The Monday Media Diet with Jev Valles

On Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Calvin and Hobbes, and "Japow"

Jev Valles (JV) is a West Point graduate and Army veteran who spent eight years in Hollywood as an assistant, agent, and ultimately literary manager and producer. He is currently focused on the intersection of defense technology and media.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Jev Valles and I’m a storyteller working as a Hollywood manager and producer for the past eight years. Prior to working in entertainment, I graduated from West Point in 2012 and served in the Army for 5 years. And if we want to go back even further, I grew up in Georgia as the oldest of two, proudly raised by two immigrant parents from the Philippines.

It’s not every day you see someone with no familiarity about West Point go through the rigorous admissions process and attend the academy… nor does one go from serving in the Army to working in representation in Hollywood — my parents certainly would have preferred a more conventional route. But I’ve always been passionate about leadership and stories. I always thought if I was more devout, I could’ve been a priest. And if I was less ambitious, I would’ve loved to lead people on walking tours through Spain and tell them about the history of a town.

But I really loved leading soldiers and learning from them and helping shape their careers and serve a greater purpose. I loved the camaraderie and commitment as well. Surprisingly, I was able to find common themes in Hollywood. I grew up going to the movies and seeing whatever was on when you showed up or watching Con Air or Rush Hour for the 100th time on TNT or USA or re-runs of Seinfeld when I came home from school. And I learned as a representative in entertainment, I could exercise the same skills that I utilized as an Army officer — I could guide the careers of storytellers and talent and work with a bunch of different teams in order to achieve a common goal. I can be creative and develop ideas, I can get strategic and determine which idea best meets market demand, I could be operational and execute once something goes into production, and I can client face up - down - and laterally to align all parties. And there was still the camaraderie and commitment driven through passion and shared experiences.

As far as hobbies go, I love to play pickleball (and pretty much any team sport), house music, going to a new country every year in the hopes of traveling to more countries than my current age, and searching for the best ramen in Los Angeles.

Describe your media diet.

I have a pretty consistent start to my days with The New York Times, then Deadline for the latest Hollywood news and stories, and then ESPN because I’m a massive sports fan. Given what’s going on in the Middle East, I’m constantly checking the Instagram accounts @osintdefender and @kagan.dunlap who often report on or talk about US conflicts abroad. I may also listen to New York Times’s The Daily, The Town with Matthew Belloni, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, or Rick Glassman’s Take Your Shoes Off — weirdly I focus better and it can be less distracting hearing people talking in your ear than silence. I’ll also put on Twitch from time to time and see who is streaming and if there is anyone particularly engaging or fun — though it’s not exactly how I want to spend my time, I want to know what young people are watching and who they care about and why. Reddit and X is often an underbelly of the Internet but I can get more instant news updates or interesting topics or discourse on those platforms.

What’s the last great book you read?

I loved Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I think I finished it in two nights of reading. I really enjoy reading books that I know are soon to be made into movies because it’s exciting to see what a filmmaker and cast bring to a story that you’ve already envisioned in your head. It’s such a joy to see it being brought to life. I’m a big fan of Andy Weir’s writing — I read The Martian during my deployment and loved it as well. His ability to tell stories about extraordinary people with very relatable human qualities who act heroically is astounding. And his voice is so refreshingly comic and delightful in contrast to the austere environments he puts his protagonists in.

What are you reading now?

I wish I could read more books for pleasure to be honest. So much of my reading time is spent reading scripts for representation or development and then giving notes. My client gifted me a copy of Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act which I have by my bedside and I have been slowly making a dent in. It feels like a book to pick up and read a bit and put down and be inspired or motivated. I love how it views creativity as something spiritual that works best when it just flows. That is something I need to remind myself of at times because it’s so easy to fall into the trappings of constraining your imagination to fit within the mandates that buyers want or the expectations that audiences have rather than the freedom of where a thought takes you.

I also like sci-fi and fantasy and have been reading Recursion by Blake Crouch who wrote Dark Matter which was adapted into a series for Apple starring Joel Edgerton. Recursion takes place in a world where people mysteriously experience vivid memories of lives they never lived which causes their realities to unravel and often ends in violence or self-harm. And the story follows a detective investigating this increasing phenomenon while also secretly experiencing it himself. I love stories that twist and turn and flip your world upside down without being too arcane or difficult to follow.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

I don’t read print copies of anything anymore. I don’t know if that makes me low-brow or a person adapting with the times but everything is on my phone or laptop now.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

This is more of a comfort answer than an intellectual or informative one…. But everyone should go read or re-read the Calvin and Hobbes comics by Bill Watterson. They were my favorite growing up — we named our second dog Hobbes — and there is so much deep meaning and joy and introspection that I feel like people can appreciate at a time like this. It’s timeless.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone?

I’m not a big indie app person. If you asked me for non-famous movies, I could give you a thousand recommendations. But usually if there’s an app on my phone, it’s the most well-known, best reviewed one and it’s there to serve a purpose. An app I love that a lot of people may not have simply because they don’t have the ring is Oura. I love checking my sleep score and how I slept. And seeing calories burned after a workout. It definitely motivates me to develop better sleep habits and workout harder and more often.

Plane or train?

Both/and? I love trains in Europe and Japan. But they’re not practical in America sadly.

Flying is obviously the most convenient form of transportation but I have a strange relationship with flying. I’m not scared of flying — but I have this anxiety in the first 10 and last 10 minutes of the flight that something bad will happen and I just have to reassure myself with the statistics. I really do love airport lounge life though which trains, at least to my knowledge, do not have.

What is one place everyone should visit?

Japan. It may be a boring answer because it’s an obvious one but it really is my favorite country I’ve ever visited and if I could pick up the language, I would consider moving there one day. The food is incredible, the people are so kind and welcoming, the culture is both old world and new, and has so much to offer in both of those arenas. I’ve been twice now and there’s still so much to see. I need to go snowboarding one day and experience “Japow” for myself.

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

Champagne. I’m not even a big fan of champagne. Or prosecco, or cava. But people do love the taste. So why is it a drink that’s only enjoyed in a certain context? If you like the flavor, then drink it at dinner. Open up a bottle after a long day at work. Have it in the middle of the day at a bar. Why are celebratory moments the only time it’s socially acceptable to drink it? So I went down this rabbit hole of different kinds of sparkling wine and where they are manufactured and what you’re legally allowed to call each type of wine and why. I really believe that the sparkling wine industry is due for some disruption and needs a reimagining. Or at least an alternative to the stuffy high brow community that wine can be associated with. Why not start a brand that promotes champagne for any occasion but still be premium? Don’t just celebrate special moments — life is special, so celebrate it every day! (JV)