News
October 4, 2013
Weekly Update from Film Ontario, October 4, 2013
TORONTO ONTARIO film office - A partnership of the Ontario Media Development Corporation, City of Toronto and FilmOntario.
WEEKLY UPDATE October 4, 2013
from Kelly Graham-Scherer, Los Angeles Representative - torontoontariofilm@gmail.com
California Lawmakers Say They Will Introduce Bill to Boost Film and TV Production Tax Credit Some very big news indeed broke yesterday afternoon as the L.A.-based trades trumpeted news that California lawmakers plan to introduce legislation in January 2014 to boost the state's film and TV production tax credit program. As reported in Variety below, while the details of the proposed legislation are still being written, it will likely include an expansion of the program's current $100 million annual budget and an incentive to lure films with budgets larger than $75 million, which are currently ineligible. id=e43182f119&e=fedf909a20">http://variety.com/2013/film/news/california-lawmakers-say-they-will-introduce-bill-to-boost-film-and-tv-production-tax-credit-1200691841/
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti on Why He Made Tom Sherak Film Czar With a potential boost to California's production tax incentives on the table, it's now evident that Los Angeles's new film czar will have his work cut out for him. As detailed in the Hollywood Reporter below, Mayor Eric Garcetti admits that newly-appointed industry lobbyist Tom Sherak will face an uphill battle convincing lawmakers in Sacramento that additional tax credit money is needed. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/la-mayor-eric-garcetti-why-639890Breaking Up With ‘Breaking Bad’ Is Hard for Albuquerque The competition for film and television production business will continue to be fierce as long as it continues to be so lucrative for the communities that attract it. The New York Times this week published an engaging feature about what Breaking Bad has meant to Albuquerque, New Mexico and how the future is now uncertain for so many of the local businesses that have come to rely upon the blockbuster hit, which wrapped five years of shooting there in April. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/business/breaking-up-with-breaking-bad-is-hard-for-albuquerque.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Paramount Pictures laying off 110 workersOther big news out of Hollywood this week concerned layoffs at Paramount Studios. As detailed in the L.A. Times below, Paramount is laying off 110 workers at its Los Angeles and international offices as the company streamlines its business operations. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-paramount-to-lay-off-110-workers-20131001,0,1097180.story
Executive Firings: What's Behind Hollywood's Season of the Witch Hunt (Analysis) The news out of Paramount is just the latest in a series of studio shakeups that have gripped this town over the last few months. The Hollywood Reporter this week took an in-depth look at the rash of executive firings, noting that thanks to "skyrocketing costs and a sea change in how people consume entertainment, a sense of panic seems to have enveloped corporate CEOs, financiers and shareholders". http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/executive-firings-whats-behind-hollywoods-639914
Shrinking List of Video Games Is Dominated by Blockbusters And finally this week, the New York Times took an in-depth look at what video games and movies currently have in common: as detailed below, both are increasingly dominated by blockbusters. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/technology/a-shrinking-list-of-blockbusters-dominates-video-games.html#!