Written by new-contact on Oct 10, 2012. Posted in On Location

Steep filming fee at new Los Angeles landmark causes industry ire

A steep location filming fee at the newly-opened Grand Avenue Park in Los Angeles is alienating the filming industries. While most parks in Los Angeles County charge location fees of around USD450 a day, Grand Avenue Park costs are currently set closer to USD20,000.

Sarah Walsh is Director of the Motion Picture Association of America and spoke to the County Board of Supervisors, the LA Times reports: “A fee of USD20,000 per day for a public location gives filmmakers another reason to choose locations outside of Los Angeles. The county can do more to encourage filming and reducing this fee would be a first step.”

It seems the cost was calculated by considering Grand Avenue Park as a landmark and comparing this to similar sites across the US, but the Board of Supervisors has agreed to review all local filming fees.

California has a huge problem with productions chasing better location filming incentives in other states, particularly with new TV dramas. Sacramento recently extended the state filming incentive through to 2017 and Hollywood will be hoping that high location filming fees are a temporary glitch.