Vancouver: Film is bust and TV is booming in Vancouver this year.

Production is down about 20% across the board, according to the British Columbia Film Commission. Stats show that in the first quarter of 2007, there were just 34 projects in production, compared to 42 in the first quarter of 2006.

‘The big difference this year is that the big-budget feature films, like a Fantastic Four, didn’t materialize,’ says Susan Croome, B.C.’s film commissioner. ‘At the beginning of the year we thought features were going to be strong, but it didn’t happen.’

At one time, Vancouver was touted as the location of choice for Marvel Studios’ The Incredible Hulk, which went to Toronto instead.

‘But we’re still really busy with TV and MOWs,’ says Croome. ‘There are 19 TV series shooting right now and lots of MOWs.’ In mid-July, the BCFC production sheet listed five MOWs, three live-action feature films, two digital features, one feature animation, four animated TV series and one miniseries.

The sole big picture in town is Warner Bros.’s Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder (300, Dawn of the Dead), which is in preproduction at Burnaby’s Canadian Motion Picture Park studios, with cameras ready to roll September to February 2008.

Peter Leitch, chair of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of British Columbia and head of North Shore Studios, admits: ‘We haven’t had the big features, but TV is up. It’s kind of like déjà vu, when in the late ’80s and ’90s TV was our mainstay.’

North Shore is booked solid with TV titles, including The 4400 and Men in Trees. ‘It’s a good thing TV provides steady employment,’ Leitch says. ‘But at any point in time, a series can get cancelled or go on hiatus.’

According to Leitch, the strong Canadian dollar hasn’t scared away productions.

‘It’s been a decent year despite the high dollar,’ he says. ‘A lot of shows prebought their dollars [locking in with a financial institution at an exchange rate lower than today’s] and weren’t affected by it. Also, productions choose to come because there are no surprises; they know the level and quality of service they get here.’

It turns out it’s a matter of space.

Vancouver Film Studios executive VP Pete Mitchell says it was slow in his facility in January and February, but right now, VFS is full with TV productions, including Battlestar Galactica, Eureka and Bionic Woman.

According to Mitchell, TV productions out-number feature films because ‘TV arrived earlier, locked up space, and now the Hollywood features are calling and I’m turning them away.’

The studios may be full, but the lack of feature flicks has had a huge impact on the likes of Teamsters Local 155, says Bruce Scott, its secretary-treasurer. ‘It’s always slow in January and February, but usually March is the turning point,’ he says. ‘For some reason, that hasn’t happened this year. At this time last year all of our members were employed. This year, half are unemployed.’

Scott can’t pinpoint why the big features are a no-show. ‘The dollar was high in 1992 and that didn’t impact us like this,’ he notes.

He points to the labor negotiations earlier this year between producers and the Union of B.C. Performers, and competition from the U.S. as contributing factors. ‘We’re losing out to New Mexico, Louisiana, New York, and Connecticut is coming on strong right now,’ he says.

It’s also been a slow year for equipment supplier William F. White, according to CEO Paul Bronfman. ‘Features take up lots of infrastructure and goods and services – all the bells and whistles in special equipment needs.’

Bronfman echoes Scott in saying: ‘The U.S. has taken the Canadian tax-credit model and made it more attractive. We’re losing business to them.’

On the horizon is the sunset of the provincial government’s tax-credit program in March 2008, but, for his part, Leitch isn’t overly concerned.

‘We’re working closely with the government in talks about extending the program,’ he says. ‘It’s proven to be successful, generating revenue for the province, and allowed us to be competitive. We’re optimistic. The government has been supportive in the past and we’re confident they will continue to be.’

SELECT PROJECTS SHOOTING IN B.C.

TV SERIES
The 4400 (Season 4)
About a Girl (Season 1)
Battlestar Galactica (Season 4)
Eureka (Season 2) ­
Flash Gordon (Season 1)
Intelligence (Season 2)
JPod (Season 1)
Kyle XY (Season 2)
The L Word (Season 5)
Men in Trees (Season 2)
Psych (Season 2)
Reaper (Season 1)
Robson Arms (Season 3)
Stargate Atlantis (Season 4)
Supernatural (Season 3)

FEATURE FILMS
Far Cry – Uwe Boll/Brightlight Pictures
A Tale of Two Sisters – DreamWorks/Paramount

MINISERIES
The Andromeda Strain

TV MOVIES
Auntie Claus
Ghost Prison
Smoke Jumpers