At least four television series that were to have been produced in Hollywood will
be shot in New York instead in order to allow producers to take advantage of recently
enacted local and state tax credits for shows filmed in that state, the Los Angeles T
imes observed today (Tuesday). The series include, Ugly Betty, Life on Mars,
Fringe, and Kings. In fact so much TV and film production is suddenly
moving to New York that producers are having a difficult time finding studio space
there where they can be shot. Jim Sharp, an executive with 20th Century Fox Television,
told the Times, "If you try and lock in a soundstage facility, there are people
standing in line. You better not blink, or you're going to miss an opportunity."
The exodus of shows to New York has raised concerns among Hollywood production crew
workers, who already felt the effects of the writers strike in their own pocketbooks.
In an interview with the Times, Steve Dayan, a Teamsters' business agent,
said, "Television is really the lifeblood of the below-the-line economy in Hollywood,
so if we start losing TV series to other states, then obviously it's going to create
more hardship for our members."
03/06/2008
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