News
May 27, 2016
May 27th News Report from your Los Angeles Representative
Weekly Update from Kelly Graham-Scherer, Los Angeles Representative
Happy Friday everyone,
Three and a half weeks after British Columbia announced it would trim its film and television production services tax credits, the story has appeared in the Hollywood trades. As Variety reported in a very positive story, "the area is busier than ever, with no signs of slowing down".
http://variety.com/2016/artisans/production/british-columbia-reduces-production-incentives-1201782433/
The Film in California Conference was held last Saturday in Los Angeles and several notable names attended and spoke about the advantages of keeping film and TV production in the state. As detailed in the Hollywood Reporter below, filming is booming across California, up 11 percent in the first quarter of 2016.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/california-production-offices-why-state-894650
Also from the Hollywood Reporter: producer Garry Marshall was at the conference talking up filming in LA, reminiscing about filming Pretty Woman in the city and even name checking Toronto.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/garry-marshall-talks-pretty-woman-896305
The Los Angeles Times featured a really interesting article on the business side of the Cannes Film Festival this week. As reported below, the Marche, or market is the working-man's side of Cannes, running as a sort of parallel universe to the festival, where anyone with a dream — or at least a producer and sales agent who paid their accreditation fees — can come to hawk their wares.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-cannes-marche-20160523-snap-story.html
This week's announcement that longtime HBO CEO Michael Lombardo is stepping down prompted a flurry of speculation about the network's future. As reported in Variety below, HBO’s continued growth is largely dependent on maintaining its aura of original-programming superiority — a tough challenge in an ever more competitive marketplace
http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/hbo-michael-lombardo-programming-challenges-1201780045/
The subject of gender diversity in the screen-based industries continues to be a hot topic. The L.A. Times this week ran a front-page article examining what countries worldwide - including Canada - are doing to close the gender gap and declared the international film industry to be "in the midst of a kind of feminist awakening".
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-film-financing-gender-diversity-20160523-snap-story.html
Finally this week, the Globe and Mail ran a lengthy article which confirmed something Ontario filmmakers have demonstrated for a long time: Canadians are the best in the world at forging international co-productions. As detailed below, initiatives at the OMDC, including the international financing forum at the Toronto International Film Festival, have introduced Ontario producers to the world.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/international-co-productions-may-be-the-future-of-canadian-film/article30177570/
Los Angeles Representative
Toronto/ Ontario Film Office