Lefty city councilmember Nithya Raman, who is running for Los Angeles mayor, has no problem supporting President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to save Hollywood.
Raman was asked about the president’s recent call for Congress to quickly approve a nationwide tax incentive for film and television production in a recent podcast interview with Breaking Points,
“I would be very supportive of it,” the socialist replied. “I’m going to take any kinds of support for this industry that we can get from any level of government. Absolutely.”
She added that Hollywood has to be competitive within the US but also nationally, noting how studios have not only looked toward other states but also other countries to film, due to the high costs of production in California.
Former mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, however, blasted Raman for not doing enough to help the film industry. Pratt himself, despite already having lost in the primary, met with Trump to spur the idea of a 25% federal film tax credit to “bring back Hollywood.”
“I got the film tax credit to the President and worked directly with Senator (Adam) Schiff to move it forward. Why isn’t Nithya doing that?” Pratt said in response to Raman’s support of Trump’s tax credit.
“I have zero political power, and I got more done in 3 weeks than she has in 3 years. If I can do it, what’s her excuse? She legit doesn’t wanna work,” Pratt, a former reality TV star, added.
The California Post reached out to the Raman campaign for a response.
California’s creative economy shed roughly 114,000 jobs — a 14% decline — between 2022 and 2025, with the steepest losses in film, television and sound, where employment fell nearly 30%, and traditional media, which saw jobs drop by almost 34%, according to a recent study done by Otis College of Art and Design in partnership with Westwood Economics and Planning Consultants.
Hollywood’s decline has been a major topic in the mayoral race, with both Raman and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass trading jabs over the issue.
Raman has seen a recent surge in momentum after a bombshell poll — which Bass’s team dismissed as an outlier — showed the socialist leading 39% to 28%.
She even recently met with the inner circle of Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s last Republican governor, who hosted Raman at his Santa Monica office last week to talk with a packed room of Hollywood, business and civic leaders.
On Hollywood, Raman has announced she would establish a LA Film Office in the mayor’s office to persuade studios to pursue local production. She called for faster permitting for films and to lower fees for indie-sized projects.
The candidate also said on her website that she would advocate the loudest “for the most expansive possible film tax credits at the state and federal level.”
