Hollywood is famously quick to turn trauma into narrative. The Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire have proved to be a rare exception.
One of the few high-profile attempts to engage with the catastrophe came just seven months after the blaze — and was immediately contentious. In August, it was announced that Kenya Barris, the creator behind the award-winning comedy Black-ish, was developing a CBS comedy starring Mike Epps set in Altadena. The show would follow two estranged Black brothers who reunite in the hopes of selling their late grandmother’s house. There was swift online pushback, with critics questioning the comedic premise and asking how the project would help Altadena recover. Barris defended the show on social media, posting, “I understand your fear but know that I only plan to do the best I can to make sure the world sees you.” The project remains in development.
Beyond that flash point, depictions of the fires have been limited. They were briefly referenced in the Julia Roberts feature After the Hunt to signify a time jump and place the viewer in 2025, but otherwise have largely gone unaddressed onscreen. One of the few projects to gain meaningful traction has been All the Walls Came Down, a short film by filmmaker and documentarian Ondi Timoner, who lost her Altadena home. Now shortlisted for the 2026 Oscars, the 38-minute movie follows Timoner and several of her neighbors as they navigate the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
For Timoner, the difficulty of turning the fires into narrative has only increased as the impact has spread through the city. “Everybody knows somebody whose house burned down,” she says. She is working on a documentary feature and considering a screenplay about the Eaton Fire, though she notes that the story remains unresolved amid ongoing legal battles and rebuilding efforts. “The problem is it’s a five- to 10-year situation,” she adds. “And our attention span is eight seconds long.”
This story appeared in the Jan. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.