About Jeff and Behrod
Behrod Amiri
Behrod Amiri’s profession is in the finance world. Very boring stuff. However, without people like him, the global economy would crash. Then the real version of “Mad Max” would become a reality. Maybe it is a bit overdramatic. Nevertheless, finance is kind of important.
Behrod and his family migrated to these United States when he was ten years old. Thank you very much, one, two, three, and fuck you, were the only words he knew in English. “Fuck you was the first thing I learned on my first day, like Prince Akeem in Coming to America.”
Behrod tells the story of his childhood, “as a kid growing up in Iran, the entertainment world of America was like a fantasy. My Parents would tell me stories about Universal Studios, Disneyland, and Hollywood from their past visits. No matter how many times I would hear about their trips, I asked the same questions. Where does Luke Skywalker live? Did you go to his house? But still the stories were so mysterious that my imagination would wonder for days creating an entire world of entertainment in my mind”.
Behrod did finally have a chance to experience it all, and it was not what he hoped and dreamed about. “It was all Fake, everything that I loved in my head was a fraud. I was lied to my entire 10 years of life! How could this be? Magic, my uncle the professional photographer tells me. The magic of movie making. He continued and went on to explain how movies, shows and photography all work”.
Behrod continues to explain, “Just like everyone one on this planet, to this day I am mesmerized by the magnetic force surrounding the entertainment world, everything around gravitating towards it. Entertainment is part of our everyday life. It comes in many forms, like music, books, social media, internet, theater and of course television and movies. All these entities intermingle happily under one umbrella called Hollywood!”
His passion for this podcast was highlighted when discussing efforts needed to produce the smallest projects. “What people do not realize is that it literally takes a village to produce something from start to finish. Take a football team for instance. The quarterback, the star wide receiver, head coach and a couple other key players are the only ones you may know by name. No one has heard of the guy who wakes up at 3AM every single day to check on the field making sure it is proper and safe. Or the lady who works 12 hours a day scheduling practices, booking flights, reminding the quarterback about his wife’s birthday. So many more just like them contributing differently. One thing for certain is that without them, there would be no team, Period. Those same people are part of this massive world of entertainment that we all love. This is what the 10 year old Behrod is after”.
Behrod concludes, “I finally get to experience and learn about the ordinary people who helped to create those imaginations and fantasies because to me they are the real magic of Hollywood.” We hope for you to be part of his Journey by tuning in to the Hollywoodland podcast.
Jeff Hall
Jeff Hall has been around the entertainment business his entire life. Born in Hollywood, California, Jeff’s father started as a studio laborer. He worked his way up the ranks and into the union as a prop maker, working around stars like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Jerry Lewis. His grandfather ran a comedy club in the early days before such clubs as the Comedy Store and The Improv became universally known.
“I remember my grandfather telling me stories about all the comedians that would come in just to try to get some stage time to work out their material,” says Jeff. “David Letterman, Freddie Prinze, Jay Leno, all before their careers took off. I also had two uncles that were actors. Still, I never actually considered it as a career until the one day that changed everything.”
That day was in 1994. The movie was Ed Wood. “It was the first time I was ever on a real set. It is hard to describe what a great experience it was,” continues Jeff. “The creative process is such a unique thing. There is an energy, an exhilaration. It truly is something magical. I didn’t know how I could be a part of it. I just knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life.”
So although that transition was difficult, Jeff did what he could to pursue his creative passions. While still in real estate, he produced and hosted “Spotlight On Real Estate,” one of the first cable TV shows covering the local real estate market in the Los Angeles-Orange County area.
“My uncle and I would shoot the footage by day and edit in Hollywood by night. I loved every aspect of the process,” continues Jeff. He then moved on to take whatever job he could to get him on a set to learn as much as possible from the actors, directors, and camera operators. He starred in several plays, wrote his first script, networked as much as he could, and learned as much as possible about the business from his manager.
After an extended hiatus from the entertainment business, Jeff is now back doing what he loves.
He currently has several films in development, is in production on his short film “Nothing and Everything,” and of course is the co-host of the Hollywoodland Podcast.