This morning the Acorn reported that James Cameron’s plan to build a movie studio in Agoura Hills was approved by the city council.
I thought we were an autonomous collective. Guess I thought wrong. Welcome to surburban development!
My first reaction was horror – the beautiful hills we so adore, that lured us to this wonderful place that allows us to believe we live in a happy little community – razed by bulldozers, replaced by sound stages and golf carts and extras and a lot more traffic? This explains the seemingly unnecessary expansion of the Reyes Adobe bridge. All along, someone was making way for The King of the World.
But reading further into the article, one learns that the proposed studio will make use of existing buildings on Agoura Road near City Hall, while also adding new construction. And much of Cameron’s production is done digitally, meaning no need for expansive lots or acres of production space.
However, the Acorn quotes an official who is excited about attracting new jobs to Agoura Hills. Dude, if you live in Agoura Hills, you already have a job. It’s expensive here. Who are we trying to employ? High school students to act as janitors and security guards? By the time this complex is finished and ready to hire people, the economy (hopefully) will have come back, and any folks who are currently out of work and desperately trying to hang on to their pricey homes will have gotten a new job or moved away. I wonder how many Agoura Hills residents will actually be employed by the design, construction, and setup of the new studio. My guess is not a huge percentage.
Having worked in this town on and off for over ten years now, I can bet that the businesses that will reap most of the benefits of this plan will be the gas stations and the restaurants between here and wherever the studio employees live. Oh, and of course, Cameron himself. Oh yeah. I see you.
Leave a Reply