L.A. gets its film czar... to do what exactly?

Hollywood veteran Tom Sherak will be directing Mayor Garcetti's Entertainment Industry and Production Office, which is charged with making it easier to shoot movies and TV shows in the city of L.A. and lobbying Sacramento lawmakers to boost the state's incentive program. Garcetti has made the entertainment industry a top priority in enhancing the city's business climate - to the point where he recently described the runaway production issue as a "civic emergency." That seems a bit overwrought - entertainment payrolls in L.A. County have fallen from the 1990s, but not to dangerously low levels. Actually, the business is splintering from its traditional roots, what with increased online production - much of it being done locally - that can be hard to track. In other words, the mayor might be fighting yesterday's war. Garcetti was looking for a prominent name from Hollywood and Sherak certainly fits the bill - he was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences from 2009 to 2012 and has been involved with several production companies. In a statement, Sherak said, "The entertainment industry has a true champion in Mayor Garcetti, and I'm honored to work with him to make sure L.A. is always the entertainment capital of the world."