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Happy holidays? Eh, maybe. As the industry tiptoes out of a brutal 2023 that delivered a months-long work stoppage due to two labor strikes and widespread layoffs and budget cutbacks, the ripple effects are crashing into the holiday party circuit.
There are fewer invites for the month of December compared to years past and sources say there’s a variety of reasons for the bah humbug. First, finances have forced many to scale back big holiday bashes. “Nobody wants to spend any more money this year,” said one insider. “They are already looking ahead to 2024, a new fiscal year, so they can reevaluate where things stand once productions get up and running.” Said another, “There aren’t any more of these big, holiday blowouts. Mostly just internal office parties and gatherings.”
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WME, which has taken over Universal Studios in years past for the firm’s holiday gathering (complete with plus-ones), is hosting employees at the Beverly Hills headquarters for a gathering on the mezzanine.
Others blame an overwhelmed calendar. The SAG-AFTRA strike ended Nov. 9, leaving just about 5 weeks to fit in all the premieres, awards screenings, Q&As and other promotional events before the town unofficially shuts down for the holiday season on Dec. 15. The Marvels composer Laura Karpman said of the swirl, “You can literally drive around L.A. at night and go to four events that you should be at and you will miss the other four events that you should have been at.”
That’s not to say there aren’t any gatherings. Seth MacFarlane took over Pacific Design Center for his annual holiday party that featured him on stage singing holiday classics with a full band. MacFarlane, whose track list included Frank Sinatra’s “Guys and Dolls,” was joined on stage at one point by Tiffany Haddish.
Amazon hosted a winter wonderland holiday party at the Culver Studios on Dec. 13, that featured streamer talent like Alan Ritchson, Serinda Swan, Leighton Meester and Robbie Amell. Blumhouse had its company fete on Dec. 7, while Fox is hosting holiday drinks with Lachlan Murdoch and the company’s leadership team on the lot on Dec. 18. The same night, Netflix is hosting a “Happy Holigays Toast with Most” at Neuehouse Hollywood where Trixie Mattel will DJ.
Still, even with some invites going out, others aren’t necessarily in the mood to paint the town red. Explained editor Hilda Rasula, “I’m not getting that many invites because it’s been a quiet year. Being a below-the-line person, it’s also important to remember that we’re still actively hurting from the strikes. We’re in a duck-and-cover zone still, and I’m assuming that come 2024, we’ll be ready to emerge from the cave but we’re not there yet. I don’t think there’s quite a full celebratory mood happening yet in town.”
A version of this story first appeared in the Dec. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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