Soaring loonie cuts filming
Subsidies drawing movies elsewhere
One studio offers 78-cent U.S. dollar
Snip....
When Hollywood titans such as Steven Spielberg want to make movies in Canada, Michael Prupas is usually one of the first people to field a phone call.
The trouble is, Prupas said, his phone hasn't been ringing as often in recent weeks.
The 53-year-old producer is among a growing number of stakeholders in Canada's once vibrant film industry who worry that a robust Canadian dollar is bad for business.
"There's a real danger with the dollar rising as much as it has, as fast as it has," said Prupas, whose credits include The Terminal, which starred Tom Hanks and Catch Me if You Can with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Prupas said he's already lost several prospective productions to Louisiana and he isn't the only one feeling the pinch.
Producer Don Carmody's plans to work for a unit of Universal Films on Revolver, a psychological thriller starring Sarah Michelle Geller, were scuppered in recent weeks when Universal pulled the production out of Toronto.
"The studios have no loyalty," said Carmody, who was co-producer of the Academy Award winning film Chicago.
For years, Hollywood companies looking to save money on productions were drawn to Canada by a less-expensive dollar and the promise of provincial and federal labour tax credits.
With the Canadian dollar's rapid climb, however, coupled with aggressive tax credit programs in at least 44 U.S. states, that advantage is weakening, industry officials said.
"We have a pretty empty slate staring at us in January," said Kenneth Ferguson, president of Toronto Film Studios Inc., which boasts 15 shooting stages on its 12.1-hectare downtown property. "There are so many things going against the Canadian film industry right now."
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, for instance, is lobbying Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures and other Hollywood producers to film more movies in the United States, while Louisiana, New York and other U.S. states are introducing more favourable labour tax credit programs, Ferguson said.
With that in mind, Toronto Film Studios said yesterday that it would allow U.S. customers pricing in U.S. dollars to lock in at the rate of 78 cents (U.S.). That amounts to a 5.76-cent saving, based on the Canadian dollar's closing price yesterday of 83.76 cents (U.S.).
The Canadian dollar, at the 83-cent mark for the first time in 12 years, has climbed 9 per cent in the past three months and gained 8 per cent this year, the most of the world's 16 major currencies.
Some economists have predicted the loonie might even surpass 85 cents before the year's end — and could in coming years reach parity with the U.S dollar, which hasn't happened since November, 1976.
"We're just trying to take the dollar out of the equation," said Ferguson, whose company expects to record about $7 million (Canadian) in revenue this year hosting about 20 productions.
Industry sources said other stakeholders in the $2 billion film service business, including unions representing directors and actors, were considering similar incentives.
"People in this business aren't looking at a full dance card right now," said John Barrack, an executive with the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association. "It's slowing down."
Currently, there are four feature films shooting in Toronto, down from five a year ago and six in 2002, said Rhonda Silverstone, manager of the Toronto Film and Television Office.
"The dollar going up is a killer."
Toronto isn't only losing out more frequently to U.S. locations. While Ontario, Quebec and B.C. offer an 11 per cent tax break on labour costs, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are trying to win more filming business by offering tax breaks of as much as 35 per cent.
"It's tough to compete with that," Silverstone said.
In a speech to the lobby group FilmOntario on Tuesday, Toronto Mayor David Miller said he has spoken with Prime Minister Paul Martin about his concerns for Canada's faltering film industry and suggested the formation of two new units to help bolster the local movie business.
A new Toronto Film Board, chaired by Miller, might lobby foreign producers to shoot in Toronto, while an "interdepartmental working group" might handle parking and film permits and other logistics.
"As things stand, there are a lot of incentives from the other orders of government to take production outside the GTA," said Patchen Barss, a spokesperson for the mayor.
Carmody said incentives like the ones offered by Toronto Film Studios won't mean much unless others follow suit.
"If you're dealing with a $20 million picture, your studio costs are going to be maybe $300,000," said Carmody, whose film credits also include Good Will Hunting and Porky's. "What about the hotel and car rentals and catering costs? The studio is a relatively small cost."
Still, Bob Presner said U.S.-based studios should continue to consider Canada as a filming locale — even if the Canadian dollar climbs as high as 90 cents.
"Whether it's 85 cents or 90 cents, it's still an advantage," said Presner, a Toronto adviser with Film Finances Canada Inc., which insures banks and other financiers against films going over budget. |
