Friday, February 20, 2009

News Round-up

Will California's new tax credit program hurt production in New York?
California's program, which goes into effect July 1 with a cap of $100 million annually, will likely strike at the heart of the New York production industry. Even though California's tax credit rates are far below those in some other states -- Michigan offers a whopping 42% credit -- the presence of Hollywood's existing infrastructure and the desire to stay close to home has the potential to reverse more than a decade of runaway production.

DAYS' Reynolds has more airtime than any otherh African-American actor
He has logged more hours on television than any other African-American actor in the U.S. – averaging over a 100 hours of airtime each year for 25 consecutive years.

It doesn't just happen on soaps: Woman Impregnated With The Wrong Egg
"Imagine this scenario. You, or your significant other, has a routine in vitro procedure at a well respected hospital. The procedure was successful and you are thrilled with knowing that a baby, your baby, is on the way. Then you find out… the baby isn’t yours. The fertilized egg that was transferred to the hopeful mummy-to-be belonged to another woman, a total stranger. No, this is not a sub plot from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. Sadly, according to the AP, this happened to a woman in Japan."

New Masood joins EASTENDERS cast
The most talked about absent family member of all time is about to make a splash in the Square as Marc Elliott joins the cast of EastEnders in the role of Syed Masood, the "handsome, suave and sophisticated" eldest child of the Masood family.


SAG talks break down
Confounding expectations that SAG was nearing a deal, the majors and the Screen Actors Guild broke off three days of talks late Thursday with the congloms issuing a take-it-or-leave-it "last, best and final" offer.

The talks fell apart over SAG's insistence that a new feature-primetime deal had to expire on June 30, 2011 - meaning that the deal would last only two years and three months.

Broadcast pilots flying to AFTRA
With SAG still reeling from an internal power struggle and engaged in protracted contract negotiations with producers, AFTRA is making big gains on its rival actors union in primetime television.

Once the odd man out during broadcast networks' winter pilot season with an occasional multicamera pilot, AFTRA is dominating the field this year with at least 50 of the 70-plus broadcast pilots to be produced coming under its jurisdiction.

British soap MISTRESSES washes onto U.S. shores and leaves us in a lather
MISTRESSES, airing tonight at 8pm ET on BBC America, just might succeed where the late LIPSTICK JUNGLE and CASHMERE MAFIA failed. MISTRESSES uses the same template as those shows, but with a surer hand. It works as legitimate drama, it works as soap trash. You can get a knot in your stomach or you can kick back with a bowl of popcorn. When it's clicking, it's some of television's best Friday night fun since the golden age of DALLAS.

Best.Lesbian.Week.Ever. on ALL MY CHILDREN
"Considering everything that's happened on this show, Eden Riegel deserves an Emmy for delivering the line 'Lesbians don't just go around kissing men!' without laughing."

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