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Stockpiling is definitely the order of the day. Off-lot feature filming in the L.A. jumped 29 percent in the second quarter and TV work was up 19 percent, according to Film L.A. It was the busiest second quarter since, well, 2001, when there also was pre-strike preparation (but no strike). "We may be seeing a repeat of what happened in 2001, when production rose prior to labor negotiations, and then dropped significantly after the negotiations concluded," Film L.A. president Steve MacDonald told Variety. The idea behind all this activity is to begin production no later than March 1, so shooting can be completed by next July, when actors and directors could launch strikes. (The Writers Guild, whose contract expires on Oct. 31, is likely to tell members to keep working under terms of the expired pact in hopes that the guild can get a better deal after the others negotiate.) Showbiz-related employment should be strong for the rest of 2007 and into 2008, and then slip once the stockpiles are full.
A strike hanging over next year will wreak havoc with pilots for the 2008-09 TV season. Net and studio execs will be loath to have a slew of pilots set to begin production in February-March without certainty of where things will go. The Writers Guild has been unimpressed by the stockpiling, asserting that it's a scare tactic with no impact on negotiations. "Stockpiling is an unecessary disruption by studios of the production economy," said WGA West assistant exec director Charles Slocum. "It's never altered the course of negotiations. We remain ready to seek a reasonable deal at the bargaining table." Slocum also said he was somewhat skeptical of the usefulness of the Film L.A. figures, asserting that the numbers represent only about a third of the total production in the region.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.