LOS ANGELES--Behind the glitz of the movie awards season that culminates with the Oscars on Sunday, Hollywood is fighting a battle to keep its place at the center of the global film business.
None of the 10 best picture contenders to be celebrated at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre were filmed in Los Angeles, home to most major film companies for more than a century. Nominee "Wicked," for example - a prequel to the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" - was filmed in Britain.
Movie and TV production has been exiting Hollywood for years, heading to locations with tax incentives that make filming cheaper. Crew members were hoping for a rebound in Los Angeles after strikes by writers and actors in 2023, but statistics show the comeback has been slow.
The wildfires that destroyed sections of Los Angeles in January accelerated concerns that producers may look elsewhere, and that camera operators, costume designers, sound technicians and other behind-the-scenes workers may move out of town rather than try to rebuild in their neighborhoods.
"There are a lot of people that haven't worked in a while because of the strikes and everything, and now the fires," said Samantha Quan, producer of Oscar best picture nominee "Anora," filmed in Brooklyn, New York, and Las Vegas. "I think it's been a good wake-up call for everyone to push for production to go back to Los Angeles."
Advocates have launched a "Stay in LA" campaign, hoping to capitalize on the goodwill toward Angelenos following the fires. A petition calls for politicians to lift the cap on tax incentives for filming in the city for the next three years as part of the wildfire recovery effort.
They also are urging studios to commit to increasing production in LA by at least 10% over the next three years.Gavin Newsom, California's Democratic governor, has proposed boosting the state's film and TV tax credits to $750 million a year, up from $330 million annually.
Filmmaker Sarah Adina Smith, an organizer of the "Stay in LA" campaign, said she backed that increase but called on the state to do even more, including making permitting easier."We're not saying that everything should be shot in LA, but it's almost never an option anymore," she said.
Smith said she had developed a show in which "the entire culture of it was LA and Malibu."
"When it came time to budget that show, they had us choose between South Africa and Australia," she said. "LA was never a contender."
"That's the kind of thing that needs to change, because I think it's really short-sighted of us to lose this absolutely amazing industry and legacy we have here," she added.
More than 21,000 people have signed the "Stay in LA" petition, including big names such as Kevin Bacon, Zooey Deschanel, Bette Midler, Keanu Reeves and Olivia Wilde."I hope people realize how important it is to bring jobs to LA," said Susan Sprung, CEO of the Producers Guild of America. "We have the best crews in the world. We have the best producers in the world. Most people live here. They want to work at home."
