Mayor Garcetti debuts new film marketing effort

A day before the Oscars, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti rolled out his own Hollywood campaign.

Garcetti said his film office would begin a push over the next two months to promote the state’s newly expanded film tax credits.

“Our entertainment industry is essential to our city’s identity and economy and this campaign represents the next step in a strategic agenda to ensure Los Angeles remains the entertainment capital of the world,” Garcetti said in a statement. “We’re launching this campaign to make sure decision-makers understand all of the incentives we can provide for filming in L.A.”

The state last year approved a measure to triple annual funding for California’s film and TV tax-credit program to $330 million in an effort to stem the flight of film jobs to other states and countries.

The bill, which takes effect this year, also will allow more projects, including large-budget features, to qualify for incentives.

As The Times reported last week, Garcetti and his staff want to make sure studios take advantage of the new incentives ahead of the new program’s rollout.

Called “Greenlight Hollywood,” the campaign will target the greenlight committees of major studios and talent agencies, managers and financiers to promote Los Angeles as a film destination.

Keeping Hollywood in California has been one of Garcetti’s top priorities. He was scheduled to announce the campaign Saturday at a symposium for makeup artists and hair stylists in Beverly Hills.

“The heart and soul of the entertainment industry are the artisans, craftspeople and tradespeople who you never see on screen, and that’s who this campaign is all about,” Garcetti said. “We’re going to knock on every decision-maker’s door and tell them to Greenlight Hollywood.”

Entertainment industry attorney Ken Ziffren, who is the city’s film czar, and his deputy Rajiv Dalal, will enlist a group of volunteer labor, production and marketing executives to identify film and TV projects that would be beneficial to shoot locally.