WGXC-90.7 FM
Local filming slows as writer's strike continues
The Times Union reports that local filming is quieter this summer than last, with the writer's strike effecting productions in the Hudson Valley. The Writers Guild of America has been striking since May 2, in a dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Last time the writers had a strike it lasted 100 days. Micah Khan, a director, writer and co-founder of the 518 Film Network said, “It used to be like a writer on ‘Lost’ would make $10K a year from residuals from their show and now they’re making 14 cents.... People are fighting for their living; they’re fighting for their ability to pay their bills and survive in an industry that doesn’t really care if they survive or not.” Debby Goedeke, Albany County film commissioner, explains the impact film productions have locally, saying, “The Association of Film Commissioners International estimates that it’s $125,000 to $165,000 a day when a production comes into a city,.... From personal experience, I believe that does happen.” Last summer the TV shows “The Gilded Age,” and “Poker Face” filmed in the Hudson Valley, and this year "Pretty Little Liars" has. “The Gilded Age” booked a combined total of 11,000 hotel rooms in Albany County, Goedeke said, noting she has felt the difference between this summer and last. “I’m sure it’s because of the writers' strike.... Though we may not be impacted in a direct way, indirectly I think we are all feeling that impact.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.