Councilmembers’ Push to Improve L.A. Filming Conditions Passes Latest Hurdle: “We Can’t Lose Any More Time”

Adrin Nazarian’s nine motions aimed at making the city more film-friendly will next be considered by the entire City Council, albeit with amendments. Los Angeles Councilmember Adrin Nazarian. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment A line of entertainment industry workers wrapped around the block on Tuesday to enter L.A. City Hall, where a key committee meeting was taking place to appraise Councilmember Adrin Nazarian’s motions to improve filming conditions in the city. Those who managed to gain entrance to the day’s Economic Development and Jobs Committee hearing saw all councilmembers on the committee vote in favor of Nazarian’s nine filming-specific proposals — albeit with a few amendments. Nazarian received a green light on the majority of his proposals, including a quicker certification process for soundstages and a requirement that all departments report their compliance with Mayor Karen Bass’ executive order on filming. He also got approval for an independent audit of the city’s permitting processes, a free permit for “microshoots” (a small production involving 10 or fewer people) and an agreement with counties and neighboring cities to coordinate permit regulations. Related Stories News The Mayor of Detroit Has Some Thoughts About Reviving Los Angeles Business Amid Local Production Crisis, L.A. City Council Passes Measure to Spur Reform of Film Permitting Process Amendments were passed for his proposals to streamline police and fire department regulations, to cut back fees for parking and filming on city properties to $1, and to remove “special conditions” from certain city neighborhoods, like Hancock Park or the Arts District, for filming. Nazarian said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter after the meeting that only one change would require real follow-up discussions, on the neighborhood “special conditions” amendment. “I’d rather the conversation to continue and to make sure that everyone feels comfortable in moving forward with what it was that we had set out to do, which is encourage more filming in Los Angeles,” Nazarian said. “So while this was a great victory in getting all nine motions out, it seems like on one particular motion we’re going to need to do some more work to make sure that everyone is comfortable with moving forward as close as the original direction as intended.” Supporters of the grassroots “Stay in L.A.” movement, which has organized since early 2025 in favor of production-friendly policies, flooded the hearing. And as Nazarian’s motions passed, rank-and-file industry workers who had attended the meeting broke out into raucous applause. But not everyone was elated. The Motion Picture Association raised some specific concerns about the motions in a feedback letter sent to councilmembers, which a coalition of entertainment unions also echoed. Notably, the trade association doesn’t believe FilmLA in particular needs an independent audit and is seeking some oversight mechanism for microshoots “to prevent a small number of bad actors from creating challenges for future productions.” Because the motions advanced on Tuesday, they will now be able to be considered by the full council as soon as later this month. Until then, said Nazarian, “My goal is to have conversations with everyone who had concerns and to say, okay, what is it that we can [do]? It’s better to work with precision rather than to broad brush changes.” He added, “What’s important here is that there needs to be a sense of urgency. We are already late in taking what’s been going in the industry very seriously and addressing them with the urgency that it deserved. So now that we are here, we can’t lose any more time.” Public comments during the hearing underscored the challenges that local industry workers are facing. A production designer talked about no longer being able to live off of her industry work and struggling to pay for rent and food. One former studio employee who was laid off a few years ago amid the slowdown said, “If I’m not able to make rent, I’m going to have to work at other places to live.” A member of the electrical lighting union IATSE Local 728 said that he’d lost union peers to suicide. Councilmember Traci Park, whose partner is a member of the Editors Guild and hasn’t worked in a while, told attendees that she understood their experience personally. “We feel the pinch every single day,” she said. “I feel your pain on this.” She said she had questions about the motion. That said, she added, “I just want you all to feel heard.” Read More About: Adrin Nazarian Production THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up M