{"id":241453,"date":"2025-09-20T12:43:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T12:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241453\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T12:43:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T12:43:14","slug":"after-l-a-wildfires-david-e-kelly-is-all-in-on-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/241453\/","title":{"rendered":"After L.A. wildfires, David E. Kelly is all in on California"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Filming was about to start on David E. Kelley\u2019s Apple TV+ series \u201cMargo\u2019s Got Money Troubles\u201d in early January when the wildfires hit the Los Angeles area, devastating Pacific Palisades and Altadena<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Crew members lost their homes or were dealing with severe smoke damage. Others on the show took people who were displaced into their houses. <\/p>\n

To add to the uncertainty, the series was still waiting to hear whether it would receive a state film and television tax credit.<\/p>\n

It was time for a decision, Kelley and his fellow producers thought. Should they play it safe and relocate to a cheaper filming locale, such as New Mexico or Vancouver, to ensure they had the budget to film the pivotal mid-season finale in Las Vegas? <\/p>\n

They took a gamble and decided to stay in California. The bet paid off. \u201cMargo\u201d got a tax credit of about $1.2 million per episode, and the show was able to shoot both in the Los Angeles area and travel to Las Vegas for four days of filming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rest of the story is a California story,\u201d said Matthew Tinker, president of David E. Kelley Productions. \u201cIt\u2019s really magical to leave L.A., go to Vegas and then come back, and it gives the show a huge production value that otherwise, we wouldn\u2019t have had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Matthew <\/p>\n

Matthew Tinker, president of David E. Kelley Productions, stands on the rooftop of producer David E. Kelley\u2019s new production office in Santa Monica.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

As film and TV projects have increasingly moved out of state in search of better tax incentives and cheaper costs \u2014 moves that have culled the number of Hollywood jobs<\/a> \u2014 Kelley\u2019s production company is doubling down on California. The former attorney turned writer-producer is one of the biggest names in TV behind such legal dramas as \u201cAlly McBeal\u201d and \u201cThe Practice.\u201d <\/p>\n

All of his current projects will shoot in L.A., including the third season of HBO series \u201cBig Little Lies,\u201d the legal drama \u201cThe Lincoln Lawyer,\u201d a new HBO Max series based on a Michael Connelly book called \u201cNightshade\u201d that takes place on Santa Catalina Island, and the thriller \u201cPresumed Innocent.\u201d <\/p>\n

Post-production work for his shows also is done in L.A. Kelley\u2019s company, known as David E. Kelley Productions, also recently moved into a new headquarters in Santa Monica, where it plans to make a home for the foreseeable future. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt just feels wrong to me that L.A. is not continuing to be the epicenter for film and television series,\u201d Kelley said via Zoom in August. \u201cThis town has been very good to me for many, many years, so I have an inclination not to abandon it, to cling to the community that has been so rewarding for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sentiment is shared by his second-in-command.<\/p>\n

From the concrete rooftop garden atop the Santa Monica building that houses Kelley\u2019s production office, Tinker looked out at the hills, remembering the wall of smoke that lingered for days.<\/p>\n

The January wildfires also encouraged the decision to keep Kelley\u2019s production company in L.A., despite some pitches to move out of state. At the time, there had been industry chatter that the state\u2019s incentive program would be bolstered, giving some optimism for the future of production in the state. But after the fires, there was no question. The company saw the need to rebuild and reinvest in L.A. and Hollywood. The eventual boost to the state\u2019s film and TV tax credit program approved this summer solidified their decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fires challenged our resilience and sense of community, but the people of L.A. rallied,\u201d Tinker said. \u201cThere simply wasn\u2019t a thought beyond this moment to plant roots anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2,900-square-foot office, which is a new build that replaced an older building in Santa Monica, is sleek and modern, with concrete walls and flooring, dark wood details, two arcade game machines and a shelving unit holding dozens of awards right at the heart of the space. Inside Tinker\u2019s office is an homage to Hollywood history.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A wall showcases trophies at producer David E. Kelley\u2019s new production office in Santa Monica.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

An old sign from Kelley\u2019s previous offices at the Fox lot hangs on the wall, next to the title page for the first episode of \u201cMargo,\u201d addressed to David and signed by actor Elle Fanning. A photo of Ronald Reagan with Matthew Tinker\u2019s late grandfather Grant Tinker, former chief executive of NBC, sits near a bobblehead from Kelley\u2019s \u201cBoston Legal\u201d days and a black-and-white group shot of Matthew\u2019s father, John Tinker, winning a writing Emmy for the drama \u201cSt. Elsewhere\u201d in 1986. <\/p>\n

When looking back at his own career, Matthew Tinker has done \u201cpretty much every job under the sun,\u201d which was only possible in a city that consistently had multiple productions running.<\/p>\n

That concern for the future of industry employment was a major part of Hollywood and state legislators\u2019 push to increase the annual funding<\/a> for California\u2019s film and TV tax credit program to $750 million and expand eligibility criteria to allow more projects to apply.<\/p>\n

\"Memorabilia <\/p>\n

Memorabilia in the office of Matthew Tinker, president of David E. Kelley Productions.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Those changes, which were approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom this summer<\/a>, have now largely gone into effect and are starting to produce results. <\/p>\n

In the first round of TV show tax credits since the program was revamped, the California Film Commission saw a nearly 400% increase in applications and awarded tax credits to a total of 22 shows<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of pent-up demand,\u201d said Colleen Bell, executive director of the California Film Commission. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of momentum here, and these improvements to the program have helped to drive that momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new activity is much needed. Production activity in L.A. so far this year is down 9% compared with last year, according to the nonprofit FilmLA, which tracks shoot days in Greater L.A. 2024 was the second-worst year on record for production in the area after 2020, when the industry shut down due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

But there is hope on the horizon \u2014 of the 22 new TV projects that received a California tax credit this past round, 18 are slated to film largely in Greater L.A., including Kelley\u2019s \u201cPresumed Innocent.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe more that people have hope in the future of California as a production destination, I think you will continue to see entrepreneurs and others make their careers here,\u201d said Philip Sokoloski, spokesman for FilmLA.<\/p>\n

Because Los Angeles is more costly than other locations, filmmakers must make certain adjustments, such as shooting a TV series in 85 days instead of 100, or reducing daily filming hours.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s very doable with experienced crews in L.A., said Caroline James, co-executive producer of \u201cPresumed Innocent\u201d and \u201cMargo,\u201d which employed about 500 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s such an infrastructure in L.A.,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no learning curve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelley\u2019s production company, which has six employees including the veteran writer and producer, may not always be able to shoot everything in L.A., but executives intend to keep L.A. first and foremost in their decision-making and hopes that mentality will catch on around town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to always look at California first,\u201d Tinker said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Filming was about to start on David E. Kelley\u2019s Apple TV+ series \u201cMargo\u2019s Got Money Troubles\u201d in early…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":241454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2385,283,57783,14107,128963,6276,2961,224,5337,128966,3546,120975,4370,290,56961,128965,128964],"class_list":["post-241453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-day","tag-decision","tag-foreseeable-future","tag-hollywood","tag-kelley","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-matthew-tinker","tag-people","tag-production-company","tag-show","tag-state","tag-state-film","tag-television-tax-credit","tag-tinker"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115236687669816225","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}