Entertainment Industry Employment

Few cities have been as ridiculed, but these days Burbank can afford to laugh. The butt of jokes dating back to the '60s comedy show "Laugh-In" and perpetuated by Johnny Carson, Burbank was until recently a fitting target. It was hot, smoggy and, in some areas, downright ugly. Adding injury to insult, Burbank lost nearly 14,000 jobs after its biggest employer, Lockheed Corp., packed up and moved in 1990.

The Los Angeles area's arts and entertainment industries lost thousands of jobs from 2007 to 2010, according to a study of the "creative economy. " The findings for 2010 commissioned by Otis College of Art and Design and compiled from state and federal government figures by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. showed a loss of 21,500 jobs and an 11% decline in employment in the three years. Known as the Otis Report on the Creative Economy of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, the study encompasses both traditional arts and entertainment categories and five additional fields that the researchers consider to be part of the region's broader creative economy.

The drama displayed in scenes at a symposium on nontraditional casting Tuesday was upstaged by heated, sometimes vitriolic outbursts from the event's panelists and from the audience. James Earl Jones, Jimmy Smits, Richard Lawson and 24 other actors performed excerpts from nine plays to demonstrate the theme of the "Non-Traditional Casting Symposium": That talent, not necessarily race, gender, ethnicity or physical ability should dictate casting choices.

"Hollywood," as we know it, didn't happen in one draft. Many pages, no doubt, were tossed. And many revisions most likely await. But what has remained the core of this ever-evolving story is that Hollywood has always offered something indelibly tantalizing: transformation. A quick whisking away of the here and now or--at the very least--a chance to elevate one's life's station.

Hollywood's TV and film writers, a probable strike looms like a fast-moving storm on a weather map, roiling emotions and prompting many to take emergency measures. The widespread fear, based on the last Writers Guild of America strike, which lasted five months in 1988, is that writers drain their bank accounts, go into debt and even lose their houses. And money isn't the only concern. Many fear that a protracted strike would abruptly end careers in a notoriously competitive industry.

Uncertainty over the nation's slowing economy and layoffs by major entertainment companies are pressuring both sides in Hollywood's labor dispute to move quickly to resolve their differences in a way unforeseen just a few weeks ago. The drumbeat of bad economic news is deepening fears about stalled talks between studios and writers, whose contract expires in a month. And pessimism is growing as studios and actors continue to delay the start of negotiations before their contract expires July 1.

Television networks and movie studios appeared Wednesday to have reached a consensus on two new studies criticizing the entertainment industry's record in hiring minorities and women for writing and acting jobs. The consensus seemed to be: "Let's not talk about it." ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, along with several major film studios such as 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal and Warner Bros.

So you want to chuck a successful career to break into Hollywood? The first piece of advice: Don't do it. Your screenplay is just one of a few thousand pitched to agents and studio executives each year. Everyone you meet in Hollywood is producing something, and most of it won't see the light of day. And quit wasting time writing the Oscar acceptance speech.

Broadcasters and cable companies would be required to recruit minorities and women to fill vacancies but wouldn't be forced to hire them under a plan offered by federal regulators Thursday. The Federal Communications Commission, without dissent, proposed rules designed to ensure that TV, radio and cable systems cast a wide net when filling vacancies. The action was taken in response to a court decision that overturned the agency's equal employment opportunity rules. In April, the U.S.

The employment roster at digital effects firm Rhythm & Hues reads like a mini-United Nations. Computer graphics artists from more than 30 countries work at the Los Angeles-based company, which won an Academy Award this year for the motion picture "Babe." In fact, there are only seven California natives among the firm's 75 digital artists. Just half are from the United States. But this is no experiment in international filmmaking.

Uncertainty over the nation's slowing economy and layoffs by major entertainment companies are pressuring both sides in Hollywood's labor dispute to move quickly to resolve their differences in a way unforeseen just a few weeks ago. The drumbeat of bad economic news is deepening fears about stalled talks between studios and writers, whose contract expires in a month. And pessimism is growing as studios and actors continue to delay the start of negotiations before their contract expires July 1.

Hollywood's TV and film writers, a probable strike looms like a fast-moving storm on a weather map, roiling emotions and prompting many to take emergency measures. The widespread fear, based on the last Writers Guild of America strike, which lasted five months in 1988, is that writers drain their bank accounts, go into debt and even lose their houses. And money isn't the only concern. Many fear that a protracted strike would abruptly end careers in a notoriously competitive industry.

Threatened strikes by Hollywood writers and actors--although big news in Southern California--remain low on the list of concerns for most lawmakers here. "People in Washington look at it like a baseball or basketball strike--they think of big-money stars like Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt," said Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.). "They don't really understand the nuances." In fact, the strikes would have little noticeable impact on Hollywood's superstars.

Broadcasters and cable companies would be required to recruit minorities and women to fill vacancies but wouldn't be forced to hire them under a plan offered by federal regulators Thursday. The Federal Communications Commission, without dissent, proposed rules designed to ensure that TV, radio and cable systems cast a wide net when filling vacancies. The action was taken in response to a court decision that overturned the agency's equal employment opportunity rules. In April, the U.S.

Alone on a Manhattan street corner late one night, Kurt Hathaway, a greenhorn production assistant eager to please a demanding movie director, faced a daunting task. His assignment: Secure enough on-street parking spaces near the next day's shooting location so the director, talent trailers and assorted muck-a-mucks could park without aggravation the next morning. His equipment: two purloined police barricades, a ball of string and all the ingenuity he could muster.

The employment roster at digital effects firm Rhythm & Hues reads like a mini-United Nations. Computer graphics artists from more than 30 countries work at the Los Angeles-based company, which won an Academy Award this year for the motion picture "Babe." In fact, there are only seven California natives among the firm's 75 digital artists. Just half are from the United States. But this is no experiment in international filmmaking.

"Hollywood," as we know it, didn't happen in one draft. Many pages, no doubt, were tossed. And many revisions most likely await. But what has remained the core of this ever-evolving story is that Hollywood has always offered something indelibly tantalizing: transformation. A quick whisking away of the here and now or--at the very least--a chance to elevate one's life's station.

Threatened strikes by Hollywood writers and actors--although big news in Southern California--remain low on the list of concerns for most lawmakers here. "People in Washington look at it like a baseball or basketball strike--they think of big-money stars like Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt," said Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.). "They don't really understand the nuances." In fact, the strikes would have little noticeable impact on Hollywood's superstars.

So you want to chuck a successful career to break into Hollywood? The first piece of advice: Don't do it. Your screenplay is just one of a few thousand pitched to agents and studio executives each year. Everyone you meet in Hollywood is producing something, and most of it won't see the light of day. And quit wasting time writing the Oscar acceptance speech.

Few cities have been as ridiculed, but these days Burbank can afford to laugh. The butt of jokes dating back to the '60s comedy show "Laugh-In" and perpetuated by Johnny Carson, Burbank was until recently a fitting target. It was hot, smoggy and, in some areas, downright ugly. Adding injury to insult, Burbank lost nearly 14,000 jobs after its biggest employer, Lockheed Corp., packed up and moved in 1990.