Amid the Glitterati, Hayden Touts the Creative Arts

Joined by Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and other Hollywood celebrities at a fund-raiser in Studio City, 5th District City Council candidate Tom Hayden proposed Tuesday that the city take more of a leading role in making sure Los Angeles remains a major entertainment industry hub.

At the star-studded event expected to raise about $20,000 for his campaign, Hayden said his goals go beyond seeking to stem the tide of runaway production. He said he wants to invigorate the city’s cultural climate so that it produces new generations of actors, filmmakers, singers, dancers and artists.

Hayden called for an increase in the city Cultural Affairs Department’s $12-million budget and an expansion of its role to provide young people with better artistic education and training so they are prepared to enter the entertainment industry.

“I see the creative arts as the heart of L.A.,” Hayden said in an interview before the fund-raiser at the Sportsmen’s Lodge. “It is not only important to the Los Angeles economy, but it’s the soul of the city and what it’s known for.”

A former state senator, Hayden also said he supports state tax credit programs to keep film and television production in California as long as there is monitoring to make sure it is achieving the intended effect.

“My first hearing in the Legislature 20 years ago was on runaway production,” he said. “That’s when nobody was talking about it much. Since then we’ve evolved into a global economy.”

He also supported further streamlining of the city film permitting process.

“What people complain about is red tape,” said Hayden, a front-runner among 11 candidates vying in the April 10 election to represent a council district that extends from Westwood to Van Nuys.

The film and television industry spent $31 billion in Los Angeles County last year, making it a key economic sector for the area.

As home, not only to many entertainers, but also to a large number of writers, directors and film craftspeople, the 5th District has been a hotbed of discontent over the flight of film and television production work to Canada and other locales that offer tax credits and other favorable conditions.

As a result, the problem of runaway production and preserving the city’s entertainment industry has become a major issue in the council contest.

Community activist Laura Lake, another candidate in the race, supports the state’s providing tax credits to production companies that stay in California. She said she believes local permitting agencies need to be more accommodating.

“The permitting process in the city is very expensive and cumbersome,” she said.

The Entertainment Industry Development Corp. provides one-stop film permitting for a $450 administrative fee in addition to other charges for service, such as providing firefighters, but the agency does not handle permits for all Los Angeles departments and all county cities.

Political consultant Jill Barad, another candidate, said the city should also offer tax breaks to firms that film in Los Angeles.

The city can help make Los Angeles more attractive to the film industry by making sure local public schools graduate students with skills to work in the business, according to Jack Weiss, a former federal prosecutor who is running for the council seat.

“The film industry is digitizing more and is more dependent on computers and high technology,” Weiss said. “We need to recognize that the higher-education challenge is relevant to making sure people are properly trained to go into that end of the business.”