What Will It Take to Lure Production Back to L.A. in Wake of Fires?

Survive till 2025, they said.

They didn’t say what would come next.

A week into the new year, wildfires devastated Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena, causing an estimated $250 billion in damage. For the entertainment industry, they also disrupted production schedules, destroyed filming locations and left many workers without homes.

“This is absolutely a setback,” says Colleen Bell, the executive director of the California Film Commission. “I’m sure there are some people in the entertainment sector who feel like this might be the last straw.”

L.A. film workers were already struggling to recover from the pandemic, two strikes and a sharp decline in production volume.

“People are worried that the industry as we know it isn’t going to be around in five or 10 years, and that’s really sad,” says Amy Baer, executive producer of “The Apprentice.” “I hope it all doesn’t get derailed because of everything that we’re going through right now.”

But Bell’s not giving up on L.A. just yet.

“There’s a powerful spirit of community and collaboration that exists here,” she says. “This is absolutely a tough moment, but I’m confident we can rebuild stronger and more resilient than ever.”

So what will it take to bring production back to L.A. in the wake of the fires? Start with keeping permitting costs low, says L.A.-based location manager Danny Finn, a member of the Location Managers Guild International board.

“Temporarily pausing permit fees would be a huge, tremendous step in the right direction,” he says.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has already proposed expanding the state’s film incentive from $330 million to $700 million a year. The Motion Picture Association is pushing for additional changes that would make the program more generous and competitive with those of other states.

Film financing has become so reliant on public subsidies, both at home and abroad, that…