LA Mayor Issues Order To Bring Productions Back To Hollywood
In a move that underscores the deepening rift between federal policy and local governance, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has fired back against economic headwinds and political rhetoric with a decisive, locally-driven initiative aimed at revitalizing the city’s embattled entertainment industry.
More than two weeks after President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping 100% tariff on foreign-made films, Bass responded not with protest, but with policy—signing an executive order designed to streamline filming in the city and stem the outflow of production to cheaper locales.
The contrast in tone couldn’t be sharper. While Trump warned of Hollywood’s “very fast death” and accused foreign incentives of undermining national security, Bass focused on practical steps to “keep good-paying jobs in L.A.”
Her message: while the politics of Hollywood play out on the national stage, the real fight is being waged on the streets and studios of Los Angeles.
Bass’s executive order is more than symbolic. It opens up iconic public locations—like the Griffith Observatory, the L.A. Central Library, and the Port of Los Angeles—for easier filming access and slashes on-set regulatory burdens, notably reducing the required number of city employees present during shoots to just one.
The move is a clear effort to make the city more competitive against both domestic alternatives—like Atlanta and New Mexico—and international hotspots flush with government-backed incentives.
At the heart of this policy duel lies a critical economic question: where will the next generation of American entertainment be made? Trump’s tariff, positioned as a blow against foreign “messaging and propaganda,” is a blunt-force economic weapon.
Bass, by contrast, is using the scalpel of municipal policy to lure productions back to their traditional home. Both agree on the need to “make movies in America again,” but their methods and motivations reflect a broader national divide.
The mayor’s order also pressures Sacramento to act, calling for accelerated tax credits at the state level. It’s a layered strategy: combine local administrative flexibility with state-level fiscal incentives, and L.A. might just weather the storm that’s been building since productions started drifting away in search of more favorable economics.