Hollywood, je t'aime (2009)

Director:

Jason Bushman

Writer:

Jason Bushman (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A gay Parisian shows up in Hollywood at Christmastime, ready for his close-up.

Plot Keywords:

Parisian | Christmas | French Accent | Beach | Los Angeles California

Cast

Eric Debets	...	Jérôme Beaunez
Chad Allen	...	Ross
Jonathan Blanc	...	Gilles
Diarra Kilpatrick	...	Kaleesha
Michael Airington	...	Norma Desire
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oscar Alvarez	...	Himself
Whitney Anderson	...	Trish
Cesar Arambula	...	Trick from Spotlight Bar
Randall Bacon	...	Steve Jaspers
Barbie-Q	...	Kaleesha's Girlfriend
Jason Boegh	...	Commercial Casting Assistant
Matthew J Cates	...	Immigration Officer
Charles Chen	...	Grip / Production Assistant
Sarah Domin	...	Amber Sparks
Kelly Ebsary	...	Music Video Casting Director
Bruce Wayne Eckelman	...	Traveler (as Bruce Eckelman)
Mike Endes	...	Paparazzi
Audrey Fiorini	...	Lise Delot
Gabe Fiscale	...	Crew / Art Dept
Mell Flynn	...	Commercial Casting Director
Doug Graves	...	Man in Sauna
Hale	...	Crazy Customer
Martin William Harris	...	Actor in Callback
Ker'in Hayden	...	Sarah
Jeremiah Hein	...	Transvestite Hooker
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld	...	Thom
Rebecca Hirschfeld	...	Auditioner
Richard Allan Jones	...	Bingo Player
Maura M. Knowles	...	Singer
Beth Leckbee	...	Hotel Receptionist #1
Terence Leclere	...	Bus Advocate
Omar Leyva	...	Eugenio
Steven Littles	...	Club Doorman
Lita Lopez	...	Hotel Receptionist #2
Eder López	...	Cafe Patron
Dave Mack	...	Unsavory Man
Donovan McGrath	...	Henri
Danny Moreno	...	Homophobic Boy
Pamela J. Morgan	...	Actress from Pizza Commercial
Weston Mueller	...	Commercial Camera Op
Véronique Mérilhou	...	Béatrice
Jake Olson	...	Surfer Guy
Lizzie Peet	...	Jen
Teri Pluma	...	Homeless Woman
Ashley Popichak	...	Cafe patron
William Popp	...	Dale from New Jersey
Doug Purcell	...	Bartender
Leah Rachel	...	Tiffani Schein
Scott Romstadt	...	Kenny the Waiter
Gisele Scherer	...	Old Neighbor
Shannon Shepherd	...	Hotel Receptionist #3
Akiko Shima	...	Hostel Manager
Joe Smith	...	Casting Cameraman
Mark Tomesek	...	John from Spotlight Bar
William Vega	...	SUV Driver
Danielle Zaragoza	...	Secretary
Rayanna Zaragoza	...	Auditioner
Victoria De Mare	...	Heroin Addict (uncredited)

Directed by
Jason Bushman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jason Bushman		written by

Produced by
Benjamin Cassou	....	line producer
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld	....	producer
Angela Sostre	....	line producer

Original Music by
Timo Chen

Cinematography by
Alison Kelly

Film Editing by
Phillip J. Bartell

Casting by
Jeremy Gordon

Production Design by
Michael Fitzgerald

Art Direction by
Marina Abramyan

Costume Design by
Kari Cassellius

Makeup Department
J.J. Poff	....	makeup artist
Charlotte Scovill	....	makeup department head
Charlotte Scovill	....	makeup designer
Christopher Vanek	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Joel Henry	....	unit production manager
Jochen Kunstler	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Erin Bartnik	....	second assistant director
Chris Debenedetto	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Samson Kellman	....	construction coordinator
Emily Manthei	....	property master
Sam Widaman	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
José Caldararo	....	foley artist
J.M. Davey	....	sound re-recording mixer
J.M. Davey	....	supervising sound editor
Leandro de Loredo	....	foley recordist
Ryan Gegenheimer	....	dialogue editor
Esteban Golubicki	....	foley recordist
Alexis Jung	....	sound mixer
Jeaneane Leaver-Fay	....	assistant sound effects recordist (as Jeaneane Davey)
Arran Murphy	....	sound mixer
Rodrigo Ortiz-Parraga	....	foley editor
Zach Seivers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Zach Seivers	....	supervising sound editor

Visual Effects by
Suny Behar	....	colorist
Andy Lueddeke	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Jessica Brower	....	digital imaging technician
Lance Hashida	....	first assistant camera
David A. Hoffman	....	grip
Tom Hunt	....	key grip
Thibault Lery	....	additional gaffer: Paris scenes
John C. Reyes	....	first assistant camera
Bret Suding	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Samantha Kuester	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Jochen Kunstler	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Craig Bunch	....	musician: drums
Chanda Dancy	....	musician: violins
Kunio Iwata	....	musician: saxophones
Steve Pandis	....	musican: bass
Steven Pranoto	....	musician: flutes
Dan Wilcox	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Greg Bernstein	....	legal services
Justine Cathelin	....	translator
Melissa Downing	....	location manager
Aron Kantor	....	title designer
Mickey Cottrell	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Lightfoot Productions

Distributors

• PRO-FUN media Filmverleih (2009) (Germany) (all media)
• Wolfe Video (2009) (USA) (all media)
• TLA Releasing (2010) (UK) (all media)
• Optimale (2010) (France) (all media)

Other Companies

• Creative Clearance  script clearance, copyright & title search
• Snap Sound  post-production sound services

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lightfoot Productions

Soundtrack:

Designated Lover

Dark side of Hollywood in entertaining comedy

"Hollywood J'taime" is unique in being the only French film I can think of that wasn't made by anyone French. In theme and style it well-emulates a European film, and that's a compliment.

The film is the journey of a man in Paris who has been dumped by his boyfriend and decides to chuck it all and go to Hollywoodland, USA to get over it. This all results in his finding that home is where the heart is--not an earth-shattering revelation, Dorothy Gale, but one that never grows tired or passé--in an ending that is refreshing in its unwillingness to tie up all the loose ends like a dopey sitcom, but is satisfying nonetheless.

What makes the movie so French is that the p.o.v. of the film belongs to vacationing Frenchman Jérôme, played with wonderful understatement and realism by Eric Debets (who does, in fact, bear a remarkable resemblance to Adrian Brody, a running gag). We follow Jérôme from France to LAX and beyond, seeing LA through his eyes, and to see what he sees, and how he sees it, is the primary joy of the movie. Aside from being dead-pan natural, real, and utterly "French" on-screen, Debets doesn't hold back exposing himself both theoretically and quite literally...this is a film with a gay audience in mind and as such knows there's no need to try to be otherwise; most comfortably gay males appreciate male nudity, and don't spend a lot of time sitting around discussing what it means to be gay, the problem with many films in this genre.

The director shows confidence in presenting his story without either going crazy with technique or being hobbled by budgetary limits (the opening credits are delightfully snappy). It looks far more expensive than it probably was to make, but doesn't resort to flashy gimmicks (although some may argue the slightly-beyond-R sexual scenes push that boundary--again, depends on your comfort level). It's easy to watch, the acting is above average, the characters interesting and the script feels complete. It could probably use one more edit to cut just a wee bit of fat around the edges, particularly in the 3rd act when Jérôme looks for a "real" job in a restaurant. Jérôme verges on unsympathetic at times for his bad planning (he seems too old for some of the dumb choices he makes) and the plot suffers occasionally when it resorts to contrivance and coincidence, but it is, after all, a movie. I also found myself wanting to know more background on most of the characters, who seem to appear on cue and disappear as needed. However, things never become insufferable in depicting drag queens with hearts of gold or gorgeous guys throwing themselves at someone just because the script requires it, like many similar films in the same category. And the somewhat-open ending is, again, satisfying and very "true" to what has come before.

What really sets this one apart is its depiction of the "real" Hollywood...this is literally a snapshot of the popular Silver Lake-to-Santa Monica stretch of LA area as it is/was in 2009; one can almost smell the grit on the sidewalks or feel the dry heat. I say that being a resident who recognized every block used as a location. It's one view among many, and not pretty, but it's an accurate one, and should be required viewing for anyone (gay) who is thinking of dropping everything and coming to Hollywood with the idea that it is a "dream factory," something that still happens quite frequently. Similarly, the film is remarkable, being made by Americans, in portraying the US from the perspective of a person from France, and captures the European-out-of-water in LA scenario, which is very common here, quite well (It's too bad Jérôme didn't take the bus to Venice Beach instead, it may have been a whole different movie).

Congratulations to cast and crew on a job well done and kudos well-earned, and a film that goes down like a fine French wine to those interested in the subject matter. I'll definitely be on the lookout for a sequel, and I'm glad we're living in times when movies like this can be made.