China says promise of more money for Venezuela part of ‘mutually beneficial cooperation’

Premier Li Keqiang says Beijing will support South American country’s efforts to develop its economy, improve people’s livelihoods

PUBLISHED : Friday, 14 September, 2018, 10:03pm

UPDATED : Friday, 14 September, 2018, 11:08pm

by Teddy Ng

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Beijing promises financial support for Venezuela

China on Friday extended its offer of financial support to Venezuela as the South American nation’s President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders.

Developing relations with Venezuela was a strategic decision for China, Xi said during the meeting, extracts of which were shown by state broadcaster CCTV.

“China and Venezuela have to enhance friendly mutual trust and push for mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said.

Maduro was in Beijing mainly to seek economic cooperation for his country, which is mired in debt and battling hyperinflation.

Over the past decade, China has loaned US$50 billion to Venezuela, and while Caracas has been gradually paying off that debt with oil shipments, it still owes Beijing about US$20 billion.

Earlier in the day, Maduro visited Mao Zedong’s mausoleum in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where he bowed three times before laying a wreath and hailing the founder of the People’s Republic of China as a “giant of the homeland of humanity”.

“We are beginning this state visit in the best way because we have come to pay tribute to the great helmsman Mao Zedong,” Maduro said in comments broadcast by Venezuela’s official VTV network.

“I was very moved because it really reminds me of one of the great founders of a multipolar 21st century,” he said, adding that Mao had been a “giant of revolutionary ideas”.

In a separate meeting, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said bilateral relations between Beijing and Caracas had good momentum.

“China will provide assistance to Venezuela within its capacity,” he said in the CCTV footage. “China will support Venezuela’s efforts to develop its economy and improve people’s livelihoods.”

But Li also called on Caracas to improve its policies and legal protection for Chinese businesses operating in Venezuela.

During the talks, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding with regards to cooperation on China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” – a massive development programme Beijing initiated to boost infrastructure and trade links with more than 65 countries and regions.

Maduro also met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and National Development and Reform Commission chairman He Lifeng.

While no information was released about the deals the two nations reached, Venezuelan consultancy Ecoanalitica said Maduro may return home with a new US$5 billion loan and a six-month extension to the grace period to service Venezuela’s existing debts.

The Venezuelan government has been desperately trying to curb soaring inflation, with a series of measures including devaluing its currency, which shaved five zeros off the value of the bolívar, and raising the minimum wage by 3,500 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund projects Venezuela’s inflation rate will reach 1 million per cent by the end of the year.

Maduro’s trip comes as China is seeking to extend its presence in Latin America, with investment pledges totalling US$500 billion. The United States has expressed its concern at Beijing’s moves, with former secretary of state Rex Tillerson warning of China’s “imperial ambitions” in the region.

But Xi told Maduro that China’s relationship with Latin America was based on the principle of equality.

Maduro’s trip to China is his first outside the country since he was allegedly targeted by exploding drones while watching a military parade in Caracas on August 4.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

More info: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2164321/china-says-promise-more-money-venezuela-part-mutually
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L.A. feature film shoots plunge in third quarter...

 L.A. feature film shoots plunge in third quarter...

After two consecutive quarters of growth, feature film shoots on the streets of Los Angeles plunged in the third quarter.

On-location filming fell 21% in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, generating only 1,640 production days compared with the same period a year ago, according to a report from FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city. (One production day represents a crew's permission to film a single location in a 24-hour period.)

The slide in feature activity marks a stark turnaround from the first and second quarters, when film production rose 16% and 9%, respectively. The data apply to film shoots on streets and noncertified sound stages, as opposed to shooting on studio lots.

Film industry officials attributed the decrease to the ongoing rivalry from other states and foreign countries luring business away from Hollywood and the fact that fewer feature projects qualified for California's film and television tax credit program this year.

So far in 2012, only 22 feature projects have been approved for the state film tax credit, which is allocated in June. The state, which awards $100 million a year via a lottery, approved 40 projects in 2011. State lawmakers recently approved legislation to extend funding for California's film tax credit through mid-2017.

"We applaud the recent two-year extension of California's film incentive program, and support expanding the program to stop the production outflow and attract a more diverse slate of high-value productions,'' FilmL.A. President Paul Audley said in a statement.

State film tax credits were awarded to several locally produced TV shows, including "Body of Proof" and "Rizzoli and Isles."

Nonetheless, those shows accounted for a tiny share of overall TV location filming in the third quarter. The television category had a weak quarter, slipping 1.4% to 4,245 production days, led by a 20.5% drop in reality TV and a 18.5% decline in TV dramas. Broadcast networks increasingly have been eyeing New York and other states for their new dramas.
On the other hand, sitcoms and and TV webisodes continue to show rapid growth in Los Angeles. Sitcom production jumped 48% in the quarter while TV webisodes surged by 149%, FilmL.A. said.

"The television landscape is changing in Los Angeles, and economically, the sector has taken a turn for the worse,'' Audley said. "Many of the new TV projects we're coordinating permits for have low spending and employment impacts. More needs to be done, policy-wise, to help return sought-after TV drama projects to Los Angeles."

Commercial activity in the L.A. area decreased 5.3% to 1,635 days in the quarter afer posting big gains in the first half of the year.


Thank you Los Angeles Times

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Showbiz remaps entry-level path...

Showbiz remaps entry-level path
Many look online for break, but it's getting crowded
By RACHEL ABRAMS

When he graduated from Yale and moved to Los Angeles in 2008, Doug Lieblich thought that creating a Web series could help him land a job in television. Instead, he ended up making a TV pilot through 20th Century Fox's Inkubation program for young writers -- which resulted in his getting a writing gig on a Web series.
Like many showbiz newcomers, Lieblich had thought of the Internet as a nontraditional road to a traditional job. But his success story (on CW's Web series "Gallerina") points out that there are no longer any road maps in a quickly changing job market.

Showbiz never offered traditional career paths in the way that, for example, the insurance industry or retail did. But even the familiar routes of the last few decades are shrinking or disappearing. And while the Web provides a good start for many newcomers, many industry veterans are crowding that scene, meaning more competition to get noticed.

In short, the economic downturn and the digital revolution have created a world of confusion, frustration and opportunities for job-seekers, and the path to success seems to be to follow Lieblich's example: Have a plan, but be prepared to alter it.

A few years ago, Web-only content seemed like a last-resort choice for showbizzers. However, the old routes are closing up. "There just aren't as many traditional assistant jobs as there used to be," says Peter Heller, assistant dean of development and industry relations at UCLA. "That was really a way that everybody started."

In addition, on-the-lot production deals have declined 46% since 2000, while independent financing has dried up significantly since its mid-2000s heyday. As of April, the six major studios had 158 deals with producers or production companies, compared with an all-time high of 292 in 2000 (Variety, April 29-May 5, 2012).

With more people turning to the Web for entertainment, the number of digital content companies has increased dramatically over the past two years. A few established names, like Will Ferrell and Seth Green, create content exclusively for the Internet, and they have been joined by others. Last month, Tom Hanks debuted his dystopian series "Electric City" on Yahoo!, just days before Jerry Seinfeld's premiere episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" uploaded to YouTube's Crackle channel.

UCLA recently began a course to teach students how to create content targeted for the Web, and Heller often points students toward the social networking, new media and branded content space, areas where people are developing material for emerging platforms like cell phones or iPads. "I think students need to look at those areas as different ways of using the same skills," he says.

Joe Pichirallo, an undergraduate dean at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, says that the traditional ways of distributing or conveying stories are changing drastically. "But at the same time," he adds, "whether you're doing a reality television show, a cable television show or a big-budget movie, it still all comes back to you and your skill set."

Pichirallo says that while NYU strives to give filmmaking students an education that can include producing their own student pics -- the university emphasizes storytelling ability first and foremost, even while encouraging students to look at digital media and emerging platforms.

"What can I stay to a parent who's going to be spending all this money?" he says. "The ability to tell stories and communicate thoughts, ideas and emotions is essential to whatever profession you're in."

But the kinds of stories many filmmaking students want to tell, Pichirallo adds, don't always complement the increasing appetite for commercial, tentpole fare -- especially in the independent world in which many might have traditionally found themselves soon after graduation.

Because of that, Pichirallo says he encourages students to look at opportunities in television. With dozens of new cable channels sprouting up in recent years, many networks are making a big splash into original programming, often edgy and dark, to distinguish a channel's brand as well as to attract viewers. Reality television may also be filling a hole left by the decrease in more typical entry-level, apprenticeship jobs which often served as a gateway into the business.

"The irony is that right now … if you want to do something in the dramatic vein, you have a higher chance of getting something like that made in television," he says, noting the advice applies particularly to reality TV.

"I'm going to give serious consideration to adding some courses on that, because my students are more likely to get hired on a reality TV show than on a feature film," he says. "Something like that can be a training ground while you're waiting to make your more Sundance-(type) feature."

Adds UCLA's Heller: "There never was a (single) career path in the entertainment industry. But I think there are several general areas where (you can) start to see some kind of a trend."

The bad news is that the increase in competition makes its harder for someone breaking in to get a project noticed. The good news is that more competition has also meant more paid jobs online, especially from original Web content companies like Maker Studios and Machinima.

"One of the reasons we started our company (is) to drive new audiences to people we think are talented," says Ben Donovan, a Maker co-founder. Maker started with just a handful of staffers in 2009, according to Donovan, and has since grown to more than 100 employees in production alone. Donovan says those jobs aren't all going to veteran industryites, but to fresh talent as well. "We've definitely provided … a lot of jobs to young people who are already great at what they do or are honing their craft," he says.

Maker has attracted established industry talent as well. Former "South Park" scribe Glasgow Phillips heads its animation department, while former "SNL" producer Samantha Scharff runs development. The shingle also has partnerships with talent including Snoop Dogg, Bobby Lee and Andy Milonakis.

More production shingles are turning to Web content as a cost-effective way to create material that could eventually end up on other platforms.

That's CW's plan for "Gallerina" along with a handful of other Web-based shows it announced at this year's upfronts.

The network knows many of its viewers consume its product online. In fact, during the upfronts, Rick Haskins, exec veep of marketing and digital programming at CW, said that 18% of all in-season consumption of CW series occurs on a combination of CWTV.com; Hulu Plus, which shares the next-day window with CW's website; and the free component of Hulu, which gets episodes one week after the TV airdate.

All of this helps lend legitimacy to an increasingly competitive space, one that may be training more and more future filmmakers.

While Lieblich calls the Internet an excellent place for young writers, he also notes, the Web is saturated with topnotch content. "Unlike any of the other projects I've done, ("Gallerina") is actually going (to be) for public consumption," says Lieblich. But still, there's an industry wariness about the new medium. "I think a lot of people treat the Web as the neglected cousin in the attic eating fish heads," he concludes. "(But it's) an excellent place for young writers."

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if you are in DC: Symposium on the arts and economic development

From the Brookings Institution:
First-Ever Convening by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Brookings Institution on the Arts and Economic Development


Washington, DC -- On May 10, the Brookings Institution and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will co-host "The Arts, New Growth Theory, and Economic Development" a symposium with leading economists that will explore theories on the role of art and culture in the U.S. economy. This is a first-ever collaboration between the federal arts agency and Brookings. This public event takes place on Thursday, May 10, 2012, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

http://www.arts.gov/news/news12/brookings-event.html

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The Australian film and television industry was worth AUS$6.1 billion...

Over 40,000 people work in the sector, the AFACT report shows.

SYDNEY -- The Australian film and television industry was worth AUS$6.1 billion ($6.5 billion) to the nation's economy in 2009/10, with $5.5 billion in direct contributions from the 40,000-plus people working in the sector, according to a report released on Wednesday by consultants Access Economics and commissioned by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).

The report assessed the economic contribution of the film and television industry in its entirety — from small production companies through to large distribution and exhibition businesses, and from productions made for online viewing through to those for wide television network viewing.

According to Access, in fiscal 2009-10 the total value added contribution of film and television to the Australian economy was over $6.5 billion and supported 48,667 jobs on a full time equivalent basis. The value added contribution rose 5.1% from $6.2 billion in 2006-07, according to Access. By comparison Access said the aviation industry was worth just $4.4 billion over the same period.

Film producer and distributor Andrew Mackie of Transmission Films, local distributor of The King's Speech, said the report shows that "the film and television industry is one of the fastest evolving sectors of our economy, providing jobs at the cutting edge of our digital transition. Our professionals are not only developers of valuable intellectual property, but are proving to be internationally competitive in creative and technological fields. They are industries of great value to Australia and well worth supporting."

"The Access Economics Report is a timely reminder of the value the screen entertainment sector brings to Australia. Content is the key driver of digital economy growth and the film and television industry here is at the forefront of delivering great content on a variety of platforms, world-class innovation and first-rate careers. It is also the reason why we are fully committed and dedicated to promoting and protecting this community that makes a tremendous contribution to the country in more ways than one," Neil Gane, executive director of AFACT added.

The report said the figures were net of $118 million in production subsidies paid by all levels of government in Australia.

Other highlights include:

The industry generated a total output of $21.6 billion;
The sector contributed an estimated $2.08 billion in tax to the Australian government in 2009-10, rising from $1.9 billion in 2006-07;
The total industry supported 48,667 full time equivalent jobs;
Free-to-Air TV contributed almost $2 billion in value added;
The production sector contributed $911 million in value added;
The distribution sector contributed $890 million in value added; and
The digital contribution of the film and television industry is estimated to be $4.4 billion.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

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