There's no business like showbiz, but in Los Angeles it seems like there's no business at all.
If this sounds melodramatic, consider this: The Art Directors Guild, a union representing some 3,000 film workers, including set designers, art directors and many other artists, is refuse to consider new applicants because 75% of its active members are unemployed. The union's pessimism is a reaction to The decline of Hollywoodwhich is coming to a head for the industry and Southern California.
As the 2023 writers' strike ended, many of us in the industry were excited about new opportunities and getting back to work. But the production has not yet returned to pre-strike numbers. He was eager to start presenting, only to discover that it was harder than ever to get staff, get a new series into production, or even get into a room to present.
As I commiserated with other writers and other film workers in Southern California, I discovered that I wasn't the only one struggling to find work. Virtually everyone I spoke to in the industry had a similar story: They had a feeling that fewer productions were being greenlit, which means less work for thousands of people, and those shows that are being made are being made every once again outside of Los Angeles.
Production has been moving away from Hollywood since the 1950s, but the effects have never been more evident than today. Other regions in the United States, Canada and Europe have steadily increased incentives to attract television shows and movies, leaving California in the dust. Georgia (which is where many Marvel TV shows and movies are filmed) offers up to 30% in transferable tax credits in film and television production costs, plus an additional 10% increase on the base tax credit if the project includes a Georgia promotional logo. Actors, directors and crew prefer to stay close to their homes in Los Angeles to film, but it's hard for studios to pass up getting a third of their money back if they film outside of California.
Our state has fallen far behind in the tax break arms race.
Even when California lost a huge volume of production to other places, there was still Many film productions are being made. in Los Angeles before this year: enough work for many people to make a living in the industry. We were staying afloat thanks to “peak television”: the excess of content required by the explosion of streaming services.
But 2022 was he top peak television. Back then, platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV spent billions of dollars to generate content to attract new subscribers, resulting in That year, 633 scripted series were released.. As streamers' emphasis shifted from subscriber growth to profitability, service prices rose and the number of new shows dropped to 481 released in 2023, with the number It is expected to fall into the 300s. in a few years.
In other words, we are about to In fact feel the pain of losing productions in Georgia, Canada and Eastern Europe. And I don't mean “we” as in the case of artists and creatives in the industry; I mean “we” as in all of California.
As film and television productions slowly return after the writers and actors strikes, they are nowhere near the volume of 2022 and, for the most part, nowhere near Los Angeles. Disney has 22 live-action films scheduled for production in 2024. and only three will be filmed in California. Other studios like Sony, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures are following the same script and moving most of their production investment out of California.
New York, already one of California's biggest competitors, just announced a huge increase in its film tax credit programwhich makes filming in New York even more attractive.
Los Angeles has been a great partner for filmmakers for decades because of our sunlight, studios and locations, all of which has created a critical mass of world-class local talent in front of and behind the camera. But now we must do more to keep Hollywood in Hollywood.
The California Film Commission, a state government agency, recently awarded $152 million in tax credits for 12 television projects. Those 152 million dollars are It is expected to generate a return of $1.1 billion. in revenue for the state's local workers and businesses and employs 2,300 crew members, 2,200 cast members and thousands of other background artists.
Since 2009, the commission's Film and Television Tax Credit Program has attracted 33 television series to relocate to California. The biggest relocation gets is the Amazon series “Fallout,” which was moved away from New York and is It is expected to generate $153 million in qualified expenses. (money spent on salaries, locations and rentals of equipment and staff in the state of California) and employs around 170 actors and crew. The program has a five-year budget of $1.55 billion, which will run through 2030-31.
Can we do better than that? We will have to do this if we want to remain the center of employment in film production, maintain a strong and vibrant workforce and preserve billions in revenue. flowing into our economy of the film industry.
If productions in Southern California fall below a critical level for too long, the industry's essential talent will walk away along with huge sums of revenue. Persuading studios to film here would be much more difficult if we couldn't offer a wealth of local film workers, on-screen talent, and local businesses to support the entertainment industry.
That's why the California Film Commission and its Los Angeles counterpart, FilmLA, should act now, before it's too late. Those agencies and other government bodies should dramatically improve incentives to maintain our current programs and attract new productions to Los Angeles. Let's get on with the show… and make sure it doesn't go on without us.
Ivan Ehlers is a writer, artist, and director, as well as a contributor to the New Yorker, Mad Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.
