Santa Monica has been the site of many films and is now making it easier for productions to shoot there
On Monday, Film Santa Monica, the city’s first coordinated production office, will open its doors.
Operated by Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Film Santa Monica will streamline the permitting process for productions and actively lobby the industry for location consideration, city officials say. Film Santa Monica will serve as a one-stop shop for filmmakers while helping generate economic benefits for local businesses and positioning the city on the global stage.
Santa Monica has long been a backdrop for Hollywood—from Barbie and Iron Man to Baywatch and Speed—and the dedicated film office will attract new productions while also “ensuring filming remains community-conscious,” Mayor Lana Negrete said in a statement Friday.
“Santa Monica has always been an ideal backdrop for filming of all kinds, and there are so many iconic shots of our city in beloved movies and TV shows. This strategic effort to leverage that as a revenue source aligns perfectly with our goal of increasing economic opportunity and growth in our city,” Negrete said.
Santa Monica is the latest government entity to announce new ways to attract filming in the stagnant entertainment industry. Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a massive Golden handshake to Hollywood from the Golden State in the way of tax incentives.
Newsom’s initiative more than doubled California’s annual tax credit funding—from $330 million to $750 million—all aimed at productions that have fled California to film in tax-friendly sites overseas. “You’ve got to be competitive and now we’re competitive. Not to be the cheapest place to do business – that’s never been California’s brand or motto going back a century. We want to be the best place,” Newsom said at a press conference at the new Warner Bros. studio in Burbank when announcing the change.
Newsom made the announcement flanked by Mayor Karen Bass, who has been desperately working to find ways to stop entertainment jobs from leaving L.A. since she created an Entertainment Industry Cabinet last June comprised of a who’s who of Hollywood insiders from union bosses to studio heads, agents and Motion Picture Association executives who, the Mayor said would “urgently focus on addressing the challenges,” the entertainment industry is facing in Los Angeles.
Last month, Bass issued an executive order that she said would lower costs, streamline the process for on-location filming, and increase shooting at iconic locations across the city, including the Griffith Observatory, the Central Library and the Port of LA.
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