Rich said:
Temporo-Mandibular Zone?
Terribly Mexicanized Zone?
Don't keep us guessing!
Perhaps you have seen the TV show "TMZ" or the web site TMZ.COM?
The show is on every night at 11:30 PM for those of us lving in
Southern California and interested in that sort of thing.
From TMZ.com:
What does TMZ stand for?
'TMZ' stands for "Thirty Mile Zone," a term which originated
in the 1960's. Due to the growth of 'on location' shoots,
studios established a "thirty mile zone" to monitor the
regulations of shooting throughout Hollywood. The zone was
originally centered in Los Angeles around the old offices
of The Association of Motion Pictures and Television Producers
at Beverly and La Cienega Boulevards in California. It was
often said that "Everything entertainment happens in the
'Thirty Mile Zone.'" So essentially, the "Thirty Mile Zone"
represents the epicenter of Hollywood! Interesting, huh?!
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Mile_Zone
Studio zone (also thirty-mile zone) is a term used in the American
entertainment industry to describe the area within a thirty-mile
(50 km) radius from the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and La
Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. In addition, the
studio zone includes the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Conejo Ranch property,
although it technically lies outside of the zone's radius.
Entertainment industry unions use this area to determine rates
and work rules for union workers in the entertainment industry.
For instance, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
contracts state:
"Studio rates and working conditions shall prevail for all work
performed within the studio zone; however, for newly-called
employees and those employees notified on the previous day
prior to their departure from the studio (or the zone location)
to report at the zone location, work time shall begin and end
at the zone location; otherwise, work time shall begin and end
at the studio. Such work time includes travel time both ways
between the studio and the zone location."
"Studio rates" are generally lower than "distant location rates,"
which would need to be paid (in addition to travel time and mileage)
for work outside the studio zone.
Because it is much more expensive to film outside of the studio
zone, television producers prefer to film within the zone (and
go to great lengths to select and dress sets appropriately) even
when a show's claimed setting is just outside the zone. A famous
example of this phenomenon was The OC, which was primarily filmed
in the Los Angeles County Beach Cities within the zone rather than
in the real Orange County, which literally sits on the zone's border.
The initials of the Time Warner tabloid news Web site TMZ.com
stand for "Thirty Mile Zone," an alternate name for the studio
zone.
