News
December 12, 2016
December 9th News Report from your Los Angeles Representative
Weekly Update from Kelly Graham-Scherer, Los Angeles Representative
Happy Friday everyone,
The Canadian film and television industry grabbed headlines in LA on two separate occasions this week.
In the Hollywood Reporter, Ontario was praised for its stable tax credits and culture minister Eleanor McMahon was quoted praising the province's "talented film crews, world-class facilities and stable tax credit infrastructure".
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ontario-touts-stable-hollywood-movie-tax-credit-chop-953253
And in the Los Angeles Times, columnist David Lazarus continued to cover the unbundling of Canadian pay-tv and determined that "the Canadian experiment is already demonstrating that pay-TV companies and programmers won’t give up their old ways without a fight".
http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-canada-a-la-carte-tv-20161209-story.html
President-elect Donald Trump also continues to generate headlines in LA (and across the globe) and the LA Times this week featured a front-page article on how left leaning Hollywood is reacting to his surprise victory. As detailed below, Trump’s victory is redrawing many narratives and story lines across the country, including those at the center of the entertainment industry. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-trump-hollywood-20161126-story.html
A small, screen-based industry news site this week mused about whether Trump's proposed 35% tax on American businesses that move jobs offshore could be applied to films that shoot outside the US and are then released in the US market. This is not a thread I have seen other media outlets pick up, but it provides food for thought nonetheless.
http://www.filmindustrynetwork.biz/donald-trumps-35-tax-lead-job-cuts-film-industry/31827#.WEb4nc_E6aU.facebook
Another week means another story about how Netflix is shaking up the industry in a myriad of ways. A story in the Times this week took an in-depth look at the streaming giant's aggressive hiring practices which were the catalyst for a complex legal battle with Fox Studios, which has accused it of poaching executives. http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-fox-netflix-20161206-story.html
Finally this week, also in the LA Times, a leading Chinese film industry executive warned that China's film industry is about to see "drastic changes". Amid a significant industry slowdown in China, which has some investors spooked, Alibaba Pictures CEO Yu Yongfu said the industry is now entering a new cycle after years of powerful growth as weaker players are forced out of the industry. http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-alibaba-pictures-ceo-20161206-story.html
Warmest regards,
Kelly
Kelly Graham-Scherer
Los Angeles Representative
Toronto/ Ontario Film Office