Was it due to the need to maintain exotic animals (lions for instance) that were used in early films? I am guessing the ability to film outdoors year round also would be an advantage. Thanks in advance for your thoughts here!
It was largely driven by Thomas Edison, who owned the patent on the original movie camera and imposed onerous terms on the burgoning move industry. Courts in California were much less friendly to the Edison organization's overly broad patent suits. See, e.g., http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2010/09/thomas-edisons-plot-to-destroy-the-movies/; http://mentalfloss.com/article/51722/thomas-edison-drove-film-industry-california; http://www.history.com/news/the-renegade-roots-of-hollywood-studios