Runaway Entertainment Productions

Re: “ ‘Runaway Productions’ Threaten Our Stability,” Aug. 22.

I was very happy to see Assembly member Sheila James Kuehl’s article backing Assembly Bills 358 and 484. As she stated, these are only the first steps to bringing our work home. Studios, just like other businesses, will go where costs are cheapest, and at this point they are finding that in other countries. And as she stated, that is killing the American dream for thousands.

I’ve been in this business for over 25 years and have never seen it as bad as this. . . . But now I’ve had to reconsider my whole career plan due to the fact that as of this date, I’ve only worked 40 days this entire year. I’ve gone through all my savings plans, and have a daughter whom I’m trying to put through college. Try doing that and still afford the basics of life on only 40 days of work.

Please, people, write your senators and congressmen and impress upon them that we must keep American jobs in America.

Bring Hollywood home!

RICHARD STRAUBE

Palmdale

* It is very interesting that the public, as illustrated by the minimal coverage the press gives this growing problem, doesn’t care. Entertainment, whether it is motion pictures or television, seems not to matter in the big picture of John Q. Public, who lives in middle America and can barely pay his bills and hears that another movie star has just been paid $20 million for the next film.

It doesn’t register that all the people behind the scenes have responsibilities and financial obligations like the next guy.

What did Detroit do when the influx of foreign cars began to dominate American highways? They mounted one of the largest public relations campaigns ever seen in America. The underlying theme was “Buy American!” “Support America!”

The film technicians need to do the same and educate the population as to how grave this situation really is. Public service announcements and commercials with notable stars (members of the Screen Actors Guild) need to inform the public about the financial impact runaway productions are having on our country.

As for offering a Los Angeles-based film producer a 10% tax incentive to film in this country, I think they are going to laugh, just as the Canadians are doing every time we have a rally to try to take steps to halt productions leaving this country. There is going to have to be more drastic action taken to deal with the real culprit of runaway production, the difference in the currency exchange.

Let’s say you have a budget of $1 million to spend, in American dollars. Taking the production to Canada gives you approximately $1.5 million to spend on what’s going to show on the screen.

There needs to be a federal tax on all films that are shot out of the country, owned, licensed and shown by American companies that take advantage of foreign government assistance and the difference in the currency exchange. These are projects that are shot in Vancouver that are supposed to be Northern California, or Montreal representing New York City. If a film has a location relevant to the story, then that would have a percentage exemption. The tax needs to equal what the savings would be in taking the production out of this country.

This is the only way to prevent thrifty producers from taking their projects out of the country.

Hit them where it hurts; in the bank account of the ivory towers.

ALAN M. GITLIN

Sherman Oaks