Hollywood could damage itself by protesting against outside investors

Dorchester-collection
The ongoing boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel poses a problem for Hollywood as many businesses within entertainment get financed from sources outside of the US.

In a clear setback for the Dorchester Collection, the Beverly Hills Hotel has lost several high profile bookings since celebs like Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres publicly condemned the new Sharia Law imposed by the Sultan of Brunei. In what has become something of a PR disaster for the hotel, former Bill Clinton strategist was recently hired to deal with the crisis showing how the boycott has badly damaged the hotel's standing.

However, with other businesses such as News Corp, Disney and the Four Seasons Hotel partly funded by foreign investors such as Prince Alwaleed, is it realistic for Hollywood to be shunning all sources of money that come from countries with controversial laws?

Currently the state of California faces a difficult balancing act as it tries to keep local productions from going abroad for better tax breaks. With additional political pressure in the state against businesses that are owned by foreigners, would it not be prudent to re-evaluate this delicate balance?

With the Beverly Hills boycott movement, investors may think twice about investing in Hollywood. This could cause more problems for a range of entertainment businesses in the future as they seek outside investment.

For now, the Beverly Hills Hotel is bearing all the pain but if it spirals, the industry could be making trouble for itself.