Did anyone else notice the film crew and equipment at 18th and H Streets this morning? Apparently there has been a Russell Crowe sighting in the District. Crowe is downtown today filming scenes for his new movie, “Body of Lies.”

According to the Examiner, Crowe has spent a good part of the fall in Maryland and other areas around Greater Washington. And it should be no surprise to anyone that Washington is a common set for lots of major motion pictures.

But does anyone realize that film production has a huge economic impact? When people think of economic development, they think of recruiting or retaining companies that will increase the tax base and create jobs. But filmmaking is economic development and marketing at its best.

Consider this: when a production company chooses a location to shoot a film, it usually brings with it an entire crew of workers, actors, etc. Sometimes the company hires local professionals as well. These people stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, take advantage of public transportation. The production company rents office space and uses local businesses for services. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are dropped into that location’s economy. And they don’t require the location to build any infrastructure (roads, utility lines, etc.), additional schools, or provide any additional services such as garbage collection. In fact, some production companies invest in construction and improvements at their cost to make the location fit their needs.

So when they leave 3-6 months later? Most of the time, they leave the location better than when they arrived.

And what better marketing than to see your skyline, Main Street, local barber shop, and bicycle trails featured on the big screen? You couldn’t pay for that kind of advertising.

So the next time you’re frustrated because a street is closed and there are a bunch of crazy teenagers drooling over Russell Crowe, remember that this is economic development at its best - and the cost to us is minimal.

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Filed under: Economy, Regional News

New U.S. Census data released last week shows that Greater Washington once again tops all other U.S. metro regions in educational attainment. In fact, just over 46% of Greater Washington’s population over the age of 25 has a Bachelor’s degree or higher. This is an increase of nearly 4% since 2000. San Jose ranks 2nd at a little over 43%.

Greater Washington also has the highest percentage of people with advanced degrees, at almost 22%, again ahead of San Jose which has 18%. This is an increase of 3% since 2000.

This data is consistent with and reinforces the fact that Greater Washington is a leading talent capital. In March, the Greater Washington Initiative released a study, titled “Human Capital: Greater Washington’s Knowledge Workers,” which showed that Greater Washington boasts the nation’s highest concentration of knowledge workers among all metro areas with more than one million residents.

In addition, the Greater Washington Initiative’s 2007 Regional Report showed that 44% of Greater Washington’s foreign-born population of 25 or older has a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

Greater Washington has more than 50 colleges and universities based in the region, with approximately 400,000 residents enrolled (29% in graduate programs). Greater Washington ranks first among major metropolitan areas for attracting and retaining recent university graduates – performing 60% better than the national average.

It’s no wonder that smart people make smart regions, and that’s why Greater Washington continues to recruit and retain the best and smartest companies.

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Filed under: Demographics, Economy, GWI News

Today’s Examiner has a telling piece about the area’s culture. According to an AOL study, Greater Washington tops the nation in email addiction, with Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, and Houston rounding out the top 5.

So does this make us workaholics? Or are we leading the way in establishing a new work culture?

The Examiner article also highlights this tidbit from the study: “58 percent of Washingtonians check mobile e-mail in bed in their pajamas and 58 percent check it in the bathroom.”

Think about that next time your boss sends you an email from a BlackBerry.

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Filed under: Demographics, Regional News

Today’s “Snapshot” in the Money section of USA Today takes a different look at the concentration of female executives in Greater Washington — focusing on the percentage of executives that are women. Once again, the region tops the list, with women making up 27% of C-level executives in the area. Below is a scanned version of the snapshot, but you can also view the front page of today’s Money section here.

USA Today fact: Even if you live in the DC area, you might be surprised to know that USA Today is a home-grown company based in McLean, Virginia.

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Filed under: Research, Demographics, GWI In the News

Paris Hilton was on “Larry King Live” last week touting her business skills:

“But a lot of people don’t know that I’m a businesswoman, and I run several businesses. And I like to go out, as well, and socialize.” — Paris Hilton

That’s well and good, but I wonder how well she’d stack up against the many women executives in Greater Washington. As we reported last month in the Regional Report, the DC metro area has 274 women in C-level jobs per 100K residents, the highest concentration in the nation.

This fact is still making the news circuit. Bloomberg TV aired a segment yesterday (we’ll get you a copy soon) that includes interviews with some women execs in Greater Washington. And the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a nice piece today with the headline: Washington, D.C., area boasts highest ratio of female execs.

Also today, the Washington Post cites GWI’s study in a front-page article on job opportunities for newly-minted CPAs and the concentration of financial services professionals in Greater Washington.

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Filed under: Research, Demographics, Regional News, GWI In the News