As Los Angeles primps itself for the international spotlight when the Democratic National Convention comes to town in three weeks, it faces a crippling disadvantage compared to past host cities: Its highest-profile and arguably most important industry doesn’t give a damn.
Convention planners made DreamWorks SKG co-founder David Geffen a co-chairman of the host committee, hoping he would convince fellow Hollywood heavyweights to lend a hand, or at least a few bucks, to the convention effort. Geffen initially contributed $25,000 in seed money and sent a couple of representatives to Washington; then he disappeared.
It’s a familiar story for philanthropic, business and booster organizations that focus on the City of Angels. Occasionally, a high-profile Hollywood executive can be tempted to join a board, speak at a luncheon or contribute a few shekels of his enormous fortune but that’s where the involvement ends. Entertainment executives seldom stay committed to community organizations for more than a few months, they seldom bring their friends along with them and they’d really rather not be put in charge of fund-raising efforts, at least when it comes to local matters.
The effect of that kind of apathy on a city like Los Angeles is devastating. With few large corporations remaining, L.A. relies more than other big cities on its many multimillionaires to raise funds for civic improvements, charitable organizations and even big events like the coming Democratic Convention. Yet while L.A.’s Dream Machine has handsomely enriched entertainment executives, they can’t be bothered to contribute.
Too busy running their empires to get involved? Tell that to Eli Broad, Ronald Burkle, David Price, Ed Roski, Bruce Karatz and other prominent local business executives who have given generously of their time and money for civic causes.
This isn’t to say that Hollywood is selfish. If you’re raising money to support exiled Tibetan monks, free chinchillas from fur farms or plant forests in Paraguay, the movie stars will beat a path to your door. They simply couldn’t care less about their own community, as the effort to raise funds for the convention so amply demonstrates.
Entertainment-industry sources contributed less than $1 million to the $40 million cost of hosting the event. Even a half-hearted effort by Geffen to raise funds from his Hollywood chums could easily have closed the gap that resulted when private-sector fund-raising efforts fell short, forcing convention planners to go to the city to make up the $4 million shortfall.
In some ways, it’s easy to understand Hollywood’s apathy. Many business people get involved with community events partly from self interest joining boards and charitable organizations is a networking tool connecting them with other high-level executives, potentially bringing more business to their own firms. For Hollywood executives, who make their money from a global audience, there is little real advantage to this kind of networking.
Yet there is another, more profound reason why some business people get involved with community affairs: They feel a sense of obligation to give back to the community that has enriched them. It is mystifying why this phenonmenon has not penetrated the entertainment world.
Hollywood’s apathy toward Los Angeles isn’t likely to change, which means the city must look toward its next generation of multimillionaires. One can only hope that the coming technology moguls have a greater sense of social responsibility than the entertainment moguls.
