Hollywood may be known for its big studios with thousands of employees and giant sound stages. But of the 5,900 businesses in Hollywood, 99.5% have less than 500 employees, and over 90% have fewer than 10 employees.
Those are costumers, prop rentals, caterers, and trailer rental companies, sound mixing specialists and film editors — everything used in the making of movies, TV shows, or commercials.
After Covid-19 caused entertainment productions to come to a screecuing halt, the vast majority of those companies have seen their revenues plummet to zero in the past month. forcing many to lay off or furlough employees.
One of those companies is Star Waggons, which builds and rents custom trailers for stars and crew, for everything from film and TV shoots to commercials and concerts. The company employed around 100 employees and generates around $20 million annually. But this year it’s a very different situation. When sets shut down, CEO Jason Waggoner was forced to furlough some of…