Rob Lowe Claims California Leadership’s Handling Of Domestic Film & TV Production Exodus Is “Criminal” As State Seeks Solutions

deadline.com:

Rob Lowe lamented the state of film and television production in California on a recent episode of his podcast, insisting that state leadership’s handling of the massive domestic production exodus over the last several years has been “criminal.” “It’s cheaper to bring 100 American people to Ireland than to walk across the lot at Fox, past the sound stages, and do it there,” Lowe told former Parks & Recreation co-star Adam Scott, during the episode of the “Literally!” podcast, about his game show The Floor, explaining why the production is based at Ardmore Studios outside of Dublin.

Incredulous at the revelation that Lowe’s U.S. game show shoots internationally, Scott also remarked that “nothing shoots in Los Angeles” anymore, wondering if Parks & Recreation would be filming in the city if it were made today. “Do you think if we shot ‘Parks’ right now, we’d be in Budapest?” he asked, to which Lowe answered: “One-hundred percent we would be.

We’d be in Budapest.” Lowe certainly isn’t alone in his frustrations about the decline in domestic production and, more specifically, how that has impacted California.

Per a recent report from FilmLA, 2024 was the second-least-productive year for L.A. production (after only pandemic-stricken 2020), down more than 30% over five-year averages.