Magnet #609 - Made in New YorkI love this logo. Seriously - I've kept their collateral pieces at my desk because of this logo. I've gone to seminars in Queens because of this logo.
So when I saw this magnet in Times Square on Julie Andrews Day, I was all over it! Then earlier this week, I saw this Crain's New York article about how the Made In NY program was struggling, I knew I had to use it! So here we are.
One of the best things I love about NYC is its shared devotion to the entertainment industry. I love that you can walk home to the subway and see three different productions shooting. I love that you can shoot New York for almost anything (except desert, I guess), as evidenced by many of Scouting NY's blogposts. I love that I can (try to) stalk George Clooney. I guess I just love that this little program, and the work they've done, seems to have fostered the entertainment community so well.
I remember when the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting first launched the program five years ago, and you could gradually see the tide turn as awareness grew. The results were amazing. More productions were coming to the state to take advantage of the tax credits, instead of heading abroad to Canada or the left coast or anywhere in between On the streets, production crews were everywhere. Production houses were hopping. At some point, the city had almost 35,000 shooting days! Whoa!
On the screens, big and little, you'd see more and more of this logo. For me, there was a little sense of awww, yay, that was done here!
And what genius, to brand the program with this little stamp. A cool little logo to make people aware the production they just saw was at least 75% produced in New York.
But the boon mic is staring to fall (see what I did there?), the program's out of money, budgets are being slashed, Albany's not sure if they want to extend the incentives even if their site says otherwise, and it's getting tougher to make the numbers work. The city's being forced to find things to start charging productions for, even charging for previously free permits, slowly but surely, making other cities seem more affordable.
The exodus already started. No more running into my Joshua Jackson's Fringe. (Ok, that was once. And then, not even me.)
I hate seeing us lose productions - the trickle-down effect is astounding - lost productions means lost production jobs, but also lost revenue for all the local businesses the productions frequent. Argh.
Fix it! Fix it! Fix it!
And while I'm dead serious about my Fix it plea, pay no attention to the fact that I'm still hoping to finally run into a George production on the streets.
What? I'm just saying. Fix it!
eta:
Huh. Ironic that I was writing this up while watching White Collar, the new USA show that debuted tonight...shot right here in town. That's two for USA - along with Royal Pains. Yay for USA keeping its productions here.
Also? Sucked in. Me. Totally gonna be watching White Collar. Well played, USA, well played. It's been a while since a show hooked me in from the pilot. And not just for the cuteboy!
2 comments:
oooh... i was totally hooked in on the pilot, too! even watched it twice. and he is cute.
how come they don't film mad men in nyc? then you could run into john hamm like all the time.
I didn't tell you I ran into Sal walking down the street?
I ran into Sal walking down the street from home.
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