You look at the absolute scorn that gets poured on a fallen celebrity, whether it's Tom Cruise or Lindsay Lohan or Marlon Brando, or Elvis when he got fat. They're not allowed the dignity of ordinary failure. And I think that plays into people's notions about Los Angeles, too. It's not allowed to be a regular city with problems.
Matthew SpecktorDuring the 90s, I watched a lot of people getting fat and prosperous, and I thought, culture itself is the casualty of this.
Matthew SpecktorWe go to literature because it shows us some set of humane values. It is showing us how to live.
Matthew SpecktorPeople don't seem to have a problem with a romanticized New York, in fact that's almost all they ever do, in some sense, is romanticize that place. Los Angeles deserves the same courtesy.
Matthew SpecktorOne of the weird things about L.A. is that there's always a set of negative perceptions that attaches itself to this city.
Matthew Specktor