Hollywood Chamber’s 2024 Entertainment Industry Breakfast Honors Peter Roth and Michael Schur

A group of the industry’s top executives and creatives gathered at NeueHouse Hollywood for the Hollywood Chamber’s 2024 Entertainment Industry Breakfast on Dec. 5, presented by Variety, to look at “Driving a Path Forward” in the anxious aftermath of recent strikes and historically low records of production in Los Angeles.

Paul Audley, president of the nonprofit group FilmLA, presented research about disruptive trends in the industry and the opportunity for California to provide more tax credit incentives to boost local production. From a 2023 scripted content study, he cited that while industry output is declining all around the world, it is declining at even faster rates in L.A.

“We were honored to be present when Governor Newsom proposed expanding the tax credit here to $750 million a year,” Audley remarked. “[But] there’s a lot of work ahead to see that proposal become reality … There are already grassroots and professional efforts forming to have much needed conversations.”

Michael Schneider, Variety’s television editor, moderated a panel with a series of top film and TV executives, including David Eilenberg of Roku, Jamila Hunter of Macro Television Studios, DanTram Nguyen of Searchlight Pictures, Lisa Niedenthal of Blumhouse and Allison Wallach of Fox Entertainment.

Niedenthal pointed out that while L.A. has strong film crews and infrastructure to draw production in, the comparative tax incentives in other states around the country and in the rest of the world pose difficulties.

“Frankly, the way the [California] tax credit is structured, although it can be quite beneficial, it is not the easiest to navigate,” Niedenthal said. “There are cycles of applications that are different from other places where you just fill out some forms, give them a budget and your script and money are allocated. So that’s hard to compete with. And as the other hubs around the world have developed, there are terrific crews.”

For Wallach and her slate of unscripted shows at Fox like “The Masked Singer,” they don’t have to worry about tax credits — simply because they can’t get them at all.

“That’s something that we really wish could change,” Wallach explained. “What I will say is it seems like there’s light at the end of the tunnel … People are starting to get a little more willing to be collaborative. We’re hoping that that will work across the board because this is where it started. The creative community is right here so we want to really double down on that.”

The panel also touched on the probing question of artificial intelligence and how it will affect the industry. While Nguyen is aware of the larger impact AI can and already has had on production, she doesn’t see it directly impacting her work with Searchlight Pictures.

“Our movies are so idiosyncratic that I find it challenging to think of how AI could affect the types of movies that we make because they tend to be so singular to that filmmaker’s point of view,” Nyugen said.

The event then turned over to the awards portion of the morning. Peter Roth, former chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, was presented with the 2024 Television Visionary Award. Greg Berlanti, writer and producer of shows including “All American” and “Brilliant Minds,” accepted the award on his behalf and remarked on the 32 scripted primetime shows that Roth oversaw to the 100-episode milestone.

“My favorite person to pitch a TV show to will always be Peter,” Berlanti said. “If he likes what you hear, and you pray that he does, he would literally lift himself up out of his chair. And there was a pact in that moment when Peter heard a great story: no one would be a bigger advocate of you or the show. He gave his best, always, and he expected [it].”

Michael Schur, showrunner and director of Netflix’s “A Man on the Inside,” was honored with the 2024 Commitment to California Award.

Infamously, the hit sitcom “The Office” was based in Scranton, Penn., “Parks and Recreation” took place in Indiana and “The Good Place” was in heaven. Schur worked on all three of those shows that shot in L.A. and still managed to find exteriors that could pass for other locations and worlds.

“He is the embodiment of a commitment to California,” actor Ted Danson said while presenting the award.

While Schur grew up in New England and had no desire to ever move, in a center stage Q&A with Schneider and Danson that wrapped up the event, he reflected on his career since moving to the West Coast 20 years ago.

“The shows my production team and I have produced together have shot for well over 2300 days. That is the equivalent of about six and a half years of continuous production in Los Angeles, California,” Schur said. “I’m very proud of that. And I’m also grateful to California and Los Angeles in particular for providing us with the best locations, the best union labor and the best talent everywhere so that those shows could flourish.”