California Economy Feels the Pain of Hollywood Studio Troubles

The New York Times ^ | December 26, 2024 | Kurtis Lee

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Film production has failed to bounce back after major strikes last year, and competition from other locales has gotten stiffer.

The struggles have become a painful, recurring story line in Hollywood.

A script supervisor visiting a food bank every other week. The cinematographer who moved to Georgia for better filming opportunities. An art department coordinator applying for administrative jobs to cover rent.

The economic outlook of the Los Angeles area, with a population larger than most states, has been clouded in recent years by events that have upended the entertainment industry. Market saturation led to a shakeout among direct-to-streaming providers. Then the Covid-19 pandemic shut down production. And strikes by writers and actors last year went on for months, giving studios time to explore filming elsewhere, in regions that offer hefty tax incentives.

When the strikes ended, workers in Hollywood hoped their schedules would finally fill up again. But for many people, things only got worse.

In the third quarter of 2024, film production levels declined 5 percent from the same stretch in 2023, based on a report from FilmLA, the official film office of the City and County of Los Angeles.

Paul Audley, the organization’s president, said in the report that even a few months ago many had thought they would see gains — hoping for a rebound from what he called “the strike effect.”

“Instead, we saw a pullback and loss of forward momentum, heading into the fall season that will make or break the year,” Mr. Audley said.

Since May 2023, when the Writers Guild of America strike began, motion picture and sound recording jobs in the Los Angeles area have declined 15 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For Deborah Huss Humphries, the past few months have been particularly challenging.

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