Spanning outdoor, print, web and TV advertising as well as public service spots that will run in select Los Angeles movie theaters, a two-year marketing campaign is getting underway to raise awareness of the positive economic and cultural benefits generated by local filming in Greater L.A.–and to underscore the challenges local businesses face as a result of runaway production.
Dubbed Film Works, the marketing effort is being spearheaded by FilmL.A., the private, not-for-profit community organization that coordinates and processes film permits for on-location motion picture, TV and commercial production throughout much of Los Angeles. FilmL.A. is part of a coalition of entertainment industry, community and government partners behind the marketing plan.
Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., explained that the objective of the campaign is threefold. “We seek to promote filming in Los Angeles, thank area neighborhoods for hosting filming, and renew local appreciation for filming’s economic benefits. We’ve received very enthusiastic responses from local elected officials, union members, representatives from the major studios and small businesses that supply the industry. We’ll be counting on their support going forward to help Film Works raise awareness.”
This stakeholder-driven marketing campaign hopes to help create an environment–politically and among residents at a grass-root community level–conducive to encouraging production in Los Angeles.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) noted that Film Works makes sense for L.A. in that “half a million people in the region depend on a thriving local film industry for their livelihoods. We can keep jobs in Los Angeles if we can find creative ways to keep filming here at home and in the state.
The campaign also has direct outreach as a component through a newly launched website, www.filmworksla.com.
Furthermore, Angelenos will see the campaign’s black and yellow brand logo on area billboards and street furniture beginning in January. Not long after, the Film Works logo will appear on film production vehicles, with the sides of film trucks parked on-location carrying messages of thanks to communities that welcome filming.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More