Los Angeles wants to save Hollywood millions on film production. Is this really the city’s highest priority?

Photo above - James Dean, in the iconic "Rebel Without a Cause" scene filmed at Griffith Observatory. In theory, it's still free to film at Griffith, but in practice Los Angeles' permits, fees, delays, and red tape make it virtually impossible.

LA Mayor Karen Bass knows an election issue when she sees one. Or at least something that could result in campaign money from mega-donors. The mayor wants to streamline the process Hollywood's studios are required to follow to make movies in her town. This is really true. See link at bottom.

Apparently, there are complications like: too many bureaucrats need to be on the set while filming takes place and get paid for it; too many agencies need to issue permits, and get paid for it; the agencies take forever to issue the permits. “No more price gouging, including parking lot owners charging exorbitant rates near the set”, per one city council official. We should remember that Hollywood studios can afford to sign larger campaign checks than parking lot owners.

But you have to admit that boosting Hollywood's profits is an odd priority. I would have gone for something like affordable housing, reducing crime, fighting fentanyl addiction, 911 response times, making sure the reservoirs are full,. But that’s just me. Career politicians think outside the box, apparently.

Things have gotten so bad that almost all American films are no longer made in Hollywood. Half aren’t even filmed the USA. Guess where Game of Thrones, Westworld, Breaking Bad, The Wire, the Sopranos, Succession, Lost, the Last of US were shot? Not in LA . . .

Trump recently announced a “100% tariff on foreign films”. Not sure how this is going to work in practice. Even American reality shows like “The Bachelorette” and top 2024 hit “Wednesday” now are imports from the Republic of Ireland.

This is not a rant against Hollywood. Filmmakers shouldn’t get ripped off by state, county, and city bureaucrats. Rather, it’s a question of “if I had an extra billion dollars in my city budget, would I use that to benefit film studios, or ordinary citizens"?

I’m just askin’ . . .

LA Mayor Karen Bass Wants to Cut the Red Tape Required to Get a Movie Made in Hollywood

Top 10 Countries Where Most U.S. Movies Are Filmed