Canadian Carpetbaggers or Not Bad Folks?

Interesting article on the film industry and how most of it is going to Canada (“Oh No, Canada,” by E.D. Maytum, Jan. 9). Has Maytum ever thought that maybe Vancouver offers a more friendly environment for these productions, one that includes an exchange rate of almost 50% on the dollar, reasonable union rates, beautiful scenery (so it rains a bit!) and provincial tax incentives to the production companies?

Has Maytum ever thought that maybe these productions might not even have happened if they hadn’t been filmed up north?

And don’t knock those Canadian actors who are doing well in the States, including Jim Carrey, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, Jason Priestly, William Shatner and Keanu Reeves, just to name a few. Obviously--based on the Nielsen ratings and the box office figures for 1999, the best in film history--the viewing public doesn’t care about nationality.

Don’t be so tough on the Canadians. We aren’t that bad!

David Patterson

Palm Springs

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I was both disturbed and enraged by Maytum’s article on the loss of American acting jobs to Canadians. This practice should be ended by our two theatrical unions, SAG and AFTRA, as the majority of their members are unable to find work. It is time for the government to put a stop to “snowbacks” streaming across our northern border like Algerian terrorists and taking our jobs.

Runaway production is turning Hollywood into a ghost town. TV shows and films set in America should be shot in America. Give our citizens a chance to make a living.

W.R. Turner

Pasadena