Have dreams of becoming a big film star? Forget moving to Los Angeles. You might be better off where you are right now. Over the years, Los Angeles has lost a lot of revenue due to runaway film/television production. Total productions in the city have declined 21.4% last year, with a 37.4% decline in feature film production. That's according to Film LA, the agency that handles production permits for all projects in Los Angeles. More and more producers and studios are heading to other locations, taking money and jobs with them. Now the Los Angeles City Council has declared a "crisis" and formed a committee to explore the feasibility of an LA Film Commission. The commission would promote Los Angeles as a go-to destination for filming. The commission would also work to undo some of the red tape and hassles that lured producers and studios outside of Los Angeles.
Competing with other cities to cement Los Angeles as a go-to destination for filming projects is a dangerous game for the city to play. Sure, production jobs within the city’s film industry have shrunk, but I wouldn’t call it a crisis. Spending more money to woo production back to the city, however, takes away resources in an already cash-strapped budget. Los Angeles hasn't been the primary destination for production in over a decade. That's according to Phil Sokolosk, the Manager of Communications at FilmLA. Read more...
Anybody excited about Eminem's Relapse? . . . Anybody? Well nevertheless, it hits stores and iTunes on Tuesday. We'll be tracking the sales numbers for this week to see what type of disaster an Eminem comeback can create. No disrespect to Em or Dr. Dre, but long gone are the days when a Dr. Dre production equals a hit record. The combination of plummeting record sales across the industry and Eminem's new annoying accent in his raps leads me to predict Relapse will be a complete failure.
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