FilmLA, partner film office to the City and County of Los Angeles and others, issues and update about regional filming activity since LA county reopened on-location filming in June.
Besides reporting that FilmLA received roughly 2,565 film permit applications for 1,967 unique projects in October, the monthly intake of applications increased 23.7 percent from September (711 permits) to October (with 880 permits). Activity has stabilized at just below 47 percent of what most might expect under “normal filming conditions,” and FilmLA’s average rate of business growth has slowed growing 4.8% over the last four weeks compared to 10% growth in the previous four weeks.
Some of the features films include Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Soggy Bottom, starring Bradley Cooper, which is set in ’70s San Fernando Valley, as well as Will Smith‘s King Richard for Warner Bros., and Channing Tatum‘s Dog.
Broadcast and cable series shooting in the month of October include CBS‘ NCI-LA, ABC‘s The Rookie, Mayans MC from FX, Animal Kingdom from TNT and Showtime’s Shameless. Streaming series include Netflix‘s Dear White People, the Disney+ series Big Shot, and HBO Max‘s Made for Love.
Some of the larger reality TV and game shows that filmed in October include American Idol (ABC), Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Shahs of Sunset (Bravo!), Selena + Chef (HBO Max), House Hunters (HGTV),and Lucky Dog (CBS).
Commercials filmed locally in October include brands such as Instagram, Uber, Subaru, Citibank and retail establishments Starbucks, Kohls, JC Penney, and Walmart. PSA commercials were centered around the election with campaigns for Vote Safe California and Get Out the Vote 2020.
The advertising industry, including still photography and commercials, made up 44% of the combined share of local permit requests, while television production represents 25% of permit activity with the October pick-up in scripted television helping the month. Of that 25%, 10% of that was television drama vs. reality TV production with 6% of requests.
Paul Audley, President of FilmLA, made the statement: “As Los Angeles welcomes more episodic series and feature films back to production, we are grateful to local producers, crew and vendors for their adherence to safe filming practices. To push past our current production plateau with full community support, we need to continue to focus on keeping our workplaces safe.”
