Labor trouble with ACTRA, IATSE and the AQTIS scared Hollywood movies that were looking to shoot this spring away from much of Canada, though recent settlements and the arrival of big spenders like The Incredible Hulk (in Toronto) and The Mummy 3 (in Montreal) make the summer look more promising. So we ask:

Will this summer be a boom or a bust for service work?

We’re already seeing a bit of a lull – a lot of the editing and sound work generally happening is not happening right now. It could be a very good fall, but I think it’s going to be a slow summer.
Gregor Hutchison, Post-production supervisor in Toronto

I think it’s going to be very, very, very busy. The labor negotiations [in the U.S.] – which are not even underway yet but are imminent – have given everybody a real motivation to load up their inventory… We’re turning people away.
Pete Mitchell, EVP and COO, Vancouver Film Studios Group

It’s going to be fair to okay.
Rob Power, Head of PowerPost Production, Halifax

This summer will be, I would say, a regular season.
Michel Trudel, President of Cité du Cinéma, Montreal

We definitely missed out on some service work opportunities… A lot of the projects that we’re anticipating for our busy season have been in the works since prior to the strike, with not a lot materializing since.
-Beth Thompson, Outgoing Calgary film commissioner

We are hearing from our Los Angeles counterparts that Toronto is going to be very busy for the summer and fall.
Russ Robertson, VP sales, Deluxe Postproduction, Toronto