Studio Life

Although established over a hundred years ago, Hollywood movie studios still present themselves with a utilitarian modesty despite the star-spangled hype of their publicity machines. For employees, studio life offers a straightforward existence that overflows with all the tangible qualities of small-town America. Bicycles float cheerful worker bees to the mill and mailroom. At noon, carpenters and secretaries unite in the commissary where table-hopping percolates between studio hairdressers and studio brass.

In a volume of personal essays and photographs, Rob Easterla details his ascent from nowhere to somebody in the Hollywood landscape as he clawed his way to the middle while crossing paths with celebrities such as James Spader, Debbie Reynolds, and Julie Andrews. While leading others into the trenches at Paramount Pictures, NBC, and Twentieth Century Fox, Easterla reveals the magic and horror of studio life from 1980 to 2011 as he labored within a world where normal rules did not apply and thick-skinned, fearless studio folk upheld a “can-do” attitude, even during the most challenging times. Through it all, Easterla reminds us that making movies is a singular art form that recruits only the most passionate, eager dreamers to participate in the process.

Studio Life is a volume of personal essays that reveal a man’s escapades as he galloped onto a Paramount Pictures lot in the 1980s and began an unforgettable adventure.