whatilearned
Read more: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2021/03/thomas-edison-the-unintentional-founder-of-hollywood/
TIL the American film industry was based on the West coast (Hollywood) just so it would be harder for Thomas Edison (in New Jersey) to sue over the use of his relevant patented inventions.
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There were several other reasons too, but this was definitely one of the biggest ones. There were many other restrictions on the east coast, especially in New York.
This second point is the most interesting though because California by far now is the most overly legislated and restrictive state in the U.S. and when it comes to film, LA is even worse. This is why outside of the studio lots themselves, less and less filming is being done in LA now. Georgia, and Toronto both have huge booming film businesses.
Also worth mentioning that California has much more consistent sunlight, at the time had much cheaper and more easily available land, and is a short travel to almost every environment and climate that may be needed.
The traditional explanation for studios (and the film industry) being centered in Hollywood was that Southern California provided proximity to several different types of filming environments (such as cities, suburbs, mountains, deserts), all within fairly short driving distances.