Hollywood’s Film Industry Collapses as Jobs, Studios Flee Gavin Newsom’s CA [WATCH]

Film and television productions are continuing to shift away from California as soaring costs, restrictive regulations, and unfavorable labor conditions push studios and producers to other states—and increasingly, other countries.

Despite efforts by Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom to retain entertainment jobs in California, data and industry feedback indicate that the exodus has only intensified in recent years.

According to data from FilmLA, overall production in Los Angeles has declined by over one-third in the last decade.

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The impact has been especially severe in the past three years, with approximately 18,000 full-time film industry jobs lost in the Los Angeles area alone, according to Michael F. Miller Jr., a vice president at the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

The decline is being felt not only in California but also seen in the growing footprint of the entertainment industry across alternative filming locations such as Georgia, New Mexico, Chicago, and Las Vegas.

International destinations—including Australia, Ireland, Hungary, and the United Kingdom—have also gained a significant share of film and television productions.

Actor Rob Lowe recently moved his game show, The Floor, out of Los Angeles and into Dublin, Ireland.

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In an interview with The New York Times, Lowe stated that the move was driven purely by economics. “It’s cheaper to bring a hundred American people to Ireland than to walk across the lot at Fox, right past the soundstages and do it there,” he said.

Lowe criticized California’s handling of the industry’s needs, calling the situation “criminal” and stating, “Everybody should be fired.”

“It’s criminal what California and LA have let happen. It’s criminal. Everybody should be fired” – Rob Lowe, calling out corrupt politicians like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass for chasing away the entertainment industrypic.twitter.com/Iscc3pX48c

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) March 23, 2025

Other industry veterans echoed similar concerns.

Film producer Amy Baer told The Times she had initially intended to move production of her latest film back to Los Angeles after the area was impacted by wildfires.

However, after reviewing her $10 million production budget, she concluded the numbers didn’t work.

“We’ve reached a tipping point where we run the risk of losing the ability to make movies here for good,” Baer said.

Producer Aaron Ryder, who has been working internationally, noted that Budapest, Hungary, has become a central hub for the entertainment industry.

“You can walk into the bar in the lobby in the Four Seasons and probably see more colleagues or actors and directors and agents and people you know there than you can at the Four Seasons in L.A.,” he said.

A comparison of production costs highlights the disparity.

According to The Times, a team of seven “grips”—set workers—costs $59,000 for a 30-day shoot in Budapest.

In Los Angeles, the same budget would cover just one grip for the same timeframe.

The result has placed Los Angeles far behind other locations in terms of desirability for film production.

Industry tracker ProdPro now ranks L.A. sixth, behind Toronto, the United Kingdom, Vancouver, Central Europe, and Australia.

Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed expanded incentive programs to retain film and television projects, but his efforts have yet to make a significant impact.

Many Democrats in the state legislature have defended the state’s regulatory environment and offered little in terms of reform.

Some have instead called for federal intervention, though no specific federal proposals have been outlined.

Industry analysts note that the shift away from Los Angeles is not a sudden development.

In 2023, The Los Angeles Times reported that even years after the pandemic-era production slowdown, film industry employment had not recovered and was continuing to decline.

Deadline described the situation as a “full-scale depression” in Hollywood.

As costs continue to climb and alternatives remain more attractive, California’s grip on the film industry continues to weaken, raising concerns among union leaders, studio executives, and longtime industry professionals about the state’s future as a production hub.

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