As part of its efforts to reduce the cost of filming in Los Angeles, permitting agency FilmLA has worked with Culver City officials to slash permitting and shooting fees for on-location shoots in the Westside city where Sony Pictures, Amazon MGM and Apple Studios are headquartered.
Effective immediately, Culver City’s $660 per permit fee for motion picture and still photography shoots will be waived, meaning that Culver City can be added to FilmLA’s multi-jurisdiction permit applications for no additional cost. Daily use fees of $350 per day for motion picture shoots and $75 for still photography shoots will also be waived.
With these eliminated fees, FilmLA estimates that over the course of a typical three-day film shoot, the total administration fee to film in Culver City will be reduced by $1,700, or nearly 60%, from already incentivized levels. These reductions come on top of Culver City’s $500,000 film incentive program established last December as well as new reductions to minimum insurance requirements to match those of nearby jurisdictions.
“As soon as we realized we could do more to support filmmaking in Culver City, we took immediate action. We are grateful to Culver City’s Economic Development Department and FilmLA for running the numbers to prove that yes, this change is not only affordable, it will create true equity of access to the City neighborhoods and locations where filmmakers already want to work.” said Culver City Mayor, Freddy Puza.
As the total number of shoot days in Los Angeles per quarter has fallen by nearly 50% since 2022, local and state officials have worked with studios, unions and other stakeholders to preserve what’s left of Hollywood’s local production industry as entertainment workers have moved to other states and countries in the hopes of finding work.
Along with the expansion of California’s film and TV tax incentive program from $330 million to $750 million last year, FilmLA and local L.A. officials have taken other measures to incentivize local filming. FilmLA has launched a new “low impact” permit program that will allow productions with less than 30 combined cast and crew and no need for safety inspections or road closures to apply for an expedited permit.
The Los Angeles City Council also passed a suite of reforms this past March, including waiving city fees for on-location shoots where safety inspections are not required and auditing the city’s permitting system.
The post Culver City Slashes Shooting Fees by Up to 60% in Push for Local Film Production appeared first on TheWrap.
