New Mexico has often been isolated from wild economic swings in the national economy. But it, too, began to feel the downturn in the last quarter of 2008.
The state’s unemployment stood at 4.4 percent in October (the latest data available), up from 3.3 percent a year ago, according the Department of Workforce Solutions. The national unemployment rate was 6.5 percent.
The rate of over-the-year job growth, from October 2007 to October 2008, was 0.1 percent — the lowest since 1991.
The construction industry was hammered this year and mining also saw downsizing.
Manufacturing has been a loss leader overall, according to Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of New Mexico. The sector is still smarting from Intel’s layoffs of 1,500 last winter.
The major sectors contributing to job growth were health care and social assistance, government and retail trade. Local government saw significant growth, driven by Native enterprises such as casinos and hotels.
Several firms announced plans to enter the market with significant employment, and existing companies expanded here as well. The film industry continued its rapid growth.
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It's still unclear what direction the national board will take at its emergency meeting on Jan. 12-13, scheduled ostensibly by national exec director Doug Allen and president Alan Rosenberg to persuade the fractured 71-member panel to present a united front and convince members to vote up a strike authorization.
But the timing of the Monday night announcement was telling. It came a few hours after Allen and Rosenberg met with leaders of the Unite for Strength faction, a group of Hollywood moderates who gained five board seats in the fall after campaigning on a platform that asserted that Rosenberg and his allies had bungled the contract negotiations strategy.
Unite for Strength spokesman Ned Vaughn told Daily Variety that he and his colleagues expressed concerns about going ahead with the vote, given the growing numbers of SAG members - particularly high-profile stars such as George Clooney and Tom Hanks - coming on the "no" side.
"We felt that in light of what's been happening that it would have been reckless for the national board to proceed without having the chance to reconsider," Vaughn said. "We appreciate that they've taken our concerns seriously."
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We at crewnewmexico.com want y'all in the New Mexico Film Industry to stay informed about the latest happenings with SAG. Article by Dave McNarry, Variety Magazine.| |
The list also includes Alan Alda, Jason Alexander, Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, Sally Field, Helen Hunt, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron.
In a letter sent Monday to leaders of the Screen Actors Guild, the stars cited the weakening economy as the key factor in their move. They also said that it's time to "take the high road" by preparing to fight for a better deal in three years.
"We feel very strongly that SAG members should not vote to authorize a strike at this time," the letter said. "We don't think that an authorization can be looked at as merely a bargaining tool. It must be looked at as what it is -- an agreement to strike if negotiations fail."
The letter comes with SAG scheduled to send out a strike authorization vote Jan. 2 to its 110,000 dues current members with ballots due back Jan. 23. For a strike to occur, at least 75% of those voting would have to affirm the authorization with the national board having the final say over a work stoppage.
"We support our union and we support the issues we're fighting for, but we do not believe in all good conscience that now is the time to be putting people out of work," the letter also said. "None of our friends in the other unions are truly happy with the deals they made in their negotiations. Three years from now all the union contracts will be up again at roughly the same time. At that point if we plan and work together with our sister unions we will have incredible leverage."
The letter was sent a few hours after SAG president Alan Rosenberg called off Friday's emergency national board meeting in the face of objections over requiring that reps attend the Los Angeles confab in person. Over the weekend, Rosenberg scheduled the emergency meeting and blasted demands by SAG's New York reps that the upcoming strike authorization vote be called off due to the faltering economy.
The Gotham reps also want the guild's contract negotiating committee replaced in the hopes that a new panel can end the months-long stalemate with the majors. And they indicated that requiring cross-country travel on short notice, when videoconferencing equipment is readily available, could only be interpreted as a punitive move by Rosenberg that's designed to hold down attendance by those opposing the guild's Hollywood leadership.
Rosenberg did not respond to those concerns but continued to blast the New York reps.
"Rather than argue over the propriety of an in-person meeting I have decided to withdraw the meeting notice for now," he said. "However, you will be promptly notified should the meeting be rescheduled for a later date. I am disappointed that during these critical times not all of our board members are willing to take the time needed to make real progress on the issues dividing our elected leaders."
Rosenberg also complained that last week's regularly scheduled meeting of the national executive committee had been cut short because the New York members of the panel all left the meeting, depriving it of a quorum and preventing it from completing Guild business.
"Given this conduct, and the sensitivity and complexity of the issues at hand, I do not believe a videoconference board meeting will be effective or productive," he added.
What do the upcoming feature films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hurricane Season and Final Destination 4 have in common? They were all filmed in New Orleans, La.
New Orleans was home to 20 film productions in 2008--up from 15 in 2007--with budgets totaling around $275 million. The city estimates that half of that sum was spent locally.
Fifteen hundred miles away is another regional center for film production. In 2008, at least 22 films were created in Albuquerque, N.M. Those productions, which include future big-budget releases Terminator Salvation and The Men Who Stare at Goats, earned the city $130 million.
It isn't art driving the decisions. It's commerce. "It used to be 'What does your city look like?' and now the first thing out of [producer's] mouth is 'what's your incentive?' " says Richard Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office. "It's made us all very aggressive in our race to be the cheapest place around."
Adds Jennifer Day, the director of New Orleans Office of Film and Video: "The reasons these movies are here, bottom-line, is the incentive package."
But as the recession is fast eroding budgets for projects like roads and schools, many states may come to question how much states are getting in return for their largesse. The entertainment industry is seen as a huge boon to local economies, since productions offer everything from employment for local crew, extended says at nearby hotels and an immediate influx in population to support restaurant and retail businesses.
U.S. states have tried to take advantage of this fast and glamorous cash source in recent years by establishing tax credits and rebates to filmmakers who film in their state. Ten years ago, there were less than a handful of states that offered monetary incentives for filmmakers; now there are 43.
The cost for such competition is getting steeper, however, and the returns are questionable for some locales. Louisiana spent $76 million in revenue in 2007 from film credits, says the governor's Office of Film & Television. According to recent comments by chief economist for the Louisiana state legislature Greg Albrecht, about 25% of that was replaced with state tax revenue generated by the industry. Nonetheless, "We're in it for the long haul," says Chris Stelly, Louisiana's film commissioner.
Michigan, with the highest tax credit percentage at 42%, will receive an estimated $17.9 million in new taxes from the film incentive for this year. The state will net a $110 million loss this year from their credit initiative, a figure which will likely double in 2009, even as the state's budget deficit is expected to reach $600 million. The state's program offers tax credits for non-resident labor and has no cap on the amount of credits it can sell.
"You can be smart or you can be overly aggressive and be short-lived in this industry as a state film commissioner who wants to build up an infrastructure," says David Hutkin, a deputy managing director at Imperial Capital Bank who specializes in film financing. "Michigan is biting off more than they can chew. I get why they're doing it, I just don't think they can afford it."
For state revenues to benefit from film production, the rebates and credits offered need to be at least equal to state and sales taxes that negate the outflow of money. But states count indirect spending from tourism, increased revenue to low-income areas and building valuable infrastructure among the indirect monetary benefits to justify the losses. As well, the states are trying to fend off the threat of runaway productions, or projects that relocate to Canada and Europe in search of cheaper costs. This posed a greater risk before the introduction of the incentives.
The fiscal initiatives are more dangerous to state budgets now, as Hollywood has been forced to become increasingly money hungry. Lenders are more conservative, the foreign resale market is softer and traditional funding markets are drying up. State inducements are uniquely valuable as a form of soft money that can finance a film. While large productions inject large sums of money in short periods of time, it's unclear if the accompanying large economic concessions are really worthwhile to the states.
Some states are cutting back. Rhode Island put a $15 million cap on credits, and Florida cut the governor's film office budget by 80%. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels vetoed legislation offering 15% tax credit, but the state legislature overrode his veto. A recent legislative effort to cap the amount of credits Michigan gives at $50 million was unsupported.
"Film production is the economic flavor du jour right now but I don't know that it's such a good fit," says Eric Witt, director of media arts development for New Mexico's governor's office. "If you don't have the infrastructure, it's just money flowing out of your economy."
LA TIMES:
If an actors strike really does come to pass, don't worry. You won't have to do without "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" or "Saturday Night Live." Even certain scripted series, such as CW's "90210" and CBS' "Gary Unmarried," would be safe. And thank the gods in heaven that Fox's sitcom "Til Death" wouldn't suffer from a walkout.
Dark clouds of labor trouble are again circling Hollywood. But the environment for the TV industry looks considerably different than it did when the writers strike began a little more than a year ago, scuttling much of the networks' 2007-08 season. That's because a larger number of shows this time around simply wouldn't be affected.
Last week, the Screen Actors Guild, whose members have worked without a contract for months, announced it would push for a unionwide vote to authorize a strike. If that vote passes -- which many observers consider unlikely, given the current turmoil in the larger economy, but certainly not impossible -- an actors walkout could happen as early as mid-January. (Sources at the networks and the unions were happy to talk off the record, but no one would agree to be quoted by name discussing a sensitive labor situation.)
When the writers began striking last November, it didn't take long for the pain to spread, because few shows didn't depend on Writers Guild talent. Performers, moreover, felt squeamish about crossing picket lines, partly because they knew the other trade unions would soon be negotiating with the studios and networks over such contentious issues as residual payments for digital content. So the strike not only walloped dramas such as "Lost" and "24," it put the kibosh on "Daily Show," "The Late Show with David Letterman," "SNL" -- the list went on and on.
Since then, however, not only writers but directors, broadcast performers and "below-the-line" production workers have forged new deals with the studios. That's stranded the actors on a bit of an island, at least in terms of negotiating leverage.
Meanwhile, producers have pushed to get more series covered under a deal with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which has traditionally represented broadcasters and generally has a more harmonious relationship with the studios than SAG has had. Such series include ABC's midseason sitcom "Better Off Ted," with Jay Harrington and Portia de Rossi, and Fox's space spoof "Boldly Going Nowhere," currently eyed for the fall. Current shows such as "Gary Unmarried," "Rules of Engagement," "90210" and, yes, "Til Death" are also covered by AFTRA. And of course, AFTRA already covers most unscripted series, such as "Survivor," "American Idol" and "Deal or No Deal," which were left unscathed by the writers strike and wouldn't be impacted this time around either.
If it seems like AFTRA's clout in prime time is growing, well, it is. And that's because of the way TV shows have traditionally been apportioned between the two performers unions: SAG covers filmed projects, AFTRA those on video. The unions have dual jurisdiction for material recorded digitally -- and that's where AFTRA is seeing a big upswing. In fact, the trend toward more AFTRA shows represents a return to the state of the industry prior to the 1980s, when expensive filmed shows such as "Hill Street Blues" began operating under SAG deals.
SAG still covers the big filmed shows such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." But even there, the networks might not suffer as much as they did during the writers strike. Many shows began production earlier than usual this past summer, so they have finished shooting a large number of episodes. One network source said some series have already completed photography on 15 to 17 episodes and would probably be close to having finished a full season order by the time any strike started.
None of this means the TV business would escape injury if an actors strike really does come to pass. On the contrary, production schedules for many filmed shows would be thrown into chaos once again and the industry would suffer further ill-timed disruptions at a moment of heightened economic vulnerability.
But the writers strike meant crumbling ratings and truncated seasons for many shows. Fox's "24" alone ended up with a delay that will amount to an 18-month interval by the time it returns in January. Compared with that kind of upheaval, viewers this time might hardly notice any difference.
--Scott Collins
When Marla Steinbrecker’s sister came to visit her in Albuquerque, she had one request.
“‘I want to see the building where Mary was kidnapped!’” Steinbrecker recalls her saying.
Mary was Mary Shannon, the character played by Mary McCormack in the show “In Plain Sight,” which is set in Albuquerque. Steinbrecker dutifully showed her sister the Atomic Cantina.
“‘This is so cool!’” Steinbrecker recalls her saying.
It’s just the kind of excitement tourism officials want to leverage from New Mexico’s booming film and TV industry, which has showcased many areas of the state.
Christian Bale and Peter Fonda led prisoner Russell Crow through the red sandstone rocks of Abiquiu in “3:10 to Yuma.” Josh Brolin dodged a psychopath with a bad hair cut around historic downtown Las Vegas in “No Country for Old Men.” John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen and William H. Macy hung out in Madrid with their motorcycles in “Wild Hogs.”
“There is no better advertisement for the state than watching the beautiful scenery of New Mexico,” said Jennifer Hoffman, deputy secretary for the state Department of Tourism.
Hoffman joined the department earlier this year and is working on bringing tourism and film closer together. The department is currently conducting surveys at the state’s visitor centers to gauge people’s knowledge of New Mexico based on the movies they have seen.
Eventual plans would include kiosks in all the visitor centers, with streaming video from movies shot in New Mexico and an accompanying film map to help tourists find landmarks featured in films. Ideally, this will correspond with road signs marking certain sites, Hoffman said.
The State Film Office has a map it updates every few months that lists sites where films have been shot, but Hoffman envisions something that is more tourist-friendly.
Tourism is already a major force in the state as the largest private sector employer, with more than 80,000 employees. The film industry has risen quickly as a sector here, with direct spending of $751.7 million over the past six years. Some 115 films and television shows have been shot here since 2003.
In many states, the film office is housed within the tourism office or convention and visitors bureau, but in New Mexico, the film industry is under the umbrella of economic development. Gov. Bill Richardson, who has made building the film industry one of his policy priorities, called for connecting it more closely to tourism at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Roswell last April.
“We wanted the Tourism Department to take advantage of the inherent marketing that comes with New Mexico being on the screen,” said Eric Witt, deputy chief of staff for Richardson. “There are a lot of things we want to do to maximize the cross-promotional opportunities we have.”
Cities such as Philadelphia and Los Angeles have tours around films shot in those locations, Witt said. And countries such as New Zealand have embraced the strategy.
New Zealand saw a huge boost in tourism as a result of the “Lord of the Rings” films. The country’s national tourism agency now touts many tours of specific locations that doubled for Middle Earth such as the Wellington and Wairapra regions that became the Shire, Helms Deep and Lothlorien. And Australia’s national tourism board has launched a $26 million international advertising campaign based on the new Baz Luhrmann film “Australia,” a sweeping epic that highlights that country’s spectacular wilderness areas.
The New Mexico Tourism Department has begun focusing more on show business with its entry into the Tournament of Roses Parade. The float will feature Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. And New Mexico Magazine, which is published by the Tourism Department, based its entire November issue around “Tamalewood,” the nickname for New Mexico’s film industry.
“I didn’t have a lot to do with that, but it’s great,” Hoffman said.
mkamerick@bizjournals.com | (505) 348-8323
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