REEL MONEY

It’s no surprise that making movies is big business in Los Angeles--but what about the San Fernando Valley? Of the seven major movie studios in the Los Angeles area, two, Warner Brothers and Universal Sutdios, are located in the Valley. The area is home to hundreds of smaller production companies and scores of actors, execuives andcraftspeople.

In addition, there are numerous businesses based in the Valley that supply good and services to the entertainment indstry. All told, the entertainment industry employed more than 70,000 people in the city and spent more than $8 billion in 1992, according to a report by the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Televison Producers. Almost $5 billion of that was spent in the Valley.

An alternative form of movie-making is also a factor: The Valley has the dubious distinction of being home to the billion-dollar pornographic film industry.

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Panoramic View--A Take on the Industry

The entertainment industry employs the most people and generates the most revenue, compared to other industries in a recent UCLA study.

Valley’s Top Industry

Sector: Entertainment* Number of Firms: 1,338 Employment: 37,706 Revenues: $4.9 billion *Sector: Software & programming Number of Firms: 416 Employment: 5,439 Revenues: $647 million *

Sector: Computer hardware Number of Firms: 270 Employment: 11,081 Revenues: $1.7 billion *

Sector: Metalworking Number of Firms: 213 Employment: 2,806 Revenues: $275 million *

Sector: Aerospace subcontractors Number of Firms: 197 Employment: 12,122 Revenues: $1.5 billion *

Sector: Biomedical Number of Firms: 196 Employment: 12,320 Revenues: $1.4 billion *

Sector: Specialized industrial machinery Number of Firms: 78 Employment: 756 Revenues: $82 million *

Sector: General industrial machinery Number of Firms: 71 Employment: 1,841 Revenues: $77 million *

Sector: Textile Mills Number of Firms: 70 Employment: 895 Revenues: $77 million *

Sector: Specialized environmental business Number of Firms: 54 Employment: 1,262 Revenues: $145 million * Includes motion picture production, television and radio, cable television, recording studios and post-production firms.

Ranked by number of firms

Behind the Scenes

In addition to paying actors, directors and writers, a film budget includes expenditures to businesses that typically supply the film industry as well as those not generally tied to show business.

An average of $32,450 per day per film was spent filming movies in the Los Angeles area in 1989 (the most recent year for which figures are available).

Cost of a Day of Filming

Location: $10,633, 36%

*Survey costs (location managers’ expenses--food, film, phone, processing) *Crew mileage for driving to the location *Permit fees *Public & private site rental *Catering *Police / fire / security *Telephone *Box (equipment box rental) / car allowance *

Wardrobe / Makeup: $2,386, 7%

*Off-the rack puchases *Shoes *Fabric for manufacutring costumes *Cleaning and dyeing *Alerations andrepair *Costume rental *Fur rental *Jewelry rental *Makeup purchares *

Property, set Construction and Set Dressing Rentals: $2,876, 9%

*Furniture *Live animals *Appliances *Firearms *Medical props *Tools *Equipment *

Equipment Rental: $8,377, 26%

*Sound equipment *Camera equipment *Lighting equipment *Grip equipment *

Property, Set Construction, and Set Dressing Purchases: $4,330, 13%

*Furniture *Lamps, lighting fixtures *Hand props *Carpeting, linoleum & tile *Draperies *Plants & flowers *Lumber & plaster *Steel *Greens (shrubs, rees, truf) *Backings (set pieces) *

Transportation: $2,888, 9%

*Picture cars *Trucks *Camera Cars *Dressing room trailers *Honey wagon *Motorhomes *Tractor and trailer with generator *Water truck

The Final Cut

* Entertainment industry production results in about $600 million in annual tax revenue for the state.

* Of that, about 31%, or $186 million, is generated from expenditures in the Valley.

State tax revenues:

Personal income taxes: $370 million Vendor sales taxes: $230 million

Statewide Impact

The entertainment industry is one of the largest private-section employers in the state, directly employing more than 164,000 people and spending a total of $16.3 billion in payroll and other costs.

San Fernando Valley: $4.8 billion The rest of Los Angeles: $3.4 billion The rest of California: $8.1 billion.

The Payout

Payroll to residents

California: $7.4 billion San Fernando Valley: $2.1 billion *

Expenditures to suppliers

California: $8.9 billion San Fernando Valley: $2.7 billion

Spotlight on Spending

Money spent in the Valley by the entertainment industry makes up a si9gnificant portion of the total spent in Los Angeles. A number of communities in the basin have contact with the industry

Where the Industry Spends

Community / Dollars, in Millions

Los Angeles: $8,184 Hollywood: $1,058 North Hollywood: $675 Van Nuys: $399 Glendale: $323 Santa Clarita: $148 Pasadena: $103 Santa Ana: $78 Thousand Oaks: $76 Simi Valley: $72 Agoura Hills: $55 Long Beach: $52 Inglewood: $35 La Canada / Flintridge: $23 Hermosa Beach: $19

Valley Vendors

Valley companies that get business from the ilm industry range from post-production firms to lumber yards and caterers.

In 1993, 31% of all the vendors in the industry were based in the Valley.

For example, Warner Bros. used 17,714 vendors last year in California. Of those, 5,491, or 31%, were in theValley. Of the Valley vendors, 40% were industry-specifc, 60% non-industry.

*

Sources: Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers report “The Economic Impact of Motion Picture, Television and Commercial Production in California” (1992 data); UCLA; Warner Bros.; Researched by JULIE SHEER / Los Angeles Times