Shooting for Stakes
For filmmakers, the world is an increasingly dangerous place, according to a global risk assessment released this week by a leading insurance broker.
In its annual Risks in Global Filmmaking study, the Albert G. Ruben subsidiary of Aon Corp. found that filmmakers face heightened dangers in the Philippines, Western Sahara and Malaysia, due mostly to terrorism and localized combat.
Closer to home, Mexico was classified as high risk, particularly for street crime and kidnappings. The United States was classified as moderate risk, due to street crime, making it a more dangerous place to shoot movies than Canada, Norway or New Zealand.
The Philippines, once a relatively safe place for productions requiring a tropical backdrop, was classified this year as a very high-risk location. A rash of terrorist bombings and kidnappings, including several for ransom of Americans, accounted for the heightened risk.
“People used to shoot in the Philippines as Hollywood’s tropical back lot,” said Chris Palmer, director of risk control for Albert G. Ruben. “Now people aren’t shooting as much in the Philippines, because there’s too much risk kidnapping and ransom.”
The 2005 Albert G. Ruben report also identified significant new risks in Western Sahara, which remains a danger zone despite a cease-fire in a civil war. Malaysia also was singled out as a problem spot due to kidnappings and terrorist acts committed by offshoots of the global al Qaeda group.
Overall, global filmmaking poses more risks now than just a few years ago, said Brian Kingman, senior vice president of Aon/Albert G. Ruben. Whereas previously filmmakers were concerned primarily about disease and natural hazards, terrorism now looms large as a possibility.
“What’s changed is the nature of the risks,” Kingman said. “The world has become much more risky post 9/11.”
James Nash
Restaurant Seders
Traditionally, the Seder is a home-cooked meal. But several Los Angeles restaurants will be whipping up Passover servings in their signature styles.
At Jar, Chef Suzanne Tracht won’t be ladling your mother’s matzo ball soup. She’s got a matzo ball consomm & #233; with spring vegetables on the menu.
“We do kind of twist it, but we try to keep it with the symbolic things that Passover represents,” said Tracht. “It is a really nice feel in the restaurant.”
At Spago, Chef Lee Hefter is up to the challenge of making gefilte fish tastier. The restaurant, which has served up Passover dinner for 21 years, is plating homemade gefilte fish of whitefish, carp and pike.
Both Jar’s and Spago’s kitchens will be cooking up Passover dishes for the second night of Passover, April 24. The restaurants will bring in rabbis to officiate.
Tracht said that about 80 people, both gentiles and Jews, attend Passover dinner at Jar. The kitchen sticks to some Passover restrictions no bread is allowed but the dinner isn’t kosher. “If you were that kosher, you probably wouldn’t be coming to a restaurant anyway for dinner,” said Tracht.
Spago and Jar rearrange their tables for Passover so they can serve up the multi-course meal family-style.
Rachel Brown
Enterpreneur’s Ed
Los Angeles County is home to seven of the nation’s top 100 colleges and universities for teaching business-building skills, according to Entrepreneur magazine.
Those making the list for 2005 in the magazine’s third annual ranking were Loyola Marymount University; USC, Biola University; UCLA; California State University, Northridge; Pepperdine University and Claremont Graduate University.
The Irvine-based magazine ranked the schools in four tiers on either a regional or national level, with some institutions, for example, recognized for emphasis on business development or success using a limited curriculum.
“We’ve spent years building this area up,” said John Wholihan, dean of Loyola Marymount’s College of Business Administration, which begin its entrepreneur program in the early 1970s. “This is where the new ideas start, and this is where the businesses get started that ultimately are the engine for our economy.”
David Greenberg
