Is Philadelphia Ready For a New Industry?

 
by KYW's John McDevitt

Hooray for Hollywood!  With the movie industry coming to the Philadelphia area in force thanks to the Pennsylvania movie-making tax incentive, do we have what it takes to be fully competitive with other cities?

You know about Hollywood, and probably the Hindi-language film industry of India dubbed "Bollywood."  But will "Phillywood" ever become a household word? Can Philadelphia step into the spotlight and compete fully with other cities when it comes to the entertainment industry?

Actor and producer Leo Rossi (right), a Philadelphia native, thinks the area isn't quite ready for its closeup:

"They need more qualified personnel."

Rossi says the industry infrastructure in the Delaware Valley is already running on overdrive:

"You need more crew. And the reason you need more is because so much filming is used here and they're all used up."

And now, once the on-location filming is done, a lot of the other work, including post production, is being done elsewhere.

Nicole Ross (right), multicultural and marketing director for the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, doesn't want all that work going back to LA -- or Toronto:

"We want to keep everything in the United States -- and in Philadelphia, in fact. But we want to make sure we have our local crew base trained."

Jason Pinardo works in Philadelphia as a producer and location manager. He says Philadelphia is holding its own but agrees that top-notch crews are needed as the industry grows in the area:

"The one thing that would push us to the forefront and give us an undoubted competitive edge is the ability to integrate into the school system"

Nancy Santiago-Negron is with the nonprofit group Philadelphia Youth Network, which is currently seeking corporate money to get film industry programs in place in Philadelphia schools:

"So it's like, how do we develop the right internships -- whether they be summer programs or year-round programs  -- for kids to get paid and to learn needed skills to move into the industry, to move into the industry right after graduation?"

(Top photo by KYW's Ed Fischer)