Newsletter
#WFH Diaries: Tom Grane of Mob Scene
Even as parts of the world are opening up during the pandemic, most folks are still working from home. We’re continuing to check in with people in the creative industry to see how they’ve adapted to the new routine. Here’s an update from Tom Grane, co-founder, CEO and president of entertainment agency Mob Scene.
Give us a one-line bio of yourself.
Co-founder, CEO and president of Mob Scene.
Where are you living right now, and who’s with you?
Home in Sherman Oaks with my wife Alex and our two teenage daughters, Ella and Julia.
What’s your work situation like at the moment?
Creating a daily routine that tries to simulate pre-quarantine life has been very important for my well-being. A 6 a.m. online yoga class, followed by getting fully dressed (including jeans and sneakers) and then hunkering down in my home office for the next eight hours.
Describe your socializing strategy.
There is no avoiding Zoom. Be it a meeting or a company cocktail/birthday party. But I also write a weekly email to our staff where I relay honest thoughts on the situation and openly discuss my own fluctuating emotions during the crisis.
How are you dealing with childcare?
We have an 18-year-old and 15-year-old, and I’d say it’s the reverse. They have adjusted to the situation much better than I, and watching their adaptability has been inspiring and motivating.
What are you reading?
The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson.
What are you watching?
I really enjoyed seeing the new The Invisible Man on VOD and having the chance to revisit a bunch of classic films that I haven’t seen in a long time. I also really thought Ozark Season 3, Unorthodox and The Last Dance were all well done.
What are you listening to?
Bruce Springsteen playing DJ on E Street Radio.
How are you staying fit?
Online yoga classes and getting reacquainted with our old treadmill.
Have you taken up a hobby?
I started writing a book. I have no idea if I’ll ever finish it, though.
Any tips for getting necessities?
The longer this has lingered on, the more I feel the need to get out and run mundane errands. Even wearing rubber gloves and a mask, getting out of the house a few times a week has been vital to maintaining positive mental health.
An awkward moment since all this started.
Going to our next-door neighbors’ for social distancing cocktails, but discovering they intended for us to stay in our front lawn and they on theirs. Oops!
Best work email you got since all this started.
The emails I get back from Mobsters after I send out my weekly updates. It validates that a family doesn’t have to be in the same space to be together.
An aha! moment since all this started.
Being my daughter’s “date” for her senior prom, held in our backyard. My daughter thought it was silly, but I know we gave her a priceless memory in this difficult time.
What’s your theory on how this is going to play out?
Hope is not a strategy, but it does spring eternal. Let’s hope this crisis passes quickly and we can all go back to doing what we do best. The desire for good entertainment will always be strong, but I truly hope that the theatrical moviegoing experience will not be permanently damaged, because movie theaters are magical places.
And now that we’ve proven that it can be done, it would be great if people can continue to have the ability to work from home or alternate working from home and an office.
Lastly, this crisis has only deepened our dependency on technology, but I believe people will be craving much deeper human interaction when the restrictions are lifted. Therefore, I hope that we will treat each other with more kindness and love when this is over.
