Los Angeles Fires Deliver Latest Blow to Embattled Hollywood

As Los Angeles is gripped by wildfires that resemble a Hollywood disaster movie, the city's vast entertainment industry is already counting the costs of yet another drastic setback that its workers can ill-afford.

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Actors, crew, writers and producers have lost their homes; film and television productions have been temporarily halted; and calls are mounting for Hollywood's awards season to be cancelled.

This comes at a time when LA's entertainment sector worth US$115 billion (S$157.69 billion) to the region's economy is already in dire straits, as some film and TV productions abandon the city over high costs.

The Covid-19 pandemic and recent labour upheavals have also taken their toll in recent years.

"Hollywood, as everyone, was hit by the pandemic with severe consequences. The strikes, obviously, affected the industry, probably forever," said Mr Marc Malkin, senior culture and events editor for trade magazine Variety. "Add the fires to that, and Hollywood is just being hit over and over again."

Stars including actors Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson and Billy Crystal have lost their homes to the past week's blazes.

But that is only the tip of the iceberg, with thousands of houses destroyed across a city that is home to 680,000 people employed in the entertainment industry or service jobs directly supporting it.