If you ask Alexis Bledel whether college was a worthwhile experience, you’d discover that without her time at school she might not have become an actress. Now 27, she started out with a focus on writing and directing. “I figured out that I was interested in acting while at NYU,” she told me while discussing her new film, Post Grad.

Unlike many recent college graduates fighting unemployment Bledel has had a fairly easy go of things when it comes to work. She landed the lead role in Girlmore Girls opposite Lauren Graham in 2000. Since then she has gone on to star in the popular Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies.

In Post Grad Bledel plays Ryden, a young lady just entering the work force and hoping to make a career in book publishing. Ryden lands an interview at her dream company Happerman & Browning, a Los Angeles based publisher — think Random House. But she fails to land the job and is forced to move back in with her family, played by a star cast including Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett and Jane Lynch.

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Reality television guru, Mark Burnett, recently talked with The Hollywood Reporter’s James Hibberd about his upcoming series Shark Tank, set to premiere this Fall on ABC. Throughout the chat, Burnett touted his TV offerings as “high-quality” programming, going so far as to say his new show “belongs up there with great dramas.” Judging by Hollywood’s grand gestures – giving reality TV shows Emmy Awards and honoring Burnett with a star on the Walk of Fame – the producer has every reason to believe he is crafting “great dramas.”

Then again, those in the industry, working below-the-line, might beg to differ with the British import. In case network television executives haven’t noticed, California is flat broke. With Sacramento scrambling to fix its $26.3 billion hole in the budget, and banks refusing to accept the state’s I.O.U.s, networks should be ashamed of themselves for shunning local production, opting instead for unscripted programming, year after year.

FilmL.A., the office behind film permits for the city, reported last month that the number of prime-time TV pilots shot in Los Angeles is down nearly 42 percent. The organization estimates that pilot production spending in the L.A. region is down more than $100 million this year, compared to 2005.

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Santa Clarita Valley, just north of Los Angeles, scrambled as the Buckweed Fire drew near on October 21, driving residents out of their homes and sending firefighters into the nearby mountains.

Nearly 150,000 residents were evacuated while 32 structures were destroyed, according to fire officials.

Produced for California State University Northridge’s Journalism School October 21, 2007. This story aired on channel LA36 in Los Angeles.

Hollywood gave the red carpet treatment to New Line’s “Hairspray,” the latest Broadway-to-film musical adaptation from the producers of the award-winning movie “Chicago,”with the West Coast premiere taking place in Westwood on July 10, 2007. BroadwayWorld.com’s James Sims was on the scene to capture all of the star-powered fun as fans and celebrities alike cheered on the movie musical, set to open in theaters nationwide July 20.

The all-star cast of “Hairspray” came out to celebrate, including John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah as well as director Adam Shankman and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

“Hairspray” is originally based on the 1988 John Waters comedy. The new version of the film is based on New Line’s hit Broadway adaptation of the film, which debuted in 2002, and went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Director.

Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman contributed new songs to their existing Tony Award-winning score. Shaiman also served as the film’s music supervisor and has composed the music score for the film as well as produced its songs. Wittman and Shaiman also served as executive producers on the film. The new screenplay for Hairspray was written by Leslie Dixon (“Freaky Friday,” “Outrageous Fortune”).

Produced for BroadwayWorld.com on July 19, 2007.