Action!: Though Baton Rouge slipped two spots from its top ranking on the list last year, MovieMaker has once again included the city on its 2016 list of the top 10 small cities and towns in America to live and work as a moviemaker. Baton Rouge is ranked No. 3 this year, behind New Orleans and Savannah, Georgia. New Orleans was also ranked No. 2 last year, behind Baton Rouge. MovieMaker notes Baton Rouge “hosted over 35 productions in 2015, with local production spending exceeding an impressive $175 million. Productions shot in town included The Magnificent Seven, MTV’s Scream, Sundance Channel’s Hap and Leonard, Underground, a digital series from Vimeo called The Parallax Theory, and Showing Roots, an indie feature starring Uzo Aduba and Elizabeth McGovern and inspired by the Roots miniseries.” See the full rankings.
Better together: The Baton Rouge Area Chamber and several other local economic development organizations are hosting a Statewide Economic Development Summit on April 18, the aim of which is to strengthen the state’s economy through collaboration and shared ideas. Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson Jr. will make the keynote addresses, according to a news release from BRAC. This will be the first such event hosted in Louisiana in 10 years and features eight regional chambers of commerce and economic development organizations from central and north Louisiana, New Orleans and Lafayette. The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel. Cost is $85 per person. Get complete details and register to attend.
Around the table: Louisiana Economic Development began accepting applications today for its CEO Roundtables program, through which executives may explore business challenges with each other and experienced facilitators. Applications will be accepted through March 31. The program begins in July. Launched in 2014, the program typically selects 15 to 18 qualified key decision-makers from the pool of applicant businesses. Participants meet 10 times for peer-to-peer learning, business networking and support in the yearlong program. Roundtable participants typically operate high-growth companies with annual revenue of $600,000 to $50 million and employment of five to 99 people. Get complete details on the program and apply to participate.
