Paul Audley: Last News

FilmLA is raising its fees next month, citing rising costs and the continuing downturn in Los Angeles on-location film and TV production. The city and county film-permitting office said today that it is imposing a roughly 4% increase effective July 1.

The dual Hollywood strikes are history, but production has been slow to return in Los Angeles, especially for television projects. The city and county’s film office said today that local on-location filming declined by 8.7% the first quarter, recording only 6,823 shoot days from January through March.

FilmLA said Tuesday that on-location production in the city and county of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions was down more than 32% in 2023, and Q4 even more, as the Hollywood industry continues to recover from two industry labor strikes and a persistent post-Covid production decline in the region.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer TV and film production in Los Angeles was slow to recover from the industry-wide strikes last fall, according to new data released by FilmLA. Scripted TV production ticked up slightly in the fourth quarter compared with the prior three-month period, but still remained far below historic levels. And feature film production continued to decline even after the strikes ended.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Los Angeles production dropped 41% overall last quarter, led by the near total shutdown of scripted TV and film production due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. According to FilmLA, which handles L.A.-area location permits, production also declined in areas that are not affected by the strikes: reality TV and commercials. Reality TV production dropped 23% compared to the same quarter last year, while commercial production is down 26%.

The WGA strike is over, but the fallout from that and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA walkout continue to clobber film and TV production in Los Angeles. FilmLA reported today that on-location shooting days plunged again during the third quarter, dropping 41.4% over 2022 — the seventh consecutive quarterly decline.

The greater Los Angeles area remains the top filming location in the United States for scripted entertainment content, but it’s being outpaced by growth in competing locations, according to a report released by FilmLA today.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor FilmLA has reported a sharp production decline in 2023’s second quarter. On-location production was down 28.8 percent from April to June, with only 6,566 shoot days. The data captures the impact of the Writers Guild of America strike, which began on May 2. The actors union did not begin striking until July. “Greater Los Angeles is the North American epicenter of scripted television production. Before long, this sector’s shutdown will be felt in every corner of the regional economy,” said FilmLA’s president Paul Audley. “Like all others watching with hope from the sidelines, we are eager to see the studios and unions reopen their contract negotiations,” Audley continued. “Much is at stake for WGA and SAG-AFTRA members, and also for the small business supply chain on which future filming depends.”

On-location filming in Los Angeles has plummeted during the ongoing Writers Guild strike to levels not seen since the dog days of the Covid pandemic, according to FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer TV production in Los Angeles dropped sharply in the first three months of 2023, amid industry retrenchment and general concern about a strike, according to a new report from FilmLA. Overall, on-location production days fell by 24%, compared to the first quarter of 2022. Most of the decline was in TV, which fell 35.8% over the same period. “The numbers are more dire than we thought they would be,” said Paul Audley, president of FilmLA. FilmLA has been reporting year-over-year declines for the last three quarters, as the post-COVID production surge has wound down. But Audley noted that studios are also reassessing their content strategy, and there is now the fear of a WGA strike, which has put some decisions about future production on pause.

Concern about looming labor unrest and uncertainty surrounding pending corporate restructuring have contributed to a 35.8% plunge in on-location TV production in Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period last year, according to the latest report from FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

With 6.2 million square feet of soundstages, Los Angeles remains the world leader in terms of overall stage space, but other jurisdictions are catching up, according to the latest report from the city and county film permit office.

On-location filming in Los Angeles fell by 2.4% in 2022 compared to the prior year, with feature film and television shoot days down 9.6%, TV pilots plummeting 71.9% and commercial shoot days falling 22.6%, according to the latest report from FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor FilmLA has reported a total of 9,066 Shoot Days (SD)* in the third quarter (“Q3”). This figure reflects a 10% decline from the same period last year and a -1.7% decline from 2020. FilmLA President Paul Audley said the decline was a modest one as last year was an unprecedented one due to the pandemic. Audley said, “To that point, we note that the COVID-19 Delta wave forced an out of season production shift last year. That shift led to record-breaking filming levels in the latter halfof 2021.” Shoot Day activity for feature films and commercials declined, both year-over-year and compared to the five-year averages, while TV and other categories were more mixed

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA developer announced plans Monday to build a studio facility with 16 soundstages in the heart of the Los Angeles Arts District.East End Studios filed an application to construct the facility, which also includes four office buildings, on a 15-acre site at the corner of 6th and Alameda streets. The announcement comes amid a boom in development of new production facilities in L.A., to keep up with demand fueled by broadcast TV and streaming services.The East End project is expected to take about four years to complete — two years for development approvals and two years for construction.Paul Audley, the president of FilmLA, said he hoped the project — and others in the planning stages — could move quickly. He said that in the past, L.A.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorFilmLA announced today that it expects to see production return to pre-pandemic levels within the next 12 months.After posting three consecutive record-breaking quarters, local filming in the second quarter (“Q2”) of 2022 was down by -5.8% over the same period last year. From April through June, FilmLA recorded a total of 9,220 Shoot Days (SD)* compared to 9,791 in Q2 2021.

On-location filming in Los Angeles fell 5.8% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year – the first decline following three consecutive record-breaking quarters. Even so, local production has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, finishing 6.8% ahead of 2019’s second quarter and 2.7% ahead of 2Q 2018, according to FilmLA, the city and county film office.

On-location film and TV production in Greater Los Angeles is off to a “strong start” in 2022, with 9,832 days of on-location shooting setting an all-time first-quarter record according to the latest report from FilmLA, the city and county film permit office. That topped the previous first quarter mark set in 2016 but was down 8.8% from the record-setting 10,780 shoot days racked up in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorFilmLA has reported a strong first quarter as on-location film production in the LA region recorded 9,832 shoot days. The last time filming numbers were that high was in 2016, which reported 9,725 shoot days.“The potential for another COVID-related cutback had us eyeing the first quarter with concern,” recalled FilmLA President Paul Audley.

On-location filming in Los Angeles set an all-time quarterly record in the fourth quarter of 2021, was double the annual output from 2020 and was up 3.2% from the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to the latest report from FilmLA, the city and county film permit office. Even so, production is off to a slow start again in 2022 because of the ongoing Omicron surge.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorFilm production in Greater Los Angeles surged during the third quarter of 2021, according to a new report by FilmLA. The increase in shooting marks the third strongest quarter in twenty-six years, with a total of 10,127 shoot days.