Hollywood Star Sounds Alarm Over Job Losses as Productions Flee California

The steady exodus of production from Hollywood is leaving actors and crew scrambling for work, as Jeff Garlin and Brian Callen describe the industry's shrinking opportunities.

Jeff Garlin reveals to Adam Crolla that he hasn't done any acting since 'Curb' ended.

Jeff Garlin told Adam Crolla last week that he hasn't worked in an acting job in almost three years, as the pair discuss Hollywood jobs leaving the state.

When Adam Carolla asked actor and comedian Jeff Garlin on his podcast last week if "there's anything else going on in Hollywood," the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star admitted that acting roles have practically dried up for him.

"I haven't worked in almost three years since the end of 'Curb.' does not exist."

"We can do it in Sweden," he added.

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With that comment, Garlin was referring to the growing number of productions that have left not just California, but the entire country. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said last week that new post-production tax credits, increased film and television tax credits and protections for actors against AI-generated content are expected to help Hollywood.

In all, 35 films, 28 of which are independent projects, received production incentives in the latest round of awards under the California Film Commission's expanded Film and Television Tax Credit program. The commission estimates that the projects will cost more than $1 billion in direct production costs, create jobs for more than 5,400 actors and crew, and employ 24,800 background actors.

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Additionally, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is working on a federal tax credit for film and television productions that could be used alongside state production incentives.

Even with the proposed and extensive incentives, conversations with people in Hollywood reveal uncertainty about whether the measures will bring back manufacturing jobs.

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Garlin said: "The number of American productions that are filmed in Ireland tells you all you need to know. All these empty sound stages. It's a shame."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry has lost 49,000 jobs since 2022, following the Covid-19 pandemic and a slowdown in streaming production.

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"You can't just make a living as an actor in L.A. anymore. If you're doing a series on, say, Netflix, and it's a 10-episode series, take a look at what it's going to cost after taxes and commissions for your manager, your agent, whoever it might be," Cullen said, emphasizing the high cost of producing movies and TV shows in Los Angeles.

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"If you're lucky, you live in the middle class, but probably below that when you consider that everything in Los Angeles is expensive — property and just having to live and buy food and stuff," he says.

Instead of relying solely on acting, Cullen himself has increasingly turned to stand-up comedy and podcasting.

"I was thinking that I couldn't put all my eggs in this acting basket," he said, referring to several factors that have reduced the cultural prominence of Hollywood's biggest movie stars.

"This business is so atomized. The days of us all going to the same place to watch that one person, whether it's a TV show or a movie, are long gone... and if that's the case, the big names aren't big names anymore. They're not."

Yet despite what Cullen described as the demise of Hollywood's "monoculture" — the era when big stars alone could draw audiences to TV shows and movies — he doesn't believe Hollywood itself is dying.

The Hollywood Sign is located in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on May 29, 2025. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg)

"Remember this about Los Angeles," Cullen said. "First of all, you shot there because the weather was predictable. The rain wasn't going to take you out. And number two, the best of the best still live in Los Angeles."

"People think they can move this business to Texas or whatever. No, you can't. At the end of the day, you've still got the best voice actors, the best directors, the best writers, the best special effects people, the best cinematographers and all of that."

While Carola and Garlin may share Cullen's view of Hollywood's enduring strengths, they still lamented the current state of the entertainment business in the Golden State.

"I talked to a friend of mine ... he's been working as an editor for 32 years," Carolla said. And he says, I'm retired. There is nothing to do."

"Everybody's leaving home and it's impactful — I mean, again, everybody's thinking about the actor, the director, but a crew has a lot of people working, makeup artists, caterers, craft services, crew members."

"I moved here to be in a world where Bob Newhart and Mel Brooks opened doors and you walked through," Garlin said. "It used to be, 'Son, you're lucky, even if you're talented, you made it.'

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