Spencer Pratt said his competitors Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman “failed Hollywood” at his first Los Angeles mayoral debate appearance.
NBC4 hosted the three leading candidates at the Skirball Cultural Center Wednesday in partnership with Loyola Marymount University, asking them directly how they would keep film production in Southern California.
When asked if the current leadership was doing enough for the entertainment industry, Pratt replied bluntly.
“Absolutely not,” the former reality TV star said. “Both of these people have been the reason why there’s no more Hollywood.”
Bass, who is running as the incumbent, lauded the work she has already done as mayor. She said that the city has expedited permits and lowered the cost of filming in Los Angeles, specifically at sites like the Griffyth Observatory. The mayor also said that she established a film czar, something the industry has critiqued her for doing three years into her four-year term.
“I’ll tell you, this has been a long standing issue of mine,” she said. “When I was in Sacramento and served as speaker, I did the first tax credits and also promoted and advocated for those tax credits here in Sacramento. We have a long way to go, but we are absolutely making headway because of policies that I put in place.”
The former star of “The Hills” criticized both of his competitors for not doing enough for the industry while in office. He added though that even if they did pass legislation to create more efficiency in production it would not be enough.
“Even if they do these things, we’re still gonna have drug addicts all over the street because their treatment-first, open beds [policies],” Pratt said. “These two politicians have failed Hollywood times a thousand.”
He also spewed that producers have told him they had to “pay gang members to keep the streets safe to film.”
Councilmember Raman, whose husband is writer-producer on shows like “30 Rock” and “Nobody Wants This,” reiterated that the Hollywood production issue is personal to her.
“We desperately need to keep Hollywood here,” she said. “And I feel like the mayor’s role is really to be the loudest advocate for the best possible version of the policies that we need, including a tax credit that has no cap.”
More to come…
The post Spencer Pratt Blames Karen Bass, Nithya Raman for LA Film Exodus in First Mayoral Debate: ‘Why There’s No Hollywood’ appeared first on TheWrap.
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