On-Location Filming In L.A. Continues To Nose Dive Amidst Ongoing WGA Strike

The ongoing Writers Guild strike is continuing to take a staggering toll on films and TV shows that normally would be shooting on location in Los Angeles.

Last week, in the second week of the strike, requests for permits to shoot feature films and TV shows here plunged 69.5% from the same week a year ago, according to FilmLA, the city and county film permit office, although that figure includes unscripted TV shows, which are not impacted by the strike.

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According to FilmLA, only seven scripted TV series have permits to film here this week, and “four of these projects were recently reported in the news to have halted production.  Of the remaining three projects, two have permits for filming at non-certified stages and studios. These kinds of permits are typically pulled by productions on a rolling two-week basis, so under the circumstances, the existence of a permit may not indicate filming is taking place.”

In the first week of the strike, FilmLA says, “We had 168 permits for features and TV, including unscripted, vs 347 a year prior,” which represented a 51.5% plunge in permit requests.

The strike shows no sign of abating, with the production of TV shows shutting down across the country.

When contract talks broke off May 1, WGA leaders said that the strike was launched the next day because the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers refused to discuss many of the guild’s core issues, which include significant increases in compensation, minimum staffing, duration of employment, the establishment of viewer-based streaming residuals and curbs on the use of artificial intelligence to create scripts.

The AMPTP, however, has said that’s its contract offer was “generous,” and that it remains “committed to finding workable solutions to our ever-changing business for the mutual benefit of those who contribute to its success.”

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