Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Downtown
A century ago, they needed sunlight for movies. So they needed sunlight every day to be productive. A lot more is done on soundstages and using CGI today.
I'm still dubious about it as a stable economic engine rather than a fickle industry that mostly just follows the tax breaks to Georgia, New York, Louisiana, and Vancouver. But the explosion in streaming seems to be bankrolling a new golden age of content creation.
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Sunlight and generally milder weather was part of it, but it was more due to the fact that western/cowboy flicks were very popular at the beginning of the American film era, so filming in the LA area was just more logical, because the local environment in CA could mimic a variety of landscape. As the studio system grew and cemented its legacy in LA proper, it was considered unnecessary to film elsewhere because you could film anywhere in CA to fit a variety of climates, landscapes, etc:
(map is from 1927)
Essanay Studios on the north side of Chicago was one of the first studios in the country that would hire early, big name actors for their moving pictures, most notably Charlie Chaplin in 1914. He was only there for a year before moving out west because he wanted more creative control over his work, in addition to hating Chicago winters. I last visited the studio building back in 2012 when a former acquaintance was involved in a fundraising effort to try and modernize the facility and turn part of it into a museum, although not really sure what came of that effort, even though it was a very cool building with so much history inside its walls.
Considering that the Dick Wolf Chicago-based dramas alone have generated over $1 billion locally since they started filming here, it's naive to consider the local film industry anything less than 'stable.' The current tax credit was extended through 2026/2027, and I'm almost certain that it will be extended well beyond that, because too much has already been spent to build, maintain and expand the current production infrastructure to casually leave it, not to mention expansions underway at Cinespace, in addition to all of the planned, new studio facilities that we've seen reported here over the past year. Far too many people work in a local industry that is part of a much greater, decentralized system that includes cities/locations you mentioned above, but also include other cities around the country and throughout the world. LA may be the entertainment capital of the world, but producing anything in LA can still be very expensive, so producers either go elsewhere (like Chicago, Atlanta, Toronto, Miami, etc), or they take advantage of the biggest tax credits offered there...the CA film tax credits are very high but it can amount to a zero sum game because massive budgets for marquee/event productions can potentially offset gains from the tax credit.
There are 9 active productions currently filming in or around Chicago, with 6-9 more planned to film before the end of 2021...those are the ones that I know of. I've spoken before about my personal ties to the local film industry, and it's given me a unique perspective because I see and hear a lot of things that others may not be aware of. It's an industry that ebbs and flows like most industries, and last year was pretty bad, but that can be applicable to any industry because of Covid. Local productions have already rebounded pretty dramatically compared to even 3-5 months ago, so that is a very encouraging sign.
It's a fickle industry, just in the same way that any major industry can be fickle. But that doesn't negate the impact and presence that the film and tv industry has throughout the world....and how much money is involved, especially considering how streaming services have exploded just in the past 3-4 years alone, with no sign of stopping. A new Amazon sci-fi series called "Lightyears" is filming here, starting in two weeks, that my best friend will be working on..which he landed after having said no to two other shows because of lower pay and longer shooting schedules. Local industry pros are able to pick and choose because there are SO many productions now. Given the fact that Amazon just spent $8.5 billion dollars on MGM studios, AND the fact they (and Netflix, and NBC and Fox/Disney) really like filming in Chicago, the local industry seems pretty set to me, for the foreseeable future. Oh, and considering that the local unions involved in film production are expanding rapidly as well, they won't give anything up without a fight..
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