For the production community, including film commissions, Charles Dickens’ famous quote–“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times”–is quite apropos. The “best” is reflected in the current awards season when deserving work, the artists behind it, and those who facilitate it are recognized.
Sadly, tempering the celebration is the “worst” which has emerged front and center–and it’s historic as actors have joined screenwriters in the first joint strike in more than six decades, shutting down production across the entertainment industry. The negative impact on the economy has already been profound and it’s been reflected just in part by the figures recently released by FilmLA, the partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles.
FilmLA issued its tally of shoot days during the second quarter of 2023 for on-location production in Greater Los Angeles. The Q2 report found a total of 6,566 shoot days representing a 28.8 percent decline for the quarter, measured year over year.
This marks the sixth consecutive quarterly production drop reported by FilmLA. The drop was accelerated by the WGA labor action, which began in May. SAG-AFTRA members were not yet on strike at the time this data was captured.
“Greater Los Angeles is the North American epicenter of scripted television production. Before long, this sector’s shutdown will be felt in every corner of the regional economy,” observed Paul Audley, president of Film LA.
“Like all others watching with hope from the sidelines, we are eager to see the studios and unions reopen their contract negotiations,” Audley continued. “Much is at stake for WGA and SAG-AFTRA members, and also for the small business supply chain on which future filming depends.”
Feature film production fell 18.9 percent in the second quarter to 728 shoot days, 26.6 percent below the category’s five-year average.
The aggregate television category, which has long been a major employment driver in the region, saw the steepest quarterly decline (36.4 percent to 2,630 shoot days), reflecting the impact of the recent WGA strike.
Recorded shoot days generated by TV dramas fell by 63.8 percent (to 360 shoot days) in the second quarter, and TV comedy shoot days fell by 72.8 percent (to 84 shoot days) compared to the same period in 2022. These are the categories most heavily impacted by the ongoing WGA work action.
“The last time production levels were this low, we were in the middle of a global pandemic,” Audley observed. “Families and businesses affected then are again being tested today, lending urgency to the moment to sustain creative careers.”
Awards season
As for awards season, among the productions put on pause due to the Hollywood strikes is the 75th Emmy Awards ceremony which will not air as planned on September 18. The telecast is now set for January 15, 2024.
Still, there are other awards proceedings in the more immediate offing, including The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) Awards slated for August 26 which recognize the collaborative contributions of location managers and scouts, varied other professionals and the film commissions themselves. On the latter front, nominations were recently unveiled for the LMGI Award honoring the Outstanding Film Commission.
The nominees are: The Alberta Film Commissions (Calgary, Edmonton/Calgary Economic Development) for their work on The Last of Us (HBO); the City of Brantford (Ontario, Canada) for season five of The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu); the City of Worcester/Massachusetts Film Commission for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Pictures); the Czech Film Commission for The Gray Man (Netflix); the Oklahoma Film + Music Office for season two of Reservation Dogs (FX); and the Montana Film Office for 1923 (Paramount+).
SHOOT connected with Allison Whitmer, film commissioner, Montana Film Office, and Jeanette Stanton, director of the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, to discuss their respective LMGI Award nominations for 1923 and Reservation Dogs, respectively.
The Oklahoma Film + Music Office not only was nominated in 2022 but also won the LMGI’s Outstanding Film Commission honor that year–for the first season of Reservation Dogs. Stanton observed that the season one experience on Reservation Dogs paved the way for a seamless transition to the second season–and now a second straight LMGI nomination. She shared, “Aside from a few minor circumstances that naturally occur on most any production shooting on-location, Reservation Dogs posed no major challenges due in large part to the professionalism of the cast and crew working among our tribal, state and city leaders. Collectively, we all learned a lot in having hosted the first season of the series, so when season two began, the series ran like a well-oiled machine from our perspective as much work had previously been accomplished to improve certain areas of need. Because the majority of the production’s talent is from Oklahoma and respects the opportunity to work in their own backyard, Reservation Dogs has fostered a welcoming sense of community that is eager to host them. We’ve been grateful that each new season of the series has allowed us the opportunity to learn and grow alongside them to make things not only better for their series, but future prospects in Oklahoma.”
Among the factors that brought Reservation Dogs to Oklahoma, continued Stanton, were incentives which “are naturally a part of the conversation when it comes to hosting a major film or television production in Oklahoma or elsewhere, and we’re grateful to have a program that supports the development of productions like Reservation Dogs in Oklahoma. However, one of the biggest champions of hosting the production in Oklahoma remains co-creator Sterlin Harjo who advocated for its filming in our state among the authentic, Indigenous communities which served as the inspiration for the story.”
Asked to reflect on her biggest takeaway from Oklahoma’s experience on Reservation Dogs, Stanton related, “Welcoming filming for the second season of Reservation Dogs in Oklahoma was incredibly rewarding, particularly as season one marked the first time a scripted series filmed the entirety of its production in the state. Reservation Dogs is an ideal television production for Oklahoma to host. Not only is the show creatively born in Oklahoma from our own Sterlin Harjo, but the scope of the production perfectly aligns in furthering career and development opportunities for our local film workforce as well as laying continued groundwork for collaboration among our statewide agencies and film friendly communities who work in supporting the needs of the film and TV industry while filming on location throughout the state.”
As for 1923, Whitmer of the Montana Film Office discussed the arc of the state’s facilitating role and community involvement in the worlds created by writer-producer-director-actor Taylor Sheridan, a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nominee for Hell or High Water. Whitmer observed, “Seeing the expansion of the Yellowstone universe from modern day Montana to the next series 1883 showed us the potential to be involved in many of the storylines, and we also knew that Taylor Sheridan and the production team were very committed to physical locations to convey story. Our work on 1883 was finding landscape options for their location team, while 1923 is an entire cityscape with specific ranch continuity touchpoints.
“This became a unique opportunity to identify potential areas of interest, develop in-depth relationships and bring community leaders into conversations about entertainment usage in their areas. We had been focusing on Butte for over five years, bringing projects to their National Historic District and really working on pinch points around permitting, interdepartmental logistics, housing and coordination of resources, as we saw them as a potential location for large projects in the future.
“This was key,” continued Whitmer, “to a successful first scout and evaluation by their team, and when they returned several months later, the community was asked to make a large commitment to the show [1923] very quickly. All of the ground work paid off handsomely. The community leaders trusted us to bring them a legitimate deal, and in one critical meeting, agreed to move concerts, high school sporting events, community events and local elections to other venues to accommodate the production, as well as begin close coordination with the city/county government and private owners for locations and permits. The demand for warehouse space, housing and office space was immediate and specific. They found options for everything, including historic schools in a nearby community and a wide selection of ranch landscapes. The Civic Center became a soundstage with the entire Dutton mansion built inside, and the local mall had a wide expanse of single level space that was perfect for costume and art department work. It was a big ask, and they rose to the occasion with grace and humor. The entire community rallied in support of the show.”
Incentives helped bring 1923 to Montana. Whitmer explained, “The Media Act incentive program played a major role in assisting the production to be on location in Montana, using nearby goods and services and working with qualified area crew. The beauty of the incentive encouraging productions to search locally was very beneficial to Butte, and it’s estimated that the local spend on goods and services was above $20 million. One of the key advantages to bringing 1923 into Montana was the established relationship between the existing productions of Yellowstone and 1883. They were familiar with the tax credit, the process was working well for them, and they had established resources a few hours away. Crew was generally familiar with the weather, drive times and local government contacts both state and federal, and it was clear from the success of the existing shows that the landscapes and storylines were resonating with audiences.”
Regarding her biggest takeaway or lessons learned from the 1923 experience, Whitmer shared, “Transparency and communication with the host community early and often was key to success. Striking a balance between access and turnaround times regarding permits, equipment placement and safety around locations and crew movements kept everything on schedule with the key contacts. Having key contacts on board, updated and involved around the process created a positive working space and wonderful memories for both parties.”
Whitmer described the LMGI Award nomination as being “such an honor to Montana. The state has been part of iconic films for many years, and it’s been a goal of the filmmaking community for over 30 years to have narrative series work. We saw the impact of runaway production with features in the mid 1990s, and creating an environment to host long form work has been so rewarding. Having series work also be so popular and critically well received, that is a bonus I would have never expected. Personally, bringing the incredible landscapes of the mountain west to the public, and seeing the professional development of the cast and crew living here, that makes all the long hours worthwhile. We live in a special place and it’s a joy to share it with millions of viewers.”
Cineposium
In addition to being recognized by the LMGI Awards, the film commission community originally planned to spread its wings geographically as Limerick City in Ireland was set to host the Association of Film Commissioners International’s (AFCI) 46th Annual Cineposium Conference in late September.
However, the global uncertainty triggered by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes prompted the AFCI–headed by exec director Jaclyn Philpott–and Film in Limerick to reach a decision in consultation with Screen Ireland to postpone this year’s Cineposium event.
AFCI’s Cineposium brings film commissions and industry leaders from around the world together to discuss policy, economic development and screen production and this year would have served as an opportunity to showcase Limerick and the west coast of Ireland to major studio executives. This would have marked the first time in Cineposium’s 46-year history that the conference would have taken place in Ireland.
Perhaps Cineposium could still come to pass in some form this year if the actors’ and writers’ strikes are resolved in the not-too-distant future. If not, commercialmaking and branded content could become a priority, though the ripple effect of the strikes might still adversely impact the advertising sector. Reality TV is also still in play to an extent. Plus there’s the prospect of certain independent productions being in the mix. SAG-AFTRA has an interim agreements program that allows indie productions with no direct ties to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to continue filming.
