“We don’t talk to the unions, we talk to the people,” said Eric, the French line producer we hired to set up a shoot in Paris for a new show I’m producing for ABC Family, Jane by Design. He was responding to my question about how large of a crew we’d be required by the unions to hire. His answer and many other things relating to the ease and lack of expense of filming in Paris — one of the more expensive cities in the world, according to ECA international — surprised me. I guess I expected things to be more difficult in France than in the U.S., and I was proven wrong.
Gavin Polone is an agent turned manager turned producer. His production company Pariah has brought you such movies and TV shows as Panic Room, Zombieland, Gilmore Girls, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Follow him on Twitter @gavinpolone.
