Antonio Villaraigosa
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has promised Hollywood filmmakers that he will take further action to halt runaway production. Speaking at a forum organized by Variety, the mayor acknowledged that the city could do more to make the city more friendly to producers. “This is one of the most important industries for us,” he said. The city continues to face the threat of losing film and TV production to other states and countries offering attractive tax incentives. Today’s (Thursday) Los Angeles Times reported that when one filmmaker attending the forum complained about the amount of time it takes for film permits to be processed and their high costs, Villaraigosa replied that he would be looking into ways of cutting permit fees and expediting the permitting process.
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The esteemed mayor is missing one very important fact: It is the labor cost that keeps people out of Los Angeles. Sure, permitting and location site rentals are expensive, but the labor costs or prohibitive. Unfortunately, there is no solution to this one.