News
February 26, 2018
February 23rd News Report from your Los Angeles Representative
Happy Friday everyone,
The prolific industry web site IMDB won a victory this week in its ongoing feud with the state of California and SAG-AFTRA over whether it can publish the ages of actors. As detailed in the Los Angeles Times below, a federal judge ruled that removing an actor's age fails to address the true matter at the heart of the debate - that actresses face more age discrimination than their male counterparts in Hollywood.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-imdb-lawsuit-20180220-story.html
A study released this week revealed women still have a way to go towards equal representation with men on the big screen. As reported in Deadline below, overall, moviegoers were almost twice as likely to see male characters as they were to see females on the big screen at the multiplex in 2017
http://deadline.com/2018/02/hollywood-movies-female-representation-2017-data-women-roles-1202299436/
In recent months, many high profile female actors have stepped forward to talk about facing discrimination and harassment. This week the Hollywood Reporter took a look at how the #MeToo movement is trickling down to the below-the-line community.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/metoo-slowly-trickling-down-below-line-community-1086771
Part of the Hollywood Reporter's examination of the above included an eye-opening interview with female Teamsters in Hollywood.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/does-metoo-matter-teamsters-trucker-sisters-take-boys-club-1086432
Portugal this week announced new film and television tax incentives aimed at attracting some of the production business that has flocked to European locations like Budapest and Prague in recent years. As detailed in the Times below, the incentive program will launch next month and offers a rebate of 25% to 30% of eligible expenditures, with a maximum rebate of 4 million euros ($4.9 million US) per project.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-portugal-europe-rebates-20180222-story.html
Finally, it wouldn't be a clippings report without Netflix news and this week the Hollywood Reporter examined the dilemma that studio executives increasingly face: "Should we try our luck in theaters or sell this thing to Netflix?" https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywoods-movie-dilemma-gamble-at-box-office-sell-netflix-1086706
Warmest regards,
Kelly
Kelly Graham-Scherer
Los Angeles Representative
Toronto/ Ontario Film Office