Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, aware of the city’s worsening production crisis—now a flashpoint in her reelection bid—appointed a photography czar to serve as the liaison between entertainment production and city departments. Steve Kang, an experienced community affairs executive, began last year running the Board of Public Works. Talk to Hollywood Reporter Turn deadline diplomacy into collaboration with producers who burn through the budget by the minute, fellow municipal bureaucrats who have their own fiefdoms and other stakeholders, from NIMBY residents to small business owners.
Define your role, as it relates to the industry.
The mayor has really empowered me to cut through the bureaucracy to resolve any permit or film issues for the entire city of Los Angeles. This has been a request of the industry for a very long time – that you put a high-ranking person in the city who can see the complex intricacies of the city to solve all the problems.
Let’s use the last induction about Baywatch Restart as shown in Figure A.
There was a lot of misinformation. As for the city, I knew firsthand that we were doing the best we could. [The producers] They were originally going to film in Australia but eventually decided to return to Los Angeles. So, for my part, I wanted to roll out the red carpet.
They set up a temporary lifeguard structure on Venice Beach. There have been issues with our building and safety department. There were also some gray areas involving beaches [themselves]. I was able to help out and provide a quick review. At the direction of the mayor and council member of that district, we are offering a 20 percent discount on production on our city lot in Venice Beach, which will impact their budget.
We’ve also had calls with our counterparts in Los Angeles County. I think where[[Baywatch]We were arrested at Beaches and Harbors, which is an area of county jurisdiction. The production team wanted to do things that are not currently allowed, but we are working on the process. Some people took this to social media and it was blown out of proportion.
We are all grounded in doing this Baywatch success. On the city side, we really provided white glove service. Currently, the show is being filmed on Venice Beach.
One of the major challenges facing shooting in Southern California is the overlap between multiple county and state jurisdictions, including agencies such as the Coastal Commission.
I think it would be helpful for different jurisdictions to have someone like me. I know that in the county I work very closely with the film office there. We really locked arms. Starting this May, we will hold a quarterly joint meeting with our partners [respective municipal] departments because we face the same challenges.
Surprisingly, this has not already happened.
I am amazed myself. Historically, this has not been done. Everyone was very isolated in terms of having their own teams. I don’t know why this hasn’t happened before really. This is common sense.
It helps to have senior film executives who can actually sort out the issues. One of the things that Baywatch We were asked in one of our recent meetings at Fox that they wanted someone who could make executive decisions within minutes because things change so quickly given the nature of filming. Of course this is not the case Baywatch-specific. So, we’re working on providing that level of concierge service, but I think because other jurisdictions don’t have that hotline or that one person, they just have to call a lot of different people to get approvals. But at least here in this city, it’s been simplified. I can answer the phone and even call the sheriff if I need a problem resolved.
What other problems are you often asked to solve with productions in Los Angeles?
A lot of things are not exciting. For example, a week after my hiring was announced, I heard from industry members because they had seen on social media that our Department of Transportation was installing concrete barriers in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. You know, this is one of the most popular filming locations around Los Angeles, because we can dress it up like New York or Chicago—any metropolitan area. The fact that the city was installing concrete barriers would have spoiled the footage.
So, how can I solve this? Not within weeks, but within hours. The Department of Transportation’s mission is to save lives in public right-of-way. I need to balance both circuits. I was able to speak directly to DOT leadership. We have found common ground. When production begins in that particular area, the Department of Transportation will remove the concrete barriers and then reinstall them, and no expenses will be incurred due to production.
Not all issues are with government agencies.
right. For example, the Hollywood Sign is a popular place for filming. But what some people don’t understand is that the residents who live underneath it, on the narrow streets, don’t like being overrun by crews, and there are also intellectual property issues with the sign. Therefore, you have to create a beautiful plan with the participation of traffic officers, park rangers and homeowners associations. Everyone must be notified. You do those things in the background and you no Make headlines.
The common thread is that all of this requires immediate assistance and guidance from the city.
