Broke Fabulousity: The thin line between sacrifice and stupidity.

There was once a man who lived in a shoe...no, just kidding.

Okay, seriously, there was once a man who wrote a full stage play and saved up $12,000 to rent a theater, produce the show and promote it. It failed miserably. During its opening weekend a lonely, combined total of 30 people attended. The unfathomable flop left him penniless, broken and homeless. For six years, he worked odd jobs, sleeping in his car most nights, and relied on other people for food and money. Instead of paying for the basic human essentials - shelter, food and clothing - he saved every penny he earned in efforts towards reproducing the same show that flopped worse than any show should EVER flop. Question: would you consider his post-failure choice of course stupid or positively sacrificial? On one hand, here is a dream-driven man that has absolutely nothing except his dream and a questionable talent, and is reinvesting the little money he makes into attempting to turn his dream into a profitable reality. On the other hand here is a man that is so blindsided by his preset goals, that it looks as if he will probably die broke and unsuccessful.

Right?

Fact: The above scenario is a true story. His name is Tyler Perry, who is known today as one of the most successful original stage play producers in US history.

Halle Berry, Kelsey Grammer, Jim Carey and Musiq Soulchild have all been in similar situations before they became stars. Since hindsight is 20/20, we, the outsiders looking in, would label their actions as sacrificial. But what about the one insider that is always looking out? Each of them undoubtedly saw every hunger pain, bitter cold night and shameless plea for help as a sacrifice towards a brighter future. So how do we label the other playwrights, actors and singers that have not yet acquired international acclaim, million-dollar homes and custom Bentleys?

How do we label the blossoming movers and shakers that are still in the struggle, who instead of six years, have been homeless for ten? Are we to encourage them or criticize their current choice of lifestyles? Simply put, what identifies the hair-thin line between sacrifice and stupidity?

In this business we call entertainment, it is far from uncommon for the starry-eyed dreamer to choose flashiness over food. It is a chronic condition amongst the not-so-rich-and-almost-famous demographic called, Broke Fabulousity. This is when a gray area is formed between the black and white worlds of needs versus desires, thus becoming needs versus needs. It is when you make a conscious decision between an eviction-pending rent payment and a Grammy Awards show ticket, between your about-to-get-repossessed car note and a trip to Olympus Fashion Week or between a very necessary student loan payment and a new outfit for the biggest party of the year.

Hollywood is not a town for the talker, talk is not merely enough. It is a place for the walker that understands the ironic need for un-needed amenities. It is a place where people make split-second assumptions on your credibility based on your outer appearance. How many times have you assumed that the person you saw in a three piece suit, stepping out of a Benz in front of the Four Seasons holding a Blackberry was someone of importance? How do you know that he isn’t a struggling music manager without job that landed a once-in-a-lifetime lunch meeting with the CEO of Universal? The suit overdrew his checking account, the car was a rental and the Blackberry set him back weeks ago. Is he to be called stupid for overspending or is he sacrificing for his career? The car, the suit, the phone, they all project the image of a credible manager.

Rest assured, appearing fabulous while being broke is a dangerous gamble. It is a risky game of 50/50 that is constantly being played by Hollywood hopefuls in efforts to win the top prize – success. To them, not to sacrifice would be ridiculous because it will always be an issue of needs versus needs. Their career is their life. It is just as important as the roof over their head and the clothes on their back. But since success cannot be purchased on eBay or whipped up in the kitchen with one of grandma’s secret recipes, when and where is the line drawn between sacrifice and stupidity? What is to be considered too much or too far? That is a limit that only the dreamer can measure. 

Is success the real true love?

Statistics show that sixty-two percent of all celebrity relationships do not last. You wonder, what could possibly have gone wrong? Money, fame, beauty…all the essentials of potential marital bliss, right? Well if over half of Hollywood’s finest cannot seem to maintain lasting relationships, what’s in the cards for us Hollywood hopefuls?

“A-listers” exhaust every effort to stay on the A-list. This is accomplished by completing a daily chaotic routine of meetings, rehearsals, photoshoots, tapings, appearances, signings, lunches, launches, fittings and God knows what else. If so much time is spent on ensuring their next few million, how many times do they truly have in a day to convey a sincere and passionate “I love you” to their significant other? If us “E-listers” spend every waking moment auditioning, wishing, working [at your real job], researching, schmoozing, interning, and oh yes, praying, then where can we find the 25th hour in the day to put our dreams of success on hold for a single, romantic evening outside of the holiday-anniversary-birthday requirements? I mean, are we all simply too busy for love or is success the real true love?

There are not many people in the world that actually imitate Jennifer Hudson’s character in Sex in the City the movie. There aren’t people just out here solely in search of love. However, there are countless people in the world engaged in a consistent “pursuit of happiness”. And it is that group of people, the pursuers, which have identified success as the dream that fuels the fire of their life; while the lovers dream of nothing more than the perfect wedding day.

So we have broken it down even further…the Pursuer and the Lover. While it is true that a Pursuer can also love and a Lover can also pursue, the two, however, can never coexist equally; one will always rule over the other.

Proof?

I once knew a guy that interned at Artemis Records. Let’s call him Justin. Justin was 25, a college graduate and married. His ultimate and/or immediate goal, which he made very clear, was to become an A&R at a major record label. Sounds typical, but here’s the catch. Justin was so driven to succeed that he neglected himself, his wife and his family for anything job related. He even cancelled dinner on his one year marriage anniversary to stay and complete work for his boss. He made it painfully obvious that success was his No. 1 priority…his real true love.

My question is where is the balance? If I am a pursuer and a lover, where can I find the great wizard to give me courage to live as both? Do I sacrifice my dreams to maintain domestic bliss or do I continue to play Russian roulette with her heart with each cancelled date and every missed phone call? If my relationships never last due to my not-so-rich-and-almost-famous schedule now, should I continue my search for love or simply someone willing to endure?□

The 5 - 9 Celebrity

Scenario A: Mike has a job as a deliveryman for a packing and shipping company to make ends-meet. He is looking for a job that will enable him to utilize his rare degree in veterinary psychology. He works twelve-hour shifts on a rotating schedule, five days per week, including every other weekend. Every morning Mike goes to work with his uniform on and a small black carry bag filled with a change of clothes, hair products and toiletries.

Scenario B: Blackstone is a local, up and coming singing sensation. He is known by his novice yet loyal fans as being an extravagant, drink buying, smooth talking, sexy dressing, ladies man with a voice that resembles midnight velvet. He is always fashionably late and never stays until the end of a club night. He is a walking VIP card in the busiest club district in the city. His myspace page has over 2,000 hits per day and he is never seen without his trademarked, five-button, black Versace suit with a crisp, white, French-collared shirt.

If I were to tell you that the men from scenarios A and B are actually the same person, would you believe me? Believe it! Mike Blackstone carries a change of clothes to work because he doesn’t have time to go home after work before the club. He is always fashionably late and never stays because he does not want anyone to see him getting on and off the bus at the corner. His five-button Versace suit is coined “trademarked” because it’s the only black suit he has. Mike is a fictitious, yet excellent example of one of Hollywood’s largest taboo groups, The Secret Society of the “5-9” Celebrities. From 9am to 5pm they work as normal citizens at normal jobs in normal society. But, from 5pm to 9am they masquerade, in their fake Prada and knock-off Gucci, as managers, singers, agents, publicists, models, dancers, and ironically even writers at the hottest spots in town.

Though it is important to ask…which life is the secret life? Your co-workers are unaware of your nightlife and your nightlife has no idea that if they were to ever go to the grocery store across the street from their normal one, it will be you helping them make the decision between paper and plastic.

Okay, so you have identified yourself as being a member of this secret society, you even found your members-only black suit in the back of your closet. How do you conquer the stomach-clenching fear of having to ring up the label rep you met last night; who is spending on three items what you make in three months? The solution is simple. Be yourself. Quite frankly it is the only thing you could do in that situation. Everyone who is considered by us E-listers (most of us are not even on the D-list yet) to be “somebody” has started somewhere - you were just not around to witness that. However there are three things about yourself that could outshine the fact that you are seriously about to gift wrap two pairs of Manolo Blahniks and a watch, when your business card clearly read Celebrity Publicist last night.

Personality. Credibility. Image.

If you do not act like a deer caught in headlights and begin to sweat profusely, but rather flash that million-dollar smile and comment on their great taste in shoes, you’ve passed step one. Since you already know their next utterly dumb question, “So…you work here?”, duh, prepare for it now. Comment on the fact that you are on your grind but simultaneously find a creative way to re-validate yourself as a working professional in your stated field. You must not look like a liar. If you are successful, you have passed step two. Finally and most importantly, you should not look like a completely different person from your first encounter with them. Now it is understandable that wearing your freakum dress and four-inch heels at the counter is strictly against company policy. But what is not against company policy is well-groomed hair, an ironed uniform, clean shoes, and ladies, some makeup. If your physical presentation is consistently decent, you have indeed passed step three.

You are now ready to hold your head up high and graduate from that shameful secret society. If you can manage to keep your double lives separate, by all means, continue. But, if ever that day should come, when dreams meet reality, will you sink or swim? □