FilmL.A.–the not-for-profit organization that coordinates permits for filmed entertainment shot on location in the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated parts of L.A. County and other local jurisdictions–reported that overall on-location filming declined 14.3 percent for the third quarter of 2009 as compared to the same quarter in 2008. There were 9,680 permitted production days (PPD) in July through September ’09 compared to 11,300 PPD tallied during the same period in ’08.
However, bucking that downward trend was activity on the feature film and commercialmaking fronts. For the latter category, which had seen four straight quarters of double-digit losses, there were 1,215 PPD in the third quarter of this year in Greater Los Angeles, a 10.2 percent increase over the 1,103 PPD registered from July through September ’08.
Even with that improved performance, location shoot days for commercials are still down 21-plus percent in ’09 when stacked up against ’08.
“Gains for the beleaguered industry sector are a welcome occurrence, because commercial production is such an important contributor to our local economy,” said Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A. “We hope this uptick is a bellwether of an improving national economy.”
As for the feature location lensing increase, the upswing was 25 percent-plus in Q3 ’09 versus the same three-month stretch in ’08. This marks the first time the feature filming category has not suffered double-digit losses in five straight quarters. Still, the third quarter ’09 gain must be viewed in light of last year’s drastically diminished feature production in the third quarter, after major studios had rushed to complete films ahead of a June 30, ’08 labor contract expiration. And even with a significant improvement this past quarter, features are still 37.4 percent down year-to-date as compared to the first nine months of ’08.
The TV category and all its subcategories reflect on-location filming in decline during the third quarter of ’09. Television production went down 21.4 percent this past quarter versus the same stretch in ’08. The subcategories’ quarterly losses spanned dramas (down nearly seven percent), sitcoms (a decrease of almost 48 percent), reality TV (down 20 percent) and TV pilots (a decrease of nearly 26 percent).
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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