Posted on 10/13/2004 9:00:02 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
ALTADENA, Calif. (AP) - Facing increasing competition from states trying to raid California jobs, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday traveled to a movie set in the foothills outside Los Angeles to thank an old friend for keeping his business at home.
Standing amid cameras and cables outside a house being used in the movie, Schwarzenegger patted Danny DeVito on the back and said his new film, "Relative Strangers," was a model for how the state could win a bigger slice of entertainment jobs that now sometimes go overseas because of lower costs.
DeVito, who is acting in the film and is one of its producers, "negotiated with the crew, and the cast and with all the companies that work with the movie to come in with a deal to save enough money that he didn't have to go outside the state," the governor said.
"There are so many people that are out of work in Hollywood," Schwarzenegger added. "People want jobs."
Schwarzenegger's appearance promoting the state's film industry came on the same day that Nevada officials were in Los Angeles announcing their latest advertising campaign to snatch jobs from their neighbor.
Nevada is spending $650,000 to post outdoor and newspaper ads in major markets like Los Angeles and San Francisco, asking California employers, "Will your business be terminated?" a dig at Schwarzenegger's signature movie character, the Terminator.
Another Nevada ad shows a woman in rumpled business clothing, with a bloodied mouth and tousled hair. She holds a sign saying, "California's latest endangered species: Your business."
With California companies facing high taxes and insurance and utility costs, "We want people to know to can bring your company across the border," said A. Somer Hollingsworth, president of the Nevada Development Authority.
Speaking at the movie set, Schwarzenegger said he welcomed competition, but made clear he would be pressuring the Legislature to ease obstacles to business growth in the state, although he provided no specifics.
Schwarzenegger and DeVito acted together in "Twins," and as a member of the governor's film commission DeVito is considered a point man for keeping movie jobs in the state.
Tax incentives and lower production costs elsewhere in the country - and around the globe - have stripped jobs California once took for granted.
"The first thing everybody says is take your movie to another country, to another place," DeVito said. "We really need to work together with Arnold and the people in the Legislature to keep movies in California."
DeVito said municipalities in the area cut fees to see the production stayed in the state. Also, the crew and cast, which includes Kathy Bates, "is working for much less than they normally work for ... significantly less."
When the governor was asked if he appealed personally to DeVito to make his movie in the state, he responded, "I don't have to ask Danny to keep his movie in California because ... he has been appointed specifically to keep productions here in California."
The launch of the Nevada campaign comes about two months after Schwarzenegger went to Las Vegas to announce a national publicity campaign to lure jobs to California. He unveiled billboards that were erected in 10 cities that carried his grinning face and the slogan, "Arnold says, California wants your business."
But Nevada officials said that since Schwarzenegger visited Las Vegas, nearly 40 California companies have contacted them to talk about crossing the border. At least a dozen, they said, appear likely to relocate to southern Nevada.
In the year ending June 30, nearly 40 California companies moved or expanded into Nevada, bringing about 1,500 jobs, according to the authority.
Massachusetts has also posted rival billboards in the state featuring Gov. Mitt Romney mimicking Schwarzenegger's arms-crossed pose, with the catch line, "Smaller muscles but lower taxes! Massachusetts means business."
I'd rather see California bring back manufacturing...
and permanently outsource ALL of Hollywood! lol
Like Arnold made his movies in CA. Give me a break.
We need to get rid of these unions. I know people really bad off who had union jobs. They were Republicans and they are out of work.
Arnold shot a big portion of "Eraser" in CA. I was on the set.
That movie was erased from my mind by the second act! ;-)
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