Hollywood Sticks to Script

In Hollywood, everyone is a millionaire with a mansion, a convertible and a pool, right? It's easy to assume everyone in the entertainment business is living large because that's what US Weekly and MTV Cribs tell us. But as it turns out, as Tinseltown's wealthier denizens siphon off most of the industry's riches, most of Hollywood -- like much of middle America -- is made up of supporting players who are struggling to support themselves. Now, as NPR's All Things Considered reports, some in Hollywood's middle class are standing up against the moneyed class.

The program interviewed one member of Hollywood's middle class, Beth Broderick, best known for her role as Sabrina's aunt on "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch." Broderick's is a largely untold story in Hollywood.

Hers is neither the tale of the struggling actor-slash-waiter, nor a Will Smith biopic; Broderick is part of Tinseltown's working class. She says she could once make a decent living getting cast in small roles for television. Now, because impatient studios are giving shows less time to succeed, there are fewer pilots. Fewer pilots means less work. But the glut of aspiring actors still exists, causing downward pressure on wages. Broderick says 20 years ago she made $25,000 to $30,000 for a guest spot on an hour-long show. That rate has since plummeted to $6,000.

Meanwhile, studio execs and headline actors make millions.

Broderick says: "It's really going to have to come down to the leadership -- from producers, directors and stars -- who say, 'You know what, thanks for the $20 million, I'm going to take $19 [million], and let's divvy the rest up between the next 10 people on the call sheet so that those people I'm staring across from the camera at for the next eight weeks -- I can feel good knowing that their kid can go to school.'"

Middle class triumphing over the moneyed class? Sounds like a great idea for a script.

(Photo courtesy Xero79, via Flickr)