Hollywood, a fantasy factory at the center of the world’s entertainment industry, is sometimes referred to as Tinseltown. These days, however, crews are more likely to shoot in Sydney, Atlanta, London, or Toronto than in Los Angeles.
For years, producers have been drawn away from the City of Angels by lower labor costs and better tax incentives. This existential dilemma has been made worse by the flames, which have destroyed hundreds of houses and claimed the lives of at least 29 individuals.
Many people here are now urging the government, as well as film studios and streaming platforms, to encourage more local production.
“The best thing the studios could do for fire relief is to bring work back for the rank and file LA film workers,” says Mark Worthington, an Altadena production designer whose house burned down.
READ MORE: A Hollywood Mogul Was Convicted Guilty Of Double Murder And The Rape Of Seven Women
“That’s what we want.”
Mr. Worthington mentioned that he hadn’t been on a LA set in two years and that he was already having trouble adjusting to the city’s decline. Many producers tried to save expenses by skipping town or even leaving the nation altogether as a result of COVID, labor strikes, and the eventual end of the streaming boom.
Why Hollywood’s massive boom has failed
According to ProdPro, which monitors global production, US production fell 26% last year compared to pre-strike levels in 2022. Production increased by 14% in Australia and New Zealand, by about 1% in the UK, and by 2.8% in Canada.
Obviously, the defeat hurts. With their numerous love songs for the City of Angels, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band that is often associated with Los Angeles. However, rather than in Los Angeles, a biopic about the band is being shot in Atlanta, Georgia, which has grown to be a major production hub because of its hefty tax benefits.
“Survive until ’25” had become something of a catchphrase for Mr. Worthington and other filmmakers hoping for a change of luck before to the flames. Rather, their city caught fire.
READ MORE: Hollywood Reluctant As Sora from OpenAI Causes A Stir In The Motion Picture Industry
“It’s crushing in terms of how you see yourself as a creative individual and just as a person, and then on top of that to have these fires,” adds Worthington. “This is adding a horrible other thing to pile on top of all the other difficulties and our own work situation over the last couple years.”
In addition to donating almost $70 million (£56 million) to fire relief efforts, Hollywood studios and streaming providers have transformed the glamorous red carpets and awards season parties that are customary during this time of year into significant fundraising events.
Many claim that these initiatives are insufficient and that the major studios in Hollywood must make a commitment to shoot in Los Angeles.
However, studios prioritize their financial line over the welfare of their employees in a certain city when making business decisions. In actuality, most industry jobs in Los Angeles are union protected, meaning they come with high pay, costly health benefits, and pensions.
READ MORE: John Cena Resigns From WWE To Return To Hollywood
However, A-list actors are highly attentive to the studios.
Vin Diesel, a megastar, made it possible for Universal Pictures to complete filming the most recent Fast and Furious movie in Los Angeles.
Diesel wrote, “LA really, really, really needs production to help rebuild,” on Instagram.
“25 years ago, Fast & Furious began filming in Los Angeles. and Fast will now at last go back home.”
Actors Keanu Reeves, Zooey Deschanel, and Kevin Bacon are among the nearly 20,000 signatories to the “Stay in LA” petition, which calls on the state’s authorities to temporarily lift restrictions on LA County’s production tax incentives.
Director Sarah Adina Smith and other filmmakers launched a grassroots movement to encourage California to use its emergency powers to increase tax incentives for the next three years in order to lower the cost of filming in Los Angeles and aid in its recovery. Additionally, they want studios to pledge to produce 10% more shows in Los Angeles.
“We need to bring production back to LA and get LA working again if we want to rebuild,” argues Smith.
Remain in Los Angeles Remain in Los Angeles People are asked to “Sign here to show your support” on a digital flyer.
“In the wake of the Eaton, Hughes, and Palisades Fires, we, as concerned Los Angeles residents and film/TV professionals, write this petition. We were already quite concerned about the cast and crew’s means of subsistence in the Los Angeles area.
Prior to the fires, California Governor Newsom had already suggested more than doubling the state’s tax credit for film and television producers who shoot in California. The annual credit would go from $330 million to $750 million, but this would need state legislature approval and might not be implemented until the summer.
He claims that the incentives are beneficial to the economy and that the California program has supported over 197,000 cast and crew employment throughout the state and produced over $26 billion in economic activity.
If approved, the subsidy would be the most provided by any US state, with the exception of Georgia, which has no annual cap on the money it provides to productions. Stay in LA wants the cap to be removed immediately.
The actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone have been appointed as “special ambassadors” for “troubled Hollywood” in President Donald Trump’s ambitions to restore Hollywood to its former glory.
Although their intentions are still unknown (they declined to be interviewed), a number of executives stated that risk-averse Hollywood studios are uneasy due to the unpredictability brought on by the Trump administration’s trade battles. Hollywood is much more interested in Canada now that the Canadian dollar has dropped to its lowest level in 22 years.
READ MORE: Mel Gibson’s Goal As Trump’s “Special Envoy” Is To “Fix” Hollywood
More than a month after the fires, on a soggy day, production designer Mr. Worthington and his film editor partner Mindy Elliott surveyed the remnants of their house and wished they had brought some of their artwork with them when they fled. They were amazed to see a cactus growing again next to the spot where their SUV had melted.
“If only we’d had this rain in January,” Ms. Elliott complains.
Mr. Worthington claims that the tax benefits are a necessary evil if LA wishes to compete, even though he criticizes the fact that they amount to “corporate welfare” for large corporations. He points out that both Australia and the UK currently have more lucrative tax breaks than California.
The demise of Hollywood productions is compared by Ms. Smith, co-founder of Stay in LA, to the downfall of Detroit’s once-dominant automotive industry, which left a large portion of the city desolate and impoverished.
“Once you ruin that infrastructure and that legacy, it’s not so easy to build it back again,” she continues. “If we let Hollywood die, it could be for good.”
Some believe it is naïve to believe that any incentives will bring about a new Hollywood Golden Age.
Composer Matthew Ferraro wipes away tears for what he and his wife have lost as he points to the melted remnants of their drum equipment and piano in the music studio of his burned-out Topanga Canyon house.
Ferraro said he is still in shock and is more focused on where he will sleep on Tuesday than his future in Los Angeles, as his once-wonderful hilltop home is now reduced to rubble and ash.
“I think it’s wishful thinking for people who are still in love with, like yesteryear’s dream of Hollywood, but that’s just not how it works anymore,” says Ferraro, who wrote music for series like The Incredibles and The Minority Report.
Jamie Morse’s house burnt about a mile away. Artists, musicians, and dreamers have always been drawn to Topanga Canyon. Morse recently resigned her sensible day job to focus on her comedy writing and performing full-time in 2025 in an attempt to make it in Hollywood.
When asked about the awful timing, she smiles and says she’s still hopeful while grieving like everyone else in Los Angeles.
Ms. Morse, who is currently renting a temporary Airbnb room after living at friends’ houses with her dog in between comedy shows or classes with her improv group, The Groundlings, says, “Whether they’re performers or studio execs – people love this city.”
When she evacuated with her dog, Ms. Morse wishes she had brought more precious items, such as a Toronto Blue Jays T-shirt that brought back memories of her grandfather and her home country of Canada. However, she is shocked that some of her journals and notebooks have survived with some of her comedic writing still in them.
“Where an entire stone table is, is in pieces, is like, absolutely decimated, melted,” she continued. However, bits of paper made it through… It’s just not real.”
Does she believe it to be fate? A clue that Hollywood is where she’s supposed to be?
There will be “beautiful, creative things to come out of this very, very crappy time,” she adds, adding, “I’m choosing to believe that this is a sign.”
Step into the ultimate entertainment experience with Radiant TV! Movies, TV series, exclusive interviews, live events, music, and more—stream anytime, anywhere. Download now on various devices including iPhone, Android, smart TVs, Apple TV, Fire Stick, and more!
