The Monrovia City Council has voted to reduce filming fees in the city by over 35%. Monrovia will now charge to $500 per issuance for filming fees that previously were $780. Filming is a large source of revenue for the city, with movies like Lethal Weapon and Legally Blonde containing scenes taking place in Monrovia. Local residents and businesses also receive benefits when they allow their homes or businesses as filming or staging locations.
The reduction of filming fees is included in Monrovia’s 2014-2015 fiscal budget, which the city council approved last week.
Monrovia experienced a significant drop in film requests in 2012, but things began to pick up again when the city contracted with Film L.A. in January of 2014 to bring more filmmakers to their city.
Mayor Mary Ann Lutz spoke on the issue, saying that Monrovia wants to stay competitive and prevent the LA film industry from traveling to other cities and states across the nation in order to take advantage of better rates.
Read more about the fees here.