Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "It's a big relief. It really is," said Tim Clark. "It's halted pretty much everything in Western New York."
The Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner is pleased the actors' union SAG-AFTRA has agreed to a tentative deal with studios to end a 118-day strike. But he cautioned that it will take some time before things ramp up around here.
"We'll likely have to wait until early next year [to get back to shooting movies].
I mean, we've been working all along. We've had a lot of scouting activity here for some big movies as well as some different size films," Clark noted.
How many projects were sidelined during the strike? Is there a way to quantify it?
Clark responded, "dozens."
He said it was similar to Covid in the sense that projects were shelved and crew members were not going to work. It affected not only Western New York, but New York City, Atlanta and Los Angeles where there are big production centers.
"I know of one project that threatened to go overseas, but then they called us back and said we're waiting it out and anxious to come to Buffalo to scout locations. We're hopeful that any lost business will be made up next year," he added.
Clark is very excited about a new tax incentive that may sweeten the pot for film makers. New York State approved a tax credit incentive program that kicked in this year, to make it more lucrative to shoot here.
Clark shared that he got a very exciting call Wednesday from a major studio that he will be talking with and there's a lot more in the pipeline.
"I know that a holiday-themed movie is ready to shoot in January. We have another one with a major star for an adventure movie that will begin in January. So I think the workforce will get back very quickly and I think it will be very steady. We have a number of projects slated for spring and summer. With the strike in the real view mirror, we have nothing but open road ahead."