The turmoil in Wall Street banking is having a palpable ripple effect in Hollywood. My phone is ringing with executives sounding nervous for themselves and their business.
As credit has dried up for the movie industry, the failure of more banking institutions does not bode well for the industry, which has taken to financing its movies by outsiders in recent years.
All of this only serves to focus the mind on the electoral campaign in full swing. Those who support Obama – which is most of the entertainment industry – see the latest bad news involving Lehman Bros and Merrill Lynch (and soon, perhaps, for the likes of Washington Mutual) as an urgent sign of the need for change.
Let's see if they put their hands in their pockets at the Obama fundraiser this week, hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg, with Barbra Streisand headlining entertainment. At $58,000 a pair of tickets, attendees might need to call their brokers.
