Rudd On The Road - Catching up with Steve Rudd as he hits America in style ... Part 1 By Steve Rudd

Part 1:Catching up with Steve as he hits America. Part 2 Part 3: A chance encounter with a city full of surprises Part 4: Cheap thrills on the Mexico City metro Part 5: Mexico City: A Beginners Guide Part 6: A Storm Over Troubled Pyramids Part 7: City Living in the South of Mexico Part 8: All Aboard 'The Nerve-Shredder' to Puebla! Part 9: A Perfect Demonstration of How to Protest Part 10: Sun, Sand, Sea ... and a Man on a Mission Part 11: Going Barmy in Barra. Part 12: Onwards and Upwards Part 13: The Green Side of Hollywood Part 14: St. Patrick's Day With A Difference Part 15: A Run-In With Gordon Ramsay Part 16: When in Venice ... Part 17: On Foot Across LA Part 18: A Mile Of Miracles, And Then Some Part 19: Going West for Eastern Inspiration Part 20: Stray Dogs and Cheeky Monkeys Part 21: The One Hundred Baht Experience Part 22: Trios Amigos! Part 23: A Cashflow Crisis Part 24: Spontaneous Combustion Part 25: A Temporary Loss of Faith Part 26: Signing My Life Away

The flight from London to LA was a long haul to say the least, yet it was made more tolerable by the company. I'd barely got settled when the guy beside me introduced himself as Jim Becket, a film director and documentary producer who lived in a place called Ojai, a little north of Los Angeles. He'd just returned from working in Athens where he'd sold the rights of his latest documentary to a Greek TV company. Understandably, he was elated, and thus more than keen to chat candidly about the forty years he'd been involved in the film-making industry, having filmed on location in countries as far-flung as Thailand and Chile, and having worked alongside stars of Malcolm McDowell's highly talented calibre.

Between savouring his anecdotes, I took time out to absorb the grandeur of the scenery through the window as we soared 33,000 feet above Greenland. To my astonishment, huge channels zig-zagged across the seemingly never-ending sheet of ice. Such channels, whilst extremely jagged, appeared to be so wide as to be potentially navigable. However, the reasons for people wanting to use the channels would be few and far between: there was nothing else but sheer ice as far as the eye could see and the humble mind could comprehend.

After flying over Hudson Bay, the ice began to break up to stunning effect, paving the way for small communities once 'dry' land asserted its presence. Still, even more stunning than the sight of the ice-bound extremities of North America was the unmistakable sight of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, before the extreme sprawl of Las Vegas hove into view. As for LA, its far-reaching and mind-boggling layout can only really appreciated from the air, our descent allowing all those with a window seat on the right-hand side of the plane to gape in awe at the cloud-piercing cluster of skyscrapers in the Downtown district of the city, with the iconic 'Hollywood' sign barely detectable in the far distance to the north-west of Downtown.

LAX, the main airport serving LA and surrounding area, is an extraordinary place. As tense as ever about clearing Customs & Immigration just in case the morose official on duty didn't take a liking to my reason for visiting, I was relieved when I was granted access to US soil without a hitch. Waiting at the luggage carousel for our gear, Jim proffered one of his business cards and asked me to give him a ring in due course should I care to visit Ojai.

While he loped off to retrieve his vehicle from the parking lot, I attempted to find a shuttle bus to take me to Santa Monica where I was due to hook up with a friend who I'd met in Istanbul back in November. One of hundreds, if not thousands, of people involved in making movies in the so-called 'City of Angels', he'd invited me over to do some writing for him.

And so write I would, as if my life depended on it. The truth is, anything can happen in LA in terms of work and play. That in mind, I was determined to do both in equal measure, and to the very best of my abilities ... For more information about Jim Becket and his work, please visit www.jamesbecketdirector.com To be continued ...Part 2.

Copyright \ufffd Steve Rudd 2009

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