Riverside County Film Commission Biannual Report in Review

ECONOMIC IMPACT Average Economic Impact From Filming in Riverside County 2015-2019 was $30,857,350 Per Year. Average Production Days was 1048 Per Year. Average Number of Projects was 460 Per Year Average Economic Impact Post-Covid-19, 2020-2022 was $3,062,916 Per Year. Average Production Days was 293 per Year. Average Number of Projects was 130 Per Year Covid-19 shut down production in 2020 and we saw a slow comeback throughout 2021. Other events that have affected filming in Riverside County include the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. This ongoing strike started on May 2, 2023. At that time, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), representing 11,500 screenwriters, went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). It is the largest interruption to American film and television production since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as the largest labor stoppage that the WGA has performed since the strike of 1988, which lasted for 154 days. Additionally, the SAG-AFTTRA Strike started on July 14, 2023. Actors contend that artificial intelligence can be used to replicate an actor’s likeness and voice without compensation for the actor. All productions (TV and Features but also video games) that have union actors employed have stopped production and will not continue until a resolution is met.