If you're like me, you hunkered down and did what you could to 'Survive til 25' and now we're here. Well, where is all the relief? Where are the people buying and producing movies and TV shows so we can all have jobs? It's March, and I kind of thought things would be different by now, but the town is only inching forward. One thing that did catch my eye was a new initiative called “Keep California Rolling" which aimed to bring production back to the state. The initiative was spawned by the WGAW, DGA, SAG-AFTRA, Teamster Local 399, AFM, California IATSE Council, and LIUNA Local 724. Its main principle is simple and important: when the film and TV industry is thriving, so is the state of California. We need more cast and crew making salaries that allow them to stay in the state, especially in Los Angeles, where filmmaking is such a huge part of the economy. Over the last decade or so, we've seen California become incredibly expensive to shoot in. By some estimates, it's cheaper to fly everyone to shoot in London than it would be to shoot locally. These issues were brought up to Governor Gavin Newsom, and the mass exodus of people and work did affect policy change. Newsom’s proposed expansion of the California Film & Television Job Program to $750 million annually is critical to ensuring that thousands of middle-class workers can continue to stay and live here. But there's more to be done....
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Thursday, 6 March