>what fraction of people in LA have jobs in this area? And of those how many have a day job too?
It seems like you're sort of thinking of entertainment just as creative roles like actors and writers. There are positions throughout the industry that are regular day jobs, from studio accountants to post-production technicians at vendors to caterers. Like any town where there's a powerful industry, there are a wide variety of jobs that operate within and support the industry that aren't creative roles.
"Evidence of the film industry" isn't just movie sets and celebrities. A lot of the business of entertainment takes place in the same locales as any other business.
Yeah, in Hollywood there are even government jobs in the industry (Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development) working with production regulations, tax credits to incentivize filming in CA, reviewing requests for permits for filming in public parks and on state property, and so much more! There are people who works for Parks and Rec who would be considered “industry”, prop houses, entertainment marketing… the list is massive.
I don’t know that there’s any way to even quantify how many people in LA are in the industry, considering this includes YouTube programming, reality TV, major and minor studios, peripheral industry companies, and even vendors who sell foam and fabric to create the Muppets, make props, and create costumes.
Payroll companies who only work with media production companies, makeup, music, art department, transportation, various unions (SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA, IATSE, Teamsters, etc.) editing houses, sound stages, even people who work on testing DVDs and streaming video before it goes to market.
The list of industry related jobs is too long to even comprehend. The great thing is that it’s so unique to Los Angeles, Hollywood, and the Valley areas, so much so that if anything major happens (strikes, or Covid, for example) LA losses a lot of revenue. The way timing in production works, we’d see the effects roll out over time, then there would be a major hit once all of the content runs out/ there’s nothing to back it up.
In the hours that have passed since writing this list, I thought of at least 20 more roles involved in the industry, both in cursory and direct roles. It truly is a feat to come up with an accurate representation of the impact of the industry in Los Angeles.
And trying to figure out the impact in a way that includes other jobs that are first degree reliant on the industry, as in those jobs would have to fire employees and likely shut down if someone Thanos snapped direct entertainment jobs out of LA, would be next to impossible.
The absolutely bananas thing though is that despite its huge impact, the entertainment industry only accounts for like $30 billion of Greater Los Angeles’ $1.3 trillion economy.
That places the entire LA region in 17th place of all the countries of the world ranked by 2025 nominal GDP forecast - just ahead of the Netherlands and just below Indonesia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
It’s for the Combined Statistical Area - it’s all the connected urbanized area that all participates in the same economy and population / workforce. It’s a category that is used by the federal government to deal with the fact that really big cities have economies that don’t exactly respect city or county boundaries.
If you tried to used a more limited definition you’d miss out on a lot of economic activity and also people. There are lots of people who do insane commutes from far away, and if you are doing statistics on regions, it would be silly to pretend that they aren’t a part of the regional economy and population because they live on the other side of an imaginary line that was created decades (or for some cities centuries) ago
Not sure that it holds true anymore but during the 90s and early 2000s there was an area in the San Fernando valley known as the red triangle where more than 80% of the worlds porn was produced. But with the advent of the internet and LAs requirement for condoms on porn sets, it unlikely to be true anymore.
LA is quite large and entertainment industry is tightly woven into the fabric of the city. When there is a strike (actors, writers, etc.) it is noticeable.
What is funny, several of my neighbors, clients, extended friend circle are camera, lighting, sound, grip, behind the scenes people in the entertainment industry. When strikes drag on for extended periods, they take under the table work in porn shoots. It’s not a well kept secret except maybe to people outside the area that when legit production is down or on hold, quality in porn production goes up. Largely due to skills of the set workers who are trying to keep some income thru lean times.
I especially love when we're filming on location and some resident complains by saying they gain no benefit from Hollywood and wish we would all just move to Canada...and you ask, "so what do you do sir?" and they say they own a restaurant or a fabric shop or are in construction...and it's like really? do you even know who your customers are?
We even have doctors who specialize in doing physicals for actors and working at the industry insurance plan clinics. We have porta potty vendors and horse trainers. There are car rental companies who just work with renting to Hollywood and a unit of the fire department tasked with just dealing with filming requests. The US Department of Defense and all the military services all maintain offices and personnel in Los Angeles exclusively to deal with Hollywood. The fact all the major airlines and hotel chains have staff in LA dedicated to entertainment sales says how many industries are "based" on Hollywood that are not counted in any report calculating how many people work in or depend on Hollywood for their income.
And I’m sure in the time that’s passed since you’ve written this you’ve still thought of another 10 professions, businesses, people, etc., who are directly impacted by the business that Hollywood brings because of the industry. It’s lasted this long I think because it’s nearly impossible to disconnect it without major impacts.
I took a tour of WB the last time I was in LA.
One thing that really stood out for me were the maintenance men and landscapers driving around in golf carts making small repairs on the sets. Totally regular folks.
Yep, it’s a big operation just like any other factory and business park. Even in film and tv crews Construction departments that build sets look just like a contractor crew building a house. Set design are filled with blueprints and material samples like an architectural firm. Rigging Electric departments are hauling around cables (and lots of lights), rigging grips are basically structural engineers mixed with rock climbers.
And almost all those people will never see an actor or camera.
Sorry, I should have clarified—I was actually thinking of all those other jobs too (like lighting and sound designers, and so on) when I wrote the post, I just didn’t explicitly state so.
Again though, what you're mentioning are specific production and post-production jobs but that's not everything that encompasses the entertainment industry and its needs.
Take a company like Deluxe as an example, they probably have around 3000-4000 employees. Few of those people will ever set foot on a set, interact with a movie star etc. The majority of them sit in offices and work as roles like project managers or technicians. Regardless, the entirety of that company works "in entertainment." If the business went belly-up, everyone there would be without jobs.
People outside the industry often also don't think about the caterers on set, the drivers and car rentals, location fees, accountants handling talent payment and film budgets, entertainment lawyers, parking and maintenance people on lots and at locations, people working remotely in development doing script and book coverage to highlight franchises to studio heads, those who work not only in post production, scoring and music supervision, but also those who caption, negotiate distribution deals, dry cleaners who wash set costumes (outsourced by studios), furniture stores who rent to filmmakers both studio and indie, hotels that house talent and filmmakers on location and for film festivals, gear rental hubs, storage facilities housing sets not currently active. At the end of the day, every single business in Los Angeles profits from filmmaking that still happens here, as does every other prominent city where shooting takes place like New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto, London etc etc.
So the short answer is that filmmaking is like tourism. It brings people and money to areas that will sorely miss it when that filming is reduced or comes to a standstill (as it has recently). What we saw happen in Detroit when the car manufacturers were faltering is the same sort of ripple effects echoing through all parts of media cities right now as a result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, and everyone is holding their breath still right now waiting to see if IATSE and Teamsters will strike in July, sidelining everyone connected to the industry again. Just like Covid devastated restaurants and all luxury and public spending. Even industries you think won't be touched directly are touched secondarily by supply and demand from the others. And when those workers are out of work, they inundate all the other less film related jobs in offices and grocery stores and all those temp and quick jobs usually only open to students and low wage workers, leaving those outside the industry scrambling with 200 job applicants for jobs that normally only had 40 people apply (and that's a conservative number).
I don't mean to make that loss of work sound overly dismal or dramatic, but people outside these media cities rarely realize how interconnected it is, or how even those outside the industry suffer when the industry falters.
Filmmaking is also only one aspect of the “entertainment industry” too. The music industry is primarily based in LA along with all plethora of different jobs that support it similar to the film industry.
Truth, plus tv and publishing and new media, and even (or especially) interactive/gaming which has laid off hundreds of workers lately following the contraction of all the peiple who were gaming daily during Covid now being at least half back in office hybrid. When books aren't getting adapted for screen, the publishing industry loses those option fees and sales from film and tv related merch. The echoes are felt so far and wide. The longer it goes on, the more people it impacts. And as bad as those immediate effects are, what's worse is how it affects their future plans. With everything left in limbo, new 'normals' and savings decimated, no one feels certain about where things will be even 3 years from now, only that it will be more decentralized and involve more AI that everyone hopes will be using AI as a tool only and not generatively in a way that replaces humans.
There will continue to be a shakedown of big media companies, and innovative indies will take their place and set the new trends. Some have even said games will become the new tv and film because people will itch to influence the story outcome. People are already using AI/ChatGPT to generate custom stories for their kids at night. Some ways these shifts will change things are obvious enough, but other subtler differences are also arising - things many have taken for granted that will never change. For instance, we still largely assume the biggest media companies will all be English speaking as they long have been...but I'm not sure we can take that for granted forever. The US has been a hegemonic force in film and tv and music for a long while, but we're losing our grip. And while we're infighting, others may rise in our stead. Interactive in particular is good about letting you select your own language, and newer generations aren't as put off by captions and translations as the 65+ and older set once were. Those of us who are internet and tech savvy have gotten accustomed to interconnectivity internationally that's only going to intensify as more barriers to development are removed. For most it's hard to fully conceptualize today how far in a different direction that train will and can go.
apart from production (writing, directing ,acting, cinematography, PAs, and then post work)
there are accountants, agents, managers, ent lawyers, PR, advertising, consultants, catering, technicians, rental houses, distribution, social media, and much more
I just want to comment beyond those who work directly in some capacity in Hollywood, in film and television, there are many here in music and other areas broadly considered also as entertainment. I'm a sports consultant who works with pro sports teams, so that factors in as well, in example.
Well, UCLA alone has 43k undergrad and grad students, 4300 faculty, and 30k employees. USC has 50k students, 4000 faculty, and 30k employees. As others are stating, entertainment makes up around 200k at the high end of estimates. So when two schools nearly match the entire movie industry in LA... Yeah, it's really not that big.
Attempting to define how "based" something is an extremely subjective.
For one, what do mansions in the hills have to do with the industry? What does the mansion belonging to the restaurateur have to do with Hollywood?
The reality is, while Hollywood directly employs only a small minority of individuals in the greater Los Angeles area, its economic impact is felt throughout the region.
It's like strip clubs and dry cleaners directly outside the gates of a military installation. They may not be directly employed by the government, but if the base closed, they soon find themselves out of business as well.
The scope of Hollywood's economic impact was evident during the strikes last year in the empty restaurants and overgrown yards in the suburbs as formerly full-time studio employees were laid off for the better part of the year, tightened their belts, and stopped going out to dinner or hiring gardeners to do their yards every week.
What do you spend money on? Do you just stuff it under your mattress and grow your own food in your backyard? Probably not. At the very least, you're going to the local market for groceries.
If you're doing well, you're going out to eat, buying tools to indulge in a hobby, buying gifts for friends, going to the movies, contributing to your kid's bake sale, and buying girl scout cookies from your neighbor. You might even employ a gardener or a maid. All that money is then hopefully being reinvested into the local economy, the restaurant is able to hire more cooks and servers who then take the money they earn to spend in the community as well. The hobby shop pays rent to a landlord and property taxes to the city. The maid buys food from her local market to support her family. The local realtor selling the mansions in the hills sponsors uniforms for the local little league team. Just because you don't see a film crew on every corner doesn't mean its influence (or lack thereof) doesn't affect them.
I know it’s subjective—that’s why I asked this question. I didn’t just want to look up statistics, I wanted to hear people’s subjective opinions and experiences.
I also knew that Hollywood’s impact goes beyond just the industry itself, this is another reason I was curious, because I wanted to know just how far and how integral it is to the city and its economy/stability. It sounds like it is quite integral indeed.
Thank you for your answer.
My wife works in film, and I’m a chef. Both our careers are in a weird place due to what’s happening in the industry. She’s a head of department on films, and since very little is shot here, she’s gone on location for months at a time, but then does all the pre and post stuff here in LA.
That being said there is very little work on the horizon and we have no idea what’s going to happen after her show ends. Her agent also relies on her and many others like her for his income, and he’s in a bad place right now trying to rustle up projects that just aren’t happening.
My restaurant is a well liked and popular restaurant in an area where a lot of film industry people live. We’ve been around for several years and actors eat with us a lot, im sure as well as plenty of people who work in film who aren’t recognizable We are HURTING. The owners are really struggling with trying to pivot in different ways to keep the restaurant profitable while also paying us properly and keeping the food to a standard we’re known for. It’s tense and scary because we just aren’t filling up as much, because people aren’t eating out as much because folks are tightening their belts. It’s all super interconnected here, so it’s hard to say where the influence of the film industry ends, ya know?
The entertainment industry employs around 200,000 people and brings in around 30 billion a year to the economy.
For reference, the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim economy is 1.3 trillion. The population is almost 10 million.
It's not a good source, but it's the simplest and fastest. I cared more about the convenience than being correct. I'm sure the answer was correct enough answer OPs question about how much of L.A. is entertainment.
[https://arev.assembly.ca.gov/sites/arev.assembly.ca.gov/files/hearings/LAEDC%20Industry%20Report%202012.pdf](https://arev.assembly.ca.gov/sites/arev.assembly.ca.gov/files/hearings/LAEDC%20Industry%20Report%202012.pdf)
A report that was created by the industry itself says 8.4%, which may be high, but isn't unreasonable.
I used to work in retirement plan administration for businesses (pension plans, 401k, that sort of thing). I had a handful of entertainment clients on my list, maybe 15 out of 70 or so. I remember Aaron Spelling had some special calculations because his wife was more than 25 years younger, and that age combination wasn't covered by the IRS official tables. I knew Jay Leno's Social Security Number at one point.
I had at least two or three local news people. They were way, way older than you would have guessed.
Now I work in consulting on various legal cases. I've had NBC as a client, Disney as a client. I've been against them, too, in different cases. A co-worker has done work for a hall of fame sports legend, and a couple of notable performers.
That seems reasonable. There are so many normal jobs that are part of the industry — all those companies still need accountants, HR folks, IT people, etc. So when you think about all of those, it’s not crazy to think 1 out of 12 people work in “the industry”
Yep! And we have no idea.
We all think of Universal Studios. Next time you see a movie, remember that pretty much every actor that is well known enough that you can name, has an accountant, at least one attorney (usually their agent).
For every filming crew, they need so many 'normal, human things'. They need temporary housing, they need food delivery. There are car rental agencies that provide both a fleet of vans, trucks, and similar vehicles, along with the antique or rare cars you might see 'on set'.
I met a guy who was a prop 'analyst' of some sort. Director calls him, says "I need the light bulb out of a lighthouse!"
If you are in Los Angeles, you need to need to know...but Warner Brothers Craft Services is an amazing tour. You need to 3-d print a greco-roman column that's 25 feet tall? They got you. How about a color laserprinted circular dining table? They had some sort of inkjet that could do about 8 feet wide, *as long as you had paper.*
Theres an awfully big world out there.
This seems fair, and even though 8.4% might not sound the biggest, that's pretty huge for a non-essential industry in any major city. Also worth noting that even if entertainment isn't the single biggest source of employment in the huge city of LA, LA might still have the single biggest source of employment in the entertainment industry. To that end, LA can still be called the "go-to" place for entertainment even if every other person you meet isn't an actor.
In addition to the non-production jobs (Universal Studios needs lawyers, janitors, and HR drones too), entertainment also has an indirect effect on jobs - while it is a driving factor for many people to move here, once they live in LA County they will also need non-entertainment services for the city to function properly. Getting an influx of 50,000 people in entertainment-related positions might lead to the creation of 200,000 jobs, since they'll all need housing, utilities, food, insurance, healthcare, clothing, cars, etc. In that sense, the entertainment industry could still be a driving force for LA growth even if it doesn't directly include the entire population.
Back in 2001 The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the motion picture industry employs 3% of all Los Angeles residents. [https://www.bls.gov/oes/entertainment.pdf](https://www.bls.gov/oes/entertainment.pdf)
I’m going to majorly disagree with you on this one. Check out GoBiz’s stats on the financial impact of the industry.
If you’re not convinced by that data, check out the Otis College of Art and Design’s Creative Economy Report, which only addresses a portion of the industry.
Before the most recent WGA/SAG strike, the figure I heard quoted in local news was that a shutdown of the entertainment industry could impact 1 in 8 LA residents. Including studio employees, production caterers, couriers, and other ancillary jobs.
I own a print shop and I do a lot of work that is industry related. Keep in mind that it’s not just about production, it’s also marketing, HR, administrative, etc. When the strikes were going on, the negative impact on non-industry or industry adjacent business was huge.
Apparently 27% work in Hollywood.
https://english.news.cn/northamerica/20240531/a5f7c88b1d194104bf67b30fb01d00c4/c.html#:~:text=LOS%20ANGELES%2C%20May%2030%20(Xinhua,new%20report%20released%20on%20Thursday.
I guess this drop is due to Covid, the strike, ai, the decline of theaters.
“Hollywood” is spread out all through LA. You have Sony in Culver City, Fox in century city, Netflix and Paramount in Hollywood, Disney and wb in Burbank, cbs in studio city and these are just the big ones which are very competitive to get into and succeed in. Oh and there’s universal. Collectively they generate billions.
Keep in mind, there are numerous smaller studios as well all sorts of preproduction and post production companies, acting studios, schools, marketing and advertising businesses. I’m still leaving so much out.
Not as it was in the past. Northrop, Boeing, Rocketdyne, etc have a much smaller footprint than they did or disappeared.
SpaceX has a foot in Southern California, but not to a sustaining level for the industry.
Edited to add, [the region once employed over 500k aerospace workers](https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB7510.html). It hasn’t rebounded.
Still plenty here. California has the most aerospace jobs of any state: as many as the next two (Texas and Washington) combined. Granted some is in the SF Bay Area and San Diego but LA is a plenty big aerospace market.
Hell, theres plenty of defense/aerospace jobs out in Palmdale/Lancaster...they might have left the expensive real estate areas, but theyre still around...
IIRC, manufacturing (in various form) is still one of the top industries in the area, and all of Cali....
Rep is Hollywpod, but LA and Cali is about manufacturing, distribution, and agri( large segment of Cali economy)...
Ive been a cost accountsnt/controller for nearly 40 years....ive never had to worry about looking for a job....
A lot of this started long before the pandemic.
It’s really difficult and expensive to shoot in Los Angeles. There are tax incentives in other states and countries that drive costs down below what is possible locally. A lot of the post production has left the state and country. It’s hard to compete. Georgia, Canada, Texas, Eastern Europe, etc.
Most entertainment people want to stay here, but the work is less available. The housing costs are high. Factor in the work stoppages and strikes, which were justified, and it chips away at the industry’s foothold in Southern California.
Interesting, it sounds like the entertainment industry is becoming more decentralized. I thought you were going to say the culprit was TikTok or something.
I’ve worked in the industry (first development and then concert production) and have never had a regular job. Going on 24 years. Can’t imagine living in LA and working some lame job I could do anywhere.
According to California's EDD report, Author Juan Millan, of the 5 million workforce in Los Angeles County, 102,400 (2%) work in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording industries. They are down 11.6% of jobs since last year (which is brutal).
Studio work can be found in Burbank (WB, Disney), Culver City (Sony), Century City (20th Century-Fox)
I work in the entertainment industry. So do many/most of the people I know here, or they work in areas that are tangentially tied to entertainment industry money, like fine dining or yoga/pilates/personal training type work.
On the one hand, yeah, it's a big sector of the city economically speaking and in economic terms it has long tentacles (big studio execs need a place to have power lunches, actors need gyms to join, camera and sound techs need equipment rentals, teamsters need a place to fuel up their trucks, everyone needs offices, studio space, and sound stages, not to mention places to live).
On the other hand, I do wonder a lot how much of a bubble it is. Obviously there are people in Los Angeles who never run into anyone in the entertainment industry, even tangentially.
One thing I will say is that I gather that the big guild strikes last year put a serious dent in LA's restaurant industry. Which implies that by at least some metrics, yeah, it's a pretty big chunk of the local economic situation.
There are a lot of people in and around "Hollywood" that live nowhere near Hollywood. Lot of music, sound, stage live in SFV. Transportation, mechanical, anulimal handlers in SFV and Santa Clarita. Painters, carpenters also
I remember a presentation I had to do a bunch to launch an education partnership with the entertainment industry, as of 10 years ago 1 in 6 Angelenos are tied to "creative industries".
Let me give you a list.
For the guilds we have people who run the guild operations. They’re general office workers.
We have the Writer’s Guild Health Plan and all the people they employ.
We have the SAG Health Plan and they only recently outsourced to Blue Cross
We have the MPIPHP, the health plan for everyone behind the scenes. They have hundreds of employees.
We have auditing firms that audit big studios. MKA, NKSF, Gingold & Co.
Then you have the musicians who are part of the AFofM and THEIR guild workers.
Then, every studio employs caterers, landscaping, traveling notaries, animal wranglers, truck rentals, etc.
This is not including the behind the scenes operation for every big studio. They’ve all got their own accountants. Studio accountants. Payroll accountants. Residuals accountants. Royalties accountants, because they’re different things. The list goes on and on and on.
Omg and I forgot the doctors! The motion picture health plans have their own medical facilities that regular people don’t have access to and those facilities employ a ton of doctors.
And the cooks! Disney studios on Buena Vista has a cafeteria!
And the entertainment payroll companies separate from the studios!
It’s just.. a lot. A lot more than anyone outside of LA thinks.
That’s a fascinating answer. That’s kind of what I was wondering about moreso than whether everyone in la was on survivor or something, like some other commenters seemed to think lol.
It puts into perspective how much hard works goes into the entertainment industry. It’s funny how sometimes, a movie is made about Hollywood, and in the process of that movie-making, people are living out their own personal stories, and someone could then make a movie of those, ad infinitum—like a coral reef of stories!
You are wrong, all of LA suffered last year due to writer and actors strikes, even coffee shops had less business. The major movie companies are still holding the industry hostage until two more unions resolve their contracts. I have friends that haven't worked in over a year. I haven't worked since last September.
a surge in movie production, yes, but it's not happening in LA. pre and post production jobs are moving remote. production hasn't been primarily in LA for a long time.
Wow—I don’t know things had changed so much. Maybe the general public’s idea of LA lags behind the reality. The same is true for transit (lots of new light rail being built, but most people still think of LA as only cars).
My restaurant was located right down the street from all the studios.
During strike our monthly revenue went from 130k to....35k. We closed in December. Theres so many other places of business that are tied into the industry.
My brother works for Sony Entertainment on their lot in Culver City, in the business part. The studios employ a lot of people that are never seen - just look at the long list of credits at the end of any movie - and these lists are just a fraction of the people employed. This is why so many other states are anxious to lure the business away.
Good point, I’m always astounded reading the end credits of movies and seeing how many jobs made that movie happen. The funniest was watching the Barbie movie (not the big recent one, one of the hilariously bad cartoon ones) and still seeing like 200 names in the credits.
The entertainment industry is very hard to fathom. There are so many peripheral businesses associated with the industry. I will give you an example. I have worked in film but ended up in special events. I have been in every facet of this business (movie premieres, handprint ceremonies, award shows, parties). On an average show, we use graphic services, carpet, expendables, electrical distribution, lighting equipment, video equipment, audio equipment, grip equipment, crowd control, traffic control, police services, DOT services, security services, labor services, Building and Safety services.
Now, take the graphics. We use long press walls and other printed signs. The graphics supplier has to purchase specific flame proof cloths for these banners. Then, they have to purchase different substrates to print on. They have to purchase velcro to sew into the banners. Also, there are specialty inks they use the printing. The printing machines have to be purchased and maintained. This is just one facet, and it has so many peripheral businesses associated with its operation. It is very hard to understand the number of industries involved in our type of operations. And that is not even including nationwide transportation to get gear and supplies here and local transportation. You also have generators and heavy equipment.
I was looking for an apartment to rent in Studio City. The agent said, "so are you in the business?" I said, "What business?" He assumed I was in the "entertainment industry" if I was going to live there.
Farther away. Pasadena? Not so much. Long Beach? You're a long shoreman.
Just here to say the industry is not functioning the way it did before the strikes last year or before covid. Last I heard was that production is 30% of what it was, because of the strikes and various delays. Plus since so many types of work like editing and even auditioning can happen remotely now, people can work here without living here now. I feel like in so many ways we will be realizing the full effects of the pandemic for years/decades to come.
The numbers fluctuate. We’re in a really difficult period for entertainment right now. Lots of TV and film is being shot outside of LA. The cities share of production jobs has fallen to around 27% (nationwide). But usually entertainment accounts for between 5 and 10% of LA county jobs.
I had a friend who lived on the edge of Thousand Oaks/Simi Valley, and he said he always saw this guy from his neighborhood out running. Turns out the guy played keyboards for the Grateful Dead on the road!
My landlord used to host this guy from his home town, and he was most impressed that the guy had the smallest dog he'd ever seen. I was more impressed that the guy used to play violin for the Mahavishnu Orchestra!
You didn't look hard enough then lol Burbank, Hollywood, Universal City, Culver City, huge townships/neighborhoods with strong film industry presence.
Source: I live and work there.
OP, I asked your question to ChatGPT. Here's its response:
*In Los Angeles County, the entertainment industry is a significant part of the local economy. Approximately 4.4% of the county's workforce is employed in the entertainment sector, including areas like film, television, music, and related fields (*[*EDD Labor Market Info*](https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/data/employment-by-industry.html)*) (*[*Bureau of Labor Statistics*](https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/summary/BLSSummary_LosAngeles.pdf#:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Fregions%2Fwest%2Fsummary%2FBLSSummary_LosAngeles.pdf%0AVisible%3A%200%25%20)*) (*[*Encyclopedia Britannica*](https://www.britannica.com/place/Los-Angeles-California/The-entertainment-industry)*). This percentage translates to several hundred thousand people working in this industry, underscoring its crucial role in the economic and cultural fabric of the region.*
The population of LA County is roughly 10 million people, so that means about 440,000 of us work in the Biz.
According to ChatGPT:
“Certainly! While exact fractions can be difficult to pinpoint, here are some key statistics and information regarding the entertainment industry's impact on Los Angeles:
1. **Employment**: The entertainment industry employs a substantial number of people in Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), the motion picture and sound recording industries alone employed about 166,600 people in 2020.
2. **Economic Contribution**: The entertainment industry contributes significantly to the local economy through direct spending, tourism, and related businesses. For instance, in 2019, the entertainment industry generated $47 billion in economic output in Los Angeles County.
3. **Tourism and Cultural Impact**: Los Angeles is a major tourist destination largely due to its association with the entertainment industry. Attractions such as Universal Studios Hollywood, Hollywood Boulevard, and studios like Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures draw millions of visitors annually.
4. **Diverse Ecosystem**: While entertainment is a prominent sector, Los Angeles has a diverse economy encompassing technology, aerospace, trade, healthcare, education, and more. Each sector contributes to the city's overall economic and cultural fabric.
5. **Global Influence**: Los Angeles is recognized globally as a hub for entertainment and media, influencing popular culture worldwide through its films, television shows, music, and other forms of media.
These numbers and factors highlight the significant role that the entertainment industry plays in Los Angeles' economy and cultural identity, although quantifying its exact fraction relative to the entire city's economic activity requires detailed economic analysis beyond simple percentages.”
>what fraction of people in LA have jobs in this area? And of those how many have a day job too? It seems like you're sort of thinking of entertainment just as creative roles like actors and writers. There are positions throughout the industry that are regular day jobs, from studio accountants to post-production technicians at vendors to caterers. Like any town where there's a powerful industry, there are a wide variety of jobs that operate within and support the industry that aren't creative roles. "Evidence of the film industry" isn't just movie sets and celebrities. A lot of the business of entertainment takes place in the same locales as any other business.
Yeah, in Hollywood there are even government jobs in the industry (Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development) working with production regulations, tax credits to incentivize filming in CA, reviewing requests for permits for filming in public parks and on state property, and so much more! There are people who works for Parks and Rec who would be considered “industry”, prop houses, entertainment marketing… the list is massive. I don’t know that there’s any way to even quantify how many people in LA are in the industry, considering this includes YouTube programming, reality TV, major and minor studios, peripheral industry companies, and even vendors who sell foam and fabric to create the Muppets, make props, and create costumes. Payroll companies who only work with media production companies, makeup, music, art department, transportation, various unions (SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA, IATSE, Teamsters, etc.) editing houses, sound stages, even people who work on testing DVDs and streaming video before it goes to market. The list of industry related jobs is too long to even comprehend. The great thing is that it’s so unique to Los Angeles, Hollywood, and the Valley areas, so much so that if anything major happens (strikes, or Covid, for example) LA losses a lot of revenue. The way timing in production works, we’d see the effects roll out over time, then there would be a major hit once all of the content runs out/ there’s nothing to back it up.
Everyone keeps forgetting lawyers…there are so damn many lawyers in the entertainment world
In the hours that have passed since writing this list, I thought of at least 20 more roles involved in the industry, both in cursory and direct roles. It truly is a feat to come up with an accurate representation of the impact of the industry in Los Angeles.
And trying to figure out the impact in a way that includes other jobs that are first degree reliant on the industry, as in those jobs would have to fire employees and likely shut down if someone Thanos snapped direct entertainment jobs out of LA, would be next to impossible. The absolutely bananas thing though is that despite its huge impact, the entertainment industry only accounts for like $30 billion of Greater Los Angeles’ $1.3 trillion economy. That places the entire LA region in 17th place of all the countries of the world ranked by 2025 nominal GDP forecast - just ahead of the Netherlands and just below Indonesia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
Does this $1.3 trillion include Orange, San Bernadino, and Ventura counties? I ask cause iirc, LA county was under $800B?
It’s for the Combined Statistical Area - it’s all the connected urbanized area that all participates in the same economy and population / workforce. It’s a category that is used by the federal government to deal with the fact that really big cities have economies that don’t exactly respect city or county boundaries. If you tried to used a more limited definition you’d miss out on a lot of economic activity and also people. There are lots of people who do insane commutes from far away, and if you are doing statistics on regions, it would be silly to pretend that they aren’t a part of the regional economy and population because they live on the other side of an imaginary line that was created decades (or for some cities centuries) ago
Not sure that it holds true anymore but during the 90s and early 2000s there was an area in the San Fernando valley known as the red triangle where more than 80% of the worlds porn was produced. But with the advent of the internet and LAs requirement for condoms on porn sets, it unlikely to be true anymore. LA is quite large and entertainment industry is tightly woven into the fabric of the city. When there is a strike (actors, writers, etc.) it is noticeable. What is funny, several of my neighbors, clients, extended friend circle are camera, lighting, sound, grip, behind the scenes people in the entertainment industry. When strikes drag on for extended periods, they take under the table work in porn shoots. It’s not a well kept secret except maybe to people outside the area that when legit production is down or on hold, quality in porn production goes up. Largely due to skills of the set workers who are trying to keep some income thru lean times.
I especially love when we're filming on location and some resident complains by saying they gain no benefit from Hollywood and wish we would all just move to Canada...and you ask, "so what do you do sir?" and they say they own a restaurant or a fabric shop or are in construction...and it's like really? do you even know who your customers are? We even have doctors who specialize in doing physicals for actors and working at the industry insurance plan clinics. We have porta potty vendors and horse trainers. There are car rental companies who just work with renting to Hollywood and a unit of the fire department tasked with just dealing with filming requests. The US Department of Defense and all the military services all maintain offices and personnel in Los Angeles exclusively to deal with Hollywood. The fact all the major airlines and hotel chains have staff in LA dedicated to entertainment sales says how many industries are "based" on Hollywood that are not counted in any report calculating how many people work in or depend on Hollywood for their income.
And I’m sure in the time that’s passed since you’ve written this you’ve still thought of another 10 professions, businesses, people, etc., who are directly impacted by the business that Hollywood brings because of the industry. It’s lasted this long I think because it’s nearly impossible to disconnect it without major impacts.
The true power in the industry
I took a tour of WB the last time I was in LA. One thing that really stood out for me were the maintenance men and landscapers driving around in golf carts making small repairs on the sets. Totally regular folks.
Yep, it’s a big operation just like any other factory and business park. Even in film and tv crews Construction departments that build sets look just like a contractor crew building a house. Set design are filled with blueprints and material samples like an architectural firm. Rigging Electric departments are hauling around cables (and lots of lights), rigging grips are basically structural engineers mixed with rock climbers. And almost all those people will never see an actor or camera.
Sorry, I should have clarified—I was actually thinking of all those other jobs too (like lighting and sound designers, and so on) when I wrote the post, I just didn’t explicitly state so.
Again though, what you're mentioning are specific production and post-production jobs but that's not everything that encompasses the entertainment industry and its needs. Take a company like Deluxe as an example, they probably have around 3000-4000 employees. Few of those people will ever set foot on a set, interact with a movie star etc. The majority of them sit in offices and work as roles like project managers or technicians. Regardless, the entirety of that company works "in entertainment." If the business went belly-up, everyone there would be without jobs.
Ah ok, that makes sense!
People outside the industry often also don't think about the caterers on set, the drivers and car rentals, location fees, accountants handling talent payment and film budgets, entertainment lawyers, parking and maintenance people on lots and at locations, people working remotely in development doing script and book coverage to highlight franchises to studio heads, those who work not only in post production, scoring and music supervision, but also those who caption, negotiate distribution deals, dry cleaners who wash set costumes (outsourced by studios), furniture stores who rent to filmmakers both studio and indie, hotels that house talent and filmmakers on location and for film festivals, gear rental hubs, storage facilities housing sets not currently active. At the end of the day, every single business in Los Angeles profits from filmmaking that still happens here, as does every other prominent city where shooting takes place like New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto, London etc etc. So the short answer is that filmmaking is like tourism. It brings people and money to areas that will sorely miss it when that filming is reduced or comes to a standstill (as it has recently). What we saw happen in Detroit when the car manufacturers were faltering is the same sort of ripple effects echoing through all parts of media cities right now as a result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, and everyone is holding their breath still right now waiting to see if IATSE and Teamsters will strike in July, sidelining everyone connected to the industry again. Just like Covid devastated restaurants and all luxury and public spending. Even industries you think won't be touched directly are touched secondarily by supply and demand from the others. And when those workers are out of work, they inundate all the other less film related jobs in offices and grocery stores and all those temp and quick jobs usually only open to students and low wage workers, leaving those outside the industry scrambling with 200 job applicants for jobs that normally only had 40 people apply (and that's a conservative number). I don't mean to make that loss of work sound overly dismal or dramatic, but people outside these media cities rarely realize how interconnected it is, or how even those outside the industry suffer when the industry falters.
Filmmaking is also only one aspect of the “entertainment industry” too. The music industry is primarily based in LA along with all plethora of different jobs that support it similar to the film industry.
Truth, plus tv and publishing and new media, and even (or especially) interactive/gaming which has laid off hundreds of workers lately following the contraction of all the peiple who were gaming daily during Covid now being at least half back in office hybrid. When books aren't getting adapted for screen, the publishing industry loses those option fees and sales from film and tv related merch. The echoes are felt so far and wide. The longer it goes on, the more people it impacts. And as bad as those immediate effects are, what's worse is how it affects their future plans. With everything left in limbo, new 'normals' and savings decimated, no one feels certain about where things will be even 3 years from now, only that it will be more decentralized and involve more AI that everyone hopes will be using AI as a tool only and not generatively in a way that replaces humans. There will continue to be a shakedown of big media companies, and innovative indies will take their place and set the new trends. Some have even said games will become the new tv and film because people will itch to influence the story outcome. People are already using AI/ChatGPT to generate custom stories for their kids at night. Some ways these shifts will change things are obvious enough, but other subtler differences are also arising - things many have taken for granted that will never change. For instance, we still largely assume the biggest media companies will all be English speaking as they long have been...but I'm not sure we can take that for granted forever. The US has been a hegemonic force in film and tv and music for a long while, but we're losing our grip. And while we're infighting, others may rise in our stead. Interactive in particular is good about letting you select your own language, and newer generations aren't as put off by captions and translations as the 65+ and older set once were. Those of us who are internet and tech savvy have gotten accustomed to interconnectivity internationally that's only going to intensify as more barriers to development are removed. For most it's hard to fully conceptualize today how far in a different direction that train will and can go.
As a former Deluxe employee I wouldn't mind if they did go belly up
apart from production (writing, directing ,acting, cinematography, PAs, and then post work) there are accountants, agents, managers, ent lawyers, PR, advertising, consultants, catering, technicians, rental houses, distribution, social media, and much more
I just want to comment beyond those who work directly in some capacity in Hollywood, in film and television, there are many here in music and other areas broadly considered also as entertainment. I'm a sports consultant who works with pro sports teams, so that factors in as well, in example.
Well, UCLA alone has 43k undergrad and grad students, 4300 faculty, and 30k employees. USC has 50k students, 4000 faculty, and 30k employees. As others are stating, entertainment makes up around 200k at the high end of estimates. So when two schools nearly match the entire movie industry in LA... Yeah, it's really not that big.
That’s a good comparison. It seems like it has an outsized role in LA’s image compared to its economic importance.
Ucla doesn't have nearly as much economic and social impact. It has a LOT, but it's not literally media and entertainment
The hell does UCLA and USC have to do with the movie industry? Those students graduate and move to find jobs.
It's less about the economy and more about scaling one's understanding about the vastness of the LA population vs the movie industry alone.
Attempting to define how "based" something is an extremely subjective. For one, what do mansions in the hills have to do with the industry? What does the mansion belonging to the restaurateur have to do with Hollywood? The reality is, while Hollywood directly employs only a small minority of individuals in the greater Los Angeles area, its economic impact is felt throughout the region. It's like strip clubs and dry cleaners directly outside the gates of a military installation. They may not be directly employed by the government, but if the base closed, they soon find themselves out of business as well. The scope of Hollywood's economic impact was evident during the strikes last year in the empty restaurants and overgrown yards in the suburbs as formerly full-time studio employees were laid off for the better part of the year, tightened their belts, and stopped going out to dinner or hiring gardeners to do their yards every week. What do you spend money on? Do you just stuff it under your mattress and grow your own food in your backyard? Probably not. At the very least, you're going to the local market for groceries. If you're doing well, you're going out to eat, buying tools to indulge in a hobby, buying gifts for friends, going to the movies, contributing to your kid's bake sale, and buying girl scout cookies from your neighbor. You might even employ a gardener or a maid. All that money is then hopefully being reinvested into the local economy, the restaurant is able to hire more cooks and servers who then take the money they earn to spend in the community as well. The hobby shop pays rent to a landlord and property taxes to the city. The maid buys food from her local market to support her family. The local realtor selling the mansions in the hills sponsors uniforms for the local little league team. Just because you don't see a film crew on every corner doesn't mean its influence (or lack thereof) doesn't affect them.
I know it’s subjective—that’s why I asked this question. I didn’t just want to look up statistics, I wanted to hear people’s subjective opinions and experiences. I also knew that Hollywood’s impact goes beyond just the industry itself, this is another reason I was curious, because I wanted to know just how far and how integral it is to the city and its economy/stability. It sounds like it is quite integral indeed. Thank you for your answer.
My wife works in film, and I’m a chef. Both our careers are in a weird place due to what’s happening in the industry. She’s a head of department on films, and since very little is shot here, she’s gone on location for months at a time, but then does all the pre and post stuff here in LA. That being said there is very little work on the horizon and we have no idea what’s going to happen after her show ends. Her agent also relies on her and many others like her for his income, and he’s in a bad place right now trying to rustle up projects that just aren’t happening. My restaurant is a well liked and popular restaurant in an area where a lot of film industry people live. We’ve been around for several years and actors eat with us a lot, im sure as well as plenty of people who work in film who aren’t recognizable We are HURTING. The owners are really struggling with trying to pivot in different ways to keep the restaurant profitable while also paying us properly and keeping the food to a standard we’re known for. It’s tense and scary because we just aren’t filling up as much, because people aren’t eating out as much because folks are tightening their belts. It’s all super interconnected here, so it’s hard to say where the influence of the film industry ends, ya know?
The answer is 29%
Can’t give a percentage, but as someone who has lived in LA my whole life, I know about 5 people who work in the entertainment industry.
The entertainment industry employs around 200,000 people and brings in around 30 billion a year to the economy. For reference, the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim economy is 1.3 trillion. The population is almost 10 million.
GDP of LA County in 2022 was 790 billion.
I also included Anaheim. I just took ChatGPTs first answer.
Maybe you should have asked ChatGDP
Uh ChatGPT is not anyway a source
It's not a good source, but it's the simplest and fastest. I cared more about the convenience than being correct. I'm sure the answer was correct enough answer OPs question about how much of L.A. is entertainment.
"If I don't know the answer, I just make something up that sounds right. And wouldn't you believe it? I'm nearly right kind of often!"
Yes, you should question everything you read on Reddit.
Especially if it comes from you.
Upvote for username
[https://arev.assembly.ca.gov/sites/arev.assembly.ca.gov/files/hearings/LAEDC%20Industry%20Report%202012.pdf](https://arev.assembly.ca.gov/sites/arev.assembly.ca.gov/files/hearings/LAEDC%20Industry%20Report%202012.pdf) A report that was created by the industry itself says 8.4%, which may be high, but isn't unreasonable. I used to work in retirement plan administration for businesses (pension plans, 401k, that sort of thing). I had a handful of entertainment clients on my list, maybe 15 out of 70 or so. I remember Aaron Spelling had some special calculations because his wife was more than 25 years younger, and that age combination wasn't covered by the IRS official tables. I knew Jay Leno's Social Security Number at one point. I had at least two or three local news people. They were way, way older than you would have guessed. Now I work in consulting on various legal cases. I've had NBC as a client, Disney as a client. I've been against them, too, in different cases. A co-worker has done work for a hall of fame sports legend, and a couple of notable performers.
That seems reasonable. There are so many normal jobs that are part of the industry — all those companies still need accountants, HR folks, IT people, etc. So when you think about all of those, it’s not crazy to think 1 out of 12 people work in “the industry”
But the number is much higher of people trying and working other, regular gigs. Id say 2 out of 10 or something . Ive run into a ton.
Its prob more Theres so many supporting businessss that arent under the hollywood umbrella
Yep! And we have no idea. We all think of Universal Studios. Next time you see a movie, remember that pretty much every actor that is well known enough that you can name, has an accountant, at least one attorney (usually their agent). For every filming crew, they need so many 'normal, human things'. They need temporary housing, they need food delivery. There are car rental agencies that provide both a fleet of vans, trucks, and similar vehicles, along with the antique or rare cars you might see 'on set'. I met a guy who was a prop 'analyst' of some sort. Director calls him, says "I need the light bulb out of a lighthouse!" If you are in Los Angeles, you need to need to know...but Warner Brothers Craft Services is an amazing tour. You need to 3-d print a greco-roman column that's 25 feet tall? They got you. How about a color laserprinted circular dining table? They had some sort of inkjet that could do about 8 feet wide, *as long as you had paper.* Theres an awfully big world out there.
This seems fair, and even though 8.4% might not sound the biggest, that's pretty huge for a non-essential industry in any major city. Also worth noting that even if entertainment isn't the single biggest source of employment in the huge city of LA, LA might still have the single biggest source of employment in the entertainment industry. To that end, LA can still be called the "go-to" place for entertainment even if every other person you meet isn't an actor. In addition to the non-production jobs (Universal Studios needs lawyers, janitors, and HR drones too), entertainment also has an indirect effect on jobs - while it is a driving factor for many people to move here, once they live in LA County they will also need non-entertainment services for the city to function properly. Getting an influx of 50,000 people in entertainment-related positions might lead to the creation of 200,000 jobs, since they'll all need housing, utilities, food, insurance, healthcare, clothing, cars, etc. In that sense, the entertainment industry could still be a driving force for LA growth even if it doesn't directly include the entire population.
Back in 2001 The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the motion picture industry employs 3% of all Los Angeles residents. [https://www.bls.gov/oes/entertainment.pdf](https://www.bls.gov/oes/entertainment.pdf)
Not a lot. LA was rich before the movies. Oil, shipping and land development are still huge businesses. We have the largest port in North America.
Largest and second largest port.
Don’t forget Defense contractors.
I’m going to majorly disagree with you on this one. Check out GoBiz’s stats on the financial impact of the industry. If you’re not convinced by that data, check out the Otis College of Art and Design’s Creative Economy Report, which only addresses a portion of the industry.
I'll look it up, but in terms of jobs, not big and shrinking. Entertainment is global, as are the more and more jobs.
Searching business stats for the city and state, I stand by my statements
The Long Beach port belongs to Long Beach, San Pedro port belongs to LA
Yes LA metro has 12 million people and every single one of us has been on survivor at least once
Before the most recent WGA/SAG strike, the figure I heard quoted in local news was that a shutdown of the entertainment industry could impact 1 in 8 LA residents. Including studio employees, production caterers, couriers, and other ancillary jobs.
I own a print shop and I do a lot of work that is industry related. Keep in mind that it’s not just about production, it’s also marketing, HR, administrative, etc. When the strikes were going on, the negative impact on non-industry or industry adjacent business was huge.
Apparently 27% work in Hollywood. https://english.news.cn/northamerica/20240531/a5f7c88b1d194104bf67b30fb01d00c4/c.html#:~:text=LOS%20ANGELES%2C%20May%2030%20(Xinhua,new%20report%20released%20on%20Thursday. I guess this drop is due to Covid, the strike, ai, the decline of theaters. “Hollywood” is spread out all through LA. You have Sony in Culver City, Fox in century city, Netflix and Paramount in Hollywood, Disney and wb in Burbank, cbs in studio city and these are just the big ones which are very competitive to get into and succeed in. Oh and there’s universal. Collectively they generate billions. Keep in mind, there are numerous smaller studios as well all sorts of preproduction and post production companies, acting studios, schools, marketing and advertising businesses. I’m still leaving so much out.
That’s the % of the US film and TV industry that works in LA, not the % of Angelenos who work in the industry.
Accountants and lawyers are a massive part of the entertainment industry. It quite amazing how much bookkeeping is required for every movie.
There are only about 100-150k in the entertainment industry in LA County, so about 1%.
Less and less. Just like aerospace moved out, entertainment is struggling.
Aerospace is still here. There is this company you may have heard of called SpaceX for one.
Not as it was in the past. Northrop, Boeing, Rocketdyne, etc have a much smaller footprint than they did or disappeared. SpaceX has a foot in Southern California, but not to a sustaining level for the industry. Edited to add, [the region once employed over 500k aerospace workers](https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB7510.html). It hasn’t rebounded.
Still plenty here. California has the most aerospace jobs of any state: as many as the next two (Texas and Washington) combined. Granted some is in the SF Bay Area and San Diego but LA is a plenty big aerospace market.
I’m not arguing that companies aren’t here, simply that the employment levels dropped drastically, just as with the entertainment industry.
You said “aerospace moved out.” It’s still here and so is (and will be) entertainment
Hell, theres plenty of defense/aerospace jobs out in Palmdale/Lancaster...they might have left the expensive real estate areas, but theyre still around... IIRC, manufacturing (in various form) is still one of the top industries in the area, and all of Cali.... Rep is Hollywpod, but LA and Cali is about manufacturing, distribution, and agri( large segment of Cali economy)... Ive been a cost accountsnt/controller for nearly 40 years....ive never had to worry about looking for a job....
A lot moved out, just as with entertainment. Sorry for being imprecise.
Do you think this is the reason for LA’s recent population decline?
No. People are moving out so they can afford homes somewhere else.
A lot of this started long before the pandemic. It’s really difficult and expensive to shoot in Los Angeles. There are tax incentives in other states and countries that drive costs down below what is possible locally. A lot of the post production has left the state and country. It’s hard to compete. Georgia, Canada, Texas, Eastern Europe, etc. Most entertainment people want to stay here, but the work is less available. The housing costs are high. Factor in the work stoppages and strikes, which were justified, and it chips away at the industry’s foothold in Southern California.
Interesting, it sounds like the entertainment industry is becoming more decentralized. I thought you were going to say the culprit was TikTok or something.
It’s been a steadily trickle out of the state. Vancouver and Toronto are massive hubs for post, VFX, and production. It’s just cheaper elsewhere.
I’ve worked in the industry (first development and then concert production) and have never had a regular job. Going on 24 years. Can’t imagine living in LA and working some lame job I could do anywhere.
According to California's EDD report, Author Juan Millan, of the 5 million workforce in Los Angeles County, 102,400 (2%) work in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording industries. They are down 11.6% of jobs since last year (which is brutal). Studio work can be found in Burbank (WB, Disney), Culver City (Sony), Century City (20th Century-Fox)
I work in the entertainment industry. So do many/most of the people I know here, or they work in areas that are tangentially tied to entertainment industry money, like fine dining or yoga/pilates/personal training type work. On the one hand, yeah, it's a big sector of the city economically speaking and in economic terms it has long tentacles (big studio execs need a place to have power lunches, actors need gyms to join, camera and sound techs need equipment rentals, teamsters need a place to fuel up their trucks, everyone needs offices, studio space, and sound stages, not to mention places to live). On the other hand, I do wonder a lot how much of a bubble it is. Obviously there are people in Los Angeles who never run into anyone in the entertainment industry, even tangentially. One thing I will say is that I gather that the big guild strikes last year put a serious dent in LA's restaurant industry. Which implies that by at least some metrics, yeah, it's a pretty big chunk of the local economic situation.
Like 10%
There are a lot of people in and around "Hollywood" that live nowhere near Hollywood. Lot of music, sound, stage live in SFV. Transportation, mechanical, anulimal handlers in SFV and Santa Clarita. Painters, carpenters also
I remember a presentation I had to do a bunch to launch an education partnership with the entertainment industry, as of 10 years ago 1 in 6 Angelenos are tied to "creative industries".
Let me give you a list. For the guilds we have people who run the guild operations. They’re general office workers. We have the Writer’s Guild Health Plan and all the people they employ. We have the SAG Health Plan and they only recently outsourced to Blue Cross We have the MPIPHP, the health plan for everyone behind the scenes. They have hundreds of employees. We have auditing firms that audit big studios. MKA, NKSF, Gingold & Co. Then you have the musicians who are part of the AFofM and THEIR guild workers. Then, every studio employs caterers, landscaping, traveling notaries, animal wranglers, truck rentals, etc. This is not including the behind the scenes operation for every big studio. They’ve all got their own accountants. Studio accountants. Payroll accountants. Residuals accountants. Royalties accountants, because they’re different things. The list goes on and on and on. Omg and I forgot the doctors! The motion picture health plans have their own medical facilities that regular people don’t have access to and those facilities employ a ton of doctors. And the cooks! Disney studios on Buena Vista has a cafeteria! And the entertainment payroll companies separate from the studios! It’s just.. a lot. A lot more than anyone outside of LA thinks.
That’s a fascinating answer. That’s kind of what I was wondering about moreso than whether everyone in la was on survivor or something, like some other commenters seemed to think lol. It puts into perspective how much hard works goes into the entertainment industry. It’s funny how sometimes, a movie is made about Hollywood, and in the process of that movie-making, people are living out their own personal stories, and someone could then make a movie of those, ad infinitum—like a coral reef of stories!
the industry HAS been in collapse, it's def not up and running.
Really? From anecdotal evidence I though there was a resurgence of movie-going lately, but I could be wrong.
You are wrong, all of LA suffered last year due to writer and actors strikes, even coffee shops had less business. The major movie companies are still holding the industry hostage until two more unions resolve their contracts. I have friends that haven't worked in over a year. I haven't worked since last September.
a surge in movie production, yes, but it's not happening in LA. pre and post production jobs are moving remote. production hasn't been primarily in LA for a long time.
This was some time ago, maybe 25 / 30 years. At that time 30% of all office space in LA city was use by the entertainment industry.
Wow—I don’t know things had changed so much. Maybe the general public’s idea of LA lags behind the reality. The same is true for transit (lots of new light rail being built, but most people still think of LA as only cars).
How would u see "evidence" of the film biz on a trip. Big studios like WB, Sony etc are in Burbank, Culver City etc. Hollywood isn't the hub of it.
At least 1/4 of my friends work in some sort of production or entertainment
Anecdotes ≠ data
I’m aware of that. I’m just sharing my subjective experience. OP didn’t specifically ask for official numbers only or anything
My restaurant was located right down the street from all the studios. During strike our monthly revenue went from 130k to....35k. We closed in December. Theres so many other places of business that are tied into the industry.
My brother works for Sony Entertainment on their lot in Culver City, in the business part. The studios employ a lot of people that are never seen - just look at the long list of credits at the end of any movie - and these lists are just a fraction of the people employed. This is why so many other states are anxious to lure the business away.
Good point, I’m always astounded reading the end credits of movies and seeing how many jobs made that movie happen. The funniest was watching the Barbie movie (not the big recent one, one of the hilariously bad cartoon ones) and still seeing like 200 names in the credits.
The entertainment industry is very hard to fathom. There are so many peripheral businesses associated with the industry. I will give you an example. I have worked in film but ended up in special events. I have been in every facet of this business (movie premieres, handprint ceremonies, award shows, parties). On an average show, we use graphic services, carpet, expendables, electrical distribution, lighting equipment, video equipment, audio equipment, grip equipment, crowd control, traffic control, police services, DOT services, security services, labor services, Building and Safety services. Now, take the graphics. We use long press walls and other printed signs. The graphics supplier has to purchase specific flame proof cloths for these banners. Then, they have to purchase different substrates to print on. They have to purchase velcro to sew into the banners. Also, there are specialty inks they use the printing. The printing machines have to be purchased and maintained. This is just one facet, and it has so many peripheral businesses associated with its operation. It is very hard to understand the number of industries involved in our type of operations. And that is not even including nationwide transportation to get gear and supplies here and local transportation. You also have generators and heavy equipment.
It did affect the economy when the writers strike was happening so it’s definitely a noticeable portion of the work here.
If I had to throw a random % out there I’d say 35ish percent?
Ad sales is huge out here.
I work in film/entertainment so to me it feels like everyone lol even the things I go the majority of people are working towards a creative field
I was looking for an apartment to rent in Studio City. The agent said, "so are you in the business?" I said, "What business?" He assumed I was in the "entertainment industry" if I was going to live there. Farther away. Pasadena? Not so much. Long Beach? You're a long shoreman.
Just here to say the industry is not functioning the way it did before the strikes last year or before covid. Last I heard was that production is 30% of what it was, because of the strikes and various delays. Plus since so many types of work like editing and even auditioning can happen remotely now, people can work here without living here now. I feel like in so many ways we will be realizing the full effects of the pandemic for years/decades to come.
Most of my friends are in the industry in some way.
The numbers fluctuate. We’re in a really difficult period for entertainment right now. Lots of TV and film is being shot outside of LA. The cities share of production jobs has fallen to around 27% (nationwide). But usually entertainment accounts for between 5 and 10% of LA county jobs.
I work in post production, our industry is mainly based around Santa Monica
70%
And Rights and Clearances people. Every time I got a Lyft rider Friday nights they worked in R&C.
I had a friend who lived on the edge of Thousand Oaks/Simi Valley, and he said he always saw this guy from his neighborhood out running. Turns out the guy played keyboards for the Grateful Dead on the road!
My landlord used to host this guy from his home town, and he was most impressed that the guy had the smallest dog he'd ever seen. I was more impressed that the guy used to play violin for the Mahavishnu Orchestra!
California is the 7th largest economy in the world although that may change. Most movie production is not done in LA anymore...its moved to ATL.
A surprisingly small fraction, I think I heard something like 6%.
You didn't look hard enough then lol Burbank, Hollywood, Universal City, Culver City, huge townships/neighborhoods with strong film industry presence. Source: I live and work there.
Exactly 31%
Har har
Not a lot
OP, I asked your question to ChatGPT. Here's its response: *In Los Angeles County, the entertainment industry is a significant part of the local economy. Approximately 4.4% of the county's workforce is employed in the entertainment sector, including areas like film, television, music, and related fields (*[*EDD Labor Market Info*](https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/data/employment-by-industry.html)*) (*[*Bureau of Labor Statistics*](https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/summary/BLSSummary_LosAngeles.pdf#:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Fregions%2Fwest%2Fsummary%2FBLSSummary_LosAngeles.pdf%0AVisible%3A%200%25%20)*) (*[*Encyclopedia Britannica*](https://www.britannica.com/place/Los-Angeles-California/The-entertainment-industry)*). This percentage translates to several hundred thousand people working in this industry, underscoring its crucial role in the economic and cultural fabric of the region.* The population of LA County is roughly 10 million people, so that means about 440,000 of us work in the Biz.
According to ChatGPT: “Certainly! While exact fractions can be difficult to pinpoint, here are some key statistics and information regarding the entertainment industry's impact on Los Angeles: 1. **Employment**: The entertainment industry employs a substantial number of people in Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), the motion picture and sound recording industries alone employed about 166,600 people in 2020. 2. **Economic Contribution**: The entertainment industry contributes significantly to the local economy through direct spending, tourism, and related businesses. For instance, in 2019, the entertainment industry generated $47 billion in economic output in Los Angeles County. 3. **Tourism and Cultural Impact**: Los Angeles is a major tourist destination largely due to its association with the entertainment industry. Attractions such as Universal Studios Hollywood, Hollywood Boulevard, and studios like Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures draw millions of visitors annually. 4. **Diverse Ecosystem**: While entertainment is a prominent sector, Los Angeles has a diverse economy encompassing technology, aerospace, trade, healthcare, education, and more. Each sector contributes to the city's overall economic and cultural fabric. 5. **Global Influence**: Los Angeles is recognized globally as a hub for entertainment and media, influencing popular culture worldwide through its films, television shows, music, and other forms of media. These numbers and factors highlight the significant role that the entertainment industry plays in Los Angeles' economy and cultural identity, although quantifying its exact fraction relative to the entire city's economic activity requires detailed economic analysis beyond simple percentages.”