The wildfires have a Hollywood producer wondering: Should I even stay in LA?
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- Los Angeles' fires threaten to hamper the entertainment industry's recovery.
- LA's share of film and TV jobs has declined, and some are thinking anew about leaving.
- One producer and director said he felt he could improve his financial situation by leaving LA.
The fires tearing through Los Angeles are a new threat to an entertainment industry that has been trying to rebound from a studio spending slowdown and twin labor strikes.
"Survive till '25" was the mantra in Hollywood for much of 2024. Now, some in the entertainment industry are wondering whether they should stick around.
"If there's no longer a need to be in LA, the question arises: Do I stay here?" asked Adam Wood, a producer and director in North Hollywood. He said the shift during COVID to remote work had made it easier to build an entertainment career outside LA. Wood hasn't had to evacuate yet, but helped a friend leave and is monitoring conditions.
"I could improve my lot financially by not being here," he said. "LA is the spiritual home of the industry, but at the same time, it's not loving me back."
Like many in entertainment, Wood works on a freelance basis. While he feels tied to the entertainment mecca, he said he's also counting the days of work lost to the fire.
Adam Wood
Productions and premieres have largely been paused
The fires have paused production on shows including Amazon's "Fallout" and CBS Studios' "NCIS," while studios from Paramount to Universal canceled premieres.
Stars, including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal, have lost their homes in the tony Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which is favored for its proximity to the studios. Countless others have lost or fled their homes.
FilmLA, the city's film permitting office, issued a statement Thursday warning that permits in or near evacuation zones could be canceled, while new applications to film in or near these areas would be denied.
It previously said the LA County Fire Department ordered film permits to be revoked for the communities of Altadena, La Crescenta, La Canada/Flintridge, and Unincorporated Pasadena.
Hollywood was already hurting before the fires
Before the fires, the entertainment spending slowdown had already hit the industry's biggest market hard.
LA has also been hobbled by an exodus of productions and workers to other entertainment hubs in lower-cost places like Atlanta and Miami. Greater Los Angeles' share of US-produced TV and film projects declined from 23% in 2021 to 18% in 2023, according to FilmLA.
LA accounted for 22% of US film and TV jobs in August, down from 33% two years earlier, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics figures by Patrick Adler and Taner Osman of Westwood Economics & Planning Associates.
Despite the downturn, producer Adam Fratto said he had been feeling pretty good about the state of the industry before the fires started.
"I was taking some projects out, and who knows if they're going to sell, but the fact that TV folks were open to pitches, that's good," he said. "Before a couple days ago, I felt a little upbeat about 2025."
While it's still early to say how far the destruction could spread, Fratto said he expected the fires to cause some people to reassess their commitment to the area and industry.
"I think there will be folks who just decide to take their chips off the table and do something else or relocate," he said.
Still, Adler, the economic researcher, said he doubted LA would lose its position at the top of the entertainment industry.
"In the likes of film, television, content creation, and video games, LA has been the place where major decisions have been made, where talented people collaborate, and where deals get done," he said. "This has remained true as the city has persevered through multiple earthquakes and riots, not to mention periodic industry downturns."