After 118 days, the historic strike of the Screen Actors Guild is over. But it's still going to be a long road before things are back to normal, especially for non-union Hollywood businesses that have been out of work.
The actors' strike coupled with the writers' strike that lasted 148 days have been hard on a lot of folks throughout Los Angeles. Businesses all over Southern California that rely on the industry — from prop houses to hair salons — have been struggling financially.
The proposed contract still needs to be ratified but, in the meantime, the people and businesses most affected by the Hollywood work stoppage are figuring out next steps.
That includes Pamela Elyea, co-owner of the prop house History for Hire.
"You know its funny. Here I thought I would feel this tremendous elation and relief and all I feel is tired," she said.
Elyea recently spoke to How to LA about how she and her employees have managed during this time.
The strikes were "not without pain for a lot of people."
"You know its funny. Here I thought I would feel this tremendous elation and relief and all I feel is tired."
History for Hire had to layoff two full-time employees and two part-time staffers. The team who remained, she said, took pay cuts and went on work share.
Her company has been working on film sets for 40 years. Most recently, it helped out with Martin Scorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. But, said Elyea, a lot of projects have been delayed because of the strike.
"A few shows that we had kept pushing two weeks there and a week there," she said. "One big show has been pushed into 2024."
As she waits for business to pick back up, Elyea said she’s working to set up a Business Interruption Fund. It’s to help small companies like hers that have been hit hard financially by the work stoppage.
"I think a lot of people who sacrificed on this are ones that are not going to immediately benefit from the contract because we are not SAG, we are not WGA," she said, adding that a fund would be "some way to get some funding, some help, some kind of grant so we can continue to pay our bills and be there on the other end when it comes time to make new movies and new TV shows."
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