LAT: Even before the L.A. fires, Hollywood jobs were hard to find. Will the work ever come back?

Photo: YouTube screenshot

The historic Los Angeles fires dealt another blow to local film crews who were already struggling to find work, writes ‘The Los Angeles Times’.

Motion picture industry payrolls averaged around 100,000 last year through November, down almost 25% from pre-pandemic levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The number of film shoot days last year was the second-lowest observed by FilmLA, as the region struggled to rebound from strikes, outsourcing and technological change.

As if Hollywood didn’t have enough trouble getting back on its feet, the Los Angeles wildfires suspended filming, destroyed homes of stars and crews alike and even threatened the landmark Hollywood sign that towers over the city.

The devastation hit as local film and TV industry workers were already struggling to adjust to vast technological, financial and global changes that have severely reduced local production activity and eliminated thousands of jobs that may never come back.

New data examined by The Times shows that a number of jobs in L.A.’s film and TV business has barely budged since the strike by actors and writers ended in fall 2023.

And with slower-than-hoped for recovery from the strikes, combined with continuing runaway production and industry contraction, on-location filming in the L.A. region fell 5.6% last year from 2023, FilmLA said. The number of film shoot days last year totaled just 23,480, which was the second-lowest observed by FilmLA, which handles film permits for the region. The other was in 2020 when the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted production.

“As we await signs of continuing business growth in 2025, it is important we recognize that no aspect of life in Greater Los Angeles is unaffected by recent fire events and the heartbreaking loss of lives, homes, businesses and cherished community spaces,” FilmLA President Paul Audley said in a statement. “Many who participate in the region’s entertainment economy are directly affected by this tragedy.”

Motion picture industry payrolls averaged around 100,000 last year through November — the latest month available. That’s down almost 25% from pre-pandemic levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Creative entertainment occupations, such as writing and acting, are nearly 40% below 2022 levels, according to an analysis of census data by Westwood Economics & Planning Associates.

Unemployment overall in California’s motion pictures industry — which is concentrated around the Los Angeles region — was hovering around 20% last fall, according to Westwood Economics. And that’s probably understating the severity of the downturn given that thousands have dropped out of the Hollywood labor force or left the state.

The wildfires will add to the challenges. While Hollywood’s stars and directors who lost their coastal homes may have personal resources or second properties to decamp to, thousands of more-modest industry workers live in Pasadena, Altadena, Glendale and other areas where homes were burnt or under evacuation orders.

Although major production centers and sound stages escaped largely unscathed, work on a number of TV shows and feature films was suspended last week, in part because of poor air quality and hazardous weather conditions.

There are questions about the availability of resources like water, as well as public services such as firefighters and police, which are needed to support filming but have been extremely taxed due to the fires. Studio executives say it may be awhile before people are ready to talk about new projects; some pitch meetings previously scheduled have been put on hold.

Economists worry that the effects of the historic natural disaster could be long lasting.

Studio executives are reluctant to green-light projects because they don’t know where the industry is going. Even as box office sales ended last year on a hopeful note, theater attendance remains substantially below earlier years, and cable TV is rapidly losing audiences to streaming and other direct-to-digital content providers.

While L.A. remains a dominant production center, there has been a continuing flight of film jobs to countries such as Britain and Canada — as well as newer locations including Spain and the Czech Republic — that have lower costs, stronger incentives and cheaper currencies.

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