Today we talk about expressions involving LosAngeles, California. Los Angeles is the biggest city inthe western United States. It is the second largest U.S. city in terms of population, after NewYork City.
So, Los Angeles is a huge city with people from many different walks of life. But for today'sshow we are going to focus on the dream–like, or ethereal, part of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles -- or simply "L.A." for short -- can be an unreal place, a place like no other. Forsome it is a city where big dreams come true; for others it is where their dreams die in cloud ofsmog.
L.A is home to the U.S. motion picture and television industries. Some Americans like to call itThe Entertainment Capital of the World.
The L.A. neighborhood best known for films and movie stars is Hollywood. Millions of peoplevisit Hollywood each year. No trip to Los Angeles is complete without seeing the word"Hollywood" spelled out in huge letters on a hillside.
And many actors dream of having their name added to Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
This brings us to a nickname for Los Angeles, one that is also commonly-used as an expression: la-la land.
La-la land can be any place that is fun, far from serious, and out of touch with reality. You canuse the expression when talking about the mental state of someone who does not understandwhat is really happening. You might say that person is "in la-la land."
"La La Land" is also the name of a 2016 movie. It tells the story of a man who wants to be amusician and a woman who wants to be an actress. They meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The name of the movie suggests both the city's nickname and the state of being out of touchwith reality.
Now, there are many types of industries: automobile industry, farming industry, computerindustry, and so on, and so on. However, when people in L.A. say they work in the "Industry," they only mean one thing – making movies. Like any industry, the movie industry has its ownset of terms and expressions. Some are useful outside of La La Land.
Not only actors, many screenwriters dream of making it big in Hollywood. They write onescreenplay after another, hoping for a big break – the opportunity of seeing their story madeinto a film and played out on the silver screen.
To get money to make that happen, these writers need to pitch their stories. A pitch is a shortdescription of a project you've been working on or an idea you have. You pitch your idea tosomeone who can help you with money or provide contacts to make it happen.
Writers usually form a partnership with someone in the Industry such as a producer ordirector. These partnerships then pitch the project to investors.
So, in Hollywood, the pitch is about scripts and making a movie. But you can pitch anythingthat needs financial backing. You can even say you are pitching yourself if you are looking for ajob.
But back to the movies -- let's say your pitch is successful. The first person you talk to likesyour idea. So, you move up the line. You get to talk "Bigs." In Hollywood, these are the peoplewith all the influence and money.
In other work situations, you might call them big wigs, decision makers or simply the "moneypeople."
No matter what you call them, if investors like your pitch, they may green light your project.
This would be the best news. In traffic, a green light gives the driver permission to moveforward. In movies and in all other industries, getting the green light for a project or havingyour project green lighted means you have permission and support to make it happen.
After you get the green light, you make your script into a movie. You've made the big time! Again, you can make the "big time" or make it big in any industry, not just in the movies.
词汇精讲：
1.green light 准许;许可;绿灯
The European Parliament has given the green light for member states to cut persistent file-sharers off from the net.
欧洲议会准许其成员国去除网上宿存的文件共享者。
2.make it big 取得成功; 出名
I never thought that he would make it big, but I guess I was wrong about Michael jordan.
我从来没想过麦克尔·乔丹会成功，但我想我对他的看法是错的。
3.big wigs 重要人物
All the local big wigs were present at the closing ceremony.
当地所有的重要人物都出席了这个闭幕仪式。
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