills; (310) 276-0615.
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Atmosphere: A buzzing, schmoozy, entertainment-industry meeting ground. Over upscale grill food (chicken pot pie, calf’s liver, crab cakes), deals get done, salutations sail (“Hey, how are you? Saw your last movie, loved it.”), hands clench in firm “good impression” or “don’t-forget-I’m-just-as-powerful-as-you-are” shakes, egos teeter and slick trade papers snap open.
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Serving Up Style: The ultra-stylish head maitre d’ is striking in his wide, colorful ties, muted shirts, dark suits, cropped gray hair and “Barton Fink” glasses. He blurts polite sound bites to his staff (“I’ll point him out and don’t forget him, he’s a regular.”) Waiters and waitresses stir up Old World formality in crisp white jackets and shirts paired with black ties, pants and shoes.
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Customer Themes: Rebellious green tennis shoes and cuffed jeans for defiant male creatives; black oxfords, tightly buttoned dark shirts and black Gap jeans for accommodating male creatives; confident, loud boots, all-black “female-loner” ensembles for female creatives.
For male producers and corporates: suits. For female producers and business types: taupes and muted browns with one or two shiny jewelry pieces.
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Hair Apparent: Male agents and corporate types wear short, neatly coiffed dos, tidy bald spots; male creative types over 40 wear bald spots with ponytails. Under 40: unruly mops, freewheeling curls. Female agents and corporates wear sleek ponytails, short “efficiency” dos or lacquered pages. For female creative types, short, insouciant flips, pixies or ‘60s “Cher” dos.
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Accessories: Expensive watches; loud and quiet neckties, gold necklaces and bracelets; thin designer socks; pens; note pads; folders; briefcases; Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.
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Cardinal Rule: If thou art an up-and-coming young writer, thou shalt clutch thy notebook in front of thy body in an eager-yet-confident-yet-protective manner.
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Observations: Many interlaced fingers and firmly planted feet; lots of direct, steady gazes.
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Overheard: “There’s Miss Davis, but where’s her bodyguard? Guess he’s not eating today.”
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Parting Statement: “Mike, I need another check for Table 129. The gentleman there is using his to write things on.”
