Hudson Valley Economy Impeded by Film Strike
Photo of Film Strike at Paramount Studios. Photo by Elliott Cowand Jr. via Flickr
On July 14, the Screen Actors Guild, also known as SAG, followed the Writers Guild of America, or WGA, in their strike for “better pay” as well as “better residual payment from streaming services,” according to the Daily Freeman.
This has since led to a complete shutdown of all productions in the country, with only a few exceptions. The strike includes several productions already filming before this shutdown in the Hudson Valley. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, shows such as HBO MAX’s “Pretty Little Liars: Summer School” and Apple TV’s “Severance” were shut down mid-production.
With this delay in production comes a significant hit to the economy of the Hudson Valley. The summer season, “from July 1 to the end of September,” is usually very lucrative and the “busiest quarter,” according to Laurent Rejto, the executive director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission. Meaning that the usual influx of business from the direct and indirect production costs will not be seen this year. Direct costs consist of things such as production studio fees, while the indirect costs range from hotels for cast and crew to the thousands of extras that come to restaurants and stores during this season.
The financial losses come months after removing the last remaining COVID-19 restrictions and $7.7 billion in tax credits from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Both were massive steps to help support the returning production to the area, as estimated by The New York Times. Rejto stated to the Daily Freeman that though it is “impossible to determine exactly how much revenue has been lost,” the financial losses from this strike have been estimated “somewhere around $25 million.” This number only covers the cost of “direct spending in the region.”
This loss of production also means a loss of work for many in the industry. Since the writers’ strike in May, local actors have been left without work and many without income. Rejto told the Daily Freeman that “within 24 hours of the SAG-AFTRA strike, all work came to an end, and local industry members received pink slips.” Rejto also said that production studios are struggling due to the “cost that these facilities are faced with in terms of utilities, taxes, staffing, etc.”
Eric Michelson, the owner of Michelson Studio 3, said to the Poughkeepsie Journal, “Business didn’t die in July; it died six months before” due to a lack of incoming contracts. This means that the economy in the Hudson Valley has been losing millions of dollars since the beginning of 2023.
Unfortunately, it does not look like things will be going back to normal anytime soon. Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, told The Washington Post that the strike could last through the end of the year. Adam Conover, a board member of the Writers Guild, also said that, unlike previous years, they are “prepared to be out on the picket line for as long as it takes” and added that they will not stop until their demands are met.