Written by Jacek
That’s probably not a common sentiment unless you live there and are loyal to your city. For years Lainey has been flying down to LA, whether it was for junkets or to cover the Oscars for eTalk. And each time I passed because I knew she’d be tied up in production meetings and shoots, and because everyone I talked to said LA sucked and they hate going. Why? Usually because of the traffic gridlock. The posers. The attitude.
This was not my experience whatsoever, but I also recognize that I got to do some pretty atypical things. Like hitting up Chateau Marmont within 2 hours of landing (must qualify – I’m not bragging but just saying we were quite fortunate to have a couple of connected friends who can get reservations there). My conclusions from that night: Jake Gyllenhaal’s head looks massive from the back and Robin Thicke takes a leak like any other guy – except most guys don’t open for Beyonce and have 10-year-olds think they suck.
We had a couple of nice dinners, did the mandatory first-time sightseeing…Walk of Fame, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Kodak Theatre, the Hollywood sign, Malibu, Venice, etc. But my biggest “yup, we’re in LA” experience on this trip came on Saturday night.
We had a couple of hours to kill before dinner and decided to hit the roof-top pool deck. We stayed at the Thomspon. The sun was about to go down so we were two of only 6-8 people left up there. 5 minutes into my magazine read I look to the right as a figure appeared a few feet away at top of the stairs from the bar level. I turn to the left at Lainey and quietly say “Oh look…it’s Rihanna”.
At TIFF I kept thinking every cute publicist was a celeb and would constantly ask Lainey “what was she in?” So I’m a total rookie and a bit embarrassing that way, but there’s no mistaking those eyes. So this time I got it right and played it pretty cool. We both pretended to continue reading as she walked past even though I did sneak a look at her. Great ass. Tall hair. And in general a lot taller and thinner in person than she looks on camera. Anyway…she took a cabana in the corner and was joined by a friend. We left soon after that.
Sunday it was a bit more sight-seeing and then the XBOX event. Monday it was a work meeting and then home. I’m pretty sure my next LA trip will be a bit less eventful but for now I’m impressed. Clean (at least where we stayed and visited). The traffic sucks but you have plenty of escape routes. And you can’t beat the weather.
Here’s Rihanna performing "Love the Way You Lie" with Eminem at the Activision E3 2010 preview event on Monday at the Staples Centre.
LA doesn’t suck
