LA takes baby steps to keep Hollywood at home

Is Los Angeles finally trying to become a film friendly city?

Don't hold your breath. But the city council this morning unanimously approved a series of modest recommendations aimed at slowing the disturbing migration rate of TV and film production to other cities and states.

The 17 recommendations include having the city evaluate a business tax credit for building owners that make their properties available for filming at "reasonable rate," and a sales tax refund for purchases made for filming when at least 75 percent of the shooting is done within the city. The council also agreed to offer city parking lots for free to film crews that shoot after hours or on weekends to increase the availability of power nodes downtown that film production companies could use in lieu of generators.

The steps come amid mounting evidence that LA is losing jobs in film and TV to other cheaper locales. More than 40 states offer tax credits and rebates. The city's wake-up came last year when ABC moved its sitcom "Ugly Betty" from LA to New York, to take advantage of tax credits there. Earlier this year, California adopted its first ever film tax credits, which have helped keep some productions from leaving but are considered too narrow in scope to compete with what other states offer.

Local sales tax credits for filmmakers could help make LA more competitive, but it's unclear whether and how much the city is willing to subsidize the local entertainment industry given the city's severe budget crunch.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who chaired the jobs and business development committee that crafted the recommendations, said the steps are long overdue.

"We are in competition with locations throughout the country as well as Canada and if we do not fight to keep filming in LA it could have a devastating effect on our economy,'' he said. "Some argue that it already has. It's critical that we recognized filming as significant part of our economy and that we need to grow and protect it."

-Richard Verrier

Photo Credit: Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times

Looks good on paper: The high points of Jim and Pam's 'Office' romance

Why are we excited to finally see Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly’s wedding on “The Office” (8 p.m. Central Thursday, NBC)? Because, in the words of Peter, a commenter on this site, “The Office” has given us “one of the most believable relationships on television” via Dunder Mifflin employees Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer).

The couple’s good natures will no doubt be put tested by their co-workers, who show up en masse to the Niagara nuptials in Thursday’s one-hour episode. (For photos from that episode, look here. There's a brief clip from the episode below and more clips here.)

Let’s look back, shall we, at a few of the milestones shared by this sweet, smart and prank-loving couple. Thanks to readers of the Watcher site, who suggested many of these favorite moments:

Season 1, "Diversity Day"

Pam falls asleep on Jim’s shoulder and Jim later says, “Not a bad day.” It was “adorable and set the tone for the next three years of ‘will they or won’t they,’” a reader named Bridget noted.

Season 2, "The Dundies"

Jim and Pam’s first unofficial kiss, which is cute but doesn’t really count given that Pam is pretty hammered after an office outing to Chili’s.

Season 2, "Booze Cruise"

In a talking-head interview moment, a still-pining Jim is honest about who he’d save if the office building was on fire. “The receptionist,” of course. By this point, Jim is so smitten that he even talked about his feelings for Pam with Michael (Steve Carell).

Season 2, "Casino Night"

Not only do Jim and Pam trick Dwight (Rainn Wilson) into thinking Jim can move objects with his mind, but Jim finally tells Pam he’s in love with her and they share an amazingly romantic kiss.

Season 3, "The Return"

In one of their classic pranks, Jim and Pam hide Andy Bernard’s cell phone in the ceiling, then call it until he becomes so enraged that he punches a hole in the wall.

Season 3, "Beach Games"

Jim, who’s dating Karen (Rashida Jones) from the Stamford branch, is stunned when, during a group outing to the beach, Pam confesses that she has feelings for Jim and misses her “best friend.”

Season 4, "Goodbye, Toby"

In this episode, the “will they or won’t they” factor is nearly unbearable, as Jim kept looking for moments to propose but was upstaged by an ill-fated proposal from Andy (Ed Helms) to Angela (Angela Kinsey).

Season 5, "Weight Loss"

Longtime “Office” director Paul Feig deserves special credit for the depiction of Jim’s surprise proposal to Pam. As they’re walking along talking about where to have dinner, Jim pretends he needs to tie his shoe, then he suddenly proposes to a shocked and happy Pam, with a rest stop as the romantic setting. “We don’t hear anything but traffic, and we don’t need to,” reader Mark Dodge Medlin said.

Season 5, "Frame Toby"

The episode in which Jim showed Pam around his parents’ house â€" which he had just bought for them â€" was one of the most suspenseful “Offices” ever. Would she hate the house and be mad at Jim for buying it secretly? Finally, we got her response: “I love it!”

Season 5, "Stress Relief"

In this "Office" classic filled with mayhem and hilarity, there was a serious moment as Pam’s father, seeing how happy Jim and Pam were, contemplated divorcing Pam’s mother. As reader Mark Dodge Medlin pointed out, it was “a situation that in lesser hands could have created some false tension between Jim and Pam [but] wound up strengthening their relationship.”

Season 5, "Company Picnic"

Another classic Jim and Pam moment, much of which has no audio because their faces say everything. We see Jim’s rapturous reaction as he found out that Pam is pregnant. Awww!

If your favorite Jim-Pam moment wasn't listed here, share it below (and be sure to check out IGN's "Best Jim and Pam Moments" list as well).

And look on this site Friday for a write-up of Thursday's "Office" wedding episode.

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