Hollywood Center Studios

Tim Mahoney has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hollywood Center Studios, an independently operated film and television studio facility in Los Angeles. Mahoney formerly was general manager of the studio.

Charleston, S.C.-based Golf Trust of America Inc. has purchased the ocean-front Sandpiper Golf Course, an 18-hole facility near Santa Barbara, for $36.5 million. The high-end course will be leased to an affiliate of Environmental Golf and an affiliate of the owner of the adjacent 400-room Santa Barbara Club Resort & Spa, in a joint venture. * New Jersey-based housewares chain Bed Bath & Beyond has signed a 10-year, $5.

A move to preserve some of the movie studio buildings dating to Hollywood's golden age has gained acceptance from studios and preservationists, City Councilman Michael Woo said Thursday. "I think that we can preserve Hollywood's precious past without sacrificing its future," Woo said at a press conference at the gates of Paramount Studios on Melrose Avenue.

The Hollywood Studios Preservation Coalition unveiled an accord Wednesday that is intended to settle a two-year battle between preservationists who want to save old film studios and lots, and entertainment industry executives who want to modernize them.

The Studio/Preservation Task Force announced a set of recommendations Thursday to preserve historically significant Hollywood studios while enabling movie companies to keep the cameras rolling. "The studios will be able to develop and grow, and at the same time historically and architecturally significant buildings will be preserved," Councilman Michael Woo, whose 13th District includes Hollywood, said at a press conference at Paramount Pictures.

Charleston, S.C.-based Golf Trust of America Inc. has purchased the ocean-front Sandpiper Golf Course, an 18-hole facility near Santa Barbara, for $36.5 million. The high-end course will be leased to an affiliate of Environmental Golf and an affiliate of the owner of the adjacent 400-room Santa Barbara Club Resort & Spa, in a joint venture. * New Jersey-based housewares chain Bed Bath & Beyond has signed a 10-year, $5.

The Hollywood Studios Preservation Coalition unveiled an accord Wednesday that is intended to settle a two-year battle between preservationists who want to save old film studios and lots, and entertainment industry executives who want to modernize them.

When word got out that a Hollywood studio where Harold Lloyd, Lucille Ball and Francis Ford Coppola once plied their talents had been nominated as a historic-cultural monument, the entertainment industry saw it as an ominous sign. Suddenly it seemed as though old concrete barns and other nondescript structures still being used for creating movies, television shows and commercials could be frozen in time, even if experts agreed that they had no architectural distinction.

The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday that it would build a 56-acre production facility in northern Los Angeles County, casting a ray of light on an otherwise gloomy film economy that has hemorrhaged thousands of jobs in the last decade. The Burbank company said the proposed Disney/ABC Studios at the Ranch would occupy a corner of the Golden Oak Ranch, a sprawling 890-acre parcel off California 14 that has been the setting of such classic films as "Old Yeller." Plans call for 12 soundstages, production offices, a commissary and other facilities that could be used for film, television, commercial and new media projects.

The star trotted toward a small pad in the middle of the 80-foot stage and stopped on his mark. "Look at the camera!" veteran animal trainer Steve Martin commanded. Like a true pro, Shadow, a gray wolf who has made appearances on HBO's "True Blood" series, turned his head and fixed his piercing yellow eyes at the camera operator. "Good boy," another trainer said, tossing him a morsel of meat. PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments The shot was among several animal scenes filmed on the giant green-screen stage at Hollywood Center Studios last week, where a leopard, a lion, a monkey, an elephant and even two grizzly bears from Frasier Park performed simple tasks on the empty stage as a film crew captured their movements, snarls, roars and grunts.

The Studio/Preservation Task Force announced a set of recommendations Thursday to preserve historically significant Hollywood studios while enabling movie companies to keep the cameras rolling. "The studios will be able to develop and grow, and at the same time historically and architecturally significant buildings will be preserved," Councilman Michael Woo, whose 13th District includes Hollywood, said at a press conference at Paramount Pictures.

A move to preserve some of the movie studio buildings dating to Hollywood's golden age has gained acceptance from studios and preservationists, City Councilman Michael Woo said Thursday. "I think that we can preserve Hollywood's precious past without sacrificing its future," Woo said at a press conference at the gates of Paramount Studios on Melrose Avenue.

Tim Mahoney has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hollywood Center Studios, an independently operated film and television studio facility in Los Angeles. Mahoney formerly was general manager of the studio.

When word got out that a Hollywood studio where Harold Lloyd, Lucille Ball and Francis Ford Coppola once plied their talents had been nominated as a historic-cultural monument, the entertainment industry saw it as an ominous sign. Suddenly it seemed as though old concrete barns and other nondescript structures still being used for creating movies, television shows and commercials could be frozen in time, even if experts agreed that they had no architectural distinction.

Crew members from the reality TV series "Fashion Star" ended their strike, four days after walking off the job in a dispute over union representation. Production of the show was suspended Saturday when about 75 crew members struck and began picketing outside Hollywood Center Studios at 8 a.m. Crew members have been seeking to secure health and pension benefits. But Tuesday evening the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees called off the strike after successfully negotiating a new contract with the show's producers, said a person familiar with the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the talks were confidential.

Crew members from the reality TV series "Fashion Star" walked off the job Saturday morning in a dispute over efforts to secure union representation. Production of the show was suspended Saturday when about 75 crew members struck and began picketing outside Hollywood Center Studios at 8 a.m. The strike was led by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which has been waging an ongoing campaign to extend union benefits to crew members who work behind the scenes on reality TV shows.