This past year “broke all records for television production in New York City” said Mayor Bloomberg during a presentation on the set of “Gossip Girl”, which shoots on the Silvercup Studios stages.
Bloomberg and Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver were on hand to drop a proclamation on the cast and executive producers of the CW Network show which will soon celebrate its 100th episode. (Gossip Girl is a production of Fake Empire and Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios.)
While Bloomberg and Oliver have touted the increase in production in the city before, it’s interesting to hear the numbers in relation to a specific show. According to a news release by the Mayor’s Office, “Gossip Girl” spent $200 million on local development and used more than 500 vendors for paint, lumber, office supplies and other services, and over the past season hired more than 120 principal actors, 180 crew members and more than 7,000 background actors.
You can find a few additional details here from Bloomberg’s old haunt, Bloomberg News.
This is as good a time as any to mention a Craigslist item that just might help you break into the industry, or at least some aspect of it: Brooklyn Workforce Innovations is offering a Television & Film Office Training position. This free four-week training program offers training and placement to New Yorkers hoping to break into various parts of the TV and film industries. There’s a January 31st application deadline.