HELLO AMERICA!—Having to survive under the gun of the VIRUS, it has given me the time to genuinely look at the entertainment industry in a very realistic way. As usual, it really doesn’t matter what difficulty we are subject to i.e., weather, joblessness or any other social stress, Hollywood, somehow, manages to survive it all one way or another.
Thousands of young talented hopefuls, no matter what the “virus” warnings are, they rationalize that in a few months things will return to normal, and the casting doors will be wide open to test their genius. Actually, this is the well-known power of making motion pictures; any kid, whether in America, or even around the globe, if they are aware of films, harbor a secret desire to make their mark as an actor, director, or be an important part of an film.
I had a profoundly serious talk with a Russian damsel who arrived here from Russia; it seems she was fortunate enough to view tons of films produced in Hollywood; films with gifted young actors and writers, producers who believe if given the opportunity to travel to America, all of their artistically creative dreams will be realized. Katerina, the Russian talent, is determined to do anything to achieve her dreams here; she speaks beautiful English, on arrival. She immediately signed up for classes at a community college. She was determined to know or learn as much as possible about the new country she decided to spend her creative talents in.
Even during her years of college study, she not only auditioned for films, but for theater performances as well. When it was slow she took on sales positions, or any other survival responsibilities; in other words, she was determined to make it, to do whatever necessary to be totally independent when the right door or opportunity came along.
“I knew when I first arrived here in Hollywood, it would not be easy. Well, that is something I knew long before deciding to come to America,” she said. “However, I have been quite fortunate to get a few modelling jobs, and I was lucky as well to get a role in a film that was shot in New York. It was tough work, but I realized quite a long time ago that anything with any value is tough, it determined who you really are as well as who you genuinely want to be.”
Katerina is also working not only a book about her journey, but completing a script that will paint a picture of her many experiences since coming to Hollywood. “There have been many challenges,” she offered. “I have had to face many realities, ones involving who I am as a woman as well as a creative artist. I have had many choices to make as far as men, the kind of roles best for me to pursue and many other things which challenge my way of life and morals; much of the beautiful truths taught to me by my family came in handy, and I quickly realized how fortunate I was to have such wonderful parents who took the time and love to open meaningful doors of knowledge to me.”
Katerina recently returned from visiting her family in Russia; she admitted it was something she believed she had to do.
“The time spent with my beautiful family as well as revisiting so many of the places I grew up with made me even more sure that deciding to spend the rest of my life in America was a perfect decision. I feel a certain level of independence, I love the idea of waking up in the morning realizing it will be my choice as to what I will fill my day with or who is important for me to have a meeting with or look at papers i.e., the Hollywood Reporter or Variety to get information concerning the industry. It is a kind of community I have always hungered to take part in. I will always love my country but there is always a time when you have to put on your coat and kiss yesterday goodbye in order to challenge something which will make your life even more complete.”
Katerina admits she is struggling to find a right title for the book she has been working on for months.
“I have written much about the struggle of survival, artistically in Russia. How I needed to explode with the ideas I had as a woman, as a human being. Even though there is so much beauty to relate to there, I, however, had a desire to suggest so many other creative ways to express myself simply as a human being. I needed to expose myself, my soul as a human being who needed to hear the music of total freedom and to follow the path I was born to travel on as an artist.”
When questioned about LOVE, she simply laughed and said, “Well, I believe when the right person comes along, I will feel it, and know it in my bones. I realize now that this will happen when I fully understand who and what I am myself; until I know and understand this level of reality, I don’t believe I won’t have the capacity to make or share love with anyone else. It’s as simple as that.”
