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"One man's existential crisis is another's bargain bonanza." That's the conclusion of an L.A. Weekly piece by Christopher Noxon. He writes about a young rich guy named Scott King -- a film writer and producer -- who decided to get rid of his considerable possessions. He didn't give away his stuff, which included a pinball machine, a collection of vintage clothes, and a 1939 BMW automobile -- he sold them, to friends and colleagues, at a party he hosted.

There are many things that are so very L.A. about this story. First of all, the guy is wealthy by birth; secondly, he is, of course, "in the industry;" and thirdly, though he claims a post-Sept. 11 realization for his decision to get rid of his stuff, he's not changing his life. He simply wants to "find a tiny house on a big plot in Point Dume, where he'll work on his next movie -- this one a thriller about the end of the world set in contemporary Russia -- and live an uncluttered life with his two beloved dogs and a wardrobe of J.Crew basics."

While that last bit was no doubt a sardonic comment on the part of the writer, I'll take the rest of the statement at face value. So let's look at it. The disaster of Sept. 11 made the guy realize that "life is about your friends and your family and connecting and that's it" -- so to express this realization, he wants to make a movie about the end of the world, a movie that will no doubt feature hundreds of explosions, gunfights, screaming, etc. just like any other movie. And where's his family in his getting-away-from-it-all fantasy? His dogs?

As far as the reference to "Point Dume," I had to look it up; it's a state park 11 miles up the road from Santa Monica. Presumably he intends to buy a plot of land near the park and not in it. To state the obvious, it seems pretty ironic that, given the source of his decision to rid himself of his possessions, and his idea to write about the end of the world, he moves to a place called Point Doom (however you spell it). There's more going on here than meets the eye.