# LA’s Film Liaison Gives Update On Local Production Woes, Asks Lawmakers For “Additional Support” During City Council Meeting

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/las-film-liaison-gives-update-on-local-production-woes-asks-lawmakers-for-additional-support-during-city-council-meeting/
- Published: 2026-09-10T01:09:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-10T01:17:45+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/09/los-angeles-film-liaison-local-city-council-update-1237072994/
- Topics: Business, Cricket, Entertainment, Film, Markets, Software, Sport, Technology

## Key points

- LA council grilled officials on speeding up film/TV production permitting.
- Film liaison Steve Kang cited Baywatch's smooth permitting as a model.
- Kang asked for more funding and staff after a position was frozen.

## Summary

Los Angeles city councilmembers held the first meeting of a new Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment and Creative Industry on Wednesday, questioning city officials for hours on how to make it easier to shoot film and TV productions in the city. The session centred on chief film liaison Steve Kang, who was appointed by Mayor Karen Bass in August 2025 to cut red tape in permitting and regulatory processes and to help retain and win back productions, and who used the meeting to request more staff and funding to expand his office's efforts.

Kang cited the "concierge service" given to Fox's Baywatch reboot, which required coordinating the city, county, state coastal commission, lifeguards, beaches and harbor department, and the film commission, as evidence his approach can work, though he acknowledged it would be hard to replicate that level of support across all productions given that the city's film office effectively consists of him alone. He told the committee, chaired by Adrin Nazarian with vice chair Traci Park and member Imelda Padilla, that an approved extra position on the Board of Public Works had been frozen until January due to budget constraints, and asked lawmakers for "additional support" to staff up the concierge service; Nazarian said he would look into the staffing concerns.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.