A Neighborhood in L.A., Hollywood, Was the Movie Industry

Past tense. From Stephen Green at PJ Media: Say Goodbye to Hollywood... If It Even Exists Anymore

Hollywood and Los Angeles were once so inextricably intertwined that you could hardly mention one without picturing the other. So much more than just a neighborhood in central Los Angeles, Hollywood simply was the entertainment industry — a name that conjured all the glamour, glitz, beauty, wealth, thrills, and tabloid debauchery of a magical place that could only exist in America.

Say "Hollywood" in the 1980s, and people didn't think of that neighborhood in Los Angeles, they thought of the movie industry.

Steve Martin's 1991 movie L.A. Story was a "love letter to a version of Los Angeles" that was already on its way to being history.

It's been decades since film and TV production began decamping from Los Angeles to Toronto, British Columbia, Georgia, the U.K., and... Hungary? Yes, Hungary. Pretty much anywhere but Los Angeles. But the trend accelerated in recent years. The city has lost 40% or more of its production jobs from COVID-era peaks. Remember, those are the industry "grunts," as it were, who were middle class and far more conservative than the Hollywood elites.

Now Paramount is decamping for either Georgia, Tennessee, or Texas. That is whether or not (I think not) California stops the Warner Brothers merger. And if the merger goes through that will be the end of Hollywood. If the merger doesn't go through, Warner Bros. will go bankrupt, be broken up and sold off for parts, so same impact on Hollywood.

And none of the considers the move to film everything in the UK.

Click thru for more on the past, the politics surrounding the merger, and a Musical Interlude from Billy Joel.