Toon Zone Talkback - How "Coraline" Will Save the Economy of Oregon

I know Coraline is awesome but, I had no idea how much Oregon really needed that movie to save themselves. That's just really cool. :)
 
Actually, I posted this news in the hope that someone smarter than me will be able to tell me what the heck the guy is babbling about. Mostly, I got "Hey, look, the Coraline economy in Oregon because blah blah blah artists blah blah creative people blah blah blah and that's how the economic day will be saved. Maybe."

I mean, I know economics is a soft science that relies on vague generalities a whole lot, but this article seemed especially vapid.
 
Doesn't this all hinge on Laika making more features? I know Coraline is still doing rather well for itself at the Box office - but last I heard the studio laid of a large chunk of it's staff and put all it's projects on an 'indefinite' hold.
 
A lot of the reason why Laika was putting things on hold was that it needed the funds from Coraline to go forward with a lot of its other projects. I believe they're calling Coraline a success, although I don't know if it's enough to pull people back and start making more movies.

This isn't as rare as you might think, either. Not all animation studios work like Disney or Pixar, where they have a stable body of employees who are continuously working. There are up and down times in the biz, especially when you're between funded projects, and lots of studios will do temporary hires to get work done on time. I don't know if that's how the folks at Laika were brought on, but it's a reality of the business from what I'm led to believe.

All that being said, it is a good question about how Laika is doing after Coraline, and what the status is on their new projects. I'll see what I can dig out about that.
 
Funny. I read that article completely independently of this site.

Speaking as someone who does know a bit (not a lot, just a bit) about economics, the point of the article is not that the Oregon economy is dependent on Coraline, but that over the years Portland has developed an analogue to New York's "Warhol economy" that the author has termed, a bit randomly, as the "Coraline economy".

The "Warhol economy" is the small universe that has developed around the bars, cafes and academies of New York where talented people can run into other talented people and make things happen. It's named after Andy Warhol's 'factory of art' in New York, dedicated to the mass manufacture of striking artworks. This is important to the New York economy as the cultural influence of New York is a vital motor of the various entertainment industries, which in turn keep New York afloat independently of the fickle conditions of Wall Street.

Portland has a smaller-scale version of this with a strikingly different character, but the same vital importance for the economy in bad times (which is why the same writer is immensely sceptical of Florida and Detroit, because they lack the same cultural climate). It includes bands like the Decemberists and a strong emphasis on folk-indie kookiness that drives the production of content and independent IPs. Coraline is a notable example of this output, but by no means the only one.

I'm rather attached to the place, since I've lived there for a number of months and my ex-wife hails from there. I need Oregon to weather this economic storm or I'll never hear the end of it...

And Coraline, incidentally, is doing rather well for itself. It's on course to make at least $70 million domestically, and should make back its budget once it releases internationally. It's done a lot better than most people anticipated, and I think Laika has a good future ahead for them.
 
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