wbjournal.com | April 15, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-
weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September,
October, and December by New England Business Media. 172
Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid
at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Postmaster:
Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal,
PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $84.00. For
more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or
contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008.
Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray
at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860.
Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for
unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return
them to the sender.
Worcester Business Journal
172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
508-755-8004 tel.
• 508-755-8860 fax
www.wbjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
A division of:
industry to remain permanently dimin-
ished. Even if the cottage industry around
moviemaking never grows to another more
than just that, it's still plenty of fun to have
around.
– Brad Kane, editor
W
ho doesn't love movies?
e glitz, the glamor,
seeing familiar faces
and places on the big
screens. Even a bad
movie can still be plenty of fun.
Well, the Central Mass. economy
isn't a big fan. Sure, the region's business
community loves movies just as much
as anyone, but the industry just doesn't
have much of an impact here. In 2017, the
industry created 1,153 full-time equivalent
jobs throughout all of Mass., according
to a study from the state Department of
Labor. at's less than 10% of the 16,352
employed by UMass Memorial Health just
in Central Mass. By 2022 (a high water-
mark year for Worcester moviemaking),
the Motion Picture Association put the
statewide number at 4,350 direct jobs, but
that's a quarter of what one company in
UMass Memorial employs in just this re-
gion, in the region's third largest industry.
Still, though, none of that really matters
when you see a Worcester location pop
up in a movie or spot celebrities walking
around the city. Even in the business
world where practically everything is
judged by dollars and cents, the mystic
around films transcends their economic
impact. A decade has passed since actor
Jennifer Lawrence shot scenes in Worcester
for "American Hustle" and Worcester Mag-
azine is still writing stories about it.
Yet, this magical industry in Central
Mass. has hit an impasse, as Staff Writer
Eric Casey details in his "HollyWoo pro-
duction, halted" on page 12. anks to the
film tax credit and the momentum of films
like "American Hustle," a cottage industry
has popped up in Central Mass., support-
ing moviemaking with props, crew, and a
sound stage. In 2022 and 2023, Worcester
saw 16 movies shot in the city, more than
all previous years combined. at fell off a
shelf in 2023 when Hollywood writers and
actors went on strike, stopping production
everywhere. Production has not returned to
the same levels, including in Central Mass.,
as another potential work stoppage might
impact the industry moving forward.
If filmmaking never returns to the same
levels in Central Massachusetts or if the in-
dustry comes roaring back in the next year
or two, the region's economy will barely
feel it. Regardless, it would be sad for the
e magic of moviemaking
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
14 Focus on Health Care & Life Sciences
19 List: Life sciences and biotech
companies
21 List: Top NIH grant winners
22 Guest column: Bob Martel
23 Know How
24 Movers & Shakers
25 Opinion
26 Shop Talk: NORESCO
14 Preventing type 1 diabetes
UMass Chan researcher is developing a
treatment for a skin disease, which could
provide insight into prevention of the less
prevalent form of diabetes.
18 How Greater Worcester small
business owners can find
success in 2024
Know How advice columnists Stephanie
Martin and Chris Hudach from Bank of
America offer three straightforward tips for
companies to get on the proper footing.
W
Correction: In the Movers & Shakers column in
the April 1 edition, the photo accompanying the
entry for Dinah Olanoff from Fallon Health incor-
rectly identified her as Nikole Nolle.
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
Staff Writers
Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com
(real estate, manufacturing)
Mica Kanner-Mascolo,
mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com
(health care, diversity & inclusion)
Contributors
Giselle Rivera-Flores, Laura Finaldi,
Monica Benevides, Alan Earls, Susan
Shalhoub, Livia Gershon
Photgraphers
Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine
Peterson
Research Director,
Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
General Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Accounts Manager
Timothy Doyle
tdoyle@wbjournal.com
Human Resources Manager,
Tracy Rodwill,
trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Finance, Sara Ward,
sward@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Account Receivable Specialist,
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Audience Development
and Operations, Leah Allen,
allen@nebusinessmedia.com
Business Office Assistant,
Nicole Dunn,
ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
