Malaysia-born screenwriter and producer Adele is passionate about the borderless power of storytelling and LA’s vibrant immigrant communities. With 25 years spent living the California dream, she’ll take you behind the scenes to experience the real LA.
Los Angeles with Adele Lim
Producer, Screenwriter & Director
Nature Venice Beach
‘Sometimes you just need to decompress, and there really is something about getting out to the beach and taking a deep breath. It’s one of the best places to visit in Los Angeles.’
Venice, CA 90291
Nature Mammoth Mountain
‘A big ski resort about five or six hours from LA. I’m the skier waving her arms and yelling loudly for people to get out of the way.’
Mammoth Mountain, CA 93546
Culture The Getty Center
‘When I was writing television scripts, I would write a few acts at a museum and then a few acts at a park. I would go to The Getty.’
1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049
Culture Norton Simon Museum
‘Getting out of your usual pocket helps shake things up. I go to different places to write — when you change your environment, you change your energy.’
411 W Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91105
Food & Drink Green Table Cafe
‘My number one coffee spot is a place called Green Table where you get the most delicious açai bowls and turmeric golden milks. One of the places to visit in Los Angeles.’
5998 W Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90035
“People from all over the world live in LA. When you go into different neighbourhoods, you really feel a piece of that culture and a piece of their country, which is all within a half hour’s drive from you.”
On LA in one word
Opportunity.
We have people from every strata of society, and a lot of the most amazing creative people are out here doing really exciting things, whether it’s in food, art, dance, writing, TV or film. The person bagging groceries at the store is an aspiring actor or has a screenplay he’s working on, or your best friend is now excited to be a Reiki Master because theatre didn’t work out. It’s a city of people who are pursuing their dreams. If you’re not pursuing your dreams, you’re close enough to somebody else’s dream to feel excited by it.
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On some of your go-to food spots in LA
I’ve become incredibly LA, like it’s all turmeric lattes to wean off the caffeine. For a celebratory meal with my family I’d go to Boiling Crab. There’s a ton of seafood and these massive messy plastic bags, and you’re dripping with butter, there are shells everywhere and you have sauce on your face. And the waiter ties a bib around you like you’re a toddler.
On places to visit in Los Angeles to write
Getting out of your usual pocket helps shake things up. I go to different places to write — when you change your environment, you change your energy. When I was writing television scripts, I would write a few acts at a museum and then a few acts at a park. I would go to the Getty or the Norton Simon Museum. Or I’d go to coffee shops and watch people, just to get out of my head.
On getting into nature and California road trips
Sometimes you just need to decompress, and there really is something about the ions of water, and getting out to the beach and taking a deep breath. I head from Venice Boulevard to either Venice Beach, Santa Monica or Malibu. Then there are some beautiful beaches down south like La Jolla. If you keep driving all the way to the central coast where Carmel and Big Sur are, it’s a totally different feeling. Gorgeousness. One of the best day trips from LA. We’re very lucky that way.
If you’re looking for an activity that’s easy on your wallet and good for your health, LA is ripe with options. Do as the locals do and try your hand at surfing, take a hike in Topanga Canyon, check out an outdoor yoga class, or pick up some fresh produce at one of the dozens of farmer’s markets across the city.
I’ve also been converted to Mammoth Mountain. It’s a big ski resort about five or six hours from LA. Growing up in Malaysia, my limited experience with jungle trekking was that everything is going to kill you — leeches, wild boar, slipping and disappearing never to emerge again. Westerners have a different relationship with nature, they enjoy it, it’s not out to kill them. I didn’t want to hand down this fear, loathing and wariness to my kids, so I’ve been bringing them up with nature and it’s delightful. Although I’m the worst skier. I’m the one waving her arms and yelling loudly for people to get out of the way, before crashing into the parking lot at the bottom.
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On why you love LA
What I love about LA is that it’s not one city or one town with one identity, it’s a patchwork of a myriad of different communities. If you are adventurous, if you’re open, and if you’re really into food like I am, LA is the city for you. I’m raising my children here, and I sometimes hear from my friends ‘I could never raise my children in a city like Los Angeles,’ which I think is insane. Kids here are exposed to people from all over the world. When you go into different neighborhoods, you really feel a piece of that culture, and a piece of their country, which is all within a half hour’s drive from you.
On surviving the LA hustle
I think there’s a perception for everybody that you really need to be wired into the industry and have inside contacts. It’s all helpful, but honestly, I had beyond nothing. I was also very new to the country and had only been in the States for two years. The way I spoke was different and I didn’t have the same cultural reference and history as most of the writers. But I was told by another writer that being an outsider really does help: it gives you new eyes on everything. I leaned into that. After a lot of hustling, I got a gig as a writer’s assistant on Xena: Warrior Princess.
On finding your tribe
The great thing about LA is that it’s huge, it’s sprawling, but there are all these really vibrant immigrant communities who’ve made home here. The community is bustling, and the food is on point. When I got to LA, I could get amazing Thai food at three o’clock in the morning. That’s when it felt like home, like it could all work out. LA is not for everybody, but it’s about finding your pocket and finding your people.
On different places for different phases in your life
It’s a difficult trajectory for people who come to LA with no money. You start in the Valley, deep in the Valley. Then you get some money and move to West Hollywood, where all the fun parties are at. When you’re thinking of starting a family, you go looking for a backyard. I always tell people it takes at least five years to find your lane, your group and your groove. Having been here for over 20 years, I feel I’ve lived in different parts of the city for different parts of my life. And I feel like there’s one more house, or one more move in my future. I also never cut out the possibility of moving back to Malaysia. Plus, it’s a dream of mine to move to an entirely different country, whether it’s France or China, and take the children. I want them to experience life in a totally different way, so they’re aware that they are consuming culture from everywhere. In America, it’s easy to feel like we’re the only culture that exists. It’d be good for the kids to get out of that bubble.
On the influence of travel and creativity
When you grow up in one specific culture, it’s hard to understand how other people think and feel, which makes it easy to vilify or feel alienated from other tribes of people. Traveling and being exposed to a different way of being, or a different point of view is so important. When our Raya and the Last Dragon team travelled to Southeast Asia, they realized how deep the thread of community ran through all Southeast Asian countries. It’s one thing for a cultural expert to come to you in a Western setting and say ‘Community is important to us’. But seeing it in action is powerful.
“It’s a patchwork of a myriad of different communities. If you are adventurous, if you’re open, and if you’re really into food like I am, LA is the city for you.”
next stop: LA
Creators
Hayden Cox
Designer & Founder
Surfer and board designer Hayden lets the good times roll along LA’s coast. Welcome to his world, from Malibu surfing swells to artist-inspired beachfront cafes.
Oye Diran
Photographer & Art Director
Oye’s insider guide will take you from innovative fusion food and rooftop jazz bars tucked away in Downtown LA to walking among giant outdoor art installations.
For more exceptional creators, visit www.exceptionalalien.com
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