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Film

City set to bail out Toronto's film industry

Posted by Matt / September 4, 2007

10 Comments

20070904_film.jpgThat strong Canadian dollar may make Amazon.com a virtual playground of untold bargains these days, but it's been playing hell with Toronto's film industry: not much point in Hollywood's runaway productions running away to T.O. when there aren't vast savings afoot. Couple that with Toronto's traditionally low scorecard in the mega-studio arena, which doesn't even allow us to compete with our own Freshdaily family (Vancouver and Montreal) let alone Europe and the States, and you've got a local industry that's been on life support since SARS dealt it a death blow back in 2003.

Well, help is coming: according to the Star, City Hall will unveil a new strategy today aimed at bolstering the flagging industry. Surely breaking this news in the same week that Hollywood's luminati are about to descend upon the town is a merry coincidence.

Ironically, the news comes hot on the heels of reports that Montreal has just scored three major-budget productions for the next year: the sequel to Night at the Museum, the remake of Fantastic Voyage, and the adaptation of Dragonball Z. With Watchmen also rumoured to be angling towards Montreal (Zack Snyder shot 300 there), Montreal's dance card looks full for the forseeable future.

But what of Toronto? Our highly publicized Hulk production is winding down, and although we've got Mike Myers' The Love Guru still on our plate, next year's larger productions have yet to announce their intentions with our town.

Hopefully the City's strategy, when announced, will address our lack of competitive mega-soundstages, along with the usual tax breaks and financial incentives meant to lure the Los Angeles moviebucks north of the border.

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Mark Dowling / September 4, 2007 at 01:40 pm
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Does Ontario have a film strategy? It seems to me that when the auto industry is at stake the province takes the lead but for the film industry Toronto seems to have to paddle its own canoe?
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Matt / September 4, 2007 at 01:42 pm
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There's always been a pretty significant separation of church and state when it comes to Toronto vs. Ontario. In fact, attrition from smaller Ontario cities and towns is part of the problem facing Toronto: a lot of smaller areas (Sudbury, North Bay, etc.) have been offering serious incentives to draw film business their way.
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AC / September 4, 2007 at 04:47 pm
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Sigh.

God forbid we should devote any significant resources to Canadian-made entertainment when we can all wet ourselves over a gaggle of B-list Hollywood celebrities filming some straight-to-DVD crap-fest...

"Oh look, there's Russel Crowe in Cinderella Man. Hope he doesn't throw a phone at me!"

"Ooh, there's Clint Howard soliciting a prostitute. I hear he's up for the role the wacky cab driver in Cheaper By The Dozen 3..."

"Are you going to the film fest gala? I can't wait to drop $200 for tickets to a movie that's opening across North America two weeks later!"

Meanwhile Canadian films struggle through their first weekend at The Carlton before they're yanked due to lack of interest.

"Serves them right," you say? Well, once upon a time the Canadian music industry sucked too. But thanks to a CRTC that actually had a pair, a few of decades of strict Canadian content rules has yielded some pretty good results.

As for film & TV, however, Entertainment Tonight Canada apparently qualifies as CanCon according to the CRTC. Yay us.
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Matt / September 4, 2007 at 06:00 pm
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Give it to me straight, AC, don't mince words. How do you really feel? :)
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Dave / September 4, 2007 at 08:01 pm
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Huh? This is the same city council telling me about TTC cuts and tax hikes?
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sookie / September 5, 2007 at 12:15 am
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The OMDC [Ontario Media Development Corp] drives a good portion of production outside our city, offering up a 10% regional tax bonus for anyone shooting outside the GTA.
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derek / September 7, 2007 at 04:08 pm
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If the higher Canadian dollar makes it uneconomical for US productions to come here, then we should just let it be. To use public money to subsidize this industry and pretend it's still viable with our high dollar is just distorting the market's new balance. Let other new industries who should rise rise, and let old industries who should die die. (Unless having US productions here somehow brings public good outside of the film industry, which I can't see any.)
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Anthony / September 12, 2007 at 05:33 pm
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Derek has it wrong. Tax breaks are not coming out of the public purse. What does it hurt to match our competition in giving breaks on revunue we wpnt get unless we have those breaks. If a production leaves Toronto, then we get no tax revenue or jobs. The film industry employs alot of people in good paying job. People are losing their lives over the slowing of the film business.
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shawn / October 29, 2007 at 11:04 am
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I'm a graduate trying to find work for the past months and it's been a real struggle. No jobs anywhere and a lot of free work being asked for. Unfortunately it doesn't pay the bills. I've had to take a minimum wage job serving popcorn to try and stay afloat. Something's seriously wrong with the industry.
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J / June 22, 2008 at 12:36 am
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Toronto has no film industry period. Like everything else Toronto thinks it can fake its way though but no one outside the city is buying it. We can all see that Vancouver is a better deal. Toronto screwed itself and its people. Film people once making 80k/year are serving coffee at Second Cup stores. What a cosmo city!

The sokution is to leave. Just like the film business did.
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