terra non firma: blame canada

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

the box office slump and runaway production are taking their toll on socal's economy. as the dollar drops (making LA production cheaper), canada and other states are sweetening their incentives to move production there. the only thing saving LA is desperate housewives. seriously. the hollywood reporter says so.

the numbers:

the state's production section is expected to add 3,500 jobs this year, leaving an annual average employment of 204,200. That contrasts to a state high of 209,000 in 1999.
Of those jobs, 3,100 will be added in Los Angeles County, leaving it with a total of 161,300 entertainment-related jobs. These figures are believed to be low because independent contractors are not taken into account.
The negative economic factors include the fact that the domestic boxoffice was down 7% in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2004.