COUNTER-CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: LA Confidential publisher Alison Miller, Savages’ Taylor Kitsch and Oliver Stone, and LA Confidential editor-in-chief Spencer Beck at the Summer issue party. Natascha McElhone and David Duchovny give good copy in “Super Cali Fragilistic". Hollywood glamour à la Grace Kelly is back this fall - see “High Society,” shot at Hotel Bel-Air.
Full disclosure: I don’t much care for editors’ notes. I rarely read them, and, having penned dozens of them once upon a time during my stint as editor-in-chief of Los Angeles magazine, I vowed I’d never write another. However, as an exercise in editorship, like a pianist of some note (which I once was) who hasn’t performed publicly in years and feels compelled to revisit Czerny’s Études, I reread several of those old notes. Not bad, actually. What I saw was a young, very ambitious editor who had quite a lot to say on topics ranging from celebrity and fashion to more urban staples such as real estate, politics, and crime, as befits a classic city magazine.
Fast forward. All grown up. A bit humbler, I’d like to think. This New York-born-and-bred writer and editor is still in LA. Still loving it. Thrilled (that never changes) to be helming a magazine that celebrates this remarkable city, which continues—in domino-effect fashion—to secure its place on the world stage as one of the great international cities on the planet.
Forget the LA clichés (as if you need to). The days when H.L. Mencken and Truman Capote (two literary arbiters who come to mind) dissed the city’s lack of cultural and literary kudos are long, long gone. Art? We so rock. High fashion: LA is red-carpet-ready and long has been. (Check out Anne Riley-Katz’s feature on that subject in this issue.) Literature? Did you know LA has the biggest book-buying public in the nation? Shocking. Or not, if you are a native.
As I am, Los Angeles Confidential is all grown up. My boss, Niche Media editorial director Mandi Norwood, leads the charge with a charming mix of wit and firmness—a “velvet hammer” approach I much admire. Our dynamic publisher, Alison Miller, now has a partner in crime on the creative side who matches her biz savvy blonde lock by blonde lock. Deputy editor Alexis Johnson, an LA native with extraordinary insider knowledge and connections, keeps me on my toes. Great team.
Okay, so I’ll write these editors’ notes. The public demands it. But if you really want to know what’s going on in this city, try to grab me up at Soho House as I nurse a vintage Scotch (Oban, rocks), gazing admiringly over the great LA cityscape, a view I never tire of. I’ll tell you a thing or two you probably won’t read in these pages.
Cheers!
SPENCER BECK
Stay up to date with all that’s going on in LA at la-confidential-magazine.com/calendar.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RONY SHRAM (MODEL); ANDREW ECCLES (DUCHOVNY)
