Businesses that serve TV and film productions brace for effects of the writers strike
Businesses that serve TV and film productions brace for effects of the writers strike
Hollywood writers hit the picket lines yesterday after their last three-year deal expired. Their union, the Writers Guild of America, has been negotiating with TV and film production companies, and compensation is a main sticking point.
The strike’s effects are going to ripple through businesses that serve the industry, as well as the communities where shoots happen.
That’s playing out in one of the nation’s top film production markets: Greater Atlanta.
This time of year is usually one of the busiest for companies that serve film and TV productions like Atlanta Craft Services in Georgia.
Founder Zac Ebrams said his business providing food on-set has figured how to handle the annual onslaught.
“We’ve built a pretty solid network of people that we can call on,” Ebrams said. “If you do have multiple productions, sometimes we end up having to turn business down.”
Not this year. Ebrams said most productions book three to four months ahead, but in the lead-up to the writers strike, “We’ve not had a whole lot of interest or inquiries in the services that we provide, I would say, for the past few months.”
Reality shows have been helping. Lego Masters wrapped a week and a half ago in the Atlanta area. In Marietta, Georgia, Parks, Recreation and Facilities director Rich Buss said he’s getting some calls about commercials as well.
“I mean, there’s a lot of good benefit to local folks in town who rent out parking lots for base camps and do things like that,” Buss said.
However, an industry that brought $4.4 billion to the state of Georgia last year has been fairly quiet. Local merchants aren’t getting the influx of customers that spend money in Marietta when production is happening.
Buss said the city usually issues around 50 production permits each fiscal year. With just two months left, “I think we’re at about 31 right now, so we’re a little behind pace,” he said.
The last writers’ strike 15 years ago lasted 100 days.
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