Canada’s weak dollar can ultimately ruin Georgia’s growing film industry.
It is no lie, Georgia’s film industry is booming. With billions of dollars being pumped into the Peach State, Georgia’s film industry is the fastest growing in the world.
However, Georgia’s film industry may come to a complete stop if Canada’s dollar continues to fall. According to a report by Etan Vlessing with the Hollywood Reporter, Canada can quickly become the new Hollywood if the U.S. economy doesn’t change.
The weak Canadian dollar already has Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal busy with Hollywood movies and TV series shooting locally this summer.
But the loonie, as Canada’s dollar coin is known, on Wednesday tumbling in value against the American greenback appears set to lure even more Los Angeles producers across the border in 2016, say local industry players.
Do you think it’s a joke? Two of the most talked about movies at Comic-Con are currently filming in Canada. Warner Bros. new movie ‘Suicide Squad’ is currently filming in Toronto and Ryan Reynolds’ ‘Deadpool’ is filming in Vancouver. In fact, many of Hollywood’s biggest players are ramping up production in Canada.
So how will Canada’s weak dollar affect the United States’ film industry. Linda Ferguson, the general manager of Toronto studio Revival 629, explains how:
“If they (U.S. producers) know that their TV series will be renewed, they should buy their money now.”
“I know they (LA producers) like Ontario. Even though our tax credit was clawed back a little, it’s still a good tax credit. And the 77 cent dollar is just a big bonus,” Ferguson added. The Canadian dollar on Wednesday fell 1.5 percent to 77.39 cents against the U.S. dollar after the Bank of Canada cut its key rate for the second time this year.
That’s right. In addition to Canada’s film tax credit, the U.S. dollar is worth so much more. That means producers can hire more extras, build bigger sets, and cast bigger actors at a fraction of the price.
The good news is that it is too early to tell if Canada’s dollar will continue to drop.
“A low dollar does help us to ensure that Ontario is on the shortlist when people are looking at a jurisdiction to film in,” Reid Johnston said. With the U.S. Fed expected to raise rates south of the border, the Canadian dollar is expected to sink in value still further into 2016.
Every good thing must come to an end.
Check out the full and in-depth article here.
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