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Has Cali Lost Its Film Mecca Crown? by Zeke A. Iddon
Alice White, who started with film in its infancy in New Jersey, easily made the transition to Hollywood. photo: LA History Museum
HOLLYWOOD—AND BY EXTENSION ALL
of California—has been the heart of the film industry for over a century. As motion pictures gained in popularity in the early 1900s, several production studios took root in and near Los Angeles.
The reason for this was initially indie driven: As Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company cracked down on filmmakers in New York and New Jersey, independent filmmakers fled to escape lawsuits over patent infringement.
Once they set up in Hollywood, Edison's patent enforcers would need to travel cross-country to sue them, while proximity to Mexico made it easy for these early producers and directors to slip away unnoticed.
Soon enough, as more production companies planted their roots in Southern California, Hollywood became a brand name in itself. It came to embody a certain style of filmmaking and lifestyle, branding which of course endures to today.
When you talk about "Hollywood movies," everyone knows exactly what you're talking about: Big-budget productions from major studios, cast with glamorous starlets and seasoned actors.
To be sure, Hollywood isn't just home to big-name production companies only. It's also drawn countless aspiring and independent filmmakers. It hosts more than 60 film festivals, multiple conventions, and several awards ceremonies including the Oscars and Grammys.
Despite its storied success as the heart of the film industry, however, California has recently begun to lose ground. As other states have started offering attractive film incentives, and as technological advances make it simpler to shoot, cut and distribute films—without a big Hollywood budget—the cine business has begun to steadily drain away from California.
With so many film industry innovations occurring throughout the country, is California the beating heart of the business? Or is it an empire whose end has come at last?
Although the loss of 16,000 jobs to cheaper production elsewhere made Hollywood's prospects seem as grim as its smog, the smog has improved amazingly since the '60s. photo: courtesy LA Municipality
Why Filmmakers Have Ventured Away From Sunny SoCal
If strict patent laws were responsible for driving cinema to California, the state's cost of living has driven today's filmmakers away. The high cost of living throughout the area has made it more difficult to survive and thrive as an aspiring filmmaker; the cost of failure is higher here than an area with lower expenses.
With new channels of distribution, including a myriad of streaming services, available to filmmakers, Hollywood connections are not as vital as they once were.
Added to that is the siren's call of tax benefits in other states. During the past decade, 45 separate states have established incentive programs to filmmakers in hopes of drawing more industry and tourism to their states.
The plan worked: Between 1996 and 2007, film production in Southern California fell by 41%, and major films and television shows are now being made in New York, Louisiana and other areas that offer generous tax incentives.
The year New York started offering tax incentives to filmmakers, it gained 10,000 jobs; California, meanwhile, lost 16,000 jobs in film production.
While California does offer tax incentives to its residents, the program cannot compete with other states: Where California offers rebates/credits of around $100 million, New York incentives can come to $420 million, and it's hardly the only state with such major tax breaks.
Alas, the icons are non-transferable, not to mention the infrastructure. photo: courtesy LA Municipality
Is the California Film Industry Still Relevant?
Undoubtedly, Hollywood is not the monolith that it once was, and filmmakers across the country have access to resources—financial and otherwise—that did not exist just a decade ago.
All the same, it’s a way too early to start singing a swan song for Southern Californian film. The biggest of the tax incentives are likely unsustainable in the long term, and once state funding runs out, the cinematic gold rush is likely to fade in many areas.
California has also responded to these state perks by introducing legislature that would offer greater benefits for local films as well, leveling the competition with other states.
California’s greatest strength, however, aside from 300 sun days a year, is its existing infrastructure. The Hollywood brand still holds power in the business, and the city is still home to exceptional talent, from actors to directors, special effects artists, stunt workers and more.
Some of the greatest film school programs are still situated in Los Angeles, and they’re staffed with professionals who have hands-on experience and deep roots in the local film community.
You can't buy this type of publicity: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt pull into the 2012 Academy Awards. photo: courtesy ABC News
This is an invaluable resource that cannot be bought with tax incentives; it comes only with years of experience. If anything, the changing landscape of film in America is just an opportunity for Californian filmmakers to rise to the occasion and rebuild their identities.
It might be time for a Hollywood facelift, and there’s no one in a better position to do it than the newest generation of aspiring filmmakers living and working both in Southern California and its hot cinema neighbor to the north, the Bay Area.
Zeke A. Iddon is a professional writer and filmmaker whose first feature-length animation, 'Sticks', is due to enter production in 2015, and can be reached .