If you are currently working on a movie in Los Angeles, how did you find the time to read this post? According to an agency that tracks on-location filming, production in LA is up 11%. Every company is in a hurry to get their movies made before the potential actors’ strike in July, because stopping production would be a ‘very expensive proposition.’

The Screen Actors Guild has been very tightlipped about the outcome of the current negotiations. Some sources say it isn’t looking good and the studios want to move on, to talk to the AFTRA (TV and radio). In a way, daring the actors to strike.

You have to question if the boost is actually because of the potential strike. Or is it because the lack of production during the earlier writers’ strike?

Emma Watson is replacing Scarlett Johansson in the period romance ‘Napoleon and Betsy’. Watson (18) plays a young woman who falls in love with Napoleon when staying at the island of St. Helena. While she just turned 23 last November, Johansson was considered too old to play the role.

Scarlett Johansson is still producing the movie, set for release somewhere in 2009. Watson hopes the shooting can begin in the fall, so there won’t be any scheduling problems with the next Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, 2010).

While stocks might currently be stabilizing, consumers are still feeling the economic decline. And if consumers are spending less, the film industry is definitely feeling it. Projects that were going into production the other day, are canned now. Film Department’s Mark Gill is “getting a lot more” producers calling for financial help.

Investors are keeping their money tight. And it’s getting difficult for producers to finance their films without foreign presales. The recent Berlin market was quite bad and producers are now hoping for a rebound in Cannes.

The question is if this really is an economic problem. Or is getting a movie into production just as difficult as it always was?