As Layoffs Sweep Movie Studios, Hollywood Fears for Its Future
Never mind that movie ticket sales are picking up and that “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” could become the biggest hit in motion picture history, the Los Angeles Times reports. As studios slash jobs and restructure to boost profits, Hollywood’s creative and executive ranks are having a collective anxiety attack. Walt Disney Co.’s move this week to lay off about 650 employees and revamp its Burbank studio to make fewer films only confirms what many in the entertainment industry have been stressing over for months: The movie business is shrinking.
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Elder Bush Enlisted by Governor’s Campaign
President Bush — H.W., not W. — will join Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today at two private California fundraisers as the Republican governor seeks to raise $75 million this campaign season for the party and his own race against Democrat Phil Angelides, the Sacramento Bee reports. Attendees can give limited funds to Schwarzenegger or unlimited funds to a state Republican committee, highlighting the increasing role of parties in the first gubernatorial race with contribution restrictions for candidate accounts.
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Movie Execs Charged in Money-Laundering Case
Limelight Films seemed from the outside like so many upstart production companies in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Times reports. It had a Sunset Boulevard address, a connection to Tinseltown royalty and deals to distribute a small slate of low-budget films. But federal authorities have alleged that the film corporation was a front for an international drug-smuggling and money-laundering operation stretching from Los Angeles to Switzerland.
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19 Years After its Closing, Marineland to Clear Out
Demolition of the last structural remnants of the defunct Marineland theme park begins today in Rancho Palos Verdes, the Daily Breeze reports. About 20 crumbling buildings, equivalent to around 65,000 square feet, will be ripped apart largely by hand because of the asbestos in the 1950s-era structures.
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Lowenthal Pushing for Bill
Alan Lowenthal asked downtown businesses and residents to support more infrastructure, reduce port-related pollution and sign on to his plan to impose a $30-per-container fee to pay some of the costs to accomplish those goals, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports. Lowenthal spoke to the Downtown Long Beach Associates about Senate Bill 760 and the proposed $19.9 billion Transportation and Air Quality Bond headed for the November ballot.
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