I just finished reading your March 19 story ‘Is the Green Goliath too big for Toronto?’

I saw this headline and was immediately discouraged. Can we not begin to fill our national trade paper with good news about Toronto? Toronto is still recovering from the ACTRA strike and various other labor issues.

If you were a Hollywood studio decision-maker, what would you think if you skimmed a headline like the one mentioned above?

As you point out in the article, there is ample studio space and crew to go around. Having worked almost exclusively on studio pictures in Toronto for the last 15 years, I can tell you that a headline like this will not go unnoticed down south, or elsewhere.

I can only hope that those who are in the know will see beyond the headline. They seem to be facing increasing pressure to shoot domestically these days. Why then do we want to help them to short-sell our market?

Studio space, SARS, 9/11, the rising dollar, changes to tax incentives and increased world competition are all out of the scope of our immediate control and have had a catastrophic effect on our industry. The only thing we can control right now is perception, and we should not, therefore, lead off any story about Toronto with such a negative question in a headline. Not only can Toronto handle The Hulk, but we can handle The Hulk and more.

We on the front lines of production are used to the ever-mounting pressure to not only meet the exigencies of production but to exceed these exigencies on a daily basis.

I beg of you to please help us all spin a better perception about filming in Toronto. My career depends on it.

Eric Potechin,
2nd Assistant Director