On-location film and TV shoots in L.A. hit lowest levels on record

According to Film LA, the recession and incentives from other states have caused movie location work in the Los Angeles region to fall to the lowest levels on record. Since the collapse of Southern California's aerospace industry a decade ago, the labor-intensive entertainment industry, in which hundreds of people are needed to make a single movie or TV commercial, has picked up the slack in the local economy. But as Hollywood and Madison Avenue respond to lower consumer spending by reining in production of movies and commercials, the pullbacks are having a dire effect on workers in the industry. Despite a strong start to the year at the box office, studios are reducing the number of movies they produce and laying off thousands of employees in response to weakening DVD sales, declining local TV ad revenue and diminishing sources of financing. Adding to the pain, advertisers, which have provided steady work for many actors and jobs for production workers, are making fewer commercials. They are trimming marketing budgets as consumers cut back purchases of both household and big-ticket items.