Hollywood feels the pinch: Film production at standstill

Economy and migration of studio work elsewhere put many LA staff out of a job

Since the end of last year, movie production has plummeted, sending 75-80%
of Los Angeles-based technicians and film crew workers to the unemployment line.
Television and commercial work have dried up too - because of the recession, because
the credit crunch has made it next to impossible to raise funds, and because of an
abiding nervousness about the possibility, now seemingly averted, of an actors' strike.

Studio executives have sent some productions to cheaper locations such as Michigan
and Louisiana, but mostly they have stalled on anything but the surest of sure bets.

That has left thousands of people like McCleery - technicians, set dressers, hair and
make-up artists, drivers - with few options. Today, in fact, instead of working as a
director of photography or raking in top dollar on a major Hollywood production, he
is starting work as a lighting technician on a sports apparel commercial for the
bare-bones union minimum of $39 (£27) an hour...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/...-film-industry