President Trump's proposed federal film-production tax credit initiative aims to support Hollywood by offering a 25% tax incentive for film production, which has bipartisan backing. However, the article argues that this may not be enough to reverse the trend of productions leaving Los Angeles due to high costs and logistical challenges such as union issues and permitting processes. In 2025, LA recorded its lowest levels of filming on record, with many opting to shoot in other countries or regions like Canada for more favorable conditions. Despite these difficulties, some still invest in Hollywood, like developer David Simon who is building a new $450 million studio in the area.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
President Trump’s national tax credit initiative has real teeth (a 25% federal film-production tax credit) and bipartisan support.
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initiative → have → teeth
The good news for Hollywood might end there.
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news → end → Hollywood
All the incentives in the world can’t stop LA from being LA, and that’s something not even the real estate mogul-in-chief can change.
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mogul → stop → chief
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Report → start → news
Film and TV productions have been fleeing the city for some time now.
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productions → flee → time
In 2025, LA experienced the lowest levels of filming on record, continuing a trend that has left locals wondering about the future of Hollywood as an entertainment mecca.
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that → experience → mecca
The shows must go on, especially given the crush of streaming channels and old-school channels craving new content.
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shows → go → content
It’s just not happening here.
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It → happen → ?
Some crews bundle up and head north to Canada.
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crews → bundle → Canada
Others leave North America for more hospitable business climates across the globe.
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Others → leave → globe
One director fled to South America to lens a movie set in LA.
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director → flee → LA
We’d all be surprised at how many countries can be tweaked to look like American cities.
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countries → tweak → cities
That’s movie magic, and a necessity given LA’s decline.
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That → ’ → decline
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New tax credits will help, no doubt, especially for loyal artists eager to keep Hollywood ‘Hollywood.’
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credits → download → artists
Money still matters, and the industry remains addicted to overspending.
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industry → matter → overspending
That means every way to pinch pennies counts.
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way → mean → pennies
Some storytellers need that more than others.
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storytellers → need → others
Consider rom-com darling Nancy Meyers of “The Holiday” and “It’s Complicated” fame.
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It → consider → fame
Her latest project arrived with a sticker price of $150 million, a staggering sum blamed on star salaries and, wait for it, an LA-based shoot.
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project → arrive → it
The latter never comes cheaply, an ugly truth that deserves a Hollywood closeup.
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that → come → closeup
Consider this comment from a young screenwriter who shared a studio note for one of his projects.
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who → consider → projects
“We need to find a state to shoot this that looks like California, but isn’t California.”
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that → need → California
Veteran movie producer Dallas Sonnier (“Brawl in Cell Block 99,” “Run Hide Fight: Infidels”) echoed that reality.
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Sonnier → run → reality
“This likely federal film tax incentive will not make movies any easier to shoot in California for anyone with a brain.
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movies → make → brain
The unions will come after you, bothering productions to no end as they nitpick every detail, even on tiny budgets under $1 million.
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they → come → million
The permitting process will never get any easier, especially if the useful idiot middle managers don’t like the content of your project.
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managers → get → project
Some still cling to the Hollywood of yore, and they’re putting their money where their nostalgia circuits are.
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circuits → cling → money
Developer David Simon is bringing a new, $450 million studio to Hollywood, hoping to inject life into the struggling industry.
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Simon → bring → industry
The 10-acre Echelon Studios Hollywood is efficiently structured to make the most of its prime real estate.
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Hollywood → structure → estate
Is Simon’s vision a Hollywood fantasy … or will it leverage a possible Trumpian boost?
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it → leverage → boost
The recent Mayoral primary results all but scream the former.
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results → scream → former
Could that change?
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that → change → ?
The recent mayoral primary results all but scream, “no!”
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results → scream → ?
Spencer Pratt’s upstart campaign lacked a Hollywood ending, and he seemed the most sincere about making Los Angeles friendlier to local productions.
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Angeles → lack → productions
Heck, Hollywood made him famous in the first place.
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him → make → place
Sitting Mayor Karen Bass has talked a good game on the campaign trail, but conditions on the ground suggest otherwise.
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conditions → sit → ground
Why didn’t she do more about the problem over the past four years?
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she → do → years
Her challenger, City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, is now the odds-on favorite to become LA’s next mayor.
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challenger → become → ?
She’s to the left of Mayor Karen Bass, and there’s little hope that the DSA acolyte will correct some of LA’s anti-business posture.
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acolyte → ’ → posture
She once blamed car manufacturers, not car thieves, for making it too easy to nick a vehicle.
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it → blame → vehicle
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
