Dressing for meetings in Los Angeles is a tricky business. Hollywood producers and studio executives prefer casual clothes, so the suit-wearing English journalist often resembles an undertaker at a disco.

Dressing down, though, carries the risk that the other person will be in more formal attire. So before my lunch with Jerry Bruckheimer I have a decision to make. After much deliberation, I compromise on a shirt and tie with a casual jacket and trousers.