California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, LAEDC says the film and
movie industry will lead the region to modest economic growth over the next couple
of years.

At their annual economic forecast, the LAEDC identified that ‘Hollywood’ will see
a slight up tick  predicting 3,000-4,000 workers will join entertainment industry
payrolls in 2010, reversing last year’s 9,000 – job decline.

LAEDC’s Jack Kyser said that the state’s incentive have helped to reverse the flight
of runaway production of film and TV projects.

To fight runaway production, the state approved new incentives for the industry last
year. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced earlier this week that 60 productions that
were considering leaving the state were approved for the new incentives, and are
expected to generate $710 million in spending during the state's current fiscal year. 
"This is all about jobs and stimulating our economy - it's about the caterers, the
make-up artists and countless small businesses that rely on film and television
production to thrive and create jobs here in California," Schwarzenegger said.

While film producers had a good year at the box office, it did not translate into
more jobs. The report said there were 141,400 jobs for film and television productions
in 2008, declining to 132,400 jobs in 2009. The drop was blamed on labor disputes and
runaway production.

And the LAEDC warned that several areas of concern remain, including a continued slide
in DVD revenue, lingering film piracy and continue runaway production with it rated as
a continued threat even with the introduction of the state’s incentive program.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.