By Gavin Boyle
As Hollywood experiences a production exodus, a small group of elected officials are working to change regulations so filming in LA is not so expensive.
“Los Angles has historically been the heart and soul of the entertainment industry. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, recent Hollywood strikes and additional economic constraints have led to a steep decline in local film production,” said L.A. City Councilmember Adam Nazarian. “The city must act quickly, as we risk losing significant market share to other areas of the country. In addition to providing stable, well-paying jobs to our residents, the significant boost to our local economy has the potential to bring desperately needed revenue to our city.”
“The onerous regulations and permitting required by the City are significant obstacles to production companies,” Nazarian continued. “Bureaucratic permitting, expensive and often unnecessary fees, inconsistent safety requirements, and lask of City personnel and resources dedicated to filming requests are among the most significant hurdles to our entertainment industry. Prompt action is necessary to bring film, television and commercial production back to Los Angeles.”
The group is proposing sweeping changes to regulations and systems that have encouraged productions to leave the state in recent years. This changes include decreasing safety standards on set, lowering the cost to film on public property and introducing regulations to combat price-gouging practices that greatly increase production costs.
Though not associated with the group, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has also been working to bring productions back to California by increasing the state’s film credit system. After passing a law in 2022, California now offers $330 million in tax credits every year and is in place through 2030.
However, other states have jumped at the opportunity to attract productions and are not letting California win them back so easily. Mark Wahlberg, for example, moved to Nevada in 2022 to create “Hollywood 2.0” and has been working with the state government to attract high-profile productions. The state has since introduced a film credit system will also approving the construction of large sound stages just outside of Las Vegas.
“I moved to Nevada where, after this gubernatorial election, hopefully, it will go to legislation and get a bill passed so we can get a tax credit for the state — build a state-of-the-art studio here and make this Hollywood 2.0,” Wahlberg told THE TALK in 2022.
Thus, while changes to California’s filming regulations will be beneficial for the state — and will help keep even more productions from leaving — it will be difficult for the state to ever fully recover the dominance it once had in the entertainment industry.
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