Quebec’s audiovisual industry is welcoming the end of the American actors’ strike, which paralyzed the production of Hollywood films and television series for several months. Montreal should therefore serve as a venue for American filming again from the beginning of 2024.
• Also read: Agreement in Hollywood to end actors’ strike
“This is very good news,” reacted Thursday Christian Lemay, president of local chapter 514 of the Quebec Alliance of Image and Sound Technicians (AQTIS), which represents 8,000 workers in the audiovisual industry in Quebec.
“On Wednesday evening, when the end of the strike was announced, my phone didn’t ring. Some of our members even called me personally and said, “Finally!” Since they are freelancers who work seasonally, many of them have experienced great uncertainty in the last few months.”
After 118 days of strike, actors and major Hollywood studios announced Wednesday evening that they had reached an agreement to end this historic strike that has cost the American economy billions of dollars. The details of this new three-year collective bargaining agreement for actors will be announced on Friday.
Due to the 148-day strike by American actors and screenwriters, American filming in Montreal had been stopped since May 2nd.
According to Christian Lemay, between 500 and 2,000 technicians in Quebec were affected by the two labor disputes.
“Some of our members were more affected than others,” he said. There are technicians who normally worked for American productions but who found work on sets in Quebec. But for people who work in set construction or special effects, for example, it was more difficult.”
Archive photo, Pierre-Paul Poulin
Resuming in 2024
At least three American productions are expected to come to Montreal this winter. Filming for the third season of the CBS series Ghost will begin in the coming weeks. A TV series on the Apple platform and an American feature film are also scheduled to go into production in early 2024.
“We are lucky because there are productions that had already started filming in Quebec before the strikes began. Everything has been paused, but they can restart smoothly. We expect these productions to gain momentum and finally begin filming in January.”
The Quebec Cinema and Television Bureau (BCTQ), an economic development agency that works to recruit international filmmakers, also welcomed the end of the American actors’ strike.
“We are relieved because we knew that if it was not resolved in the coming days, it would probably last until the end of January,” admits the president and general director of the BCTQ, Christine Maestracci.
“But after that, we still have to remember that there has already been a significant impact on foreign filming in 2023, but also on the visual effects and post-production industry, which will continue into 2024.” “There are a lot of people , who have lost their jobs in the visual effects field in recent months.”
Montreal less competitive
For Ms. Maestracci, the end of the Hollywood strikes should not obscure the fact that Quebec has lost its attractiveness for foreign filming, particularly due to its less competitive financial incentives compared to other cities.
According to BCTQ estimates, direct expenses related to foreign filming are expected to be approximately $50 million in 2023, a significant decrease compared to the results of recent years ($526 million in 2022).
“The reality is that we are no longer as competitive as we used to be. If we can’t get our audiovisual staff to work, they will go to cities where there is work for them, like Toronto, Ottawa or Calgary,” fears Christine Maestracci.