Stay in LA, a grassroots effort to help keep productions in Los Angeles, held its first in-person rally Sunday after months of organizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LOS ANGELES \u2014 Hundreds of film and television workers packed into a building in Los Angeles’ Sun Valley neighborhood Sunday to rally for renewed investment in Hollywood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event was part of a grassroots movement pushing for studios to bring production back to Los Angeles after the city suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, including\u2002devastating wildfires<\/a>, Hollywood labor strikes<\/a> and the lasting ramifications of the\u2002Covid-19 pandemic<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From actors to production assistants to makeup artists and prop makers, at least 1,000 people showed up to the \u201cStay in LA\u201d campaign\u2019s first public rally to cheer on efforts to expand film and TV tax credits and make filming in Los Angeles more affordable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At SirReel Studios, an equipment rental agency for film and TV productions, a mix of industry workers and local politicians took the stage as they called for further support from state lawmakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople are struggling. Rents went up; groceries went up. But the only thing that\u2019s not going up are the jobs, the paychecks. The jobs that people are looking for \u2026 they\u2019re gone,\u201d Alex Aguilar Jr., principal officer of LiUNA Local 724, said before the crowd. \u201cWe get calls every day from people being out of work: \u2018How can I pay my rent? I don\u2019t have any benefits for my wife, for my kids.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wes Bailey, owner of SirReel Studios, volunteered his building as a venue for the rally at no cost. Bailey said the company suffered a drastic revenue drop over the past two years that forced him to cut several jobs, and he noted that he has struggled \u201cjust to keep the lights on, to keep people employed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Momentum was slow when the Stay in LA movement formed in August, he said, but the catastrophic fires in January instilled a new \u201csense of urgency\u201d in bringing production back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Sunday\u2019s rally, local and state-level elected officials were nearly half of the speakers listed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe dirty little secret is that none of those people were going to be here until 1,500 people signed the RSVP, so I\u2019m encouraged,\u201d Bailey told NBC News. \u201cI\u2019ve had conversations today [with lawmakers] that I couldn\u2019t get to answer my call. I don\u2019t think that it\u2019s that they didn\u2019t care. I just think that they wanted to see where the momentum is, and we have the momentum.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sound stages in the greater Los Angeles area were on average around 90% full from 2016 to 2022, according to a\u2002study published Thursday<\/a> by FilmLA, a nonprofit organization that coordinates film permits and supports on-location production in the region. But industry strikes made that number drop to 69% in 2023, and in 2024, occupancy levels fell even further, to 63%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Costumer Shirletha Jordan, a member of the IATSE stage and screen union who attended Sunday\u2019s rally, said that before the 2023 writers\u2019 and actors\u2019 strikes, work was coming in so reliably that she often had to turn down jobs. But the lack of work for actors and writers in the past two years translated to less work for costumers, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, Jordan said, she might go months without a gig. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s an emotional roller coaster,\u201d she said. \u201cMy position right now is I don\u2019t have any work. What do I do? Do I go try and get another job, because I do have two degrees? But I believe in this work so much, and I\u2019m first-generation Hollywood. … I don\u2019t want to move back home [to Atlanta]. I made my way here to live in California.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent legislative efforts have tried to draw production back to Hollywood through a renewed focus on competing with higher or more accessible tax incentives offered by other states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n State lawmakers this year proposed increasing the California Film & TV Tax Credit Program to cover 35% of qualified expenses for projects shot in the Los Angeles region, up from the current credit of 20% to 25%. That came after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed last year to dramatically increase the amount of money allocated to the tax credit program from $330 million to $750 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a win for Hollywood filmmakers, the California Film Commission last month\u2002approved a record 51 film projects<\/a> for tax incentives, the largest round of awards in state history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As industry leaders say they plan to continue the fight in Sacramento, Stay in LA has also\u2002been working with<\/a> the City Council on municipal legislation to reduce certain regulations, permitting requirements and fees to remove barriers for production companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not asking for a handout. We\u2019re asking for the chance to work,\u201d City Council member Nithya Raman said onstage Sunday. \u201cWe want to work in L.A. We want to live in L.A. We want to raise our families in L.A.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n