Westlake author documents ‘Hollywood Wars’
By Chester Burnett Special to The Acorn

“A lot of people know what I’m saying but can’t publicly speak out because their jobs depend on it,” says John Cones, a Westlake Village entertainment attorney who, for nearly 20 years, has advised clients in the area of independent feature films, videos, television shows and plays.

Unfavorable distribution deals, lack of diversity at the executive level, and questionable accounting practices are just a few of the issues that sully the entertainment industry, Cones said.

Cones, the author of eight other books on Hollywood, documents his findings in his latest work from Marquette Books, “Hollywood Wars: How Insiders Gained and Maintain Illegitimate Control Over the Film Industry.”

Cones lays out examples of discriminatory practices against outsiders such as D.W. Griffith, Orson Welles, Howard Hughes and David Puttnam to illustrate how the entertainment industry is one of the most closed business communities in the nation.

The author relies on case studies that reveal a pattern of discriminatory behavior in Hollywood dating back to the earliest days of movie-making.

Reminiscent of the 1992 book, “Fatal SubtractionHow Holly

wood Really Does Business” by prominent Los Angeles trial lawyer Pierce O’Donnell and Dennis McDougal about the inside story of Art Buchwald’s case against Paramount, Cones’ “Hollywood Wars” breaks down the labyrinth of power and money inside Tinsel Town corridors and how the industry’s allpowerful public relations machine enables industry power brokers to get away with a variety of unethical and predatory practices.

What upsets him the most, he said, is Hollywood’s closed shop mentality.

“Ideas influence people’s behavior,” Cones said. “Film and television, primarily from the major American studios, impact people worldwide. Those ideas must come from a more diverse group of executives who control those decisions. Somebody’s got to take the first step as this affects our children.”

The veteran media attorney feels it will take action by the U.S. Justice Department to make meaningful changes in the business.

“Unless Hollywood outsider groups are able to work together in a coordinated effort to bring down the power of the Hollywood insiders, nothing will change,” Cones says. “Only if power is shared more equitably can change be realized.”

“Hollywood Wars” is a presentation of Cones’ findings based on more than 10 years of research.