By Michaela Gordoni
SHAZAM actor Zachary Levi is tired of money-thirsty Hollywood, so he’s doing something about it.
When “I went into Hollywood…it was very broken. And there’s lots and lots of trauma that comes from that too. And it was all these things that I hadn’t resolved and I didn’t know I didn’t resolve until it all caught up with me when I moved to Austin,” he said in a recent episode of Allie Beth Stuckey’s podcast.
Levi believes that God is calling him to transform entertainment and create a community near Austin, Texas.
“So when I got my first look behind the curtain and I saw how all the sausage was made in Hollywood 25 years ago, I was like, ‘God, I don’t know how to do this. This is so broken.'”
“The value structure is entirely upside down,” he said. “They’re not valuing the product and they’re not valuing the people making the product. They’re valuing the bottom line.”
He explained any industry that has a return of impact values people over product.
“So…I saw that wasn’t Hollywood right out of the gate,” he said. “And then on top of that, you have lots of other issues like part mixed up with all of that bad, you know, financial valuing and structuring…It’s very difficult to do anything outside of that entire ecosystem.”
Related: Zachary Levi Reflects on the Grace and Plans of God
He pointed out another issue with Hollywood is actors constantly getting sent to other locations. They don’t have community, and they often leave their families behind. And when their families do join them on projects, there isn’t an outside community to surround them.
“There’s got to be a way to get back to the heart of that,” the TANGLED actor says, “And so, that was one of the things that I felt God tapping me on the shoulder and being like, ‘Zach, this is what you need. This is what you need to go and do.’”
“’You’re not just going to go create a better movie studio that values the artists and values the art and therefore values the audience,” he continued. “You’re going to create a movie studio that’s also a living community because our communities are broken.’”
Levi is currently trying to raise $40 million in capital for his $100 million film and community campus near Austin. The campus, called Wyldwood, promises “studios, soundstages, podcast spaces, and flexible coworking environments” with designs that highlight the natural land. It will also have a spa, wellness center, farm-to-table dining, amphitheater and homes with flexible ownership.
Read Next: Zachary Levi Blasts Studios For ‘Garbage’ Movies
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