Screenwriter opens workspace for his Hollywood brethren
Modern workplace evolutionary theory goes something like this: corporate office, home office, Starbucks. You can slip in executive suites, business centers, airport lounges and federal telework centers if you like, but who talks about them? It’s Starbucks we talk about, and it’s Starbucks that “third workplace” entrepreneurs are gunning for. Folks like Neil Goldberg with his Bay Area “workclub” Gate-3 cater to professionals with a common sensibility and the desire to connect and build community. Take the idea a step further, and you’ve got Aleks Horvat with theOffice, in Santa Monica, Calif.
Horvat is a Hollywood screenwriter who built a business publishing The Hollywood Creative Directory – essentially, the yellow pages for the movie industry. He never wanted to get into publishing, but to make sure his agent sent his scripts out to all the right people, he took matters into his own hands. Three years ago Horvat sold the business and began reviving his “moribund writing career.” Yet, he did the same thing all over again; he built a business based on his own business need.
This time, Horvat needed the right environment to work. “I couldn’t work at home, I needed somewhere where there’s humanity, body heat, the vibe you want to pick up.” Horvat began researching, and discovered plenty of people looking for more than a coffeehouse, who didn’t want to go to the library. He met people working in laundromats, hotel lobbies and on park benches. “One woman told me she was sick of working in The Four Seasons lobby till 2 a.m. until they kicked her out,” he says.
So rather than sit in Starbucks in uncomfortable chairs, Horvat took the money he made selling The Hollywood Creative Directory and opened theOffice, a workspace geared to Hollywood screenwriters, a place where he’d like to write.
The centerpiece of the 1,350-square-foot facility is an 8-foot faux bonsai tree. There are 24 workstations with built-in power plugs and T-1 connections, Herman Miller Aeron chairs, a lounge area and a patio out back. There’s Wi-Fi, one communal computer, free coffee (“No decaffeinated,” Horvat says), and an extensive reference library (Thesaurus of Slang, Dictionary of Dirty Words, What’s What: The Visual Glossary of the Physical World). There’s no talking, fax, copy or printing services, and space costs $6 per hour with day passes and volume discounts available. Students, Authors Guild and Writers Guild members get a 10% discount, and 1% of gross receipts go to a charity that renovates libraries.
Having opened theOffice on March 1, Horvat is still experimenting. He used to play music (Enya) but that got “more complaints than kudos” so now it’s quiet. To inspire, he’s created an “it was written here” wall akin to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “If somebody writes something here and it gets printed, published, performed or broadcast, we’ll put up their name and give them free hours,” he says. I also want to put up a bell, so when somebody finishes a project, they can ring the bell and we’ll give them a round of applause. So often when you write ‘The End’ you have no one to tell.”
To drum up business, Horvat has 12 charter members, screenwriters who’ve made it big. One of his first customers was Joss Whedon, the creator of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and now “Firefly.” But his first customer was a pediatrician who works on baby care books a few hours a week. Although plans include opening more facilities in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, Horvat admits making money is tough.
“There’s no commitment to a coffeehouse, but here, for $6 an hour, you don’t want to go home and say you did nothing for 10 hours. At Starbucks you can just doodle. Even so, here, everyone around you feeds the spirit.”
