Wendy Greuel Speech - P 2011
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesThis story first appeared in the August 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
The next L.A. mayoral election isn’t until next March, and the field is still wide-open, but former City Council member and current Controller Wendy Greuel is busy racking up Hollywood supporters. The one-time industry player, who worked as an executive at DreamWorks from 1997 to 2002, has had newly crowned Disney Studios boss Alan Horn and wife Cindy in her corner for some time now, along with top producers Bruce Cohen and Roberto Orci.
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But now additional heavyweights have officially joined the fold. WME chieftain Ari Emanuel, Tobey Maguire (and wife Jennifer) and director Gary Ross (along with producer spouse Allison Thomas) are all on the host committee invitation that THR has obtained for a fundraiser to be held at Cohen’s home on July 31. Tickets start at $500 per guest.
Greuel is currently a member of the California Film Commission and one of the promises of her mayoral campaign is to work to halt runaway production, in part via economic incentives. Other Hollywood backers include the original DreamWorks triumvirate of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, as well as J.J. Abrams, Leonard Nimoy and Candy Spelling.
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Meanwhile, one of her chief rivals in the race, City Council President Eric Garcetti, whose L.A. district covers much of Hollywood, has received support from Sony executive Eric Paquette and Steven Bochco, among others.
