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US: Homeless producers in LA
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    At a homeless shelter on Skid Row in Los Angeles, there's a man who once made a six-figure salary as a successful producer of Hollywood films and sitcoms. He produced a movie that grossed tens of millions at the box office, was represented by one of the largest television agencies and used to be friends with well-known actors. But then he had trouble getting work, and after a while was unable to pay rent. His family moved in with a friend, but then that house went into foreclosure. So four months ago, with nowhere else to turn, he arrived at the shelter with his wife and two boys. "I did everything I could not to end up in the stereotype of a shelter," says the producer, who asks not to be identified because he fears jeopardizing his chance of landing work. "I want out of here so bad I don't even want to engage in the culture. I don't want to be comfortable because I'm not."

    The man and his family are doing everything they can to maintain a sense of pride, and they are trying desperately to hold onto their former lives. Their 8-year-old son spends four hours on a public bus everyday so he can keep attending school in his former neighborhood.

    Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2090997,00.html#ixzz1Wu4EsYtW
  • 7 Replies sorted by
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    Sorry to hear of anyone suffering this, but it sounds like a fantastic story for a film. And I thought every second person in LA was a producer anyway!
  • MihuelMihuel
    I do not know if I have to cry or laugh :-). If he reports to me, I can give him a job. $ 70 per working day. I know it's not enough, but it is lived in the third world.
  • stoneystoney
    "But then he had trouble getting work"

    Welcome to the new world of unlimited competition... relentless... endless...
  • BuellerBueller
    Los Angeles is a cesspool.
  • bwhitzbwhitz
    It's really hard to make a judgment on this without knowing more information and this guys background... There are many (probably 90%) people in LA with high-paying executive and producer jobs that should not have had them in the first place. They get them because they "know someone" and never actually even had to "compete". I've met allot of people in the industry that I would love to see go homeless simply because they do not, and never did, deserve their jobs.

    "Welcome to the new world of unlimited competition... relentless... endless..."

    Competition is good. It keeps industry from going into stagnation or turning to collectivism. This guy could have been just a very well connected guy (out of chance) that got into a producer position, over extended himself in the true Hollywood way, and blew it because he didn't know what he was doing. It sounds like it may have actually been a LACK of competition that led this guy into this position in the first place... you never know. ;)

    @Bueller "Los Angeles is a cesspool."

    +1

    It's like a town run by narcissistic 15 year olds... that have an IQ of 50. I really wish I could be pursuing my goals in another city like Chicago or Minneapolis. But there is really no other options right now... sigh. There is a never ending supply of aspiring actors though... so that's good if you need them for projects and stuff.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    @bwhitz

    How about making short doc about both homeless and lazy, well connected producers?
    It could be very interesting.
  • astrabanastraban
    It will be very easy to find a producer for that, I guess ;-)
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