News
April 2, 2018
March 29th News Report from your Los Angeles Representative
Happy Thursday everyone,
I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the long holiday weekend. It will certainly gives us all time to digest the big news out of Toronto this morning, that Bell Media has bought a controlling stake in Pinewood Studios. The story has already made headlines in the Hollywood Reporter which notes the deal is "laying the groundwork for more Hollywood TV series to shoot on its sound stages via content equity and licensing deals".
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/canadas-bell-media-buys-control-pinewood-toronto-studios-1097872
It was big news last week when former Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon announced she would run for Governor of New York. She made headlines again this week when she denounced the state's film and television tax incentives as an unnecessary taxpayer-funded giveaway. As reported in the New York Post below, Nixon starred in two Sex and the City films which scored a combined $13.6 million in tax credits and subsidies for filming in New York.
https://nypost.com/2018/03/25/cynthia-nixon-rails-against-tax-breaks-sex-and-the-city-received/
The emergence of Netflix and other streaming services that offer subscribers a commercial-free TV viewing experience means a generation could grow up without ever knowing the meaning of the phrase: "We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor." As reported in the LA Times below, Fox and NBC plan to reduce the amount of commercial time in their shows starting next fall and offer advertisers the chance to run commercials in shorter breaks where they will hopefully find a more attentive audience.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-commercials-clutter-20180327-story.html
Finally this week, the smash-hit premier of Roseanne on Tuesday has given pause to industry insiders who have been predicting the death of network television. Deadline also reported yesterday that no one predicted such a huge turnout on premiere night for the blue-collar family sitcom with a Donald Trump-supporting protagonist. However, Roseanne was able to tap into the often overlooked and underserved working-class audience.
http://deadline.com/2018/03/roseanne-revival-huge-ratings-premiere-stuns-hollywood-prompts-soul-searching-1202354973/
I hope all of you have a wonderful Easter / Passover with your families and I'll return with this report next Friday, April 6th.
Warmest regards,
Kelly
Kelly Graham-Scherer
Los Angeles Representative
Toronto/ Ontario Film Office