Hollywood’s Fringe Benefits

Hollywood is as much an idea as a place. To those in the night-life nether world, Tinsel Town is a glitzy, star-studded metropolis where actors strut Hollywood Boulevard while directors and producers push paper in posh Malibu pads.

Though there is a grain of truth in that image, the birth of a new Hollywood hot spot is for the starving actor, unpublished writer and the wanna-be director. Fewer than two miles from the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, the newly opened Industry at Barham and Cahuenga boulevards is bustling with individuals on the fringes of the biz. They congregate at this coffeehouse and resource center as they dare to dream.

Industry is only a hop from the big studios. The coffeehouse provides faxing and copying services, in addition to Internet link-ups, video conferencing and entertainment-related legal services.

“I wanted to create a complete resource center for people in the industry,” said owner Matt Barasch, an entertainment attorney. “Around here there’s nowhere to make copies or grab a bite to eat. We provide all of that.”

In addition to business services, the coffeehouse has a book and video store. The daily trades are available here along with hard-to-find entertainment magazines such as Cinfantastique and Videomaker. How-to books on topics such as screenwriting and finding an agent are also among the finds here.

Part of Industry’s appeal, however, is its menu of entertainment. Many of the actors who frequent the coffeehouse say they come here because Industry has the only free pool table in town. On weekends there is live music, and the weekdays are often filled with seminars. Almost all are free.

Industry looks hip with an eclectic ambience. The wood-carved furnishings and antique tables came from studio furniture sales. Autographed posters and paintings of celebrities such as Paul Newman and Whoopi Goldberg adorn the walls of the dimly lit hangout. New Age music echoes softly in the background much of the time.

Each week, Industry is the backdrop for a TV talk show Barasch and his entourage recently created. “You’re on the Air From Industry Java and Jive” is a weekly public-access show best described as Donahue meets the Comedy Store. Would-be starlets are the hosts, pulling in the audience of customers for spontaneous discussions about, what else, the industry.

One recent evening, Kyle Moore posed the question, “Los Angeles, how much can you stand?” An actor who’s worked as an extra in films including “Forrest Gump,” Moore begged the audience to explain why they are here and how much can they really put up with. Actor Doug “I’m not a waiter” Geib was in the crowd, and said that after three years of struggling, he’s not ready to throw in the towel and head home to Ohio.

Screenwriter Henry Nield popped in to use the computers, but instead chose to watch the 30-minute show. He joined in to say that the romantic notion of Hollywood, once only an American perception, has recently seeped into the rest of the world including the United Kingdom, his home.

Nield says he likes Industry because unlike much of Hollywood, this place is laid back.

“Everyone in Hollywood is looking at everyone else. They’re more concerned with looking like they’re having a good time than having a good time,” Nield, 30, said. “This place is very friendly.”

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Where: Industry, 3191 Cahuenga Blvd. (213) 845-9998.

When: Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-midnight; Friday, 7 a.m.-2 a.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Cost: Herbal tea, $1.50; power breakfast, $3; protein drinks, $3.50.