The Death of Hollywood or What’s Going to Happen to LA?

I left Los Angeles 3 years ago. It was a sad (and somewhat joyous) departure. I had lived in almost every part of the city over the last couple of decades, and it was time to leave. Over Covid, I had discovered Tulum and it was the perfect place to live and do post (I just flew in for shoots). Unfortunately, my parents both went downhill recently (my father just passed), and now my mom is on her way to the other side of the simulation :). But, as hard as it is, I like that I’m able to care of her, and I’ve been working remotely for over 10 years, anyway.

Enough about me. Time for some real talk about the once glorious city of Los Angeles and its current state.

I recently found out that ‘The Standard’ had closed completely.

When I first moved to LA, I lived literally a couple of blocks down the street, and in my early 20’s, my roommate and I would sneak into every party we could (with a success rate of around 80%).

It was amazing, for a number of reasons. But, it’s hard to ignore the differences specifically in living costs and one’s ability to be creative without worrying how you were going to get by.

For me, at that time: My rent was $700/Month (for a large 2 bedroom with a decent pool). Lunch was still $5. I made $500 a day as a freelance editor and the 101 had little to no traffic.

Cut to today: That same apartment goes for $3800/Month. Lunch is now upwards of $25, and the same job is $350/Day (if you can find an editing job). Forget discussing the 101.

So, I wonder where the problem is?

In a nutshell, that pretty much sums it up. A town full of aspiring artists, screen-writers, skateboarders, actors, and musicians now accommodates those that come from old money, techies (that come from money or were smart enough to buy and hold crypto), and trust fund kids (that come from, uh…anyway), and one of the largest homeless populations in the nation now estimated at over 75,000. There are exceptions, of course, but they are exactly that.

So, let’s dig a little deeper:

In the 1990s, Los Angeles hosted the vast majority of U.S. film and television production — estimates suggest somewhere around 80–90%. The city was considered the central hub for the industry, with much of Hollywood’s production infrastructure and talent based there.

By 2023, however, its share of scripted productions had declined to 18%, down from nearly 23% in 2021.

A graphic of that would look something like this:

So, obviously, Hollywood isn’t Hollywood anymore. Not by a long shot.

A snap-shot of how it looks now can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7mQVM8Ig7U&t=2s

So, what’s responsible for all of this?

Like many man-made disasters, it’s a combination of factors:

· Strikes (where only the seriously successful can ride out the valley).

· Tax-incentives in other countries and states.

· Covid (I assume this is obvious).

· Inflation.

· The rise and saturation of streaming platforms.

· The shortening of attention spans.

· The rise of social media.

· And, the rise of social media.

Yes, I listed it twice. That’s because everyone’s a content creator. And, overall, I think that’s a good thing.

The barrier to entry has shrunk to almost nothing. I shot a spot with two iPhones a year ago, just because it was all I had on me (It was a mediation retreat with a Lama, and, yes, it’s a true story), but, it worked.

One of the main reasons I chose this topic is that just about everyone I know isn’t working. I don’t mean a couple of people. I mean almost everyone. This includes several academy award winners, animators that make me look stupid, and your run of the mill art directors and Emmy award winning producers. For all the work we put into helping LA thrive and with all the other businesses that were directly associated with film-making, it’s quite disturbing witnessing this chapter.

On the other hand, it is what it is.

And on the positive side, maybe, we’ll get back to making real films again. Not just tent-pole comic book flicks with almost billion-dollar budgets and endless fight scenes (Deadpool vs. Wolverine is amazing, though, let’s be clear, I’d put money on it winning best comedy this year).

And, not just micro-independent movies, where everyone on the crew hates each other by the end of it because they’ve been working 14 hour days and are still broke.

The mid-range films. I miss those. Having been lucky enough to work on features such as Underworld and Crash, I miss the passion that was involved with those. We all felt it.

I think they might come back. Or maybe not. Either way, we had a good run.

I purposefully didn’t mention AI in this article as that’s a much longer conversation. But, be prepared to be your own filmmaker. The machine is coming for you. Or, to you, I should say.

Ian