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Newsweek
01-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Gavin Newsom's Plan To Save Hollywood
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. California Governor Gavin Newsom has a big-budget plan to revive what has long been his state's signature sector—one that has lost its luster as film and television productions chase more lucrative opportunities out of state and overseas. In a bold move that has sparked debate about the future of the film industry and the Golden State's role within it, Newsom has proposed a significant expansion of California's Film and Television Tax Credit Program, which offers incentives to studios that choose to shoot and produce their shows and movies in the state. Last fall, the governor proposed more than doubling the size of the program to $750 million from $330 million—where it has remained since 2014—and has since been working to fold this into California's hotly debated budget. Newsom recently credited the program with bringing dozens of projects to the state, expected to employ 6,500 cast and crew and generate "$664 million in economic activity." However, he has argued that the expansion is necessary to ensure Hollywood does not lose its status as one of the entertainment industry's epicenters. "California didn't earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident — it was built over generations by skilled workers and creative talent pushing boundaries," Newsom said in a statement. "Today's awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home, supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes and boosting local economies that depend on a strong film and television industry." A spokesperson for the governor described the tax credit program as "a proven economic engine" in a statement to Newsweek, adding that, "at a time when other states are aggressively luring productions away from California, the Governor's budget is prioritizing a smart, strategic investment like this to keep good-paying, union jobs at home and protecting one of our most iconic industries." La-La Land's 'Dire Straits' The COVID Pandemic and its protracted effect on movie productions worldwide, the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, and this year's wildfires have all spelled difficulty for California and its cinematic economy, and brought into sharper relief the issues Newsom believes could lead to its further decline. Add to this the already prohibitively high costs associated with shooting in L.A. According to a report published in May, the city's permit application fee is $3,724, compared to $1,000 in New York, $540 in London and only $400 in Atlanta, Georgia. Fueled by these low costs, as well as a tax incentive program that outdoes California's, Georgia has already become the nation's leading location for movie productions. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva Further straining California's grip on the industry is the wider exodus of productions from American shores since COVID. As entertainment lawyer and industry expert Jonathan Handel puts it: "You have an increased number of locations fighting for slices of a smaller pie." Locations including the U.K., Australia, and Eastern Europe, he told Newsweek, have benefited from their own film subsidies and lower labor costs, while developing their own expertise and "crew depth." "The industry overall, I wouldn't say it's dying, but it is in dire straits," he said. "It's in a very difficult place." Trump's Movie Tariffs and Newsom's Big-Budget Plan It is these issues Governor Newsom has cited in arguing for increasing the state's film tax credit. According to the governor's office in October, around 71 percent of the projects that were rejected by the program subsequently chose to film out of state, costing California an estimated $1.6 billion in production spending between 2020 and 2024. And it is the wider growth in the desirability of shooting abroad that drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who in early May declared that the American movie industry was dying "a very fast death," while announcing an imminent, 100-percent tariff "on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands." The plan—dubbed "absurd" by Handel—was met with confusion from industry figures, who questioned how customs authorities would be able to apply a tariff on an intellectual property article such as a movie, or portions of one shot abroad then spliced together by a team in the U.S. "Does that mean you can hold up the movie in customs? I feel it doesn't ship that way," was the reaction of director Wes Anderson when asked about the prospect during the Cannes Film Festival. Jon Voight, one of Trump's unofficial envoys to Hollywood, did not comment on the specific remedy, but told Variety that "something has to be done, and it's way past time." And Trump's sentiment received similar support from Newsom himself, despite his tenure as California governor being increasingly defined by a series of bitter and public clashes with the president. Newsom proposed a $7.5 billion nationwide tax incentive program – which the U.S. currently lacks – and said he was "eager to partner with the Trump administration to further strengthen domestic production and Make America Film Again." Following Trump's Truth Social policy announcement, the White House swiftly clarified that "no final decisions" had been made on the possibility of tariffing foreign films. And since then, there have been no concrete developments regarding either this plan or Newsom's proposal. The governor's office said it is still eager to work with Trump to this end, and has offered the administration technical expertise and implementational guidance to help "keep American stories made on American soil." However, the spokesperson expressed disappointment that this plan was not included as part of the reconciliation bill – the sweeping legislative package currently making its way through Congress and comprising much of Trump's domestic agenda – adding: "Perhaps the Trump administration isn't as committed to the success of America's film industry as they have suggested they are." But the governor has been successful in his California-focused efforts, recently reaching an agreement with state lawmakers to include hiking the film tax credit program in the budget, just in time for the July 1 start of the fiscal year. "The expansion will be successful," said a spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA, America's premier labor union for media professionals working in film and television. "With the doubling of the CA production tax incentive program, we believe it will help attract and retain many new productions to the state." However, Handel said restoring Hollywood's former glory is "not going to be easy," and added that the tax credits alone are "not going to be a miracle cure." He noted that key elements of a production, such as actors' salaries, will remain ineligible for rebates under the $750 million program. Ben Samek, whose company Banijay has produced shows such as MasterChef and Below Deck, criticized Newsom's plan for failing to include unscripted TV productions within its purview. In an article for the Hollywood Reporter, Samek wrote: "The Governor's current plan falls short of the bold vision needed to restore California's position as a global entertainment hub – especially when it comes to unscripted television, which is not only an area where I am especially well-versed but also a genre where the speed and long-term repeatability and expansion of franchises can pay immense dividends to local economies." But Newsom's proposal appears to be the most significant legislative effort to stave off the growing threats to Hollywood, and is expected to add nearly $5 billion to the California economy annually. If La-La Land is to avoid becoming a museum to its own golden age, the plan marks a meaningful first step toward reversing its long-term decline.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Morgan Wallen Reclaims ARIA Albums Chart With ‘I'm the Problem'
Morgan Wallen returns to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart this week with his sprawling 37-track effort I'm the Problem, marking his second Australian chart-topper following One Thing at a Time, which spent two weeks at No. 1 in 2023. I'm the Problem is Wallen's fourth studio album and his strongest-performing to date Down Under. The country megastar previously peaked at No. 2 with Dangerous: The Double Album and hit No. 53 with his 2018 debut If I Know Me. The album's title track also rebounds on the ARIA Singles Chart this week, leaping from No. 65 to No. 34. More from Billboard Tory Lanez Is Being Transferred to a New Prison After Being Stabbed, His Dad Says Aaron Paul Opens Up About Tracking Down Tour Managers to Get Bands to Perform in His Living Room Ye Claims He's 'Done With Antisemitism': 'Forgive Me for the Pain I've Caused' Meanwhile, new cut 'What I Want,' featuring Canadian pop star Tate McRae, debuts at No. 17 on the Singles Chart and cracks the Top 5 on the New Music Chart. Sydney pop-punk trio Stand Atlantic also make a splash this week, with their 2024 album Was Here roaring back to No. 3 on the Albums Chart following the release of its deluxe edition. It's the highest-charting Australian artist release this week, leading the Top 5 Australian Artist Albums chart ahead of Spacey Jane's If That Makes Sense and Cold Chisel's 50 Years – The Best Of. Elsewhere, Hozier's self-titled debut celebrates its 10th anniversary with a jump from No. 27 to No. 10, while the 40th anniversary edition of Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms debuts at No. 33. The legendary LP spent 34 weeks at No. 1 in the mid-'80s — second only to The Sound of Music soundtrack's historic 76-week reign. On the ARIA Singles Chart, Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' holds firm at No. 1 for a ninth straight week, becoming the longest-running chart-topper by a solo male artist since The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' ruled for 11 weeks in 2020. Rising star Sombr continues his momentum with 'Undressed' and 'Back to Friends' sitting at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Four Decades of 'Madonna': A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album on the Charts Chart Rewind: In 1990, Madonna Was in 'Vogue' Atop the Hot 100
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The 5 classic Dire Straits songs that aren't on their No. 1 album 'Brothers in Arms'
Along with U2 and The Police, Dire Straits were among the most successful bands from the British Isles in the 1980s. Their fifth studio album, 1985's Brothers in Arms sold in staggering numbers, earning Platinum or Diamond status in 10 countries, storming to the No. 1 spot on album charts each and every time. Yet, in many ways, it was a last gasp for the beloved band; they'd take six years to record and release a followup, and by that time, popular tastes had changed, with grunge all the rage. (1991's On Every Street still made it to No. 1 in eight countries, no mean feat.) The overwhelming success of Brothers in Arms tends to overshadow the catalog of fine work Dire Straits had already created. So on the 40th anniversary of the release of Brothers in Arms, here are five great Dire Straits tunes from the records that came before it. 'Once Upon a Time in the West' from (1979) After the slow-burn success of Dire Straits' self-titled debut LP, Communiqué was met with a more modest reception. But the album arguably built on the first record's strengths. The understated 'Once Upon a Time in the West' added some reggae textures to the band's rootsy approach. The song would remain a staple of Dire Straits' live set; it featured prominently in an epic version, opening their 1984 live album (see below). 'Tunnel of Love' from (1980) Opening with the strains of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Carousel Waltz,' Dire Straits' 'Tunnel of Love' signaled Mark Knopfler's move toward grand, sweeping musical works. The evocative song showcases emotional depth, exceptional instrumental work and some of Knopfler's finest lyrics, rivaling Bruce Springsteen (who would write a 'Tunnel of Love' of his own a few years later). 'Telegraph Road' from (1982) Mark Knopfler's gift for creating wide-screen, epic songs continued on Dire Straits' fourth studio LP. The album's single, 'Industrial Disease' would be the only tune on the five-song album to come in under six minutes. Yet at fourteen minutes plus, 'Telegraph Road' never wastes a second. Knopfler's lyrics were inspired in part by the Nobel Prize winning novel Growth of the Soil by Norwegian author Knut Hamsun. 'Twisting by the Pool' from (1983) Brothers in Arms displayed some playful humor in songs like 'Money for Nothing,' but the MTV hit wasn't Dire Straits' first tune with a bit of whimsy. A three-day recording session in Fall 1982 yielded four new songs for the group, including this fun and uptempo track. The uncharacteristic 'Twisting by the Pool' made it onto the singles charts in the U.S., UK and New Zealand; it reached the No. 1 spot in the latter. 'Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero' from (1984) While guitarist and songwriter Mark Knopfler formally launched his solo career after Dire Straits broke up in 1995, he had already been active outside the band for more than a decade. His first recorded work outside the group was composing, recording and producing the soundtrack for the well-received 1983 film Local Hero. On tour, Dire Straits featured the movie's stirring instrumental theme song in a full-band version; it's a highlight of the Alchemy album. Visit the Goldmine store for vinyl, CDs, box sets, collectibles, music history books and limited-edition, Goldmine-only exclusives. An online store specifically for music collectors. Click HERE!
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Percussionist DAME EVELYN GLENNIE reveals her life-changing payday
Dame Evelyn Glennie, 59, is the first person to sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist, performing worldwide with great artists and orchestras, writes Peter Robertson. Born in Aberdeenshire, her hearing declined from the age of eight, making her achievements all the more remarkable. She's worked with artists include Danny Boyle (on the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics), Bjork and Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler. She was made a Dame in 2007. Divorced, she lives in Cambridgeshire. What did your parents teach you about money? To be financially independent and responsible with it. Being brought up on a farm, the holidays were always spent doing things like picking potatoes at other farms, where I'd get £6 to £10 a day, and that went into a jar I could use to buy things such as Christmas presents. When I left home at 16 to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, it was important to be responsible with money. What was your first pay packet? One of my jobs on the farm was to look after sick lambs. If I managed to keep them alive, once they were sold at the mart, Dad allowed me to have that money. So that was a nice incentive, although I'd have looked after the lambs for no money, of course, as they were so cute. When I started doing sessions for Harry Secombe's TV series Highway, I got double what I'd expected so I told them they must have made a mistake, but it was explained that as I played multiple instruments I earned more. Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? Not really. I've been lucky on that front. As a student in London I tried to get through each week on £10-£25 – I wasn't the sort to buy new jeans over a piece of music. In those days you could buy lunch in the Academy canteen cheaply. My diet was practically sausage and beans. I had a complete focus on creating a career as a solo percussionist. Have you ever been paid silly money? In the late 1980s I was asked to take part in a TV advert, playing the marimba on top of a Fuji Bank building in Paris. The fee was £20,000, so of course I was going to say yes. They also gave me free rein to buy a dress, so I went to Harrods and got one for more than £1,000. It seemed absurd to buy that without a worry. The £20,000 allowed me to buy a 3.5-ton van to transport my own equipment, to tour Europe and build a team of people. So that money was a godsend. What's been the best year of your financial life? My first 20 or so years in the music business were very lucrative, in that many of the arts organisations, promoters and venues and so on were well supported. That's not the case nowadays – it can be a real challenge. I was lucky to become financially independent quite early on, in order to do things like employ a team of people. If I started out now, I don't think that would be possible in quite the same way. Are you a spender or saver? I'm certainly a saver, but I do spend quite a bit on percussion instruments, which I love, think are beautiful and am curious about, and I still use a lot of them. That is really my thing. I can probably count the pairs of shoes I have with one hand – though I sometimes record and perform barefoot to feel physically more connected to the sound. The Evelyn Glennie Collection in Huntingdon, which people can visit, includes over 3,800 instruments. What's the most expensive thing you bought for fun? I had a midlife moment when playing in Austria about 25 years ago. I had just passed my motorbike test and bought a lovely MV Agusta for about £12,000, and took it home in the 7.5 ton truck I had then. But insurers seemed to target musicians, and with my hearing impairment the cost went through the roof, so I never rode the bike. I still have it though, and when people tour my Collection it's the first thing they see... and the last thing they expect to see. What has been your biggest money mistake? That was in about 1988 when I bought my first property – a one-bedroom flat in west London. I'd had no advice. Then, when properties were sold in Scotland, you just paid the asking price – there was no haggling. I assumed that was true of the UK. I moved out of London to where I am now in 1992 – I wish I'd been in a financial position to keep the flat. In the Collection there's a card written by a neighbour in London threatening to 'take things further' if I didn't keep the noise down! The best money decision you've made? Employing someone who knows more about money than me. That has been important because, although I'm a saver and like to know what's in the bank and what my money is doing, I'm not one who wants to manage it day to day. Do you have a pension? Yes, on my parents' advice, I've had one since I was a young professional. Do you own any property? I own a five-bedroom house in a tiny village, two houses that are rented out and a business unit. Do you donate money to charity? Yes. I've always done quite a lot for charities, whether doing something or donating financially. But at the moment the bulk of my energy is towards supporting my own charity, The Evelyn Glennie Foundation. Its mission is to teach the world to listen. For example, we work in prisons where listening is key to what goes on. Listening has been an important part of my journey. If you were Chancellor of the Exchequer, what would you do? We put a lot of importance on wellbeing, and people are living longer, yet I think the elderly are not always well treated. We need to think about the quality of care and the respect that we put towards that generation, because they can be incredibly valuable to society. What is your top indulgence? Aside from percussion instruments, I enjoy going to antique fairs, for walks and cycles, and metal detecting – but those aren't expensive hobbies. I was given a metal detector about 12 years ago by a friend as a Christmas present. I've never found anything valuable – mostly bits of old farm machinery – but it's a lovely, relaxing thing to do. What is your No.1 financial priority? To make sure there's always financial independence, and the wherewithal to ensure everything is protected as much as possible.
Telegraph
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Prog rock star Steven Wilson: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody wouldn't have a hope in hell today'
A small battle was fought out in the UK album charts last week that reveals a great deal about the state of contemporary popular music. In one corner was British multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter Steven Wilson with The Overview, a science-fiction concept album comprising only two epic tracks of virtuoso musicianship, each clocking in around 20 minutes long. Sometimes described as a torchbearer for progressive rock, midweek charts suggested the 57-year-old musical wizard was set to score the first ever number one of his career – until he was overtaken by the surprise streaming-only release of an album from well-connected US rapper Playboi Carti, which featured 30 short tracks made with the input of 50 different producers and nine guest stars, titled (without apparent irony) Music. 'It was no competition, really, let's be honest,' Wilson laughs cheerily. 'His music is almost the antithesis of mine – short, minimal, full of the kind of digital sounds you hear on mobile phones. There are no solos, which have completely disappeared from modern music. It's all about the vocals these days, and it reflects the pace of life we live now. I completely understand why it might be more interesting to 15-year-old kids raised on computer games and TikTok.' In the end, Wilson declared himself satisfied to reach number three with 17,637 physical album sales, against Carti's 21,636 'streaming equivalent units' (pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter held the number two spot also based entirely on streams calculated by an ever-changing mathematically complex weighting formula that I don't fully understand and am sceptical that anyone else does either). 'All of my sales come from CDs and vinyl,' Wilson notes. 'I've been touring around indie record stores, and I've yet to meet anyone who's even heard of Playboi Carti.' The first track on Wilson's album, Objects Outlive Us, was over five times longer than any of the 166 rival releases featured on Spotify's New Music Playlist. 'I like to use new technology and push the boundaries, but it's become almost too easy to create music by the yard that doesn't have much to distinguish it from everything else,' suggests Wilson, who thinks popular music is becoming artistically conservative. 'It's almost gone back to the way it was before rock took over – manufactured pop songs, two minutes long, get the vocal hook in right at the beginning, not too much personality. Maybe it's because I'm old and miserable, but it's like there's only two singers. The boys all sound like Ed Sheeran, and the girls sound like Dua Lipa.' Wilson laments the loss of 'the kind of unpredictability and structural daring that could make you go 'wow, I've never heard something like that before!' Dire Straits' biggest hit was Private Investigations, six minutes long with a three-minute marimba nylon string guitar duet. I mean, f---'s sake! It got to number two [in 1982], it wouldn't even get to first base now. Sound and Vision by David Bowie, the vocal doesn't come in for a minute and a half. [Rod Stewart's] Maggie May doesn't have a chorus, it's just a succession of verses. And don't get me started on Bohemian Rhapsody. None of these songs would have a hope in hell today.' I should stress that Wilson is entirely un-embittered by his experience. A long and successful career 'under the radar' both solo and with his nouveau progressive rock band Porcupine Tree has landed him and his family in an airy, deceptively large modern cottage in a leafy corner of London's northern suburb of Barnet. Two small rescue dogs, Bowie and Lenny (the latter named after Bruce, not Kravitz, Wilson is at pains to point out) yap at our ankles as we retreat to a luxurious home studio, studded with vintage instruments (mellotron, piano, Prophet and Moog synthesisers, numerous guitars) and wired for state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos, the ultimate in modern surround sound, involving 12 separate speakers. When he is not creating his own music, Wilson is one of the world's most in-demand remixers for spatial audio, and has reconfigured all time classic albums for such audiophile favourites as Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Roxy Music, The Who, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Chic, Ultravox, Tears For Fears and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. 'I love 70s and 80s music, when records sounded so luxurious and lush,' he admits. The simplest album he ever worked on was Van Morrison's Moondance. 'It's basically the sound of five musicians playing in a room together. Recorded on 8-track tape, all the drums in mono. Push up the faders and you're 80 per cent there.' The most challenging was Tears for Fears's 1989 epic The Seeds of Love. 'They spent three years making it in different studios, with different bands and different producers, then stitched it all together with three 24-track machines running in sync. We had to transfer it all to digital, and wound up with hundreds of separate audio tracks, and even then some of them had different things crammed on, and a shaker would suddenly turn into a backing vocal. 'I wanted to give up several times, but I'm glad I didn't. Because it sounds amazing, probably the ultimate album to listen to in Atmos. When you've got this immersive audio field, suddenly you can hear everything. I've had musicians say to me 'We spent days working on that overdub, and I think it's the first time since then that I've actually heard it.'' The extent of artists' involvement in the remix process varies. 'Pink Floyd don't want anything to do with it, partly because I think Roger and David just don't want to deal with each other anymore. Pete Townshend was supportive but didn't even want to hear my mix of Who's Next. He said, 'My hearing's gone anyway. I trust you.' And then you get people like Andy Partridge (of XTC) who'll call me up and say I've got too much EQ on the hi-hat. But I love working with Andy, he's a creative inspiration.' Indeed, the reclusive Partridge contributed philosophically bravura lyrics to Wilson's latest album. The concept is based on 'the overview effect,' which 'is something astronauts experience the first time they go into space. They look back at earth and have a profound shift in perspective. It affects some people very positively and some very negatively, and those extremes interested me. It is a sudden understanding of just how insignificant the Earth really is, and therefore, by extension, how insignificant we are.' Wilson conceived the album as 'one piece of conceptual rock music' looking at the cosmos from earth (side one) and vice versa (side two). He sketched it out in his home studio over six weeks, then brought in virtuoso soloists because 'I bore myself playing everything.' It reflects a lifelong ambition to make music capable of sustaining the same kind of concentrated attention 'as a book or a film. I see my stepdaughter experiencing music in 15-second soundbites on TikTok but she'll still sit down and watch a whole episode of Stranger Things. TV is bringing us long-form series, whilst songs just keep getting shorter. It's like these art forms are moving in two different directions.' He notes that 'one thing you can do with a long track is revisit the same theme in different ways. It's what Wagner called a leitmotif, or Stockhausen called a formula, a little melody which you revisit in different time signatures, instruments, keys, tempos, and its development binds the whole piece. You could say the original space concept album was The Planets by (Gustav) Holst, which is over a hundred years old but was massively influential on progressive rock music. King Crimson used to actually play Holst's Mars in their early sets.' He recalls stargazing as a child on long, hot summer nights. 'Now we spend so much time staring into our digital devices, it's like we've forgotten to look up.' He describes experiencing his own epiphany on a visit to the Atacama desert in New Mexico, where some of the most powerful telescopes on earth are based. 'Seeing the Milky Way overhead, there's a sense of awe comprehending our place in the universe. For every grain of sand on planet earth, there are a billion planets in the universe. It's almost impossible to hold those ideas in your brain. 'Particularly since the advent of social media, I think we've become even more self-obsessed as a species. It's important to remind ourselves as often as we can that the universe doesn't give a s--- about us. On an astronomical level, none of this stuff we get fixated on really matters. It's a beautiful thing to embrace that notion and really, you know, stop worrying and enjoy the ride. That's really what the record's about.'
