A coalition of entertainment industry powerhouses and political candidates will come together Tuesday, July 21, for an urgent town hall discussion on reversing the tide of runaway production and bringing film and television jobs back to the Los Angeles region. The event, titled “Film Here Work Here,” will be held at The Lot on Formosa from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
The town hall will unite candidates seeking office at both the state and local levels with working producers, writers, directors, and showrunners who are navigating the day-to-day realities of keeping production in Southern California.
A CRITICAL MOMENT FOR LA’S CREATIVE ECONOMY
Los Angeles has long been considered the entertainment capital of the world. But in recent years, a combination of generous tax incentives in other states and countries, bureaucratic hurdles, and costly permitting processes have driven an increasing share of film and television production out of the region – taking thousands of jobs with it.
Tuesday’s town hall aims to change that conversation – and accelerate real solutions.
FEATURED PARTICIPANTS
State Senate District 24 candidate John Erickson has made streamlining the filming process at the state level a centerpiece of his campaign.
Culver City mayor Freddy Puza has helped pass film-friendly rules to keep production in Culver City.
West Hollywood City Council candidate Helen Krieger is organizing this town hall, and she’ll moderate as well as talk about how to make WeHo more film-friendly. It’s considered by some to be the hardest place to film in all of LA County.
Joining the candidates will be working entertainment professionals with firsthand knowledge of what it takes to produce major content in today’s landscape:
Bill Wolkoff and Chris Fisher, Co-Executive Producer and Producing Director, respectively of the acclaimed Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, will speak to the challenges and opportunities of digital and effects production in the current environment.
Bridget Stokes, Emmy Award-winning Director of A Black Lady Sketch Show and the feature Boy Genius,
will speak on limited opportunities for under-represented directors in the current diminished production schedule.
Diana C. Zollicoffer, Producer (Starshine Pictures) and member of the Film and TV advocacy group StayinLA, will widen our perspective to the indie side of the business, and how we can support all economic levels of production in Southern California.
Michael Corrie, Propmaster and Art Director at Fonco Studios. He is also one of the founders of the artistic co-op Random Menagerie.
PRESENTED BY A WHO’S WHO OF HOLLYWOOD
The event is sponsored by:
– Kenya Barris, creator of Black-ish and Grown-ish and producer of Girls Trip
– Dan Bree, producer of Alone, Outlast, and Extracted
– Ariana Jackson, producer of Lethal Weapon, UnREAL, and 4400
– Christina Fialho, Founder and President of Re-Write the Byline
Their involvement signals the breadth of concern across the industry – from scripted drama and comedy to unscripted and documentary content – and underscores the urgency of finding actionable solutions.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Film Here Work Here – An Industry Town Hall
When: Tuesday, July 21, 2026 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Where: The Lot on Formosa, Los Angeles, CA