On-location filming for movies in Los Angeles edges up, but TV and commercials still way off

June 29, 2009 7:24 PM PT

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Is the local drought in feature production coming to an end? Maybe not, but the latest data for on-location filming provides at least a glimmer of hope. Filming for on-location movie production in L.A. edged up 15% last week over the same week a year ago, when studios were winding down their filming in anticipation of a possible walkout by members of the Screen Actors Guild. Among the movies that began filming last week is ‘Cats & Dogs 2,’ a sequel to the Warner Bros. animal comedy. Still, in a grim reminder of the recession’s toll, shoots for television shows and commercials fell 50% and 48%, respectively, below year-ago levels, according to the latest data from FilmL.A. Inc. See the chart below.

-- Richard Verrier

Company Town Blog

Richard Verrier

Richard Verrier is investigations editor for Arts and Entertainment at the Los Angeles Times. He has been with The Times since 2001 and has run our Company Town since 2016. After stints at the St. Petersburg Times and the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, Verrier joined the paper as a reporter, and for many years covered all aspects of the entertainment industry before turning to editing. He oversees the Company Town coverage while working to guide and edit investigative and enterprise reporting across the entertainment team, collaborating with writers and editors from all departments. He is a native of Montreal and a graduate from the University of Toronto and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.