Be careful with photina. They can easily turn into monsters. It might overwhem the space.. They can be bruisers that tend to need a lot of pruning to keep manageable. But you can keep them trimmed.

In the south they a susceptible to some disease, I'm not sure if its made its way to CA.

Any suggestions of other things that will grow well here?

Taxus or commonly called Yew. Many varieties are available, all respond well to shaping and pruning. Look good all year. Al

There is an Italian Cypress that stays really thin, I think it might be 'Pencil'. (?) If you planted them close together it would eventually block the view, but yet not stick out into the yard very much.

(One caveat: Trees and bushes only provide a 'perceived privacy' since they don't really make an impenetrable wall that one can't ever see thru'.)

How fast do you need it? Photinia has the virtue of being quite fast. If you give it regular maintenance it will do the job.

Dodonea is fast but short-lived--it will need replacing in a decade or so, and it reseeds a lot. Entire large branches die for no apparent reason, so you'll end up with holes in your screen. It's a great fast plant if you want something temporary that you don't mind being a little see-through, but it's not a long-lived shrub.

Eleagnus makes a good dense screen. It's fairly fast, and tough. It does have thorns.

Whatever you decide on, some things to consider: plan on regular maintenance of whatever you decide on for best results. Are you going to be able to trim it when it reaches the height you need? Will you need to trim it when it reaches the height you need? Will the roots disturb or damage your wall? Will it need regular irrigation? Do you have irrigation in place already?

Is Eugenia uniflora (Surinam Cherry) safe to grow now? In the '60s - '80s we had a hedge kept 5-6 feet wide and 15ft tall. They will max out at 25 ft. The berry drop on the lawn was not a problem. I heard some pest/disease attacked them in So. Ca.. in the '90's ??

Very handsome.