The Brief

Ninety-three days into the Writer’s Guild strike and 20 days into the Screen Actors Guild strike, the entertainment industry in Los Angeles has ground to a halt.

There was already a slowdown in production before the work stoppage, and cumulatively we know it’s hit many of you hard — both those in the industry, and those adjacent to it.

We wanted to learn more about how you’ve been affected, so we’ve been asking you to share your experiences. We’ve heard from nearly 100 of you. These are some of your stories.

Listen to the conversation

How you’re getting by

The strikes are having a spectrum of effects on people’s personal lives. Some of you told us you’d completely lost your jobs, while others said they’re scraping by with just a few projects.

Chris Riddle, an assistant director, told LAist that he’s had to cut back on spending. And to bring in some money, he’s taking on smaller independent projects and using unemployment benefits.

“The rates are much lower, but it's better than not working.” Riddle said.

And that work is slim. According to FilmLA, the nonprofit organization in charge of tracking and permitting shoots in Greater L.A., permit counts are down nearly 55% for feature films and TV compared to this time last year. SAG-AFTRA is granting waivers to certain productions that sign an interim agreement — more than 120 projects have been approved so far.

“A lot of artists are still creating,” Riddle said. “I think it's important to show that filmmakers don't need the studios’ permission to make films.”

Chris Riddle, an assistant director, says to make ends meet he’s taking on smaller independent projects and using unemployment benefits.

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Ashley Balderrama

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Susanna Boney, an IATSE crew member who’s worked in art and set departments, says her financial situation is "dicey," so she's getting re-certified as a lifeguard.

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Ashley Balderrama

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Turning to different gigs

But many of you told us that you’re reconsidering whether you’ll stay in the industry.

Susanna Boney, an IATSE crew member who’s worked in art and set departments, said she’s excited to see union members fighting but that her financial situation is “a little dicey.” Her unemployment amount is small, so Boney’s switching gears to a gig she had 15 years ago.

“I'm actually getting recertified as a lifeguard right now, so you will be seeing me on the pool deck and on the picket lines,” she said. “I know that I have a plan and I am okay right now, but a lot of my IATSE kinfolk are not doing OK.”

A lot of members she knows aren’t making ends meet, and their situation is getting tougher since the discounts and grocery freebies are geared toward SAG and WGA members.

Catherine McCabe has worked in the TV and film industry for over 20 years, but she has been out of work since the Hollywood strikes began.

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Ashley Balderrama

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Cynthia Kershaw is a long-time Screen Actors Guild member. She is considering early retirement after many years of working in TV and film because of the Hollywood strikes.

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Ashley Balderrama

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for LAist

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Money is dwindling 

When Catherine McCabe, a production manager and art/set coordinator, responded to our survey, she told us she had about six weeks of unemployment left. Her savings are running low, and she’s already cut out expenses, like news subscriptions and cable.

And that career-switch idea? It hasn’t worked for her.

“No one will hire me because they don’t want to invest in someone with a career outside of their operation,” McCabe said. “But I keep trying to get a job elsewhere.”

McCabe has no other income coming in. Even driving to donate blood platelets — something that can be done to earn money — is off the books for her because it uses up gas.

For Cynthia Kershaw, a SAG-AFTRA member, the work stoppages are putting her future in limbo. She’s an art department coordinator for film and TV, and says that being out of work has put her career and health insurance on the line.

“Although I have been saving for the strike, I am seven years to retirement and not working is affecting my savings for the future,” Kershaw said. “I am currently living off of my savings and considering leaving film and TV for good.”

Kershaw has worked in the industry for two decades.

Between the lines are the deep financial problems that come up when people can’t find work. At least two respondents told us point-blank that their plan to make ends meet would be to starve. Although it’s a bleak and honest outlook, it’s a real impact that people without the privilege of savings experience.

Daniel Martinez, a production sound mixer, is one of those people. He’s worked significantly less since the strikes.

“Below the line crew are most susceptible,” Martinez said. “We do not have a safety net.”

Share your experience

News that Warner Bros. Discovery is up for sale has Hollywood buzzing. The legendary film studio, which has grown to include streaming services and cable channels, is currently accepting non-binding bids until Thursday. According to company spokesperson Robert Gibbs, they expect to have a decision about the sale by Christmas.

It's become something of a Hollywood parlor game to guess who will ultimately take over the business, which was founded in 1923 by four brothers: Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner. They owned a movie theater in Pennsylvania before coming to Hollywood to make movies.

Warner Brothers Pictures found one of its first silent picture stars in a German shepherd named Rin Tin Tin. By 1927, the studio made history with its feature-length "talkie" picture: The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson.

Over the years, Warner Brothers has made or distributed countless iconic films including: Casablanca, The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon in the 1940's. The list goes on, with titles like A Clockwork Orange, Goodfellas, Barbie, as well as Bugs Bunny and all the Looney Tunes cartoons.

Warners Brothers has had multiple owners over the decades. Three years ago, Warner Media, as it was called, merged with Discovery. And in June, the company announced it would split in two, with film, TV and streaming studios in one camp, and in the other, mostly legacy cable channels, including CNN.

The planned split has not yet happened, and a new buyer might get the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery and its film and TV libraries.

As the film industry continues to consolidate, there's speculation that Warner Brothers' old rival Paramount could take over. Having just merged as Paramount Skydance, CEO David Ellison has already made several overtures.

The idea of streaming giant Netflix buying the company has raised antitrust concerns on Capitol Hill. In an earnings call last month, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors, "We've been very clear in the past that we have no interest in owning legacy media networks. There is no change there."

Industry watchers suggest other suitors could be Comcast, Amazon, or an investor who's not already in the entertainment business.

Regardless of whoever does end up buying the company, theater owners say they hope making movies for cinemas will be a priority.

"As long as we have more movies," says Daniel Loria, senior vice president at The Boxoffice Company, which analyzes data from studios and theaters. "That doesn't mean the same amount, doesn't mean less, but more movies. I think you're going to find folks in the movie theater industry support any business decision that gets us there."

Loria recalls that after Disney purchased Fox and Fox Searchlight, their combined studios significantly reduced the number of films they released in the theaters. Crunching the numbers, Loria says in 2016, a year before the merger announcement, Disney and Fox released a total of 38 theatrical films. This year, the consolidated studios released 18.

That's a problem for theater owners who've been struggling to bring audiences back to cinemas after the COVID-19 pandemic shut them down; they're competing with movie-watching on TVs, computers and phones.

Some theater owners and cinephiles also fear studio conglomerates will only greenlight a few big-budget blockbusters, leaving the lower budget indies behind.

"The concern is you're going to see less of that risk taking, less of that experimentation and less of that embracing new directors, new filmmakers in the future," says Max Friend, the CEO of Filmbot, the ticketing platform for independent cinemas in the U.S. "It's really important that there are studios that are funding and supporting, cultivating that kind of work."

He points out that this year, Warner Brothers made a string of critical hits, including Ryan Coogler's Sinners, the horror film Weapons and Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another.

Friend wonders if the next owner will take similar risks with future original, creative films.

Warner Bros. Discovery is a financial supporter of NPR.

Copyright 2025 NPR

A downtown hearing kicked off Wednesday, during which a federal judge will consider holding the city of Los Angeles in contempt of court. The hearing is the latest step in a long-running legal saga regarding the city's response to the region’s homelessness crisis.

The hearing was ordered by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing a settlement in a lawsuit brought against the city by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a group of downtown business and property owners. L.A. Alliance sued the city, and county, in 2020 for failing to adequately address homelessness.

Several witnesses are expected to testify during the contempt-of-court hearing, including Gita O’Neill, the new head of the region’s top homeless services agency, and Matt Szabo, the L.A. city administrative officer.

L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger watched at least part of Wednesday’s hearing in the courtroom.

Why now?

Carter said in court documents that he’s concerned “the city has demonstrated a continuous pattern of delay” in meeting its obligations under court orders. During a hearing last week, the judge pointed to several delays, including recently reported issues related to data and interviewing city employees.

The judge noted that similar concerns have come up at previous hearings. Carter told attorneys for the city in March 2024 that he “indicated to the mayor that I’ve already reached the decision that the plaintiffs were misled” and “this is bad faith,” according to court transcripts.

The judge said in a Nov. 14 order that he’s concerned the “delay continues to this day.”

The contempt hearing is expected to cover whether the city has complied with court orders and provided regular updates to the court under the settlement agreement.

Reducing delays

Attorneys for the city have pushed back against the hearing, filing objections with the judge and making an unsuccessful emergency request with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block it from happening.

City authorities also asked the appeals court to press pause on the judge’s order to appoint a monitor in the case to make sure the city stays on track with the settlement. The city argued that Carter handed the monitor “a blank check to interfere with the democratic process,” according to court documents.

The appeals court partly denied the city’s request. It allowed Wednesday’s hearing to move forward, but it agreed to pause the appointment of Daniel Garrie as monitor.

In light of that response, attorneys for the city have argued that looking at the city’s cooperation with Garrie “would be inappropriate” during the hearing and that L.A. “cannot be held in contempt for either the substance or the manner of its compliance with the order,” according to court documents.

Previous hearings related to the settlement have elicited tense questioning of witnesses and harsh words from the judge, who has been vocal about reducing delays and moving the case forward.

In an opening statement Wednesday, Theane Evangelis — one of the attorneys representing the city — urged the judge to “turn down the heat” on the closely watched case. Evangelis said the “city is constantly under fire” in court while L.A. has made “enormous strides” in getting people off the streets.

Elizabeth Mitchell, lead attorney for L.A. Alliance, said the city treats transparency as a burden.

She said Wednesday that the “city still fights oversight harder than it fights homelessness” and that the court should address L.A. 's “consistent” delays throughout the case.

What’s next?

The hearing will resume Dec. 2, when more witnesses can appear in person.

City authorities told the court they believed a one-day hearing wouldn't be enough time to go over all the evidence.

If the judge does find the city of L.A. in contempt of court and that it "isn't doing what it promised to do," the consequences could range from nothing all the way up to serious sanctions, according to Matthew Umhofer, an attorney for L.A. Alliance.

Umhofer told LAist after the hearing that sanctions could include the court ordering more intensive monitoring of the city’s performance, imposing new requirements on the city, monetary penalties or possibly a receivership.

Carter previously stopped short of seizing control of the city’s hundreds of millions of dollars in homelessness spending and handing it to a court-appointed receiver, deciding against that option in a June ruling.

L.A. Alliance is considering asking for an extension to the settlement agreement, Umhofer said.

“The city has gotten away with not complying for a very long time,” he said. “So extending the agreement can be among the things that we might ask for ... given the pattern of delay and obstruction."

Evangelis and Bradley Hamburger, another attorney representing the city, declined LAist’s request for comment after the hearing.