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Struggling Entertainment Workers Are Fleeing Hollywood — But Some Employers Balk at Showbiz Backgrounds

As major companies cut costs and production continues to lag, professionals who have already achieved success in entertainment are applying for jobs in project management, marketing and even at Whole Foods.

The veteran reality television executive producer and showrunner with about 20 years of experience on projects like Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and Big Brother recalls her husband asking her at some point, “Why don’t you try to do something that you’ve always wanted to do and you never had a chance?” “I think the biggest challenge is more about people’s mindset,” says Christina Blumer, the executive director of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, which offers grants for career counseling or retraining to professionals in the theatrical exhibition, distribution and vendor spaces. Fields that are particularly in demand right now are project management, digital marketing, creative direction, teaching artistry, arts administration and other types of content creation, Muslar adds — all of which can transfer skills people have developed in entertainment.

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