iStock/gorodenkoff(LOS ANGELES) — Film permits for the Los Angeles area jumped by 24% in October versus September, Variety reports, in a sign that COVID-19’s grip on the entertainment industry may be loosening. 

With new safety protocols in place, many shows have already started production.  But while the 2,565 film permit applications that were applied for in the past 20 weeks is a positive sign, the trade reports the numbers are about half of what they were last year at this time, before the pandemic struck.

Forty-four percent of those permits were for commercial shoots, Variety says, while 25% were for TV shows and just 4% for feature films.

By Stephen Iervolino
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