Debra Baer
January 25, 2008
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The number of TV, film, and other entertainment productions shot on location in the Los Angeles region declined last year by one percent. That's not much, but filming in L.A. usually goes up, not down. Runaway production is partly to blame but, perhaps surprisingly, not the writers strike. KPCC's Debra Baer tells us why.

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Debra Baer: The report by FilmL.A., Inc. shows that the number of permits for location shoots dropped by about 500. The biggest decline was in feature films.

Steve MacDonald: We're continuing to lose film production to other states that are aggressively courting it with tax incentives.

Baer: That's FilmL.A.'s Steve MacDonald, president of the nonprofit that secures location permits for producers. He says the strike by the Writers Guild had little to do with the decline.

MacDonald: Even after the strike had been called, there was still production going on, because there was a script or two left to shoot even into December. The strike had much less impact on 2007 than it will on 2008.

Baer: As of this month, production has virtually stopped for TV dramas and sitcoms – the scripted shows that require writers.

MacDonald: Which really means more than 60 prime time shows that are based in L.A. and would otherwise be in production won't be. That translates into about 12,000 employees and $160 million of foregone production spending every week.

Baer: Only a handful of reality shows are being produced. This is normally the time that studios gear up for pilot season, an intense three-month period of production. If writers and producers don't strike a deal soon, MacDonald says there won't be a pilot season.