David Spade wonders if Hollywood can recover its movie industry as people flee Los Angeles
Podcasters David Spade and Dana Carvey spoke with comedian Tim Dillon on Wednesday about the decline of the entertainment industry in California as many people and projects flee the state.
"How about the movie industry? Is it coming back?" Spade said, recalling how he "got in trouble" for similar comments about the decline of Hollywood.
During a previous episode of his podcast, "Fly on the Wall," which he co-hosts with Carvey, the "Saturday Night Live" alum said that "the Hollywood industry is dying" and he's "just trying to put the blame somewhere."
"I wasn't really mad at Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass, I was just saying, ‘Could we make it a slightly more of a priority? I don't know what we're spending the money on that's flowing in, because it's a lot flowing in, but it goes out so quickly. I want to sort of reserve a little piece of the pie to like focus, like let's try to get this back,’" Spade said. "That's all."
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"Dude, I'm so old," Spade said last month. "I was on the lot at, uh, CBS Radford when we were doing ‘Just Shoot Me.’ … And also they were doing 'Seinfeld,' and I'd see him on his bike. It was the greatest lot. Of course, just filed for bankruptcy, the lot. Terrifying in L.A. Thanks, Karen Bass. Thanks, Gavin."
"The amount of productions is dying, and so they have to do something, so more production comes back, and that starts with negotiating with the union and also subsidizing the industry tax breaks to compete with Romania," Carvey said on the previous podcast.
On Wednesday’s podcast, Dillon agreed with Spade, saying, "The thing about Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass, they seem to think everything's kind of going well."
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"That's the issue," Dillon continued, who has been a frequent critic of California leadership. "When someone thinks things are going well, it's very hard to make them understand" that people are leaving.
He argued this has taken place "because the jobs aren't here and they're shooting everything everywhere else.
According to the Los Angeles Times, from 2024 to 2025, L.A. county lost 54,000 residents.
A representative of Gov. Newsom told Fox News Digital, "The Governor is a strong champion for this industry. In 2025, the Governor more than doubled California’s Film and Television Tax Credit program —from $330 million to $750 million—and implemented key updates to keep production, below-the-line jobs, and investment rooted in California. The impact of the expansion: Applications for the Film and Television Tax credit have jumped more than 400%, and reports have shown filming is returning to Hollywood.
In March, the Governor announced 16 new projects receiving California’s tax credit, including new series, returning hit shows, projects filming on certified soundstages, and, for the first time in the program’s history, animated and competition shows. This adds to other recent awards. In November, the Governor announced 17 new TV projects to receive the tax credit, including Baywatch. In December, California announce awards for 28 new films."
The Newsom representative added, "Governor Newsom has also urged the Trump administration to adopt a federal film tax credit program — modeled on California’s successful program — that will significantly boost domestic film and television production. The Governor is calling for a national program that is at least ten times the size of California’s $750 million program to create jobs, strengthen local economies, and keep American stories made on American soil."
Fox News Digital also reached out to Mayor Bass for comment.
Dillon went on to credit Spade for shooting "Busboys" in Los Angeles, saying that it is proof that "it can be done." The production features Spade and podcaster Theo Von.
"It didn't seem to change the landscape enough to move it," Spade said. "But it was nice to do it there."
Dillon himself also plays a part in the cast of "Busboys," telling listeners that he and Spade have one of the funniest scenes together in the film and urged them to go get tickets to see it.