Stay in LA campaign holds rally to encourage local film production
Stay in LA, the grassroots campaign aimed at boosting film and television production in Los Angeles, held a rally in Sun Valley on Sunday to draw attention to the struggling local entertainment industry.
The rally at SirReel Studio Services featured a series of speakers from across the entertainment industry as well as state and national politicians who called on state and local leaders to do more to help an industry that supports tens of thousands of workers across Southern California.
"I'm here at this rally because Hollywood production is incredibly important to our local and state economy," said Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles).
"This is a nationwide issue," she added. "We're competing against [countries that] are taking our business, our assets, our storytelling and hiring their crews instead of our crews, and that's not good for business here."
Attended by actors, crew members, business owners, community organizers and union officials, the rally was the group's first since it launched a petition in January signed by more than 22,000.
The petition called for targeted incentives and other measures to combat so-called runaway production and was signed by a number of big names, including actors Keanu Reeves and Olivia Wilde, as well as directors Rian Johnson and Patty Jenkins.
"A generational pandemic shuttered production and post-production, pushed projects out of state, and left California creators—makeup artists, hair stylists, editors, and more—behind,' said Pamala Buzick Kim, a Stay in LA co-founder, in a statement.
'Now, we turn to our government—not just to listen, but to act," added Buzick Kim, a production talent rep. "To pass legislation that keeps entertainment in California, invests in our communities, and helps rebuild an industry—and a dream—at risk of disappearing."
Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed doubling the state's film and TV tax credit program to $750 million a year, up from its current total of $330 million, to better compete with New York and other states and countries vying for Hollywood's business. If approved by the Legislature, the increase could take effect as early as this July and span five years.
Read more: For Hollywood workers, L.A. fires are the latest setback as productions halt
Stay in LA, which formed following the devastating wildfires that has further hindered production, has urged a slate of proposals to be included in the overall disaster relief efforts, such as removing tax incentive caps for productions that shoot in Los Angeles County during the next three years.
Additionally, the group has advocated for lowering or eliminating local film permit fees and called on the studios and streamers to pledge that at least 10% of their productions will be in Los Angeles.
Despite the end of the Hollywood labor strikes, production has yet to recover.
Filming in Los Angeles has dropped 30% over the past five years, according to FilmLA, a nonprofit organization that tracks on-location shoot days in the Greater Los Angeles area.
The annual sound stage occupancy rate dropped to 63% down 7% from 2023, according to a FilmLA report. The numbers remain well below the 90% average rate for sound stages between 2016 and 2022.
At the same time, entertainment companies have slashed spending on productions even as many have taken advantage of lucrative tax incentives offered outside of California.
Read more: California's film industry is in crisis. Can it be saved?
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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