In efforts to bring back entertainment jobs to Hollywood, the Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved two proposals, including one aimed at lowering filming permit costs, amid a continuously grim outlook for Hollywood.
The council approved an ordinance to formally establish a free permit for micro-shoots, which would allow productions with 10 or fewer people to shoot without paying the fee. The plan aims to make smaller-scale and independent filming more accessible and affordable in Los Angeles.
According to Councilman Adrin Nazarian, who authored the proposal, the next step is for city departments to report on an implementation plan.
Separately, the council approved the latest part of the “Keep Hollywood Home” initiative, voting to move forward with a study of how to cut fees for filming on qualified city facilities to $1 or a legally required minimum fee.
“Today marks a major milestone for the Keep Hollywood Home campaign,” said Nazarian, who chairs the council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment and the Creative Industry. “With these latest actions, all Phase 1 motions have now been approved by the city. This progress demonstrates the impact of the Ad Hoc Committee and our commitment to keep up the pressure for real reforms.”
The city’s film initiatives come amid a continued decline in on-location filming during the third quarter of 2026, despite a sharp increase in production supported by the state’s expanded film and television tax credit program.
For months city, state and industry leaders have been sounding the alarm about the state of Hollywood. LA County has lost more than 40,000 production jobs since 2022, according to federal data.
“There’s a couple of factors, number one obviously is competition,” Adrian McDonald, formerly lead research for FilmLA, non-profit film office for the City and County of Los Angeles. “The other side of it is there’s just not as many TV shows being made anymore — scripted television shows, that is. And for those that are being made, you may have noticed this when you watch TV yourself; seasons are a lot shorter.”
FilmLA reported this month that there were 4,171 shoot days from July through September, a 4.8% decrease from the 4,380 recorded during the same period last year.
Overall filming was also down about 11.5% from the second quarter and roughly 38.5% below the average for the third quarter during the previous five years, based on FilmLA’s production figures.
At the same time, productions receiving state tax credits accounted for 40.3% of scripted on-location filming, nearly double their share a year earlier, according to FilmLA.
McDonald said it will take significantly more help to turn around the trend in Hollywood.
“I’m not going to lie. A major $150 million movie is not going to base their decision on whether or not they can get a reduced fee at a parking lot at a city of Los Angeles location,” McDonald said. “That said, anything you can do to improve the perception that your city or jurisdiction is film-friendly is important.”
