Hollywood has been slow to recover from last year's writers' and actors' strike. According to a new report from FilmLA, TV production in the first quarter of 2024 was down 16.2% compared to the same period last year, and local location shooting was down 7.7%.
“Since the first week of January, people have been calling FilmLA saying, 'I'm still looking for work.' The phone isn't ringing. Is the industry coming back?” FilmLA president Paul Audley said. said in a statement. “Unfortunately, production is still delayed and the situation is not back to normal.”
Members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike against major Hollywood studios from May 2 to September 27 of last year, as Screen Actors Guild members demanded more money from streaming services and protections for their films. This coincided with the strike from July 14th to November 9th. Use of artificial intelligence.
According to the report, the two groups have struck big deals with major Hollywood studios to increase salaries and ensure AI protections, but the industry's long-awaited return to production in early 2024 will take eight to eight months. Turns out it took 10 weeks.
“Many of those who endured months without work or income were hoping that filming would resume soon after the holidays,” Audrey said. “Production didn't really stabilize until March.”
FilmLA found that during the first three months of 2024, there was less work for cast and crew related to film permits compared to the same months in 2023. Compared to last year, January saw the largest decline in work (-30.6%), followed by February (-5.1%) and March (-0.4%).
Television production had the steepest decline, led by reality shows (-18.6%) and TV dramas (-5.5%) as studios canceled series and production moved away from cities. Commercials filmed for TV and the web also decreased (-9.6%).
Feature film production was a rare bright spot, increasing 6.6% year over year in the first quarter.
Last December, an Otis College of Art and Design study found that the Los Angeles entertainment industry lost 17% of its workforce during the writers and actors strike.
The study found that unemployment among actors and writers fell fastest during the union strike, but camera operators, editors, and sound and lighting technicians were also severely affected.
Even before SAG-AFTRA's 160,000 members and the Writers Guild of America's 11,500 members went on strike, employment in the entertainment industry was shrinking. After peaking in May 2016, entertainment employment has declined by 26%, according to the Otis report.