Is Hollywood losing its luster?

Television and film production is moving, leaving Hollywood to ponder its place in pop culture

Photo illustration of a faded, vintage Hollywood postcard
The 'bright lights of Los Angeles have dimmed' because other countries and US states 'offered better tax incentives'
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

For more than a century, the word "Hollywood" has been synonymous with "movies." That reality is changing. Television and film productions are moving to other states and countries, leaving America's glamour capital to ponder its place in the pop culture firmament.

The steep drop in Hollywood-based productions has begun to "spark panic and anger within the industry," said The Guardian. The number of shows and films being made in California has dropped more than 30% over five years, a wound inflicted by Covid-19, writer and actor strikes and even the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles over the winter. Just 20% of shows made for North American audiences are filmed in the Golden State. Those numbers are an "emergency" for Hollywood, said Alexandra Pechman, a Los Angeles-based writer and director.

What did the commentators say?

Finances come into play. Rob Lowe's Fox TV game show "The Floor" was shot in Ireland because it "makes more financial sense than filming in California," said The New York Times. International studios have "lower labor costs and more expansive tax incentives" than Hollywood can offer. The risk now is that California will "become to the entertainment industry what Detroit has become to the auto industry," said Michael F. Miller Jr., a vice president at the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The "bright lights of Los Angeles have dimmed" because other countries and U.S. states "offered better tax incentives to lure the industry away," said Ed Lammi, a former executive vice president of production for Sony Pictures Television, at CalMatters. California must increase the size of its tax incentives and expand the kinds of productions that qualify for them. Otherwise, shows like "Cobra Kai" will continue to be shot in places like Atlanta instead of Hollywood. "No one should have to leave California in pursuit of the Hollywood dream."

Hollywood "doesn't need a tax subsidy," said The Wall Street Journal editorial board. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is urging President Donald Trump to get "on board" with a proposed $7.5 billion tax credit to expand film and TV production in California. The high cost of production in the state is the "result in large part of the state government's policies." Fixing those policies would mean getting crosswise with "progressive interests." Republicans who control Congress should not "fall for the Tinseltown tax gambit."

What next?

In early May, Trump announced tariffs on foreign productions, a move that "scrambled all bets" on Hollywood's immediate future, said The Hollywood Reporter. Movie executives pooh-poohed the idea, but "at least he's trying something," said one unnamed indie filmmaker.

There are opportunities in Hollywood "working for YouTubers, starring in mini-dramas and building side hustles," said Business Insider. The pay for actors and production crew is not as good as it was for big old-school movie productions, but the work can be consistent. And such projects may be where the audience of the future is at, said Marisa Levy, who once made shows for Discovery TLC but now makes "branded content" for Rebel Girls, a digital media company. "You can still shape the culture."

Explore More
Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.