There’s been many shifts in the entertainment landscape over the last few years. Perhaps one of the most concerning is the proliferation of new states and even countries fighting to secure themselves a share of the production pie through juicy incentives. With many projects across both film and TV opting for alternatives to LA as their production hub, is it time for an image renovation? Our local entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake from Blake & Wang P.A., examines why entertainment’s most iconic destination may need to fight a little harder to lower local shooting costs and reinvent itself as a production location.
World Class People, World Class Problems
While almost anyone in the industry will agree that LA offers some of the world’s best crews and cast, shooting in LA is not exactly simple. From permitting locations and fees to the price of doing business locally, the simple facts are that it’s gotten harder to film in Los Angeles— and more importantly, a whole lot easier (and cheaper) to film elsewhere. Trading on reputation alone is no longer enough when capable film hubs are easy to find.
Of course, these shifts are not new to the industry. However, it may be time for a facelift if LA wants to retain its reputation as the go-to filming hub.
Solving LA’s Filming Issues
It’s easy to judge from the sidelines. However, for most producers, a notable lack of stimulation for the film industry in LA remains a crucial issue, especially the lack of a standard permitting protocol and steep fees. Ironically, the state is no longer as film-friendly as other alternatives. Tax breaks and rebates now lag behind those offered in many other destinations. While hardly an LA-only issue, there is also a pressing need to bring entertainment industry inflation in line with overall inflation as well as the wider economic market.
As always, supply and demand are key to success. In a world where the supply of compelling filming destinations has expanded vastly, industry stalwarts may need to revisit the tried-and-tested strategies of yesteryear and ensure they’re still offering competitive services and incentives, not simply relying on past reputations to keep them moving to the future. It’s a lesson LA hopefully won’t have to learn the hard way — but only if stakeholders take note now and not when it’s too late.
Film and Television 