Finding Scraps And Taking On A Second Job: What It Took For One Hollywood Business To — Barely — Survive The Writers Strike

In the days leading up to a contract deal for the Hollywood writers, Mike Marr's phone was buzzing.

"I had three people who want work from me texting me little news blurbs when [the negotiations] were close — people who want the strike to be over too, mostly drivers," Marr said.

Marr owns Hollywood Honeywagons in North Hollywood, which has been renting out production trailers and portable restrooms for last three-and-a-half decades.

Since half of his clients are film and television productions, it makes sense that Marr — and those he employs — would be keeping close tabs on the strikes.

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Earlier this week, the union representing Hollywood writers officially ended its strike, after a temporary deal was struck last Sunday night. Negotiations took nearly five months. At one point, Marr thought he might have to resort laying off his five-person staff. That didn't come to pass, but he said, "I've had to tell them, 'Sorry, not five days a week.'"

Survival tactics

Hollywood Honeywagons saw business plummet by more than 60% during the walkouts. But unlike many others in the showbiz ecosystem, it found a sliver of a lifeline in other work.

"I want to say thank God for commercials," said Marr. "Thank God for reality television shows."

Neither of those types of productions were touched by the strikes. Because of that, a trailer of his has been rented out on the set of Selling the OC. And next week, another one is headed to a different reality TV show.

"That's what's been keeping me going — and events," he said.

But those jobs only went so far. To survive the great 2023 Hollywood strikes, Marr had to go back to driving production trailers for other people to make ends meet.

"I have been calling people and asking for work. I haven't had to work, really," he said, grateful for every single gig that's been thrown his way. "I've taken those wages and pumped them back into my own business."

Marr doesn't expect business for Hollywood Honeywagons to pick back up until at least in January, well after the holidays — but that's if the studios and actors are able to come to their own agreement. The two sides are scheduled to resume talks on Monday, Oct. 2.

"I hope the actors settle and let's get back to work. Let's all work hard and do good work and make movies and television and commercials and music videos here in Southern California," he said.

"Let's keep the work here."