'Stop the Chainsaw Massacre'
Activists from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) blocked the main entrance to Paramount Studios on September 15, demanding that the film and entertainment industry stop using tropical rainforest wood in set construction by the end of 1993.
With the help of a 50 by 25 foot high inflatable chainsaw and eight cement-filled barrels, the demonstrators formed a blockade at the Melrose entrance of Paramount Studios. The giant chainsaw carried the message "Hollywood: Stop the Chainsaw Massacre".
The entertainment industry uses a tropical timber from the rainforests of South-east Asia called lauan for building movie and TV sets. The major Los Angeles-based studios use approximately 250,000 sheets of lauan plywood each year.
In a letter sent to all the major studios on August 1, the Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace and Earth First asked the studios to adopt a written policy which would totally eliminate the use of lauan plywood by January 1, 1994. To date, no studios have made this commitment. However, Disney responded positively by saying it has eliminated 95% of its lauan use in both television and movie production.
RAN first started working on this issue two years ago. At that time all the studios said they were aware of the connection between using lauan and rainforest destruction and that they were testing alternatives. Since then the use of lauan has not been significantly reduced.
"After meeting with studio representatives, we discovered that in the last two years, the industry has spent virtually no money on research and development to find alternatives", said Atossa Soltani, RAN's southern California director.
RAN has suggested several alternatives ranging from domestic plywood such as birch, wood composite boards and recycled paper press boards, but the industry is not using these materials in any significant volume.
Lauan, also known as meranti, is the US's largest tropical timber import. The primary supplier is Indonesia, followed by Malaysia. Both countries have high rates of deforestation, with the timber industry being one of the principle causes.
RAN is urging people write to the following studios and urge them to go rainforest wood free by the end of 1993:
Peter Gruber, Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Richard Murdoch, Chairman/CEO, Twentieth Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Lew Wasserman, Chairman, MCA/Universal, 100 Universal Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608
Sherry Lansing, Chairman/CEO, Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Ave, Hollywood, CA 90038.