Debra F. Simone

Dateline, Hollywood, CA: "You got Good, Fast, and Cheap," says Deb Simone, "those are the three kinds of television productions out there - but any one production only gets to be two of those - you can do Good and Cheap, but ya ain't gonna get it tomorrow... You can do the other combinations, I'm too busy for that kind of philosophy, unless of course, you want to pay me to philosophize, then I can talk all day." Simone scarfs down Vegan Hash at the Farm to Table Bistro on Lexington Avenue in Hollywood, which used to be a yoga studio, martini bar, swing dance studio, Tex-Mex restaurant, zoot suit tailor shop, greasy spoon, private detective agency, silent movie studio, and Farm to Table Farm, in that order. "As I get older, it's the things that DON'T change in this town that amaze me," muses Simone, "But don't think I have too much wisdom, because I don't - knowledge, yes, skills, to be sure, but real wisdom? Meh, nobody knows anything. I didn't say that originally - if you can attribute that quote, then we'll get along just fine." Simone almost licks her plate as she downs her last spoonful. "I just try to have a clear vision and an open mind all at the same time." "Back to the comedy mines," she snorts, "let's hope I don't have to dig too deep." As she gets up to leave, I wonder, why did she sit at my table? And who let her in here in the first place? And I didn't order any vegan hash... But then I think, I would hire Simone for this and every single other project I would work on from here on out, because, although she wasn't very slick - she wore nearly as much food as she ate - she was honest, and that was worth a million orders of vegan hash, and a thousand times rarer still, and how could ya put a price on that?