![]() We continue to offer a free 2-week trial of WrapPRO. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time.Greetings!It's no secret that Hollywood is struggling to keep the film and TV industry local, with productions having already moved to other cities or countries thanks to the lure of tax incentives. And while California has partially addressed this with its granting of $750 million in tax incentives — with $255.7 million were awarded in August to 22 television projects — that's just one of the problems. As our Jeremy Fuster notes in today's lead story, there producers working on independent films or smaller projects like commercials face what they believe are an excessive amount of fees and regulations that make Los Angeles "a hostile place for filming." Stay in LA, a grassroots campaign to keep productions local, cites the cost of New York's basic permit application of $500, which covers a two-week filming period, with Los Angeles' fee of $931 for a single week, as one example of the disparity. Fuster talks to one producer, Dustin Harris, about the number of different fees he has to pay, including $1,500 for a fire marshal to inspect the shooting site and hang around in his car for the day. As he says, these indie productions don’t bring a vast number of jobs when compared to major studio projects like HBO’s “The Pitt.” But for the handful of crew workers and working class actors who do work on each one and don’t have the connections or experience to get on those big studio projects, they can mean being able to keep paying rent for several months and qualifying for their union health plan as SAG-AFTRA or IATSE members. It's a reminder that the problems in Hollywood are complex, and there are no silver bullets. Roger Cheng ![]() How bad are things in Los Angeles?... ![]() To continue reading, subscribe now with a 2-week free trial.Free for 14 Days – Then Just $4/Week ![]() Free for 14 days, then $4/week (billed annual at $199). Renews yearly. Cancel anytime to avoid future charges. |