It’s evident in the way Shon LeBlanc discusses his North Hollywood costume store. When he talks about the new building Valentino’s Costume Group moved into back in January 2023, there’s a tightness, almost like a held breath. twice as big as the previous one. A wager on the future. Then the future ceased to appear at work, and the actors followed the writers.
He told a reporter that thinking about rent made his chest tighten. I still remember that particular detail. The studios across town remained silent, but there was a tightening of the chest somewhere off Lankershim Boulevard—not the dollar figures, not the strike statistics.
| Profile: The U.S. Entertainment Industry Job Contraction | Details |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film, television, and streaming production |
| Primary Hub | Los Angeles, California (with secondary hubs in Atlanta, New York, Vancouver) |
| Estimated 2023 Strike Impact | Over $6 billion in lost economic output across California |
| Workers Directly Affected | 11,500 WGA writers and 160,000 SAG-AFTRA members |
| Peripheral Industries Hit | Catering, costume rental, transportation, dry cleaning, real estate, hospitality |
| Major Studios Involved | Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Amazon, Apple |
| Top 12 Entertainment CEO Pay (2021) | Approximately $1 billion combined |
| Key Issues | Streaming residuals, mini-rooms, AI use, shrinking writers’ rooms |
| Long-Term Trend | Production shrinkage, layoffs, AI experimentation, offshore VFX work |
| Combined Streaming Profit (Recent Years) | Close to $30 billion annually |
The contraction continued after the strikes ended in late 2023. The part that is lost is that. The way that people discuss Hollywood is similar to how they discuss the weather: as though it passed through, caused some damage, and then moved on. It didn’t. Los Angeles’s production volume is still far below what it was before the pandemic, and many of the people in the industry have never fully recovered. Real estate work is still being taken on by camera operators. Longer shifts at local salons are being taken by hairstylists who used to fly in for movie shoots. The shrapnel remains in the wound, as one studio executive uncomfortably described it.
The extent of the damage is what distinguishes this contraction from previous industry downturns. On a busy day, a movie set can contribute tens of thousands, sometimes even hundreds of thousands, to the local economy. That money ends up in locations that are unrelated to the entertainment industry. the restaurant on the other side of Paramount. The costume dry cleaner. The driver who fills up before the call time of five in the morning. These small businesses do not receive a press release when the productions cease. They simply experience a gradual decline in clientele, followed by an abrupt decline.
Speaking with residents of Toluca Lake or Burbank gives the impression that this is a structural change rather than a brief decline. The math was rewritten by streaming. The length of the seasons decreased. The much-discussed “mini rooms” that the WGA opposed became smaller writer’s rooms. Studios discovered that they could produce less and call it more. Furthermore, once a system becomes less expensive to operate, it seldom becomes costly again. According to one labor lawyer, the streaming economy isn’t returning to the previous contract.
The disparity between the industry’s earnings and the anxiety of its employees is difficult to ignore. In recent years, five of the largest entertainment companies have made nearly $30 billion. In 2021, the total compensation of top executives was close to $1 billion. In the meantime, a Studio City prop man fears losing his union health insurance. Renegotiating their son’s college aid is his wife, a freelance editor. They continue to encourage the authors. Instead of the picket lines, they point the finger at the boardrooms. I was taken aback by this level of solidarity; it’s not the narrative I anticipated hearing.
The longer view is more hazy. AI is beginning to appear in early-stage scriptwriting, animation, and voiceover. Productions continue to be drawn to Georgia, New Mexico, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand by tax credits. The city that created the myth, Los Angeles, is becoming less and less of an option on a global menu. It’s still unclear if the city absorbs that or gradually empties out. The ripple is evident. It began in the rooms of writers. It made it to the burger restaurant, the costume store, and the realtor’s open house. It is still moving.