Good news for the local economy in regards to the film industry. "On-location shoots for feature films, television and commercials jumped 25 percent during the first three months of 2010 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits for Los Angeles and unincorporated county areas," says the Daily News. Although shoots remain below 2007 levels, the recent results are exceeding expectations. more ›

On-location shoots for advertisements may be on the rise, but filming in Los Angeles has been on the downtrend for some years now, thanks to incentives that lured shoots to Alabama, New York City, Canada and elsewhere. That might be good for complaining neighbors, but it's not for the larger picture that is Los Angeles' economy. more ›

Along with his billboard motions today, City Council President Eric Garcetti introduced a motion to create an Echo Park Film District "to help promote cooperation between film companies and the neighborhood’s local businesses and residents," as a press release states. "The creation of the Echo Park Film District would set special conditions and guidelines to give the surrounding community and the City Council office more information and notice about productions in Echo Park neighborhood. The guidelines would also prohibit the use of certain areas for filming, such as city parking lots which was harming local businesses." The full presser can be read here. more ›

Working film production leads one to some interesting places in Los Angeles that aren't accessible by the general public. Some of these places are cool, some are scary, some are dangerous, and some are just odd. more ›

1. Disturbia - $23 million - Paramount/Dreamworks 2. Blades of Glory - $14.1 million - Paramount/Dreamworks 3. Meet the Robinsons - $12 million - Disney 4. Perfect Stranger - $11 million - Sony/Columbia 5. Are We Done Yet? - $9.2 million - Sony/Columbia 6. Pathfinder - $4.8 million - Fox 7. Wild Hogs - $4.6 million - Buena Vista 8. The Reaping - $4.5 million - Warner Bros. 9. 300 - $4.3 million -... more ›