More than two and a half years after she took office, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has fulfilled a nagging campaign promise to film industry advocates. <\/p>\n
She is appointing Board of Public Works president Steve Kang to serve as a liaison between city bureaucracy and the film industry, she said Wednesday. The mayor made the announcement while speaking to a private Zoom meeting of her entertainment industry council Wednesday afternoon, according to three attendees.<\/p>\n
Kang will be the chief film liaison, assisted by Dan Halden \u2014 who serves as acting director of external relations at the city\u2019s Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) \u2014 and producer Amy Goldberg.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s film liaison role was established under former Mayor Eric Garcetti. <\/p>\n
In the past, the liaison has served as the point person for film and TV productions looking to shoot in L.A., helping filmmakers navigate the city\u2019s vast bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have full confidence that President Steve Kang will deliver in his role as City Film Liaison by finding solutions that protect our signature industry and ensure that local filming of TV shows, movies and commercials can successfully continue and expand,\u201d Bass said in a statement. \u201cWith the successful expansion of the California Film & TV Tax Credit and our ongoing efforts to improve local processes, our work continues to keep production jobs here and support small businesses who rely on the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bass\u2019 decision not to prioritize the appointment of a film liaison had long frustrated industry advocates. Those concerns were sharpened at a moment when L.A.\u2019s future as a film capital is in peril.<\/p>\n
Amid a broader slump in overall film and TV production, the city has long been bleeding production jobs to states and countries that offer generous tax incentives, cheaper labor and more filming-friendly bureaucracies.<\/p>\n
Most of those issues are outside the mayor\u2019s control. But some industry advocates felt that naming a film liaison would be an easy move that could make shooting in L.A. a little less of a headache. <\/p>\n
Since Bass took office in December 2022, those advocates have pressed the mayor\u2019s office on the issue, with no clear answers about the delay.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a clear sense of need, and frustration that it hasn\u2019t happened,\u201d said one industry advocate, who had been present during the mayor\u2019s office\u2019s regular meetings with representatives from film studios, labor groups and other industry interests.<\/p>\n
Garcetti had several film liaisons during his administration. <\/p>\n