Fire Relief: How Hollywood Is Coming to the Rescue
Louis Dargenzio, the former president of Sunset Studios and a transportation coordinator who worked on King Richard, planned to introduce his new company, Zello, as a “connective tissue between the community, entertainment, business and real estate,” he says. But when the L.A. wildfires struck a week before he was set to launch his company, he pivoted. Now, Zello Support is repurposing its Burbank headquarters — across from the Warner Bros. lot — as a donation center with pickup and delivery assistance. The company is now partnering with studios, prop and design houses to transfer new or gently used furniture from film or TV sets — like a Star Wars feature, which recently made a major donation — to people who lost it all. The goal, says Zello’s John Pollak, is to “make a house feel like a home.”
With the L.A. blazes having destroyed thousands of buildings, multiple crewmembers have stepped up to share structure photos taken for the purposes of filming with property owners. The idea is that these images — captured by professionals with an attention to detail — could aid in insurance and FEMA claims and/or offer sentimental value. The Teamsters Local 399 and the Location Managers Guild International are backing The Eaton and Palisades Fire Photo Project (scoutphotos.org), which is attempting to link owners and renters with location managers and art directors. “An art department is full of scrupulous, visual note takers, and that is part of the job,” art director Amelia Steely tells THR. “We’re really well-poised to get information to the people that need it.”
Among the items on the lengthy to-do list for those who lost it all is rebuilding their wardrobes — and Hollywood stylists have been pooling resources in order to help. The nonprofit Chic Relief, born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, is working with about 220 families after circulating a Google sign-up sheet, its founders Elizabeth Stewart and Jordan Grossman tell THR. Ashlee Margolis, founder of the marketing and communications firm The A List, is leading a separate effort to clothe fire victims, while celebrity stylist Ilaria Urbinati is working on her own endeavor. “I think stylists sprang to action because we have the most access to clothes,” Stewart says. “We’re in a unique position to help, and we’re all talking to one another.”
Aside from donating $15 million to fire relief efforts, The Walt Disney Co. has made its North Hollywood wardrobe warehouse available to employees impacted by the disaster. Disney staffers and crewmembers who lost homes can gather clothing and shoes worn in recent productions like Genius: MLK/X, grown-ish and The Old Man free of charge. “Most companies are not sitting on an entire warehouse full of wardrobe — some of which has been barely used, if it’s been used at all,” Disney Entertainment Television vp production shared services Heidi Chong says in a statement. “There are no limits to the amounts that people are getting; it’s really about what they need.”
Step aside, WeWork: With so many Angelenos displaced from homes and offices, businesses are offering temporary solutions. Postproduction services company Atlas Digital — with offices in Burbank — is offering edit bays and remote workspaces, some of them for free, to those who have been uprooted by the wildfires. Says editor Josh Crockett (Tag), who relocated his work to an Atlas space after the Eaton Fire damaged his home, “Having a steady, reliable space to work during all of this has really helped mitigate some of the stress of my situation.” The beloved Eagle Rock video rental store/movie theater Vidiots also has opened its doors, making its Mubi Microcinema available as a daytime workspace with Wi-Fi, outlets and free coffee (in between showtimes, of course). Free screenings of Clue and L.A. Story, among other titles, are also on offer to lift spirits.
One inescapable part of the job for many actors is self-taped auditions. While convenient — they can be done from the comfort of one’s home — these tryouts come with pressures, like finding the right lighting and camera setup. Well aware of this, the minds behind the online actor training company The Bridge for Actors, in collaboration with Casting Workbook, IAMA Theatre Company and Ship Bob, are giving out 75 self-tape lighting kits to actors who lost theirs in the fires or can’t return home because of smoke damage. The kits include a ring light, three tripods and a custom two-toned reversible pop-up banner. “We want to be able to get you back to work,” says Bridge for Actors co-founder Alyshia Ochse in an announcement.
If they aren’t already, creatives who lost their homes and/or workspaces in the wildfires soon enough will be navigating tricky legal issues — like insurance claims, disrupted work opportunities and property concerns. The L.A.-based Counsel for Creators Llp. is offering free 30-minute consultations to help artists and creators handle these minefields. They promise easy-to-understand advice and no sneaky fees. “Our intention is for people to receive actionable help and support so that they can recover and get back to business more quickly,” partners and co-founders Chuong Bui and Chris Valdheims say in a statement.
This story appeared in the Jan. 29 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
