Hollywood Insiders Warn L.A. Could End Up Like Detroit
Hollywood has long been known as the center of the film and TV world. But a growing number of people inside the industry say that edge is slipping fast. Productions that once would have stayed in Los Angeles are now heading to other states and even other countries.
The biggest complaint is simple: it costs too much to shoot in L.A. Other places are offering tax breaks, lower labor costs, and faster permits. For producers trying to keep budgets under control, that is hard to ignore. Over time, that adds up to fewer jobs for crews, fewer days on location, and less money flowing through the local economy.
One example getting attention is the new reboot of Little House on the Prairie. The original series was filmed in California. The new version is being shot in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Another familiar title, The Rockford Files, is coming back to NBC next January and is still set in Los Angeles, but filming is taking place outside Atlanta.
Variety reported that advocates are warning about a Detroit-style decline if the U.S. does not respond to foreign subsidies. Detroit is the example they keep coming back to because it lost a huge share of its manufacturing base after work moved elsewhere. Industry leaders fear Hollywood could see a similar slow drain if production keeps leaving town.
At a rally for Raman’s campaign, Noelle Stehman, a co-founder of the grassroots group Stay in L.A., said, “This is supposed to be the film capital of the world,” said Noelle Stehman, a co-founder of the grassroots group Stay in L.A., at a rally for Raman’s campaign. “It should be the cheapest and easiest place to film. In fact, it is the most cumbersome and the most expensive. That cannot continue. If we don’t do something quickly, this is going to become the next Detroit.”
Mike Miller, vice president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, also drew a sharp comparison. “I watched the demise of steel and rubber and automotive manufacturing as I grew up,” he says. “This is identical in many ways. We have an undeclared trade war that our government is standing by and watching happen.”
For years, Los Angeles had the advantage because it was the default choice. Now that is no longer enough. If another city can offer a cheaper, smoother deal, producers will go. That leaves Hollywood with a basic problem it cannot spin away: if it wants to stay the center of the industry, it has to make sense to film there again.
The warning from insiders is not complicated. Less production means less work. Less work means less money. And if the trend keeps going, Hollywood may find out the hard way that its name alone will not keep the cameras rolling.