WEBVTT - Gov. Phil Murphy on New Jersey's Courtship of Content Creators: 'This Has Been an Absolute, Cold-Blooded, Focused Strategy'

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Strictly Business, Variety's weekly podcast featuring conversations with

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<v Speaker 1>industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Cynthia Lyttleton, co editor in chief of Variety. Today my

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<v Speaker 1>guest is Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey. Murphy is

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<v Speaker 1>cruising into the last nine months of his second term

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<v Speaker 1>as the big boss of the Garden State. By any measure,

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<v Speaker 1>he's had a successful run. From day one. Murphy put

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<v Speaker 1>huge emphasis on making New Jersey a much bigger player

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<v Speaker 1>in TV and film location work. In recent years, he's

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<v Speaker 1>focused on bringing brick and mortar studio infrastructure to the state.

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<v Speaker 1>Murphy details the arc of this campaign and why he

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<v Speaker 1>knew it was crucial for New Jersey. Murphy's a rare

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<v Speaker 1>breed these days, a popular Democrat. He talks about the

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<v Speaker 1>state of his political party and where he thinks leaders

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<v Speaker 1>should put their energy, and we talk about what it's

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<v Speaker 1>like to be a public figure these days amid rising

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<v Speaker 1>incidence of violence, such as the arson attack this week

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<v Speaker 1>on the residence of Murphy's fellow Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

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<v Speaker 1>That's all coming up after this break, and we're back

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<v Speaker 1>with the conversation with Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey.

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<v Speaker 1>Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey, thank you so much

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<v Speaker 1>for joining me here today.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks for having me well, I know.

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<v Speaker 1>You are coming. You're getting down to about the last

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<v Speaker 1>eight nine months of your tenure in the State House.

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<v Speaker 1>You've had two very successful terms. From my purchet variety,

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<v Speaker 1>I have noticed that you personally and the state has

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<v Speaker 1>put so much much attention on entertainment, on content creation,

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<v Speaker 1>on sound stages, the nitty gritty work of production. You

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<v Speaker 1>have really made a point of making New Jersey a

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<v Speaker 1>very friendly place to work for people in the business

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<v Speaker 1>of shooting visual and audio content. Let me ask, did

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<v Speaker 1>you come into the State House with that in mind?

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<v Speaker 1>Was this a goal from the get go.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, we thought we could use incentives much more aggressively,

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<v Speaker 2>much more carefully, much more targeted as a general matter,

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<v Speaker 2>in one of the arenas that we were specifically focused

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<v Speaker 2>on from moment one was film, television and digital with evolved.

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<v Speaker 2>Having said that, as you rightfully mentioned, we're in year eight.

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<v Speaker 2>If you want, if you roll the tape back to

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<v Speaker 2>the beginning, it was literally just putting incentives in place.

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<v Speaker 2>My predecessor had pulled the program completely, but we migrated.

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<v Speaker 2>We tweaked the incentives. I think almost every year since

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<v Speaker 2>we've been in office, and we've gone from being really

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<v Speaker 2>happy about stuff getting made in New Jersey and we

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<v Speaker 2>still are. We love that, we think we've got a

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<v Speaker 2>lot to offer, but we have migrated importantly to building

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<v Speaker 2>bricks and mortar soundstages campuses, so that some of the

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<v Speaker 2>big companies Netflix at the top of the list, lions Gate,

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<v Speaker 2>there's a third big one called eighteen eighty eight, which

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<v Speaker 2>is named after the year that film was invented. Those

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<v Speaker 2>are multi decade decisions to either buy, lease or both.

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<v Speaker 2>So we still love it when folks make stuff in

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<v Speaker 2>New Jersey around the state, but we have added to

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<v Speaker 2>that a very substantial program to actually get sound stages

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<v Speaker 2>and campus is built.

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<v Speaker 1>And obviously the infrastructure brings that even more permanent jobs

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<v Speaker 1>and the ripple effect. I want to talk to you

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<v Speaker 1>about both of those polls of what you talked about,

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<v Speaker 1>but let's start with the incentives in terms of what

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<v Speaker 1>the state is committed to support every year. Am I

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<v Speaker 1>right in thinking that it's about five hundred million a year,

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<v Speaker 1>that that's the whole budget for the program.

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<v Speaker 2>Of late it has been. But it also depends on

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<v Speaker 2>where you are on that cycle, particularly I'm building the

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<v Speaker 2>bricks and mortar part of it.

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<v Speaker 1>How do you make sure that for every dollar that

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<v Speaker 1>goes out you're bringing in at least two dollars or

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<v Speaker 1>at least a dollar fifty. What are the hard metrics

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<v Speaker 1>that you use to judge the efficacy of the program.

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<v Speaker 2>So the folks who don't like film incentives have a

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<v Speaker 2>very narrow definition of return, and their argument is that

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<v Speaker 2>it's the state that's the actual dollar that gets returned

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<v Speaker 2>to the state, which is not the role of the state.

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<v Speaker 2>By the way, I'll take all the dollars we can get,

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<v Speaker 2>believe me. But our job is to incent economic activity.

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<v Speaker 2>Put sum in the water, for instance, and we're not

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<v Speaker 2>looking for two dollars back on a dollar. Ever, is

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<v Speaker 2>about seven dollars of economic impact for every dollar that

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<v Speaker 2>we put on the street. That's in jobs, it's in

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<v Speaker 2>local economies, it's in construction trades. You just go across

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<v Speaker 2>the whole range. We measure our economy like any other state.

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<v Speaker 2>So the GDP, if you will, that is connected to

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<v Speaker 2>the hard dollars we put on the street is about

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<v Speaker 2>a sevenfold return. Again, most of it not coming back

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<v Speaker 2>to the state. The state gets some revenues, but most

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<v Speaker 2>of it going into the real economy. And frankly, that's,

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<v Speaker 2>among other things, what government should be doing, and this

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<v Speaker 2>is working quite well in that respect.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you give me, I'm sure you have a number

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<v Speaker 1>of practical, anecdotal examples. Can you give me some success

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<v Speaker 1>story examples of local businesses that have reaped the benefits

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<v Speaker 1>of this influx of activity.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, no matter whether it's a sound stage

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<v Speaker 2>or something being made, economies are the big winners. So

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<v Speaker 2>it's the coffee shop, the diner, the dry cleaner. And

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<v Speaker 2>we have a pretty cool program called film Ready. We

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<v Speaker 2>have communities go basically through a if you will, a

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<v Speaker 2>boot camp of what to expect if you've got a

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<v Speaker 2>film being made in your town. And I say that

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<v Speaker 2>because they these towns, it's almost like a good housekeeping

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<v Speaker 2>stamp of approval. These towns get it. They know that

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<v Speaker 2>the economic the local economy will benefit enormously, and the

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<v Speaker 2>filmmakers love it because they've got an informed counterpart that

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<v Speaker 2>understands the responsibilities and the opportunities both. So you see

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<v Speaker 2>at all levels of society, all levels of our communities.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have any favorite projects that you were able

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<v Speaker 1>to either you know, you or the team were able

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<v Speaker 1>to help recruit to New Jersey or or came to

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<v Speaker 1>the state because you know, because of the very generous

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<v Speaker 1>incentives in place.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Star with Netflix, a near three hundred acre campus,

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<v Speaker 2>a near billion dollar investment by them, which will transform

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<v Speaker 2>it's in the old Fort Monmouth. It will transform that

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<v Speaker 2>part of New Jersey, which happens to be by the

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<v Speaker 2>way where we live. It is absolutely the king of

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<v Speaker 2>the hill in terms of what we've been able to

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<v Speaker 2>do in terms of making stuff. I could give you

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<v Speaker 2>a bunch of examples, but Spielberg is probably the name

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<v Speaker 2>the gold standard. He made West Side Story here. He's

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<v Speaker 2>back in New Jersey this month making another project. He

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<v Speaker 2>loves it here.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there any opposition to this in the legislature? Has

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<v Speaker 1>it been difficult in the beginning to get to get

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<v Speaker 1>people to get behind incentives which, as I know you know,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes to outsiders can seem like you're giving money to

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<v Speaker 1>Hollywood to make movies.

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<v Speaker 2>This is I'm knocking on wood here. We've been blessed

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<v Speaker 2>by bipartisan support on this overwhelmingly and that's been a

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<v Speaker 2>huge key here and hopefully it'll stay that way. I

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<v Speaker 2>know it's gotten some controversy in other places. A couple

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<v Speaker 2>of years ago, Georgia had a big debate again. That

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<v Speaker 2>was that debate between the narrow definition of economic impact,

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<v Speaker 2>i e. What goes back into the state coffers versus

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<v Speaker 2>the broader economic activity. We've escaped that largely, if not entirely,

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<v Speaker 2>escaped that, and I think it will continue to stay

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<v Speaker 2>that way. In fact, we extended the program a couple

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<v Speaker 2>of years ago to twenty thirty nine, which is just

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<v Speaker 2>puts it way out beyond the horizon, if you will,

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<v Speaker 2>so that you've taken the political fear or concern out

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<v Speaker 2>of this equation entirely. And I'm betting that'll that will

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<v Speaker 2>stay that way for the years to come.

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<v Speaker 1>It's impressive that you started from a standing stop. You

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<v Speaker 1>did not that you had to be. And let me

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<v Speaker 1>ask you your predecessor, Chris Christie. It's famously it's believed

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<v Speaker 1>that he yanked the program, that he pulled the state

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<v Speaker 1>support for tax incentives because he was unhappy with the

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<v Speaker 1>portrayal of the Garden State on MTV's Jersey Shore. Can

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<v Speaker 1>you tell US. Is that true? Was there were there

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<v Speaker 1>larger forces going on or was it a fit of peak?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? I can't. I don't have any insights on it.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, I'm way overdue to ask Chris ifitscrew. That's

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<v Speaker 2>the sort of that's the legendary reason that people hang

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<v Speaker 2>their hat on it. But it led to things like

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<v Speaker 2>you know, Boardwalk Empire about Atlantic City getting made in

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<v Speaker 2>New York City, which is crazy, that should have been

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<v Speaker 2>made in Jersey. And but listen, we've turned the page.

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<v Speaker 2>We're now globally significant. I can't tell you now how

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<v Speaker 2>many conversations were in where it's okay, it's coming down

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<v Speaker 2>to New Jersey, London or some other country. Some we're

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<v Speaker 2>in the world, Hungary and New Zealand, but on the

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<v Speaker 2>list of late other countries come and go. We're on

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<v Speaker 2>that short list and intend to stay there.

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<v Speaker 1>New Jersey can pass for I'm guessing you know, with

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<v Speaker 1>enough set dressing can pass for a lot of different climates.

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<v Speaker 1>You do have a lot of different whether it's whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's cliffs or you know, shore, you've got a lot

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<v Speaker 1>to work with.

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<v Speaker 2>We do in a small the nation's fourth small estate geographically.

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<v Speaker 2>So not only do we have the diversity of Look,

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<v Speaker 2>I think we've got everything, frankly except the desert. But

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<v Speaker 2>you could do it very quickly, very easily. Filmmakers producers

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<v Speaker 2>looking at budgets love New Jersey for that reason as well,

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<v Speaker 2>because you could move around fairly quickly and at a

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<v Speaker 2>fairly low level of expense.

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<v Speaker 1>Has there been any Have you had any tension or

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<v Speaker 1>have you had any coordination with with you know, that

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<v Speaker 1>big state to the to the east of you, New York,

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<v Speaker 1>which also has you know, put a real investment in

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<v Speaker 1>the last decade, more than more than a decade in

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<v Speaker 1>bringing incentives. Has there been any tension or any opportunities

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<v Speaker 1>to coordinate at all?

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<v Speaker 2>Less of the coordination. I mean, we compete, there's no

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<v Speaker 2>question about it. And we're in the you know, we

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<v Speaker 2>both are sitting in one of the big talent reservoirs

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<v Speaker 2>in the world. So it's not surprising each each state

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<v Speaker 2>has got its own legacy in terms of talent and entertainment.

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<v Speaker 2>We do a lot with New York City, We do

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<v Speaker 2>a lot with New York State. They're very good partners

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<v Speaker 2>in many respects. Their success is our success. But in

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<v Speaker 2>film and television we're largely competing made the best state

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<v Speaker 2>within and I think this room enough for both of

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<v Speaker 2>us to succeed.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a lot of production out there, for sure. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>go anywhere. We'll have more from Governor Phil Murphy of

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<v Speaker 1>New Jersey after this break with the rest of our

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<v Speaker 1>conversation with Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey. Where I

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<v Speaker 1>sit now, my home state, California is quite Frankly, I

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<v Speaker 1>think this state's trying to figure out how they lost

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<v Speaker 1>the majority of this business. But that's that's another story.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me ask you also, you know, really significantly impactful

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<v Speaker 1>is the Fort Monmouth project that you mentioned. There's a

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<v Speaker 1>lions Gate project I believe in Newark if I'm not mistaken,

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<v Speaker 1>and some other you know, especially Fort Monmouth seems like

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<v Speaker 1>a really innovative and you know, really thoughtful way to

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<v Speaker 1>take to take an old army facility and bring it

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<v Speaker 1>into the future.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I think there are largely three parts to if

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<v Speaker 2>you're succeeding with something like Netflix or lions Gate or

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<v Speaker 2>even a particular movie getting made. The three elements one

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<v Speaker 2>is the math has to work for the for the

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<v Speaker 2>studio and for the producers. So as nice as we are,

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<v Speaker 2>it's rare that our niceness, all of the other good

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<v Speaker 2>things about New Jersey will solve a math problem that

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<v Speaker 2>is going against the production. So number one is math.

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<v Speaker 2>Number two is making it easy and productive to film here.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's talent where Union state it's a union industry.

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<v Speaker 2>It's having a lot of the soft stuff, wardrobe set

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<v Speaker 2>ecosystems beginning to build up in New Jersey. So there's

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<v Speaker 2>sort of that part of it. And then thirdly, relationships

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<v Speaker 2>we know and aggressively pursue in court the top leadership

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<v Speaker 2>at all the big studios. We're on with them constantly.

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<v Speaker 2>We know them, they know us. So it's like everything

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<v Speaker 2>else in life, there's a relationship. This is a relationship

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<v Speaker 2>business like most things. So it's the math, it's our

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<v Speaker 2>non math film environment. And then it's the relationships at

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<v Speaker 2>the highest levels of the studios.

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<v Speaker 1>Any other aspects of entertainment or content or any of

0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:08.720
<v Speaker 1>the media companies like Audible, any tangible impacts that you

0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.360
<v Speaker 1>can see over your eight years and looking out into

0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:17.440
<v Speaker 1>the future, tangible impact of entertainment, content creation, media in

0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:19.840
<v Speaker 1>general that are paying benefits for New Jersey.

0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:23.480
<v Speaker 2>I mean all frankly, if you've brought an entertainment to

0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:27.320
<v Speaker 2>include sports. We have the World Cup Final next year

0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.600
<v Speaker 2>in New Jersey. That doesn't happen by accident. We have

0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:33.160
<v Speaker 2>the World Club Cup Final this year in New Jersey.

0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:36.800
<v Speaker 2>We've got post productions sprouting up because we've got now

0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:44.200
<v Speaker 2>incentives for post production. We have Worldwide Wrestling coming in

0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.840
<v Speaker 2>for a couple of days this summer, huge concert slate,

0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.040
<v Speaker 2>a ton of movies getting made, a ton of television

0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:56.280
<v Speaker 2>getting made all over the state. There's evidence none of

0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:59.920
<v Speaker 2>this is by accident. This is an absolute, cold blooded,

0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:05.600
<v Speaker 2>focused strategy from moment one to become a major player. Again,

0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:09.280
<v Speaker 2>I might add in sports and entertainment, and the evidence

0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:11.000
<v Speaker 2>is all over the place.

0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:13.800
<v Speaker 1>Did you have any key allies, whether it's the state

0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:17.160
<v Speaker 1>or in local communities, anybody that you would say that

0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:21.240
<v Speaker 1>really helped you, especially early on, convince the state and

0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.320
<v Speaker 1>residence in the legislature of the need to get aggressive

0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:24.960
<v Speaker 1>in this area.

0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:28.000
<v Speaker 2>Well, I think we had good leadership in the legislature.

0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:31.640
<v Speaker 2>This stuff doesn't get done without legislative leadership, because you

0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.640
<v Speaker 2>need bills that I can't get the bill of my

0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:37.120
<v Speaker 2>desk I can sign up right against there. So I

0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:40.200
<v Speaker 2>give folks on both sides of the aisle, in the leadership,

0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:43.560
<v Speaker 2>especially the Senate President and Speaker of the Assembly. We're

0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:47.120
<v Speaker 2>a big union state. I mentioned, so iatsees head Matt

0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.280
<v Speaker 2>Loeb lives in New Jersey. He's become a very close

0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:54.480
<v Speaker 2>partner in this. I mentioned the studio heads. I don't

0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:57.040
<v Speaker 2>think there's a big studio that we don't have a

0:15:57.080 --> 0:16:02.360
<v Speaker 2>direct line into. That's been incredibly important. We've looked to

0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.400
<v Speaker 2>other states and other models. We wanted to make sure

0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:09.640
<v Speaker 2>we got our incentives program right. We've also, as I mentioned,

0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.240
<v Speaker 2>tweaked it almost I think every year since we've been here,

0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.040
<v Speaker 2>to make sure that we stay competitive on a global basis,

0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:21.280
<v Speaker 2>again consistently. Right now it's London is the big one

0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:26.840
<v Speaker 2>that we're competing with. I'd say Georgia as well, and

0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.920
<v Speaker 2>then other countries come and go. So having a real

0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:33.680
<v Speaker 2>sense of the not just the Hollywood piece of this,

0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.120
<v Speaker 2>but the global piece has been really important. We're going

0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:40.920
<v Speaker 2>to the Golf next week to pitch New Jersey. Part

0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:44.600
<v Speaker 2>of that will have film elements associated with it. A

0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:47.120
<v Speaker 2>lot of capital coming from the Golf interested in film

0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:51.880
<v Speaker 2>and television. So there's not one mentor not one model,

0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:55.120
<v Speaker 2>not one partner, but as they say, it takes a village,

0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:57.720
<v Speaker 2>and that's been our mantra since day one.

0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:00.320
<v Speaker 1>Did you know basically how media and inner came and

0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.240
<v Speaker 1>worked before you came into the governorship. You seem to

0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:04.800
<v Speaker 1>have a strong understanding of it.

0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:07.479
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I'm not sure. I used to be an actor,

0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:10.360
<v Speaker 2>an amateur actor in high school, in college, so I've

0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:14.200
<v Speaker 2>loved performing arts and entertainment, but that didn't necessarily give

0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:17.400
<v Speaker 2>me the instincts that I needed to help job start

0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:20.439
<v Speaker 2>an industry. And I was a former I was a

0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:26.000
<v Speaker 2>banker and covered a lot of big companies, some of entertainment.

0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.520
<v Speaker 2>And I was a former US ambassador in my case

0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:33.960
<v Speaker 2>in Germany, which has a big legacy and history and film,

0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:39.000
<v Speaker 2>including a big studio that's right outside of Berlin. Yeah,

0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.160
<v Speaker 2>so a combination of experiences.

0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:43.600
<v Speaker 1>All right, I have two last questions for you. Both

0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.720
<v Speaker 1>are hard to answer and both you can probably predict. Okay,

0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:50.320
<v Speaker 1>the first one is, Governor Murphy. You're a Democrat. You've

0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.800
<v Speaker 1>been elected twice now in twenty seventeen, re elected in

0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:59.359
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty one. You're a Democrat. The Democratic Party is,

0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:03.600
<v Speaker 1>by any measure, is in a very difficult place. How

0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:05.879
<v Speaker 1>have you booked the trend and been able to be

0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:10.040
<v Speaker 1>a successful governor, a popular governor, at a time when

0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:14.119
<v Speaker 1>the country is riven, even blue bastions are riven with divisiveness.

0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:16.439
<v Speaker 1>What do you think are the keys for your party

0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:19.400
<v Speaker 1>right now? What should they be doing in this time

0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:23.879
<v Speaker 1>of incredible disruption and quite frankly chaos in national politics?

0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:28.879
<v Speaker 2>General comment. After President Trump got elected in November, I

0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:33.439
<v Speaker 2>felt like we had three or four months of the

0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:39.600
<v Speaker 2>proverbial deer in the headlight, just frozen, couldn't believe it happened, sideways, etc.

0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:44.880
<v Speaker 2>That's begun to change, and not necessarily for good reasons.

0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:49.080
<v Speaker 2>All the volatility, all the chaos, all the threats, and

0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:56.280
<v Speaker 2>things like Social Security, Medicare, seniors, prescription drugs, Medicaid. This

0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.879
<v Speaker 2>has begun to rouse up the base of our party

0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:03.879
<v Speaker 2>again kind of for all the wrong reasons. But it's

0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:06.199
<v Speaker 2>reminiscent now of what it felt like to me, at

0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:11.120
<v Speaker 2>least in the twenty seventeen twenty eighteen midterm cycle, where

0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:14.040
<v Speaker 2>the Democrats did quite well. As you rightfully point out,

0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:17.640
<v Speaker 2>I got elected in seventeen, and we had big successes

0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:22.440
<v Speaker 2>in the midterm elections in eighteen. It feels like that's

0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:26.360
<v Speaker 2>the direction we're headed again, not necessarily for the right reasons.

0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:30.159
<v Speaker 2>I'd say two things more specific to me. One is

0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:33.160
<v Speaker 2>you've got to meet people where they are, and that's

0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:36.480
<v Speaker 2>pretty much always the kitchen table. What are you doing

0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:40.560
<v Speaker 2>for affordability? What are we doing for opportunity? Are my

0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:42.880
<v Speaker 2>kids going to have a better shape than we had?

0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:49.320
<v Speaker 2>Rising healthcare costs, energy costs? What are we doing explicitly

0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:53.760
<v Speaker 2>to push back on inflation? That's one the thing that

0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:56.359
<v Speaker 2>we've a mantra that we've lived by. The Other is

0:19:56.760 --> 0:19:59.280
<v Speaker 2>this is more of a national I was the National

0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:02.480
<v Speaker 2>Finance Chair when Howard Dean was the chair and what

0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:05.440
<v Speaker 2>really struck me and attracted me to work with Howard

0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:09.600
<v Speaker 2>as a volunteer was his fifty state strategy. So I

0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:12.680
<v Speaker 2>think the Republican Party does that really well. The plumbing,

0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:18.200
<v Speaker 2>the wiring, the non sexy stuff that makes parties go

0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:20.879
<v Speaker 2>day in and day out. We're not good at that.

0:20:21.760 --> 0:20:25.239
<v Speaker 2>So getting back to those basics, I think we'll do that.

0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:29.280
<v Speaker 2>The new chair feels like he's of that school of thought,

0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:35.239
<v Speaker 2>But to me, it's the unsexy, quiet, boring stuff that

0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:37.280
<v Speaker 2>I think distinguished as political parties.

0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:40.800
<v Speaker 1>We're speaking as the news is breaking that Governor Josh

0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:44.640
<v Speaker 1>Shapiro of Pennsylvania that there appears to ben Arson at

0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:49.040
<v Speaker 1>the governor's mansion in Pennsylvania. Is it scary to be

0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:50.520
<v Speaker 1>a public figure right now?

0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:54.040
<v Speaker 2>I think it's scary, But it's a sign of the times.

0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:57.639
<v Speaker 2>Josh is a great guy. He's a very close friend.

0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:02.760
<v Speaker 2>We were back and forth yesterday this news broke. It's

0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:05.720
<v Speaker 2>just that it tells you a lot about the tension

0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:07.800
<v Speaker 2>out there right now, the fact that somebody would even

0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:11.520
<v Speaker 2>think about this. So you want to obviously, you want

0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:14.240
<v Speaker 2>to make sure that the folks, the professionals who keep

0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:18.760
<v Speaker 2>you safe and secure, are reviewing an incident like this

0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:22.480
<v Speaker 2>and making sure that we're we've got a good system

0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:26.280
<v Speaker 2>in place to prevent something like that from happening. But boy,

0:21:26.359 --> 0:21:29.800
<v Speaker 2>we need to come together sooner than later as a country.

0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:35.720
<v Speaker 2>We're Americans first and foremost, and that's getting lost in

0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:38.560
<v Speaker 2>the sauce right now by too many folks out there.

0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:40.800
<v Speaker 1>Okay, we're going to leave on a more hopeful note.

0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:42.760
<v Speaker 1>What do you want to do next.

0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:45.600
<v Speaker 2>In the immediate term, it's to run through the tape.

0:21:46.560 --> 0:21:49.640
<v Speaker 2>We've got nine months to go and we want to

0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:53.720
<v Speaker 2>make sure that those nine months are incredibly productive and

0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:56.560
<v Speaker 2>that we are that we are sprinting, and that we're

0:21:56.560 --> 0:21:59.760
<v Speaker 2>not putting our feet up. So that's the near term commitment.

0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:04.040
<v Speaker 2>I don't know beyond next January. I really don't. My

0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:06.960
<v Speaker 2>guess is there'll be some amount of public service. We're

0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:09.000
<v Speaker 2>spending a lot of time in hand to hand combat

0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:11.080
<v Speaker 2>with a lot of things I mentioned in the environment,

0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:16.040
<v Speaker 2>the volatility that we probably weren't anticipating would be doing.

0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:20.720
<v Speaker 2>That's probably taken up some of the otherwise free time

0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:23.639
<v Speaker 2>to think about what's next. But no news to break,

0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:25.960
<v Speaker 2>but I promise you when there is, we'll give you

0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:26.520
<v Speaker 2>a shout.

0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:30.159
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, Governor Murphy, thank you for being a friend

0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:37.000
<v Speaker 1>to showbiz, Thanks for having me, Thanks for listening. Be

0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:40.159
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0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:44.840
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0:22:44.880 --> 0:22:47.800
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0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:52.840
<v Speaker 1>weekly Strictly Business newsletter, and don't forget to tune in

0:22:52.880 --> 0:23:03.159
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