Greetings everyone and welcome back to The Outsiders Guide to the Inside of Hollywood.” I figured if Hollywood can reboot every Film and Television show, then I can reboot my blog. My blog is not like all the other blogs out there. Its is based on personal experiences I’ve had in my life of attending or covering entertainment and press events as a photographer, story teller and fan. The reason for my long hiatus was due to writers block. I was deeply effective by the suicides of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington. My last Blog was written on Chris Cornell’s birthday. It was also the day that Chester took his own life. I tried to put my feelings down on paper but another one of my creative influences, Tom Petty, accidentally overdosed on pain medication. I started over a dozen blogs, but never could get past three paragraphs. Lately I’ve been able to find my creative voice once again.
If any of you have read my blog’s in the past you know how I feel about Drew Barrymore. So it should be no surprise that when I found out about the LA Red Carpet Premiere of Season 3 of “Santa Clarita Diet”, I had to cover it. The show stared Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Drew was also an Executive Producer on the show. The show is about a married couple real estate agents in suburban Santa Clarita, California. Drew’s character dies, but transforms into a zombie and needs human flesh to feed.
The day before the premiere, I still didn’t hear back from the publicist to see if my photo request was confirmed. I live in the Bay Area which is 400 miles from my home. After not hearing back, I sent one last email. Later on that night I got an email from the PR company saying my emails got lost in their junk mail. She then told me I was approved to cover the premiere in LA at 6 P.M. the next day. At the crack of Dawn the next morning I headed South.
About 6 hours later, I arrived in Hollywood. I lived in the Lower Hollywood Hills for 10 years and always have fond memories living and working in the area. Due to the large amount of events going on the premiere was held at Hollywood Post 43 behind a closed gate. This was great. We didn’t have to deal with Fans, Collectors (Ebayers), Paparazzi and tourists. The Red Carpet was located in the parking lot. The set up was perfect, a beautiful long Red Carpet and great lighting! For the first time in a long time I was excited for a shoot!
The first cast members to arrive were actors who were guest staring on the show this season. Goran Visnjic (E.R. Timeless), posed for pictures. During a interview with a Videographer, another former “Timeless” cast member actor, Malcolm Barrett, sneaked up to him and hugged Goran. They greeted each other like they were truly overjoyed to see each other.
The first regular cast to hit the carpet was Skyler Gisondo. Skyler who is now co staring in the indie hit film “Booksmart”. He then was followed by former “Justified” actor and Drew’s husband on the show, Timothy Olyphant. As he walked down the carpet he finally made it to my stop at the end. I started to take some photos as he looked at my Guns N’ Roses sweatshirt Timothy spoke to me saying “Cool Sweatshirt.” I answered back, ” Cool Band”. He nodded his head and said “Yeah.”
Finally it was time on the carpet for the lady of the evening, Star and Executive Producer, Drew Barrymore. Drew arrived in a beautiful green emerald long dress. Drew posed alone and with the cast and crew of the show. She then made sure that all the video people got interviews. By the time I packed up everything and got to my car Drew was on her final interview. The lot was pitch dark besides the one light left from the interview with no people except her, the interviewer, and her handlers. The night ended with high spirits and everyone hoping for a Season 4. But those hopes quickly faded.
One week later the show was canceled by Netflix. Fans were immediately furious with the Streaming service and threatened to cancel their membership. The hash tag’s #SaveSantaClaritaDiet and #CancelNetflix became popular posts on social media. Drew, being the professional that she is made a statement to Entertainment Weekly that both her character and Olyphant’s were an “Amazing couple,” adding that she feels “lucky” to have been a part of the show. Barrymore also gave a shout out to Victor Fresco, the shows creator.”Sheila and Joel were an amazing couple, who had shared goals. And I am lucky to have worked along side Tim Olyphant,” she told the outlet. “It was an honor to get to do something so delightful. Sheila lives forever in me. And I am grateful to Victor Fresco, who created a world so unique.”
So the question is, why did Netflix cancel the show? Sadly it came down to money. The show they claim cost too much to produce. They wanted to produce new cheaper shows of their own content. The streaming service did hardly any promotion for the new season. The Network has been on a firing frenzy lately, cancelling “One Day at a Time”, “Jessica Jones” and other fan favorites.
Their latest cancellation is actually a show they saved a year ago. After 3 seasons “Lucifer”, a show staring Tom Ellis was cancelled by network TV. The series revolves around Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil, who abandons Hell for Los Angeles where he runs his own nightclub and becomes a consultant to the LAPD. The show was resurrected by Netflix after Fox cancelled the show last year. More than 300,000 fans campaigned to get the drama a fourth season. The show and previous seasons premiered on Netflix for a shortened 10 episode season last month. However Netflix, last week renewed the show for a Fifth but final season.
Once again Netflix said it is to expand their original content. Unfortunately they have replaced it with below average Netflix Original Films which are poorly made for television shows, and would have either gone straight to video or never been released back in the day. It’s such a shame to see quality shows be replaced with below the bar quality. Netflix has produced a number of great shows and films. It just seems that they are interested in quantity over quality which could be a bad mistake in the streaming service wars. They don’t want to end up being the next Myspace.
So what can you do as a fan? For streaming shows, you can stream them again. You don’t have to be a Neilson Family. Unlike regular T.V., Netflix knows what the numbers of viewers are. Another powerful tool is social media. Get people talking about the show. Tell a friend who hopefully will tell another friend to watch a film or T.V. show. Now more than ever its important to support Independent Film and Music. Check out an indie film or a local band in your area.
All photos © Jonathan Scott Shensa Photography
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The Outsiders Guide To The Inside Of Hollywood 