LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Fees to film in downtown’s Grand Park will remain $20,000 per day per block for now, as county officials today postponed a decision to temporarily drop or dramatically reduce the charge.
Sarah Walsh of the Motion Picture Association of America said the fee has created “a major disincentive to film in the county of Los Angeles.”
Since the park’s grand opening in October, only one production company has paid to rent the location because of the high fee, according to Adriana Fernandez of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.
Based on a series of meetings with industry and union representatives, Chief Executive Officer William Fujioka recommended reducing the rates to $1,920 to $5,120 — depending on the block — with a maximum charge of $12,000 for the entire multi-block site during off-peak hours.
Industry advocates and some state and local officials said the proposed cuts would still leave fees too high.
The rate to film at other county-operated facilities is $400 per day, and county-owned sites operated by nonprofit organizations charge fees ranging from $1,500 to $17,000 per day, Fujioka said. The nonprofit Music Center operates the new park under an agreement with the county.
The CEO used the privately owned Huntington Library and city-owned Griffith Observatory — which charge $11,000 and $10,000, respectively — as benchmarks in setting Grand Park’s proposed rates.
Supervisors Michael Antonovich and Don Knabe offered an alternative, proposing a six-month pilot program during which rates would be dropped entirely to test demand for the location. They expressed a goal of establishing the park as a county icon.
Supervisor Gloria Molina, a champion of the park’s development, disagreed.
Grand Park “was not established to become an icon” in films and television, Molina said, adding that her priority was to “leave the park to the public.”
More than 19,000 people visited the park in its first six months of operation, according to Fujioka.
Those on both sides talked about striking a balance between public enjoyment and access for production crews, which generates jobs and tax revenues.
Unable to reach consensus on either the zero-fee pilot or Fujioka’s proposed fee schedule, the board voted to reconsider the issue in two weeks.
A separate proposal to adopt a countywide film policy geared toward streamlining regulations and encouraging local production was also postponed.
