Not So Horrible

I live in North Hollywood and I have yet to find the epic-length unemployment lines George M. Cook refers to in his Aug. 5 Counterpunch (“Hollywood’s Real Horror Picture”). I’ve just recently relocated to Los Angeles from Toronto (I’m in the live theater business). And one of the things that greeted me on my first visit in March was the cover of Variety (March 18), “The Upsizing of Hollywood: While U.S. Tightens Belt, Show-Biz Balloons.” The reason why I can’t find those unemployment lines is that the number of production jobs in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles County has grown from 53,200 in 1988 to 111,600 in 1995, according to official state figures quoted in the article.

With this incredible growth in the entertainment industry in L.A., the work force can’t keep up. This is why Vancouver and Toronto have benefited by their industry’s considerable growth these past few years. Disney is opening animation studios in Vancouver and Toronto because the truth is that they’ve brought so many Canadians to Burbank these past few years that they realize it would be more cost-effective to build a studio where the skilled work force is. Even so, there is not likely to be a job lost in Burbank.

BRIAN BEIRNE

North Hollywood