Garcetti wants to lift city fees on TV production in the area, and the entertainment industry is applauding the move.
A busy day on the set of the show "Major Crimes": Camera operators, carpenters, grips, dozens of jobs. Brian Hill heads the production of the show.
"I have a family to support, single income. I don't know what I would do without it," said Hill.
Mayor Garcetti came to Raleigh Studios to sign an ordinance that will waive fees charged for television pilots shot in Los Angeles. Garcetti hopes it's just the beginning to keep these productions in the area. Some are leaving, drawn by incentives and subsidies offered by other states and countries.
"If this helps us land a pilot, it's more likely to help us land a series. If we land a series that's picked up, long-term good-paying jobs will be here in Los Angeles," said Garcetti.
The mayor says the hard part will be convincing the legislature to continue state film incentives.
"The home of this business is where we live. Why are we letting this leave?" said Tom Sherak, who Garcetti appointed as L.A.'s "film czar."
Sherak, in an interview on "Eyewitness Newsmakers," says California offers $100 million in film incentives. New York state offers more than $400 million.
"We are in a competition. What do those other states and countries know that we don't know?" said Sherak.
City officials say every film job creates three other jobs in the community.
"The person that gets hurt when production leaves Los Angeles is not the person who rides to work in a limo, it's the person who gets up at five in the morning and drives to work in a pickup truck," said L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian.
Actor Ron Perlman says when he goes to film in other cities, he sees what Los Angeles is losing.
"I say to myself, 'How did we let this happen? How did we give all this away? How did we close our eyes and take for granted the fact that we would always have this, and then we turn around one day and we have almost none of it?" said Perlman.
The mayor says he will not let the film industry fade to black in Southern California. He says he needs to get Sacramento to listen.
