By Mike Reynolds
Sony Pictures in Culver City, Paramount Pictures and Netflix in Hollywood, and the Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures lots in the San Fernando Valley have all been untouched by the wildfires that have been ravishing the Los Angeles metro area.
Tracy Cohen, senior VP, Corporate Affairs at NBCUniversal, noted that there had been an emphasis on employee safety, which led to a brief shutdown in productions and of the Universal Studios theme park and tour last week, but she confirmed that shows such as Reba McIntire’s Happy’s Place, Stephen Amell’s Suits LA, and Jean Smart’s Hacks, along with the studio tour, were back up and running this week.
A spokesperson for IATSE, the union that represents camera operators, makeup artists, prop makers, set dressers, lighting technicians, hairstylists, cinematographers, and other craftspeople, explained that “approximately 8,100 members have been impacted by either the evacuation zones or the areas of Los Angeles County that were burned by the fire,” before adding that “the fires certainly impacted entertainment workers who reside in Los Angeles County and we are still dealing with this ongoing disaster. As this crisis is still unfolding, it’s far too early to speculate about what the next years will bring to Los Angeles production.”
Hollywood today is not the Hollywood of yore and has not been so for some years. Very little content, percentage-wise, is actually shot locally, which is why other parts of the U.S. — with better financial incentives — are getting the work. Hollywood is actually killing (or at least badly injuring) itself. Productions wanting to shoot in and around L.A. have difficulty getting permits approved to shoot exteriors or inside homes here because permission is required from every resident on that particular street and they aren’t getting it. You may well ask why and the answer is unbelievable. The majority of refusals stopping production emanate from people in the entertainment industry.
It’s not just film and TV productions that have been affected by the fires — regular and award-consideration screenings have been canceled, while award shows have been delayed (even the Oscar award nominations announcement), meaning that salaries usually earned at this time of the year will not be forthcoming — at least at the usual time. Planning for such events has also been difficult. The Critics Choice Awards, initially set for January 12 and then rescheduled for January 26, have been called off for the second time.
The Academy Awards ceremony will go on as planned on March 2. Academy chief executive officer Bill Kramer said in a statement, “This year’s ceremony will include special moments acknowledging those who fought so bravely against the wildfires. We feel that we must go forward to support our film community and to use our global platform to bring attention to these critical moments in our history. The spirit of Los Angeles and our film community has always been one of resilience, and the Oscars represent not just a celebration of film, but the industry’s strength and unity in the face of adversity.”
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