If the Screen Actors Guild goes on strike over the same issue as the recent U.S. screenwriters strike—residuals from new media platforms—the B.C. film industry could experience a repeat of 2007’s drop in foreign production. The SAG’s film and TV contract expires on June 30.

B.C. film commissioner Susan Croome told the Straight by phone that unpredictable events such as last year’s screenwriters’ strike underscore the need for a diverse industry. “We need strong domestic [production], which is less influenced by external factors, and yet the foreign [production] is a very lucrative part of our business and provides great economic benefit,” she said.

Aside from the effects of the strike, a high Canadian dollar, and increased competition, three productions were lost to Eastern Canada in early 2007 because of studio-space shortages here, according to Croome. BC Film Commission statistics show a drop in foreign feature films (from 35 to 23) and TV series (from 25 to 18) in 2007.

Domestic production helped to mitigate the negative impact. Domestic spending grew—from $277 million in 2006 to $407 million in 2007—due to an increase in feature films (from 18 to 24) and television series (from 14 to 24). “The higher budgets are indicative of producers having funding to go ahead and make these more expensive shows,” Croome said.

The cancellation of the Vancouver-shot CBC productions jPod and Intelligence because of low ratings, however, will affect 2008 domestic production levels.

In spite of the challenges, Croome pointed out that Vancouver remains the third-largest production centre in North America, with $943 million in production (down from over $1 billion in 2006), while Ontario reported $791 million (down from $888 million).