The dead city where Los Angeles became another Detroit, is a city built on a particular industry that became the shell of its former self when it moved, and has drawn attention to the fascinating film and television industry town halls that are not only at the decline in the calamity of production in Hollywood and California, but also at the fight to win a nation to increase entertainment production tax incentives.
The Monday night event delved into scoring and post-production, the late stages of the entertainment production pipeline, which is currently in crisis.
“This is not an exaggeration to say that if we don’t act, the California film and television industry will become the next Detroit car,” said Noel Souton, a member of the “LA Stay in LA” campaign, who spoke at the event.
The push for proposals for tax incentives has reached a critical stage in the legislative process, with California Sen. Ben Allen and state Sen. Rick Zbur on hand to try and get the necessary vote. One major hurdle is politicians who see incentives as a corporate gift to film studios and media companies. It’s a poppicock from Allen.
“The studio doesn’t care where they work. They do that everywhere,” he told a standing room-only crowd packed with Evergreen Studio, a recording and scoring studio at Burbank, a former cinema. “They’re still producing shows. What many of our colleagues don’t understand is that this is a middle class issue. Studio Head is going to sleep on Bel Air no matter what.”
“This is not a tax giveaway,” Zbur agreed. “This is a hiring program that keeps people home and keeps people away from the unemployment roll. If we don’t do this, it’s going to be costly. These tax credits are more than we pay.”
He continued, “I told my colleagues this. Why do you think these other governments are all introducing these really rich tax programs?
The event attracted a wide range of members from the production, post-production, scoring and music community. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., executive director of the California Film Board, Colleen Bell, Los Angeles County film station Philip Sokoroski, and Filmla, were among those on hand to deal with the accelerated flight of post-production and screen music productions from the LA area that affect businesses and workers.
The event came just hours after Filmla released the latest location production data showing that the first quarter of 2025 filming dates fell 22% compared to the same period last year.
“These jobs haven’t disappeared, they’re not moving,” Inton pointed to ProdPro CEO Alex Roverde, who noted that the US has lost 26% since 2022. One beneficiary is Australia, earning a 14% profit.
The post-production and music panels highlighted the losses these arts communities are suffering. ADR manager Bobby Banks has spoken about how he’s only been working for three months in the last 18 months, some of which have been hidden by out-of-state mentees. “What do I say to them?” she threw the crowd as she spoke about how the person wanted to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career here. Visual Effects artist Efram Potelle revealed that he will have a painful conversation with his family about finances.
The music and score panel was even more calm. Music contractors and producers Peter Rotter and Jasper Randall pointed out how the booking dates for LA’s scoring stages have collapsed as their music partners hosted the event, from Peak TV in 2022 to Peak TV in 127 Days to Heek 11 this year. They also explained that two-thirds of the scoring work in Vienna, Austria, is less than 90% in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The director of sound editor Karen Baker Landers was one of those seeking post-production incentive sculpture. She said other states such as New York and Louisiana have sculptures, like countries like Australia and Spain, and are having a strong draw for production.
“Even if the film was filmed somewhere else, they always went back to California to post, and it wasn’t that way for a while,” the two-time Oscar winner said. “Visual effects, sounds, paintings and music have moved from California and have been chasing these tax incentives, which cost the thousands of jobs in the state, not just in the entertainment industry, but in the companies that support us.”
State policymakers have acknowledged the dire situation, with Gov. Gavin Newsom more than double the cap placed on the state’s film and television incentive programs, while lawmakers have proposed two bills to expand and enhance existing frameworks. If passed, the latter law could increase state incentives to 35% and provide certain non-scripted titles eligible for short television shows, animation projects, and credits.
These proposals could be part of the solution, according to the coalition that organized the event on Monday, but they are not a complete remedy. “We know that more work is needed beyond tax incentives to sustainably revitalize LA’s entertainment economy,” the group’s mission statement said.
The event took place on April 6th amid a multifaceted campaign to regain more production work in LA. Hundreds gathered at Burbank’s “LA” rally to find out what caused local production. Following this, Rep. Laura Friedman and the industry union wrote letters to industry lobbying groups, written in the Motion Picture Association, calling on studios and streamers to produce more in Hollywood.
However, the industry also needs to look to its own members for solutions. During City Hall, Sen. Allen encouraged unions and creative communities to engage in dialogue, saying, “We have to have tough conversations at the work table.” Music Union AFM president Stephanie O’Keefe rose into the crowd to acknowledge her needs and say her organization is willing to be involved.
“I believe the world sees what California is doing with these incentives,” Landers said. “They know that if we do it right, it’s a game for California again.”
