Stay in LA Rally Shows Love for Struggling Hollywood Production
While Hollywood is known as the capital of film and television production worldwide, the city is in danger of losing its most renowned industry to other cities, and Stay in LA is calling attention to this. Stay in LA, a grassroots coalition aimed at remedying this issue, held a rally in Sun Valley on April 6 to call attention to the struggling entertainment industry.
The rally took place at SirReel Studio Services and featured several speakers from Hollywood and state and national politicians. These politicians helped raise awareness among state and local leaders that they should do more to help the struggling industry, especially by increasing production tax incentives.
Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove expressed, “I’m here at this rally because Hollywood production is incredibly important to our local and state economy.”
“This is a nationwide issue,” she added. “We’re competing against [countries that] are taking our business, our assets, our storytelling and hiring their crews instead of our crews, and that’s not good for business here.”
SAG-AFTRA secretary-treasurer Joely Fisher exclaimed in her speech, “This is Hollywood, California. We have to stay competitive to stay alive, to keep our industry alive, to keep tourism alive, to keep the entire ecosystem alive. Make Hollywood Hollywood again!”
This rally was Stay in LA’s first since it launched a petition in January calling for an uncapped tax incentive for productions shot in L.A. county. They wanted these targeted tax incentives for the next 3-years as part of Southern California’s disaster relief efforts from the recent wildfires.
In addition, they ask “studios and streamers to pledge at least 10% more production in LA over the next 3-years– demonstrating their dedication to the city’s recovery and their long-term investment in LA’s workforce.”
The petition has already collected over 22,000 signatures, including big-name actors and directors. Keanu Reeves, Olivia Wilde, Rian Johnson, and Patty Jenkins are four endorsers.
Stay in LA emphasizes that when production stays in Los Angeles, other businesses and industries benefit too.
According to CA Production Coalition, the average location shoot adds $670,000 and 1,500 jobs a day. Each dollar spent on incentivizing production to stay in California creates $24.40 in new economic activity across all local businesses, $8.60 in wages and labor income, and $16.14 in increased GDP.
While Stay in LA aims to support members of the entertainment industry, the benefits of this support extend to a multitude of Angelenos. Stay in LA encourages people to add their name to the petition to preserve the Los Angeles community many call home.
To find out more about the petition, click here.
