The L.A. Film crisis requires bottom-up solutions from actual filmmakers
A depressing article in the L.A. Times from today (at least when I wrote this it was "today" -- 9/18/24) about the state of the film industry: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-09-18/californias-film-industry-is-in-crisis-can-it-be-saved?
The worst part is how much of the crisis is self-inflicted by the corporations that run Hollywood. But my main issue is with the title: "Can it be saved?" To me, that is the wrong question. The real question is whether the people who can save it (state and Los Angeles politicians and the studios themselves) give enough of a damn to save it.
The article has an excellent quote from Mike DeLorenzo, president of Santa Clarita Studios: “I believe the best filmmakers in the world are right here in Los Angeles, but it’s being outsourced because of the tax credits,” DeLorenzo said.
He is absolutely right. The best filmmakers (a term which includes everyone above and below the line) in the world LIVE here (which means they pay taxes here) their families are here. The state and LA both need to make sure they can also WORK here.
And here's our deal -- this does not just mean for the gargantuan projects. It means cutting the red tape and making life easier for smaller productions.
The SAG Ultra Low Budget Agreement applies to films that are budgeted at $300,000 or less. Right now there are brilliant filmmakers who live right here in Los Angeles who would LOVE to work on a SAG Ultra Low project instead of waiting by the phone for the next gig that might be in Georgia. But filming a feature in Los Angeles for less than $300,000 is a monumental headache, one that most people avoid by, wait for it, taking an LA crew somewhere else where they spend money and pay taxes.
With the amount of talent within a 30 mile radius of where I am typing this, independent film should be thriving. Film is what LA is known for. We live in fucking Hollywood! We want to create!
Moving forward in this space, we will explore what can be done to make LA make sense from an independent film prospective, hopefully finding some like minded allies.
