Hollywood’s Part in Local Economy

Your Jan. 25 editorial regarding the dearth of regional talent that has led many Hollywood executives to recruit as far away as India made me furious. One of the jewels of Southern California is the L.A. County High School for the Arts, located slightly closer than the Indian subcontinent (the campus of Cal State L.A). It is perhaps the premier arts high school in the nation. The number of winners in the national Arts Recognition talent search is astounding--more than some entire states, and this from a school of only 500 students.

Because of the cost of a longer school day, and the number of working artists employed to teach the students, the school is inadequately funded. The long-term future of this remarkable institution is in jeopardy. Hollywood does not seem to know or care about a school that turns out highly qualified people in all aspects of theater, music, dance and the visual arts. They would rather complain about the problem than invest in a program such as this resource that is staring them right in the face.

JERRY FREEDMAN, Chair

Social Studies Department

L.A. County High School

for the Arts

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Congrats for the fine presentation about our entertainment industry’s growth taking the place of our former defense and aerospace industries, providing jobs and strengthening our economy. “Show Business Fills the Aerospace Employment Gap in Burbank” (Jan. 18) quoted Jonathan Katz of Cinnabar about the industry’s many superficial products and the irony that this growth in satisfying jobs produces “nothing.” Strong, but too true.

How about doing a follow-up article about what this industry is producing in educational films? Many of us readers have been long out of school environments and wonder about this. Buckminster Fuller thought TV was the greatest educational tool ever developed, but nowadays we see little evidence that films are being produced and marketed for such programs. Are they? Or don’t educators pay enough to interest this industry’s leaders?

MARJORIE PENDERGRAFT

Canoga Park